Curbag's region A epiLog
It began with a battle and ended with the loss of a leg. Better late then never....
The owlbear charged towards us it's screech/squawk echoing between the long room's walls. I launched my recently acquired javelin. Although it pierced it's body it didn't stop a beat. Oren bravely charged to meet it, his large axe slashing. Fancying a meal the creature reached out with his large claws and pulled the dwarf into a deadly embrace. He did not fair well but Oren's misfortune was our opportunity. An enraged Grishnak moved into attack before me and so I lead the charge for the rest of the orcs. Our blows rained down upon it and it wasn't long before death released Oren.
In the aftermath it became clear that I had made a lone charge; the rest of the orcs had not joined us in battle. Confronting them I realised how battle worn they were. They had faced many more dark mantles than us. Promising healing I warned that I expected them play their part in future.
We decided to finally investigate where we thought the chapel was; the one Rosia had seen in her vision. Moving north we found a room full of dead dark mantles and finally a corridor with two doors. While Rosia checked them I asked Quercus to apply his healing to the orcs. Surprisingly, for me, he agreed and soon they were looking ready for battle. The halfing came back explaining the first room held nothing but the second was indeed the chapel.
We all entered the pillar lined room to see a swirling vortex. Isaac explained that it lead to another world but we needed to close it. This could be done by a person going through it. Again the orcs were suggested as a sacrifice. Again I vehemently refused. While we stood there a figure appeared out of nowhere at the end of the chapel. It was Longtail. His rat like features were a dead give away.
Pointing at Isaac a volley of arrows appeared and perforated him. Not quite unconcious the sorcerer saught cover behind a pillar. Oren charged foward putting his axe to good use again. As I joined his side Longtail produced a wand and a bright colorful spray shot at us. I managed to shut my eyes butI heard Oren cry out and his axe hit the ground. He appeared to be blinded and so Quercus & I continued to attack. He was formidable and we had great difficulty hitting him. Even when we did he healed too quickly. At this point I realised the orcs were no where to be seen. They had deserted us when we would need them most. They will pay for this.
Suddenly a small red goblin appeared atacking us too. We returned it's blows but it proved to be just as tough. Another spray from Longtail's wand and Quercus and I were blinded to. I feared the worst as this meant only Rosia was left; surely we were done for.
The blindness seemed to last an age. I could no longer hear Longtail and a strange smell hung about me. I heard Oren, and then Quercus, move away; the smell did not. Sounds of a struggle began off to my right. Finally blinking away the stars in my eyes I was confronted with a thick smoke and could still see no further than my nose. I ran towards the noise and came out of the cloud to see the combat had recommenced. Oren had Longtail pinned to the ground. The red goblin was attacking him but Rosia was trying to fend it off. Isaac and Quercus could not be seen but I moved in to help with others.
While helping Oren disarm/constrain Longtail he cried out as one of Rosia's blades finished of his red familiar. Even with his outburst we were still unable to hurt him. "Into the vortex." a cry came. "Throw him into the vortex." Isaac's proclaimed, stepping through a doorway with Quercus. This would solve two of out problems. Quercus, Oren and I moved with new purpose. We manhandled him into the air and started moving towards the swrling vortex. As we did this Longtail started to chuckle; he was planning something. As we got nearer a pack of rats swarmed into the room. Rosia grabbed the wand we had removed from our foe and turned it on them. Half immediately fell from shock which gave us all the time we needed. A combined effort threw the rat like body into the void.
A booming voice came back out and Longtail was gone. With that the vortex began to close and as it did a wind was sucked into it. Bracing ourselves we stumbled away trying not to get sucked back. Quercus lost his footing and we grabbed him as he flew past. A strong grip on him left us with little on anything else and we jolted back towards the closing hole. Oren and I strained against the force pulling the cleric in but we had nothing to stop us. He was still outside it's edge and we tried to pull him further free. With a final note the vortex closed and we slumped to the ground. Sitting up I could see that Quercus had been closer to the hole than I'd thought. I could see that below one of his knees was missing; the stump was clean. He appeared to be shocked at first but his god seems to give him solace.
Closing the vortex appears to have opened the doors previously closed to us. In my eyes they can wait. The orcs swore they would follow me until I was dead. That works both ways. My plan is follow them until they're dead; shortly after I find them....
17 November, 2006
16 November, 2006
09 November, 2006
Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Part 12
The Owlbear charged at us, screeching in a terrifying manner. Oren ran out to meet it first, and swung his Dwarven axe in a mighty blow. The fiendish thing struck back at him, grabbing him in a powerful bear hug and crushing him. This was bad news for Oren, but also for the Owlbear, as it allowed us to strike at the creature more easily. I used my shield spell for the first time before engaging the creature, but it turned out to be unnecessary. I tried to strike at the monster's vitals, but I was unable to land a blow. This did have the fortunate side-effect that it did not notice me, and therefore did not attack me! Anyway, the others soon had the thing finished off (without a great deal of help from Curbag's orcs - I think they are worse than the kobolds!) and we rested for a few moments next to the brute's carcass.
We didn't linger for long, the stench was foul and we still feared attacks from darkmantles in this exposed area. We decided to move to the north, at last I persuaded the others to look for the chapel. They agreed, but did not commit themselves to closing the vortex I saw in my vision. We found some rooms filled with the bodies of darkmantles, orcs and kobolds. This was apparently where the first owlbear had appeared, and it had made short work of these creatures. I almost felt sorry for them, but I think they would have shed no tears if the tables were turned.
Near these rooms we discovered a large chamber, whence came a pulsing red glow. I went ahead to scout, and found that it led to the room from my vision. We had found the chapel! There was a large rent in the air where the glow came from, and dark figures were moving inside it. This must be the vortex, I thought, and went to tell the others. We entered en masse, and began to look around, seeking for a clue as to how to close the vortex, and whether or not we should do it. Isaak's arcane knowledge came in handy again. He was able to tell us that we could close the portal by throwing some living being from the material plane through it. We suggested using rats, but this would not do, we needed an intelligent being. Our eyes fell to the orcs, who just about met the last criterion, but Curbag would have none of it. Oh well, I suppose they have stood by us, after a fashion...
Whilst we were talking a person suddenly appeared out of thin air at the south end of the room. He fired off a salvo of magic missiles at Isaak, which left him reeling and close to collapse. As we turned to look, there was no doubt in our minds that this was Longtail! He had a long rat-like snout and ratty legs and a tail! But he was more or less human sized and shaped. He wore robes, and had a strange pair of goggles over his eyes. Oren ran in to attack first again (he is very quick off the mark for a Dwarf!) and cut a huge slice into our foe. However, the wound healed almost immediately, despite the fact that Oren was using the magic sword we had found in the armoury. Something strange was going on here, perhaps more magic by this apparent sorcerer?
