25 July, 2007

Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Parts 22 to 26
(Partial Reconstruction)

(Note to reader: Ratto got into my backpack whilst I was sleeping and tried to make a nest out of my journal. He has eaten much of the material from recent entries. I have pasted together the surviving bits, but what remains is only a partial reconstruction at best. I have forgiven Ratto as he has made himself very useful of late, as you shall see.)


...Bugbears speak of resurrection chamber in the section to the north of here. We hope we might use this to bring back Curbag...

...left Curbag in the safe room and explored further. After some debate we decided to check out the exit to the north first, before entering the eastern area of this section...

...found Bartleby's body! The treacherous halfling had met his doom when opening the northern exit. He manged to unlock the door, but set off a trap. Well, we've all done that, haven't we? Looted his body and found some Masterwork Lock picks, hurrah! In death Bartleby has proved very useful to me, although I think Ran was disappointed that he couldn't exact revenge upon him...

...tried out my new tools, but my first attempt was not very promising. We found a room with a simple mechanical trap in it. A bag full of treasure, and a cage that dropped down if you set off the trap. I thought it would be easy to disarm, but I couldn't quite get used to the new tools, and I set it off. I was outside the cage, but a cloud of green dust fell down on me, infecting me with Ungal spores. The damage was not too bad, so I tried again. Alas! I made an even worse job, and now I am bright green and covered with horrible lumps...

...we ventured east, into the room marked "Death" on our bugbear map. As we entered the circular room, a portcullis dropped down behind us, cutting off our line of retreat. We had already found a lever to open this gate, but it was in a room on the other side of it, of course. I have drawn a map, below, marking the portcullis, and a red cross where the lever was located:


(Note to reader: the corner of this map is now inside Ratto.)

...the foul creatures attacked us from the small rooms. Quercus cried out that they were undead, he called on the might of Pelor to repel them, but this room feels evil. The unhallowed power of it seems to boost these abominations. We found out later that there were ghouls amongst them. As I moved into the room, clambering over the bones of those fallen before us, I was struck by one of them and I fell to the floor, paralysed...

...some of them were fallen paladins, worshippers of the goddess Maroon. Other creatures attacked us too, singing some incantation that dulled the senses and fascinated the mind. I fell prey to this, but as I was also paralysed it didn't make a great deal of difference to me...

...Oren stood there, unable to react, as the creature drew nearer. Ratto jumped down from Isaak's shoulder and ran across the bone-strewn floor and up Oren's trouser leg. A sudden look of surprise appeared on Oren's face. Whatever Ratto had done inside Oren's trousers, it had woken him from his reverie, and he joined in the combat once more...

...I threw the phial of holy water and it shattered over the ghoul's head. Steam rose from its skin and it howled in pain as the putrid flesh blistered...

...at last we defeated the creatures, but their bodies began to re-form, brought back to undeath by the unholy power of this aptly-named room of death. We dragged them out to the corridor and burnt the corpses, but would even this be enough? We explored the small rooms connected to this large chamber, we found some magical weapons, but they were tainted with the foulness of this place, so we left them alone...

...more creatures attacked us! Is there no end to them? Isaak ran to the south, before I could check the passage was safe. We heard a scream and a thud: a trapdoor had opened beneath him and he fell some 30 feet, and now he was unable to get out...

...we left the room, finally, and explored to the east. However, we fell to bickering again, and the party split in two. The others went back to the chamber of death via the south exit, whilst Oren and I explored further...

...a terrible monstrosity came blundering out at us. A gang of undead bugbears, chained together in an infernal phalanx, weapons welded to their very flesh. The sight and smell of them struck fear into our hearts, and even brave Oren fled, running north as I ran south....

...The rest of the party were attacked again in the death room, as the shades of the paladins began to reform. Oren and I made our way back by separate routes, followed by the hideous bugbear chain gang. We managed to trick the zombie bugbears into walking over the trap that Isaak had fallen into, they fell and I closed the trap door, sealing them in...

...we fled to the east, whilst Ran's wolves held back the undead horrors. A fallen paladin was blocking our retreat, and he used the lever to drop the portcullis again, blocking the escape of Oren and Quercus. As Ran transformed himself into a leopard and attacked the evil creature, I tumbled past him into the room with the lever and pulled on it to open the gate...

...whilst we rested, another tremor hit the dungeon, larger than the ones before. We returned to the room of death, only to find that the eastern section of the dungeon had collapsed into the chasm that underlies this cursed place. Now we have no choice, we must leave this section via the northern exit...

...we retrieved Curbag's body, as we have no idea if we will be able to come back to this section of the dungeon. We went through the northern exit, now open thanks to Bartleby (a curse on him!) and found ourselves in a room with two doors to the north. These doors were not normal portals, but seemed to be some sort of magical gateway. We also found a small room with some books in, all in the celestial language. From these we learned that the gateways are attuned to the spiritual energies of the celestial warders who ran this place centuries ago. Anyone stepping through them who was not of their philosophical persuasion would find themselves transported to a random location within this part of the dungeon.