Longtail pulled out a wand from his sleeve, and blasted Oren with it. A spray of coloured lights shot out and Oren was left holding his hands to his eyes, apparently blinded and stunned, his weapon dropped at his feet. Curbag and Quercus moved in to the melee, but the cowardly orcs ran off and left us to it! I knew we couldn't trust them. Isaak was badly hurt, and could barely move to safety behind a pillar. I also took cover behind a pillar, to prepare myself for battle. I cast shield on myself again, and was getting ready with my crossbow, when I saw what was happening to the others. They were striking at Longtail, and also doing little or no damage. I used one of the scrolls to cast a magic missile at Longtail, but it didn't do much good. Then Longtail zapped Curbag and Quercus with the colour spray and they too were left helpless in front of him. In the meantime Isaak had been experimenting with the potions we found earlier. He tried one at random, and it made him vanish in to thin air. I heard his voice, telling me that he was retiring to safety behind a door to the south. Clearly he was invisible, I wish we had more of those potions! Anyway, this left me as the only active member of the party! I decided that discretion was called for here, so I pulled out my smokestick (which I had been saving for an emergency) set it off, and lobbed it next to Longtail. This didn't slow him down much, as he made himself fly out of the smoke cloud using his magic, but it gave me time to conceal myself behind a pillar. He flew round the room, looking for me, but couldn't spot me as I was concealed in the shadows. Meanwhile I cast my True Strike spell, and jumped out when he wasn't looking and shot him in the back with my crossbow, hitting him right between the ribs. But to my horror the arrow just popped out, leaving him unhurt! There was nothing I else I could do, so I fled to the south, following Isaak through the door.
Meanwhile, the others were coming out of their stunned state. Oren recovered first, and charged out of the fog. As luck would have it he was running straight at Longtail, who had followed me and now hovered in the air just outside the southern door. Oren grabbed his legs, then grappled him to the floor, holding him fast. In the short corridor on the other side of the door, I found Isaak slumped on the floor, unconscious. There was some strange creature standing on his body, a small thing with wings and sharp teeth. I fired at it with my crossbow, but it vanished into thin air! I had a choice now, I could help Isaak, or I could join the others in trying to subdue Longtail. I thought that it would do Isaak no good if we all died, and that Quercus could do better than me at healing anyway, so I waded in to stab at Longtail. Now Curbag and Quercus were joining in the grapple. Between the three of them, they kept him pinned to the floor and made him drop his wand, and ripped off his goggles. But the strange creature I had seen in the corridor appeared again, and began trying to bite Oren. The bite was not hurting him much, but he cried out in pain when bitten, clearly the creature's bite was poisoned. I reasoned that the thing must be Longtail's familiar and started to attack in instead, as I didn't seem to be able to hurt Longtail. I swung at the tiny monster with my sword, but it was too fast! So instead I drew my daggers and threw them at it, my aim with them being much better. The second dagger finished the creature off, and Longtail snarled in anguish, but kept on fighting...
During this time, Quercus had lost his grip on Longtail, so he instead went to help Isaak, healing him and bringing him back to consciousness. Isaak saw what was happening, and immediately released that we could kill two birds with one stone. "Throw him into the Vortex!" he shouted, and between them Oren, Curbag and Quercus began to drag Longtail kicking and screaming towards the swirling rip in the fabric of reality. Longtail was not quite finished yet, though, and he somehow called a horde of dire rats to help him. They came flooding through the northern door towards us. I picked up Longtail's wand and tried hard to remember the command word he had used to activate it. In a flash it came to me, and I zapped half of the rats into unconsciousness. By this time the the others had managed to get Longtail to the vortex, and then threw him in. There was the sound of a mighty voice speaking in a strange forbidding language, and Longtail vanished into the darkness, screaming.
However, now the vortex began to close, and a powerful wind moved through the chapel, drawing those near to the vortex towards it with hideous strength. The remaining rats were sucked in, and Oren, Curbag and Quercus struggled to keep their feet. Fortunately Isaak and I were far enough away not to be effected. Oren and Curbag were making headway, when suddenly Quercus lost his footing and was swept through the air towards the rapidly closing vortex. Oren and Curbag caught him, but could not stop his movement completely, and as the vortex finally snapped shut, Quercus' leg was caught inside it, and was severed at the knee. When the vortex closed a wave of energy spread out from it, and we found later that all the doors to the east had opened, as well as doors to the north, allowing us access to new areas of this vast complex.
We propose to rest now, to search out Longtail's lair and find out what we can, and to fashion a new leg for Quercus out of wood. He is healing well, but he will find it harder to move now. He seems to be taking it well, his faith in Pelor is strong, and who knows, perhaps Pelor will reward him with a new leg one day?
06 November, 2006
Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Part 11
My luck has taken a turn for the worse, it seems that everything I suggest or do turns out bad! It started with the room with glowing spheres. We were going back to pick up Curbag's orcs, and I thought it would be a good idea to check this room out properly. I stepped into the room and the spheres started to move together, forming a shape in the centre of the room. When I stepped out of the room they moved apart again. We talked it over and we decided to let the spheres complete their task and see what happened. What happened was this: they formed a portal and let in another bloody Owlbear! We didn't fancy fighting another one of these things, so as the creature was coming through we shut the secret door, in the hope that it wouldn't see this way out and we could escape before it found us.
We collected the orcs (who needed some persuasion from Curbag to go through the fire room) and made our way south again. We moved quietly past the secret door, but we heard no sound coming from inside. We made it back to the thunder room, and this time I summoned all my courage and went inside, along with Isaak. We had seen Quercus stand on the brass plate in safety, so I stood on it, hoping to attune myself to its power. Instead, the most terrible noise pounded me to the floor, making my nose and ears bleed with the pressure. Isaak was also knocked to the floor, he seemed to be affected by it more than I was (along with poor Ratto). We knew that we needed healing, but I suggested that rather than use up all of Quercus' divine power, we go back to the fire room and take some healing there from the cleansing flames. So Isaak, Quercus and myself headed back, taking Oren with us in case of trouble. We left Curbag with the orcs to guard our rear. As Isaak was so badly injured, I suggested that he take some minor healing from Quercus before stepping into the flame. He refused this, and stepped boldly onto the brass plate. What a disaster! Instead of being healed, he was horribly burnt, and fell to the floor, near death. Oren dragged him clear, and Quercus healed him, bringing him back to consciousness again. I decided not to risk the flames myself, and was healed by the priest as well (Thanks be to Pelor!) The only good thing about our trip to the fire room was that Isaak had not taken Ratto with him into the flames, for surely he would have been burnt to a rat-shaped crisp...
After this we decided to head south again (tip-toeing past the secret door) and try our luck in some new areas. I wanted to head north to search out the chapel, but given my recent rash of bad decisions the others over-ruled me. Can't say I blame them, really... Anyway, we discovered a door at the corner of a corridor, it was marked "Danger". I checked it for traps and found that there was one, and a magic one at that! The others retired to a safe distance down the eastern branch of the corridor, and left me to my work. Unfortunately, these magic traps are very difficult to disable, and I accidentally set it off instead. I was surprised when two huge jets of flame shot out of the door, one going north and one going east. This trap was obviously designed to catch anyone in the corridors outside the door, and the range was great enough to reach the entire party. I was quick enough to duck down below the fire, unhurt, but could only watch in horror as the others were engulfed in flame. Four of the orcs were killed outright, their wounds from previous battles must have slowed them down. Poor Isaak was burnt again (Ratto wisely hid behind him), but the others escaped without major damage. Quercus was able to heal Isaak, who was not happy. Also unhappy was the orc barbarian who now serves as Curbag's second in command. He seems to blame me for the incident. Most unfair, it wasn't me who put the trap there! At least there are fewer orcs now, if they decide to stage a rebellion...
Anyway, I could see that the trap was resetting itself, so Oren and I jumped into the room quickly, and the others retired to a genuinely safe distance. Inside the room we found the laboratory of an alchemist. The skeleton of the owner was there, and it seemed to be the same size as me. Perhaps a gnome? They are skilled in such arts. We found several potions, which we need to identify. We also found many scrolls, and I was able to find a crystal amongst the alchemist's materials that I can use to cast a spell to read the magical inscriptions on the scrolls. There are many powerful magics in them, but alas! I can only manage to get the hang of the simpler ones. Isaak would be able to make use of more of them, I am sure, but he cannot cast the spell to reveal the magic writings for him. It seems funny that I, his pupil, can perform a feat of magic that he cannot. Yet I suppose that is how the willful nature of the arcane arts manifests itself.
We also found a cloak and amulet on the skeleton which I was able to discern as being magical. I tried the cloak on and found that it increased my resistance to misfortune in the same way that one of my magic spells can, only it is active all the time. It will be very useful to me, as I am frequently in the way of danger from all the traps in this place. The amulet was made of gold, and bore the image of a lion on it. When Isaak wore it, it increased his vitality and health, which is good for him, as he is even weaker than I am! Finally, we found a scroll which was written in the celestial language. It told us that this place is a prison for demons, but that the archons who guarded it had lost control. It might be that the Owlbear we encountered before, and the one recently emerged, were prisoners here. I wonder what other horrors lurk within these walls?
We came across another door with a trap on it, this one a more simple mechanical trap. I disarmed this easily, and opened the door, but was unprepared for the secondary magical trap which triggered when I entered the room. Whoever designed this place was fiendishly clever and cruel! Fortunately, I was able to dodge out of the way of the lightning blast, and was unhurt. Now that I knew there was a trap, I was able to find it, and determined that it had reset itself almost immediately. I told the others to stay outside while I checked the room out. It seems that this place was some sort of armoury. It was filled with weapons and ammunition of all types, from many different places and eras. Most notable were several sets of equipment that were labeled as to were they came from. They seemed to have been taken from people of races with an evil taint on them. There was some from a Drow, some from a Deurgar and even a set from a Derro (just my size!) Perhaps they had been taken from prisoners? Anyway, I was able to throw or push the stuff out of the door, then run through it, avoiding the lightning again. We all came out with something good. I got a set of excellent studded leather armour. It is flexible and doesn't get in my way for normal jobs, despite being a bit bulkier than my old armour. However, I think it will be a bit harder to get my spells correct. Still, I won't get very far with my spells if someone kills me, so I think I'll go for the added protection. I also got loads of ammo for my crossbow. I have plenty of bolts myself, and Oren is carrying almost my body-weight in spares. There was a container of poison as well, but I don't really know how to use this, and with my current luck I'll probably poison myself trying. It's probably worth some cash though, so I'll hang on to it.
We carried on exploring, and we could hear the sounds of something following us. We found a room with a chest in, but the chest was trapped with a proximity trigger. Isaak used some magic to open the lid, and I stood on Curbag's shoulders to look into the box, but I could see nothing. We decided to leave this, and moved on. We also found a room with a glowing giant red ruby floating in it, but this looked too good to be true, so we left it for the time being. We managed to work our way round to the long room with all the darkmantles in it. We thought we were in the clear, but then as we moved out into the room we were startled by the noise of the Owlbear charging at us! Clearly it had been tracking us, and it didn't look happy. We are preparing for battle now. Let's see how this new armour stands up, and if the bolts I found can pierce the hide of this fiendish beast.
05 November, 2006
Curbag's Log
The marking on the door definitely has some significance. My orcs would not step one foot through it. I left them to gather there nerve while we ventured on. We found a long corridor punctuated with doors, on the east wall, bearing the same symbol from the flaming plate. Oren also found a secret door in the west wall. This is where Rosia's curiously bad day began. Prying the door open, the room beyond held numerous glowing spheres. Rosia stepped forth to investigate and as we watched the spheres began to draw together and begin to merge. We wondered whether she had time to try a door we could see beyond, but then we noticed a shadow forming within the coalescing shape. Urging Rosia to leave the room she hesitated to satisfy her curiosity. A familiar sound came from the now large dark gateway; a screech or maybe a squawk. Feathered claws grasped the frame, we could not mistake we were about to meet another owlbear. This was not a place to fight such a beast. We almost lost to one when we had prepared a defense in plenty of room. Facing an attack in a crowded corridor would spell our doom. We hastily re-closed the secret door hoping it would remain that way; secret and closed.
At this point we went back to encourage my retinue across the threshold they feared. Following my lead they joined us to the far south of the corridor. Here it was I who felt the dread that they had just over come. Unable to bring myself to take the passage Rosia and Isaac explored the room it lead to. Another floor plate was found within. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Rosia eagerly jumped upon it. A low roar began which slowly grew into deafening thunder. Even from my position in the corridor I could feel the vibration of the enormous sound. The noise ceased and I saw my companions coming out of the passage; blood dripped from their ears. Isaac was cradling his pet rat, whispering shouted calming words. His sideways glances at the halfling told of his displeasure. He looked exhausted. I think Rosia thought it time to make mends for her curious nature. The last time they had used the flaming plate they had all felt better and so she suggested another visit. It was clear how bad Isaac was feeling as we crept past the secret door, and so Rosia tried to get Quercus to heal the sorcerer. He refused having faith in the restoring flame. Once there Isaac stepped onto the plate and the flames rose as expected. He screamed immediately as the smell of burning robe and flesh filled the room. As he collapsed to the floor Quercus quickly applied his healing. Soon only the charred fabric showed sign of the unfortunate event.
We journeyed south again, following more twisting corridors. Finding a magical trap, something which the halfling is definitely improved at, we all withdrew allowing for the good chance she would set it off during the disarm. We were right on that count but not on the safe distance. A fireball rocketed down the passage surrounding us in a fiery plume. More than half of my orcs screamed out their last breaths; their wounds finally taking their toll. Rosia and Oren rushed through the door as she knew the trap would reset. The rest of us took cover at a much greater distance. Minutes later a roar of flame erupted once again and our two companions rejoined us. The room had stored many items which they found to be magical in nature; scrolls, potions, a cloak and a necklace. While the others identified their purpose the orcs and I paid tribute to our the dead.
Following the corridor we came upon another room which held great treasure. From without we could see a racks of armor and weapons all carefully arranged. Rosia, once again, checked the room. Only her fast reactions saved her from a bolt of lightning from the ceiling. Unwilling to risk being hit by lighting ourselves, she relayed what she found. Each rack was labeled with the previous owners name. The items were all of good quality some the product of great craftsman. We each scavenged what we could use and left armed to the teeth; myself the new owner of a well balanced javelin.
The next room we came across was one the orcs had seen before. One of their group could be seen dead on the floor a chest almost within it's grasp. Again Rosia checked it out. She came back reporting that a trap would spring if anyone went near the chest. Given our recent track record it seemed foolish to attempt to get whatever treasure there was; and yet Rosia and Isaac proceed to discuss the options. I left them to it but I'm glad to say they soon joined me deciding not to risk it. At this time we heard the familiar screech/squawk again. The owlbear was somewhere to the west and so we kept moving suspecting it was on our trail.