We also learned that there is some sort of "null field" over this place, designed to stop the demons imprisoned here from escaping. Apparently it was weakening even when these books were written, hundreds of years ago. We deduced that by now the outlying areas of the dungeon, where we are now, would be all but free of its influence, but as we travel further north and east, the power of the field will increase...

...I tried to discover a way of removing this ring that forces me to tell the truth, but apparently the place to do this lies to the east, beyond the new chasm. Great...

...we joined hands and stepped through the warp gate. Blinding, flashing lights assailed our eyes, and terrible screams rang out. We tumbled through a vortex of colours and sounds, and a great nausea arose within me. Not just a physical sickness, but something spiritual as well, as if my soul was rotting away. I tried to maintain a grip on reality, but a red mist settled over my eyes and I felt my sanity slipping away...

...when I awoke Oren was talking to Ran, who sat in a corner, shivering. I felt a great pain in my head, and confused memories came slowly back to me. I had attacked Oren! In my madness I thought he was trying to prevent me from escaping, and I struck out at him in rage. Fortunately he was more than a match for me, and he rendered me unconscious with ease. I begged his forgiveness, and he shrugged in that Dwarvish way of his which meant all was well between us.

As I look around I saw that the others had fared even worse than I. Quercus was in some sort of trance and stood motionless, staring into space. Ran was afflicted with a great fear, and he and Dusty cowered in a corner, shying away from Oren's attempts to comfort them. But worst of all was poor Isaak and Ratto, both of whom were lying on the floor, unmoving and cold. It seemed that more of our comrades had fallen, all because of that cursed warp gate...

...Isaak and Ratto were not dead! Just in a deep coma. However, when Isaak awoke, we found that he had lost his sight. Fortunately for us, the others had also recovered, and Quercus was able to petition Pelor for an intervention, and Isaak's sight was restored...

...as we explored this room, we realised with horror that all the exits from it were more warp gates. How could we survive another passage through one of these nightmare portals? Of us all, only Oren had passed through unscathed. It seems he has something in common with the celestial beings who created this place...

...so Ran called upon the power of nature to reshape the very stone of the walls. He fashioned a narrow tunnel through the rock, heading directly south from this junction room. It took him three days of prayer and meditation to summon the energy to complete the task. While he prayed, the rest of us waited, and ate the food and water that Quercus created for us. Quercus also attended to Curbag's body, and prayed over it to guide Curbag's soul back to us. As I rested the green hue vanished from my face, and my natural good looks returned. Ran finished the process off with a healing spell, and I am now back to normal...

...Ran entered the tunnel and went to the very end. What he saw made his eyes bulge. Our tunnel had emerged into a cyclopean room, and the inhabitant therein was a giant minotaur! The room's occupant was not pleased at having a hole drilled into his bedroom wall, and proceeded to bellow a challenge down the tunnel. Ran summoned a bear into the room with the minotaur, which only enraged him further. The bull-headed creature made short work of the bear, which vanished back to whatever forest glade it had been conjured from. Ran retreated down the tunnel to consult with the rest of us...

...as I neared the end of the tunnel, I could see that more minotaurs had entered the room. An aged minotaur woman was chanting and casting bones, obviously getting ready to cast a spell of some sort. With some trepidation, I called out to her...

...told me her name was Graakk. She seemed amused by me, perhaps finding me too small to be threatening. Apparently the minotaur whose room we had invaded is the son of the chief of the tribe, and is famous for his bad temper. She agreed to talk to him on our behalf, but suggested that we offer a tribute to him, in the form of gold and/or jewels, in order to assuage his bad mood...

...we talked with Graakk, and she told us her tribe was called the Broken Axe. Apparently they used to be called the Golden Axe tribe, but they had split into two factions. The other faction was now called the Red Horn, and they controlled the area to the east.

We asked her about the place of Resurrection which the bugbears had mentioned. She told us that such a place existed, but that we would find it hard to get to. She is a tricky customer! We struck a bargain with her: she would have Curbag's body taken to the chamber and brought back to life, but in return we would travel to the south and east, passing the area controlled by the Red Horn, and return with a manticore corpse. Apparently she needs this for components to cast her spells. We agreed to this bargain, and Curbag's body was taken away by the minotaurs...

...Curbag is back! He returned, alive again, accompanied by the minotaurs. He seems none the worse for having died. This chamber of rebirth must be a truly remarkable place. It is a shame we do not have access to it ourselves...

...we said goodbye to Graakk and left, heading south and east where we could. We passed through several rooms guarded by minotaurs of the Broken Axe tribe, but we showed them the symbol that Graakk had given us and they let us go, only asking for some small tribute. Usually a piece of jewellery was sufficient, as they seem to enjoy adorning their bodies with gold and gems...