The corridors continued to twist and turn, and after a few troubles with the map we finally came upon another interesting room. Rosia's checks cleared the door for traps. As we opened the door a strange red glow came out of the darkness. The source of the light was a huge floating red crystal. I felt conflicted. Oren estimated that it would be worth millions of gold pieces but how would we move it. With the memory of the glowing spheres still fresh our instincts told us that this could be another portal. We closed the door; hey we could always come back ;-)
We finally worked out where we were on the map and we returned to a familiar room; the long room where we had laid the failed ambush for the dark mantles. We stood there discussing where to explore next when we heard the screech/squawk. This time it was close, very close. In fact it was in the room with us. Screaming again, the shape of the owlbear came out of the darkness....
30 October, 2006
Curbag's Log
I awoke to Rosia returning an empty bottle to her pack. My battle with Orghar had taken more than I could give, but I now felt almost good as new.
I stood over my fow's dead body. He was well equipped but it had not helped him. His followers looked at me expectantly. They appear to be hardy band of veterans. I asked for their oath and they gave it to me, only to be broken upon death; mine or theirs. They promised to honour my companions too.
Returning to the ex-leader I took his, armour, shield and axe. Between Isaac, Oren & Rosia they were all found to be of great quality, the axe is even magical.
This has been a day of fortune; a warrior defeated, a horde of valuables and the leadership of an orc retinue. I hope it doesn't turn sour. The orcs do out number us but I believe they will hold true to their oath.
As we discussed where to explore next, a cold wind blew in from the corridor. Voices echoed round the room, something about being almost free. Rosia called back to them and then again as though in conversation. She reported that she had had a vision of a chapel to the north and believed that we should go there to free the spirits who owned the voices we had heard. I'm not sure that's a good idea but north is the way that appears to hold most promise.
Our group travelled that way and finally made it past the t-junction where we met the owlbear. We soon came across a room filled with blade traps. After Rosia squeezed through to scout ahead some of the orcs & I attempted to reset the blades. Our efforts only managed to break what ever mechanism was left. In the next room in the centre of the floor a brass plate produced a warm flow of air.
I vehemently refused a suggestion that one of the orcs should try standing on it. Quercus stepped up first; his faith in his god is strong. Flames whipped about him but he remained unburned. Better yet he left the plate feeling better than before. Rosia also stepped into the flames, but I didn't trust it. The exit to the room had a symbol on it which matched one
on the plate. Why is the flame plate here and what does it mean that the door is marked too ?
27 October, 2006
Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Part 10
I cast my first spell! After Curbag had defeated the orc leader, and been accepted as the new leader, he claimed the possessions of the previous incumbent. These included a fine set of studded leather armour (Shame it wasn't a bit smaller...) and a war axe of exceedingly good quality. Isaak was going to cast a detection spell on these, to see if they were magical, but I offered to do it instead. After a mix-up with the material components (I would have thought Isaak would have known better...) I made my first attempt. Unfortunately my armour makes it difficult to perform some of the necessary hand movements, and I messed up the first casting. However, I succeeded on the second try and the magical energy flowed through me! It seemed so natural, I wondered that I had not done it before. Perhaps it took a sojourn in this nightmarish place to wake to powers that slept within me? Anyway, I was able to discern that the axe was indeed magical. This is a good addition to our arsenal, surely this will give us an edge over the fiendish creatures who lurk in these dark hallways?
Suddenly a loud rumbling filled the air, and the whole dungeon began to shake. I feared that the ceiling might cave in, but the tremor passed by without damage to the area we were in. Then the cold wind, which we had experienced before, started moving through the room, and we could hear the voices of spirits pleading for help. I called out to them, asking what we could do to aid them, and they filled my mind with a vision of a chapel in the north area of the dungeon. Apparently we are close to freeing them, and there is something called the vortex which will allow us to complete the task. I believe these are the souls of the creatures tortured to death in this place, and I tried to convince the others to move to the north, that we might discover more.
They agreed to head northwards, and we did some more exploring. We didn't encounter any creatures, but we did come across a number of strange rooms. The first was a room with a large black block in it, with a brass plate set in the floor in front of it. I did some more magic detection, and discovered that there was some sort of teleportation magic in operation. We decided not to risk tampering with this for the moment, and moved on.
The next thing we found was a room with an old whirling-blade trap in it. Some poor soul had set this off, and his or her skeleton rested in pieces all over the place. I determined that the trap was no longer functioning, and I was able (thanks to my non-giganticness) to crawl under the blades and scout ahead. I discovered a room with a brass pate in the floor, inscribed with a strange rune. A gust of hot air hit me as I looked into the room, but I was not harmed by this. I went and got the others, who forced the blades back to get past, and Quercus revealed that the rune was in the language of the Celestials, and that it meant "Fire". He then stood on the brass plate, and was surrounded by fire! However, this did not harm him, but rather soothed and refreshed him. I followed him on to the plate on hearing this, and was also unharmed. There was a door leading out of this room, with the same fire rune on it. It was locked, but I was able to open it easily using my special tools.
This door led out into a long corridor running north to south, with several short corridors branching off at intervals to the east. Each of these ended in a large door, sealed with a brass circle bearing more celestial runes. Isaak determined that some powerful magic was guarding these doors, but I was unable to locate the trap, so I could not try to disable it. We thought it best to leave these doors until we could find more information about them, or perhaps a key of some sort. Instead we explored some rooms that were through doors in the west wall of the long corridor. The first we entered via a secret door discovered by Oren. This was a room most strange, filled with glowing spheres, all hovering in the air. We feared to touch them, so we left this room undisturbed.
Next we found a room containing another brass plate, this time marked with the rune for thunder. As we entered a loud peal of thunder sounded around us, and I was filled with an unaccountable dread. I fled the room, unable to bear the cacophony. Oren did not seem affected by it, perhaps the dwarf is immune to its effects? Anyway, he was able to stand on the brass plate with impunity. Perhaps there are more of these rooms, each attuned to a different element? The first was fire, could this one be air? What other such rooms shall we find, and what is their purpose? Perhaps they hold the key to the sealed doors? So many questions! I must collect myself and steel my nerves to enter the room of thunder once more. Then I think we should go back northwards and try to find the chapel I saw in my vision. I pity the wretches whose spirits linger here, and I wish I could do something to help them.
26 October, 2006
Players Map for Session 10 
Although the party encountered a number of rooms with Celestial runes, they acquired zilch experience points. Somewhat to their chagrin.
Hey ho, that's the way the arrow falls.
The orc warband they now command have been left to guard a room with stone pillars, which contains the remains of broken blade trap, whilst they explore the long north/south corridor to the east.
Every exit to the East is shuttered by forbidding 15ft tall doors, each sealed with a brass plate engraved with celestial warding runes.
24 October, 2006
Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Part 9
Much has happened since my last entry! We have fought several battles, and been sorely tested. More darkmantles attacked us, but we made short work of them, despite them surprising us. We have found out that there is a network of small tunnels and fissures, high up in the walls, which the darkmantles are using to move around. We have been extra vigilant since we discovered this.
We tried to explore more of this dark dungeon, but we didn't get very far. In one long corridor we encountered a large darkmantle, which we thought was charging at us. However, it soon became apparent that it was fleeing from a large, fiendish creature which looked like a cross between and owl and a bear. This "Owlbear", as Isaak later told us it was called, attacked us (after Curbag had killed the wounded darkmantle) and we looked to be in bad shape for a while. The creature had some sort of resistance to wounds, my sling bullets and the arrows of the Kobolds seemed to just bounce off it, and the mighty blows which Curbag and Oren rained down upon it seemed to have less effect that usual. Quercus was knocked unconscious as the thing charged at us, and Curbag soon joined him as the Owlbear ran amok. Oren slew the beast, but we feared the worst for Curbag and Quercus. We decided to return to the room where Kahliss and Slith were holed up, to ask them for aid. The kobolds broke our alliance after hearing this. They seem to think we are taking too many risks... I can't say I'm sorry, the vile creatures have offered us little in the way of help, and I don't trust them to cover our backs when the going gets tough.