...we found a series of prison cells, all locked and empty, or so it seemed at first. When we reached the final cell, we heard a voice call out, and through the bars in the cell door we saw a ragged, dirty elf. He told us his name was Grouki, and he repeatedly cried out "I am not an elf!" I think his mind is broken. I set to work with my lock picks...

...suddenly we heard a flapping sound, and a low, throaty rumble. From down the corridor a strange creature appeared. It had the body of a lion and the head of a woman. Giant feathered wings spread out from its back. The corridor was wide and high, and it had no trouble flying towards us. "Who has freed my prisoner?" She shouted at us. Isaak told us later she was a magical creature called a sphinx...

...negotiations broke down. Ran lost his temper and told the sphinx that the best offer she was going to get was that we would agree not to kill her if she let us all go. Amazingly, the sphinx seemed to back down! She flapped off down the corridor with a low growl...

...Grouki came with us, but before he left his cell he searched through the straw and came out clutching some large and shiny. He hid it under is tattered clothing, but I'm sure it was a large diamond! I think it would be best if someone else looked after this for him, as he may lose it in a moment of madness...

...ucking sphinx! Turns out she had not backed down, she was just waiting to ambush us. As we explored further, forgetting all about the sphinx, we came across a door. I checked it for traps, but I missed something. As the door opened a wave of energy spread out over the party and we all fell to the floor in a magical slumber. The only one unaffected was Quercus, as elves do not sleep the way we do. Poor Quercus was left to face the sphinx alone, as it was she who had put the charm on the door, and she was waiting behind it...

...so we woke up in the cells, stripped of all our gear. (Quercus was the only exception. I think the sphinx was too afraid to risk a confrontation with a non-sleeping foe.) I didn't even have a bent pin with which to attempt opening the lock. In future I will be sure to secrete a few tools around my person...

...the sphinx freed us, but at the cost of all our possessions! We thought this was a pretty poor bargain, so we all vowed to track her down and confront her, even if it meant attacking her with our bare hands. Quercus had handed out some of his weapons to the others, and he lent me a fish hook which I could use as a make-shift tool. Ratto (being small enough to fit through the bars of the cell door) had been out scouting, and he had located the sphinx's lair using his keen sense of smell. He scurried back to Isaak, and was able to guide us in the right direction...

...we entered a room with a large circular pillar in the middle. Doors went off in all directions, and the pillar had numerous holes in it. We instantly assumed the room was trapped, and sure enough, I was able to locate pressure pads on the floor in front of each door:


X marks where the sphinx attacked us from. Ran, Dusty and I had jumped over the pressure pad to the north. Oren and Curbag were in the main part of the room, and Isaak and Quercus were outside the room to the west...

...The Sphinx jumped onto another pressure pad in the corridor, deliberately setting off the trap. The doors slammed shut, trapping Oren and Curbag inside the room, and the rest of us outside, although in different corridors. We could hear the sound of water, and we found out later that it was gushing out of the holes in the pillar...

...the door was smashed down, freeing Curbag and Oren just in time, but Ran and I were still trapped in the other corridor with the sphinx. Ran summoned a host of flying creatures, and they sorely tested the sphinx, but still it came at us! Then Ratto appeared, carrying something in his mouth. It was the pearl we had found, the one that was supposed to be a powerful weapon. I took it from Ratto and loaded it into my sling and fired it at the sphinx. There was a mighty explosion and the sphinx fell to the ground...

...many of our decent possessions and treasures had gone, but I did retrieve my weapons and armour and my magic goggles. We also found a store of valuable magical components, such as diamond dust and mercury. We have kept some of these for ourselves, but we decided to take some back to the minotaurs for trading. This will also give us time to rest...

...as the others caroused with the minotaurs, I slipped away to the only quiet place I could find: the toilet. I finally had time to use the components I had traded from Graakk. I caught a rat that was lurking around, and bound myself to it, as Isaak had shown me. I have called him Rolaand, and he shall be my constant companion...

...rested and fed, we left the minotaurs again, to explore further...

...as we tried to open the southern door, the other doors slammed shut, and the walls began to move slowly in. My mind flew back to the room that Curbag and I had been trapped in before, where we had only just survived being crushed. Would we be so lucky this time? Ran used his nature-magic to raise stone wedges on the floor which slowed down one wall, buying us some precious time. I succeeded in opening the southern door only to find a solid wall behind it. We had been tricked...

...barely able to move. In desperation I went through my pack, and I found the answer! A potion, designed to transform the drinker into a cloud of gas. I drank it quickly, and felt my material form dissolve, and I drifted through the cracks in the wall, and under the western door, out into the corridor. My body reformed and I searched frantically for the mechanism to reset the trap. With only moments to spare, I located it, and the mighty stone walls began to recede, as the doors unlocked themselves...

...the room was full of harpies! They sang to us, and those who fell under their spell were held motionless, unable to flee or defend themselves. We were badly hurt, and poor Grouki fell to them. Perhaps now he will find some peace...

...we fled the harpy cavern to regroup. The way ahead lies through their lair. What shall we do: attack again, sneak through, or find another way?