The lizardmen did indeed help us, though I think it was more to get rid of us than anything. We left them the next day and decided to rest for another day in the rooms where we found the water-pillars. We used this time to heal up and rest. Isaak spent some time in meditation, and after this I asked him to teach me how he worked his magic. He told me that the magic comes from within, and that it expresses itself differently for each person. He showed me some techniques to clarify the mind and bring forth the mystical energies, and I spent much time praticing them in the room of illusions and the room of silence. I can feel the magic awakening within me, I just need an opportunity to try it out. Unfortunately I have spent so much effort working on the magic, that I have had little chance to pratice my other skills. At least I have kept up with searching and disabling the many traps that have been set in this deadly place...
We explored some more after this period of rest: we decided to fill in some of the gaps in our map. This turned out to be a good tactic, as we discovered some magical potions under an old bed, which we believe to be healing drafts. These will be useful if Quercus is incapacitated again. We also found a room filled with orcs, and we discovered that this was the remains of the band led by Orgar. We decided to parlay with them, despite Quercus's best efforts to get us to kill them. We found out that Orgar had fallen into a great despair. Curbag tried to reason with him, but when this failed he challenged him for leadership of the band. They fought and although Curbag flew into a rage and struck many great blows, it was clear that Orgar would get the better of him. This would have been very bad for the rest of us as well, as we were split into two groups and surrounded by orcs. I suspect it was not strictly within the rules of the challenge, but I waited until no one was looking at me and shot my crossbow at Orgar, hitting him right between the ribs. This seemed to distract him somewhat, and Curbag used the opportunity to run him through with his sword. I think that one of the orcs spotted my bolt, but he declared Curbag the victor anyway. Perhaps the orcs were looking for a new leader, someone to get them out of this place. Let's hope he can get us out as well!
23 October, 2006
Curbag's Log
We headed north keen to make progress. We made none. Instead we were first faced with a large charging dark mantle and then a huge feathered beast. The dark mantle was in fact fleeing but it found no safety upon my sword. We fell back to ready our defence, Quercus closing the door before it could reach us. Such a powerful creature it smashed the door into the room and advanced upon us. The cleric is to be admired for his bravery but his jab from behind only achieved the thing's attention. It's claws crashed down, knocking his limp body to the ground. I charged in to slay the beast but I may have bitten of more than I could chew. Oren joined me but we both were heavily blooded. The last moment I remember was it's feathered claw filling my vision.
I awoke in the lizardmen's room. We had survived. Oren had slain the owlbear. I thanked Kord for the lesson he had sent me; trust in the battle it will see you through.
The kolbalds, after the battle, had decided we were too dangerous to follow.
We spent the next day back in the pillared prayer rooms with. The water was refreshing but the rats were elusive. We again went back to familar corridors to ensure a safe rear. We found mostly debris but Rosia & Isaac said they'd unearthed a potion.
A final unexplored corridor held a surprise. The orcs from Longtails retinue. They too were holed up like the lizardmen. Quercus behaved like fool, he can heal so well but was so keen to shed their blood ; makes no sense. The orc's leader, Orghar, had led them here but now could not lead. I urged them to take me to him. Orghar was an empty orc, they had faced many dark mantles but his spirit was now broken. I pressed him to explain himself but he would not speak. I have found with other demoralised orcs the only way to get a reaction is an attempt on take their life. In the past they have, in turn, tried to kill me. Orghar was no exception. He grabbed his axe and came at me in a manic rage. His blows were mighty but I repaid in kind. A great fow I almost believed he would win. In the final moment Kord must have whispered his fate; Orghar screamed in pain before I even landed the deadly blow! He fell to the ground. As I finished him off his warriors proclaimed my victory.
Session 9 Players Map
The horrors of this deadly dark appear to be growing stronger and more fearsome. The hideous owlbear tore the party apart leaving Curbag and Quercus moments away from death.
Darkmantles still abound.
The hasty alliance with the kobolds is broken.
But, hope from an unlikely source is discovered hiding in one of the rooms. Orghar and his remaining Orc warriors, Orghar was but a distant shell but the proposal of alliance brought forth his rage and he and Curbag fought the deadly fight.
Orghar blows were true and strong and Curbag was soon weakened, only the sneaky intervention of Rosia saved the day,which enabled Curbag to slay Orghar, however this was spotted by one of the grizzled Orc veterans.
Sense of tension was palpable throughout the party when he raised his notched war axe and when he proclaimed 'All hail the Victor', the exclamations of relief were loud.
22 October, 2006
Curbag's Log
I'm getting better at avoiding these traps Rosia misses. I was only slightly singed by the flames from opening that door and Lightfoot can't be blamed for the ball of fire which was rolling towards me behind it. Turns out that all these flame devices were set by a lizardman druid and archer who were hiding in the room. We charged in to defend ourselves. Once they realised they'd chosen the wrong enemies they dropped their weapons and explained themselves.
Part of Longtail's retinue, their job was to guide him to some kind of portal. They also said Longtail was a wererat - think it might be best to kill all the rats we see. They now seemed happy to hole up in that room. We rested there for a night but while we explored on they stayed behind to hide.
We wanted to go on but leaving enemies to sneak up behind us would be dangerous. The group decided to go back to get the kobald band. Once there Rosia nogotiated a truce and they said they'd come with us to defeat the flying octopusses; dark mantles. Our "plan" was an ambush. I was sent in to draw them out. They weren't playing ball so I charged in to really give them something to think about. They set upon me squeezing my life away. Fortunately Oren and then the rest of my companions joined me. The ambush plan was over, the kobalds were nowhere in sight. It was a mighty fight but I always felt in control. One by one the mantles fell; even the kobalds turned up in the end.
We regrouped and explored on. Dark mantles seemed to inhabit all the surounding rooms. Some we left to hide in the darkness; Rosia jammed them in. Others, I decided to take on. Backing them into a corner I charged to attack. Meanwhile we were the subject of an ambush more successfully set by the dark mantles. While Rosia & Isaac defended themselves from behind I was being grappled by the two I'd cornered. Enveloped in tentacles I strained against their deadly grip. Fortunately my grip is deadlier. Squeezing right back I threw my arms open ripping the dark mantle in half. His friend wisely attempted to flee; wise but futile. My friends had turned the tables too. The remaining dark mantles disappeared into tunnels in the ceiling.
The kobalds, again nowhere to be seen during a fight, seemed confusd by our successful tactics.
17 October, 2006
Session 8 Players Map
Can you spot the difference yet?
Alliances forged and fights fought, were the order of the day.
The kobolds agreed to accompany the party in a 'safety in numbers' style pact.
The party decided to revisit the lair of the giant flying octopuses, which have now been revealed as darkmantles, these were the biggest darkmantles yet encountered.
Employing an ambush strategy, the party's plan of using Curbag as bait collapsed into a 'use the entire party as bait' strategem within seconds of encountering the Darkmantles, and they were immediately surrounded by the huge flapping strangling beasts.
Boyikt, the leader of the kobolds unaware of this change of plans, waited patiently outside the room for the party to withdraw.
Eventually the kobolds joined the fray, every hit and miss was being made to count, many of party had been injured and fear of death was keen in the air.
Finally the party and kobolds emerged victorious with only one Darkmantle escaping.
They now tend their wounds, and prepare to advance further into the forbidding darkness.
12 October, 2006
Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Part 8
In the room behind the trapped door which got Curbag, we met two lizard-folk, Kahliss and Slith. They attacked us at first, Slith was a druid who summoned up a ball of fire which he could move to attack us. When they realised we weren't orcs (or at least most of us weren't!) they offered a truce. We discovered that they had been hired by Longtail to guide him through the mountains to this place, Kahliss turned out to be a ranger who presumably had knowledge of the area. Anyway, they told us that Longtail had summoned up the FOs (which turn out to be called Darkmantles) and then lost control of them. They weren't very happy with him, or the other members of his retinue, and were waiting for a chance to escape this place. They also told us that this place used to be a prison, which explains all the traps and manacles. I wish we could find some way of making the traps think we were guards!
We spent the night in the room with Kahliss and Slith, they offered us some rats to eat, but I decided I would scrounge some rations from Quercus instead. He made me pray to Pelor for an hour, but it was worth it to avoid the rats. (I was secretly praying to Ehlonna, but I don't think I'll tell Quercus about that...) We decided that it might be good to go back to the Kobolds we'd met before and try to parlay with them. We though that they might have more information about this place. We managed to form an alliance with their leader, Boyik, despite the fact that he didn't really have anything to tell us. (He made us drink blood wine to seal the pact - ugh!) But he did agree to join with us on raid of the Darkmantles' lair. We thought it would be best to deal with them before we explored any more, as we didn't like the thought of them popping up when we least expected it. With the Kobolds (and the strange cat-like creature they have with them called a Krenshar) we made quite a force. We decided to ambush the Darkmantles, using Curbag as bait. Being the fastest of us, he volunteered to run out into the FO lair and bring them back into the large room where we would be waiting to surround them. It all went a bit wrong though... The Darkmantles wouldn't come out of their room when Curbag went to the door, so he ran further in, but was caught by one and surrounded. We all waded in and it got messy and scary very quickly. I was nearly strangled by one, but Isaak zapped it with his magic missiles. I was too busy trying to breathe to watch how he did it this time! We finally managed to kill them all, with the help of the kobolds, but it was a tough battle. I think we are ready to move on now, but I'm not sure how long our alliance with the kobolds will last.
Still no sign of food, other than rats...
09 October, 2006
Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Part 7
We found a strange artefact, a weapon of some sort, made out of bone and covered with ancient runes. I tried to decipher them, but didn't recognise the script. The weapon rested on top of a sphere of glass, and was surrounded by the charred bodies of the flying octopus (FO) creatures. Assuming there was a trap I was about to move in to disarm it (or set it off, which would have been more likely...) when Isaak stopped me and instead performed some incantation which allowed him to move the weapon safely towards us through the air without touching it! I watched him carefully when he did this, and I think I could master this skill if I had a bit of help.
Anyway, after seeing the runes on the weapon, Isaak and Quercus were keen to go back to the manacle room (the one where I had my nasty experience) and make copies of some of the runes we saw there. (Or in Quercus' case to destroy them, I expect. I worry about his fanatical attitude, I think it could lead to problems...) Anyway, I had no inclination to go back there, and Curbag didn't seem very interested either, so we decided to split up. The two of us went off to the north east, and the others went off looking for runes. Curbag and I discovered a large room, full of kobold and orc bodies, and more dead FOs. (But no Trogs, do they carry their dead with them? Or worse, are they cannibals?) We decided not to explore too far into this room, at least not until the others caught up with us. Instead we explored some side passages, which just led back into the main room (although I did find a nasty wire trap, which we were able to circumvent).
The others finally caught up with us, and we explored more of the large room. We noticed an FO there and chased after it, ending up in a room to the east. Here we were ambushed by several very large FOs, who came out of nowhere. Their darkness effect was stronger than the smaller ones we have met before, and even the magical light rods we are using now could barely penetrate the gloom they generate. We decided that we could defend ourselves more easily from behind a closed door, and ran back into the larger room. Unfortunately there were three small FOs waiting for us there, although this was a fight much more in our favour. We were able to kill two of them, but the other escaped. It took with it the body of Toerag, who got strangled to death. Can't say I'm too sorry to see him go! I think we should move on from this open area, it is too easy to be surrounded. We need to rest as well, I am growing weary in this underground tomb. We still haven't found a decent source of food. We might end up eating FOs...
05 October, 2006
Session 7 Players Map.
Haunting sounds, eeries cold spots and phantasm sounds also plague the group.
At the eastern end of the long room the players met their most difficult foes yet (even more difficult than the kobolds), the largest flying octopuses they had yet encountered. They were quickly surrounded and only by concerted teamwork did they manage to escape.
Unfortunately Turag met his end in the clutching tentacles of those foul beasts.
The magical traps are coming thick and fast, testing Rosia's abilities to the limit and beyond...
14 September, 2006
Session 6 Map
Pushing the boundaries of their known world the parties initial eastwards push was defeated by fear. Fear of ghostly whisperings and cold spots, as if the group were being haunted.
A lone Orc by the name of Turag (not Torag) :) , has furnished the party with some real information, whether he survives within their company remains to be seen.
This was also the first session that atmospheric music was used, culled from various sources:
Conan, Lord of the Rings, horror filmtracks, Midnight Syndicate, Clannad.
Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Part 6
Things are getting very spooky here. In addition to my experience with the manacles, Oren has been hearing voices, and we have all sensed some icy presence moving through the dungeon. Perhaps the spirits of those killed here linger on, or perhaps we have woken something from a long sleep? We found some fragments of a book, which seemed to be a record of research carried out here many years ago. There was also a room full of skeletons from many creatures, several of which we could not identify. What terrible experiments went on here? Who built this place, and for what purpose? Some evil wizard or cult? We have many questions, but few answers.
We encountered some more traps. I was able to detect some of them in time, but all the traps here appear to be magical in nature, and these are notoriously hard to disarm. Although I set them off, I was able to evade the damage from most of them. I seem to be getting better at this, I must be learning from my mistakes. We found one trapped door in the North West of the dungeon that was especially nasty. When trying to disarm it I heard a voice saying "You are not worthy" and then a great ball of blame shot down the corridor, we barely avoided being toasted! Perhaps when we have learnt more about this place we will not be found lacking anymore? Maybe there is some great treasure behind this door, or possibly a way out of this maze?
When the others are not looking I have been practicing a few acrobatic tricks that my old friend Malfoso showed me when we were in the guild together. I could never see the point of them before, but now I think they might be useful in avoiding enemies in battle, I just hope I don't have to test these techniques out too soon! I have also been thinking that it might be useful to know a few magic spells. I found a pretty gold bracelet on a dead orc (more about these later) and I thought I might wear it as an armlet, but Isaak suggested that he test it for evil magicks first. It would be handy to be able to this myself, and I have always had an interest in the magical arts. Maybe I'll ask Isaak to teach me a few simple cantrips, it can't be that hard if he can do it, and you never know when such things might come in useful.
We went back into the room with the dead orcs and the large (living) rats. We gave the rats a wide birth before, but this time Isaak decided he would shoot one with his crossbow. I think the creatures were upsetting Ratto, the scabby old rat that Isaak carries around in his pocket. (He spends far to much time stroking him when he thinks no one is watching...) Anyway, we all waded in and took a few more of them out, before the rest ran off. (I got one right between the eyes, it never had a chance!) We searched the orc bodies, and the surrounding rooms, and we found some nice loot. We also found that the orcs had been killed by those flying octopus things we encountered before. They had all been strangled, not a nice way to go, but then what is? In a store room nearby we discovered a survivor. His name is Torag and we persuaded Curbag not to kill him, and Quercus agreed to let him tag along with us, if he converted to Pelor. I suspect that the orc's commitment to his new religion is not genuine, but stranger things have happened...
We questioned Torag and found out that he had been part of a large party brought here by Longtail, the very person we are looking for! Apparently Longtail is human, but has the power to turn into a rat. He brought with him a group made up of orcs, kobolds and troglodytes (whatever they are). Presumably the orcs we met in the first room, and the kobolds who gave us a good drubbing, were part of Longtail's entourage too. We haven't met any Trogs yet, but we found an area of the dungeon that was ripe with their musky stench (it made me gag at first, but I think I could put up with it now). We have given that section a miss for now, and gone back to explore some more of the eastern parts of the complex. I think we should find out more about this place before we confront the Trogs. Torag tells us that Longtail's group was attacked by a horde of the octopus things a few days after they arrived, apparently the came out of nowhere. Let's hope there are no more of them lurking around for us.
11 September, 2006
Curbag's Log
The night passed without event and I awoke with a clear head ready tackle the rooms ahead. Our breakfast turned out to be a shared one. Many of us did not pack enough food. Thankfully I travel with generous companions and their remaining food was shared. We decided to start by going back to paths we had previously passed up.
We eventually came to a room where water poured down four pillars. I went to take a look when a large humanoid beast leapt out upon Oren. His large club delivered a powerful blow, one which I was shortly to receive too. The beast's laughing and obvious glee at the damage he was inflicting tipped me into a rage. I charged for a kill but my sword could not find his body. Oren & I got to the point were we could almost take no more wounds. Our group knew our desperation and finally we began to find our target. The beast's wounds now got the better of him and he fled. I could not allow him to live to attack us again. I closed in and, despite his attempt to distract me, delivered the deadly assault. I took the weapon from the corpse; a enormous club. It may be too big to wield but it makes a great token of battle.
The next two rooms were much the same as this one; a pillar in each corner. The group were cautious and so I used the club to test the rooms. We found no threats or treasure but we did find that the third room stopped us from making noise. Going back to the second they were all trying to imagine stuff. I thought of the horse meat I'd had in Tharl-Fellen but that just made me feel my even hunger more. Eventually Quercus imagined a forest which transformed the room. It looked like the wall that Parademius made but it did not let us leave the room. The forest vanished moments later and we continued our exploration.
Progress was slow and the corridors twisted and turned so that I no longer knew if I could find my way back. Oren has shown he has an excellent sense of direction which has helped. Along with the many changes in direction were many doors. I know that Lightfoot has found fiery traps before but our progress is made even slower by her incessant poking and feeling every damn one of them & even some of the walls. We spent what seemed like hours traipsing around in a circle finding absolutely nothing. In the end I have resorted to opening doors before she can get to them.
We eventually came across a door with some words carved in it. Maybe they'll let some one who can read know what's behind it. Will it be Longtail ?
10 September, 2006
Curbag's log
We continued the search. Fortunately Lightfoot was checking the doors for traps as flame blursts shot out from one, her nimbleness saving her hide. A trapped door promised something of value on the other side. We found old store rooms for rotting stuffs. I stepped on one bag which produced a stinking cloud into my face. I breathed in some of it which played with my head. The next hours were a blur. Faint memories of flying blood-sucking rats, falling head sucking creatures, green skinned runts and many more rooms could all be a dream, yet my mind cleared to find the wounds of these encounters.
We were in a part of this place affected by earthquakes. Needing rest we chose a room next to a jail for our dorm. Lightfoot tried to take the manacles but cried out; she said she saw the pain of the past prisoners. What is this place we are exploring and where is Longtail. Is it a long lost King's castle? What kind of place has cursed doors & manacles. The rat infestation is not a surprise but what of these other creatures. How have they come to be here, they seem to be long time occupants. The jail entrance had partially collapsed when Oren had opened it so he & I blockaded it with it's door; breaking it in the process. I took first watch while the others took some rest.
Curbag's log
Me and the others found a city, Tharl-Fellen. I went to the market with Lightfoot where I found some great tasting horse meat. There were also some men were looking for groups to search new cracks in the StoneSea mountains. Me and my companions put ourselves forward but they turned us away. Fortunately a magician, called Parademius, enlisted us and we were sent up there to find an evil magician, Longtail. We journeyed to the mountains through his wall where we found an entrance with a dead giant in front. It had nothing we wanted so we entered the crack. Inside was a room where the only exits were black doorways which wouldn't let us back.
Beyond these was a darkened room holding three orcs who had shed their honor. They had been led into this place by Longtail, who was now nowhere to be seen. What ever these pathetic excuse for orcs had faced was no defense for the sad display of self pity and cowardice they showed. I tried to rile them into action but was forced to put them out of their misery; may Kord teach them the error of their ways. It seems Longtail has other orcs with him. I don't know why Parademius sent us after him but I want to know what he's doing here.
07 September, 2006
Character Profile - Curbag
Curbag is a great hulk of a half-orc. An abnormal and short-lived childhood gave him a strange mix of values; a human tolerance of others with a strong sense of orc honour. This combined with his quick feet & slow brain led him to the life of a barbarian. He is short on patience, preferring to act now & consider later, and angered by a lack of respect. A loner by circumstance he has followed where ever gold has beckoned. The acceptance he has found in the company of his current companions is unusal and welcome.
Session 5 Map
The party stopped their eastwards exploration and have started pushing northwards.
A fight with an Ogre named Bragdor nearly spelt disaster, as they seemed powerless to hit the brute for the first few rounds.
The dungeon has revealed parts of its evil past, with some of the rooms bearing the marks of torture.
A sense of foreboding grows.
Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Part 5
Back to normal now! My temporary brain haze has passed, and I am functioning at full capacity. We spent some time exploring the rubble strewn eastern area of the dungeon. We discovered a secret door, when Oren opened this the lintel collapsed, taking the doorway and part of the wall with it. The door lead into what was clearly an ancient torture chamber, full of skeletons in manacles, the walls covered in burn marks, which Isaak assures us are magical in nature.
We moved on to examine some other rooms, then returned to the room where we had discovered the secret door. This room was more or less clear of rubble, and had some sleeping pallets in it, so we thought it would make a good place to rest. I thought it might be useful to have some manacles, so I went into the torture chamber to retrieve some. However, as soon as I touched them I was assailed with horrible visions of what had occurred in this room in the distant past. I shouted out loud in fear, and dropped the manacles, feeling dazed and sickened. I retreated to our makeshift camp and told the others what had happened. Curbag and Oren managed to move the stone door back into the doorway as a barrier (despite breaking it in half in the process) and we passed another nervous night in this strange place.
In the morning we realised we were running out of food and water. Quercus was able to create water (thanks and praise to Pelor etc.) to fill our waterskins, and he has some extra food which I hope he will share with us! However, the food situation does not look good. We had not planned to spend so long in this dungeon.
We decided to finish exploring to the north and west. We found a series of three rooms, all with a pillar in each corner. In the first room the pillars had a channel cut into them, and fresh water flowed down it! It seems our water problem is solved, as long as we remain in this part of the dungeon. When Oren entered the room to explore further he was attacked by an ogre who had been hiding behind a pillar. In the fight that ensued Oren and Curbag were badly injured by the ogre's mighty club, but finally we beat him back. I lost another 3 bolts in the fight, I have no idea where I am going to get any more. The ogre, who identified himself as Brandor, begged us to spare him, but there was no pity to be had from the raging Curbag, and the ogre fell under a blow from his great sword. It's shame we weren't able to question him, but at least we are all alive!
The other two pillar rooms were most strange. The middle one had no function that we could derive, but the end one was shrouded in magical silence. I postulated that perhaps these rooms had some religious function, the first for ablution, the last for silent prayer. But what of the middle room? Isaak detected that there was some sort of illusion magic in this room. We all tried concentrating on a particular scene or desire, and eventually Quercus was able to summon the image of a woodland glen. This was most welcome after 2 days underground, but it soon faded, leaving us back in the dark gloom of the underworld.
Moving on we explored further to the north. We found a room with more manacles on the walls (which I studiously avoided!) and a throne in the middle. On examining the throne I found 2 red jewels set in the back of it. I prised these out with my dagger, and we had a fine addition to our growing treasure hoard.
We then entered a section of the dungeon filled with narrow corridors, all twisting and turning, some leading nowhere. There are doors all over the place, leading to more corridors. We seem to be in some sort of maze, let us hope there is not something nasty waiting at the end of it...
06 September, 2006
Character Profile - Rosia
Rosia is a cheeky halfling lass who specialises in removing obstacles such as locks and traps. She occasionally removes other obstacles such as guards, but prefers to avoid such nastiness if possible. If she has to resort to violence she will attack from a distance and then melt away into the night. She is quite picky about her clients and will only accept jobs where the victim is wealthy and preferably not very nice. At the moment she is acting in a "freelance" capacity and supplements her income with occasional forays into the adventuring world. She has strong views about personal freedom, and resents being told what to do by authority figures. She prefers the opportunities that the city offers to the delights of the great outdoors. Rosia is fascinated with all mechanical devices, especially miniature ones, although she prefers taking them apart to making them. She also likes magical items and alchemy, although she lacks the magical ability to make her own items. She usually has a few alchemical surprises up her sleeves.
31 August, 2006
Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Part 4
I seem to be suffering from some sort of brain malady, as I cannot remember much about the last few hours. I recall some more traps, and I think I even managed to disarm one without getting myself hurt in any way, I must be improving! Let's hope this forgetfulness is not permanent...
30 August, 2006
29 August, 2006
23 August, 2006
Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Part 3
We decided to finish off exploring some of the other eastern rooms. Oren found another secret door, his stone cunning is amazing, and we explored to the east. We found some rooms filled with rubble, the ceilings looked very unsafe. In one room discovered a bed under the rubble which had a false leg, stuffed with pieces of jade. If we ever get out of here we will be rich! In another room we found a censor, which Quercus destroyed as it was offensive to Pelor. An archway led from here into a further room. I searched the arch and found a magical trap. I was not able to disarm it, but Isaak detected that the magic would cause an illusion, so I ran through, hoping for the best. A spray of scintillating colours struck me and I was knocked unconscious. I'm not doing too well with traps in this accursed place. Quercus was able to walk through, apparently protected by Pelor, although I have my doubts... Anyway, there was nothing in the room, so it was all a waste of time.
We continued exploring, and we found a large room filled with rubble. Oren entered, but was immediately attacked by sling stones. The room was filled with kobolds, and some other creatures. It was quite dark, and it was hard to see what was going on. One of the creatures could do magic and trapped Oren and myself in some magical web, then burnt us with fire. After a short battle it became clear that despite Curbag's rage we could not win. The creatures offered us the chance to leave, and we took it, feeling humiliated. Still, we can always come back when we are better prepared. They won't find us so easy to beat then!
16 August, 2006
Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Part 2
We explored the doorways to the east and found signs of a battle. There was also a stinking room with a privvy and a dead orc in it. We left that room quickly, via an exit to the north. Here we were attacked by a strange creature that came down from the ceiling and filled the room with magical darkness. Even the glowing balls of Parademius could not light the way! Oren and Curbag killed the creature with little difficulty, and we continued on north, where we we attacked by a swarm of rats. The sorceror Isaak worked some magic and sent them all to sleep, and we killed them with ease as they slumbered.
We carried on to the north and found a room were we were attacked by some flying creatures, like large bats, but with pointed noses which they tried to use to pierce us and suck our blood! Curbag and Oren were in the thick of things again, and Curbag was grappled by one of these vampyric creatures and lost some of his vital fluid... Quercus and Isaak used their spears to aid the combat, and I retired to a safe distance to pick them off with my crossbow. Unfortunately 2 more of the things attacked and one of them flew over to me. I was forced to drop my crossbow and draw my sword to beat off the creature. Eventually we slew them all, and decided to go back and rest in one of the southerly rooms. Quercus used his divine magic to heal us all, and then we rested here before going on, keeping the doors shut and one of us always on watch.
09 August, 2006
Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Part 1
We journeyed to Tharl-Fellen and were employed by the wizard Parademius to go into the caverns under the StoneSea mountains to seek out the evil magician Longtail. Parademius gave us very little information, but he did give us three glowing balls to light our way. When we arrived at the entrance to the caverns we found the long dead body of a giant man, possibly a Titan. There was nothing of interest on his body, apart from some notes about his brother who had gone on before him. Perhaps we'll meet him one day?
Entering through a crack in the ground, caused by the recent earthquakes, we found a room with two doors. Each door had a field of some type of magical darkness behind it, maybe the work of Longtail? We discovered that what went through could not come back. We went in anyway, but now we are trapped in the dungeon!
Behind the doors was another room, with 3 sorry-looking orcs in it. We questioned them, but they were too full of despair to give us much information. Apparently they had been wandering these strange halls for ages. Curbag was so disgusted with the orcs for giving up that he provoked them into a fight, and we were forced to slay them all. I took no part in this pitiless massacre, and went to explore the rest of the room.
There were 4 doors in the room, 2 to the north and 2 to the east. I checked the northern doors for traps and managed to set off some sort of fire spell. Most of it missed me, but I was burnt on my arm. We went north, one door had an empty room behind it, the other had a room filled with moldy sacks and stuff. Curbag managed to get covered in a cloud of spores, but I think he's ok. We continued north, past rotten barrels and then east to a junction. It look suspicious so I moved forwards to check for traps, but in doing so set one off. A jet of acid came at me, I jumped clear but was burnt on my legs. I tried to locate the mechanism for setting off the trap, but only succeeded in setting it off again...
We decided to go back, and in doing so Oren noticed a secret door in the moldy store room. We found a non-moldy store room, full of tools. A door to the north led to the area with the acid trap. We took some tools (hammers and chisels to jam doors with) and then spent the night in the relative safety of this secret room.
