In which the party continues to seek evidence to clear their own good name and win the Free City Champion’s Tournament…
Personae Dramatis:
• Coleman (Lee-Human Cleric/Radiant Servant of Pelor)
• Elavil (Nathan-Human Wizard, expert on the Zorn)
• Elias (Ed-Elf Ranger/Bard, party face man)
• Mendravis (-sp?) (Rick-Human Paladin)
• Rendar (Scott-Human Dragon Shaman)
• Sif (Rob-Teifling Rogue)
• Sorra (Jessica-Human Fighter, master of chains)
Our heroes have made a great showing in the first round of the Free City Champion’s Tournament and found there is more than just a gladiatorial competition underway at the Greyhawk Arena…
Elias is feeling better until he hears that net income from the first round winnings totals 262gp…
He feels bad for his friends when he finds out that they gave Tierra a large sum of gold to place bets with the local bookies. Elias forgoes any of these winnings, but accepts Ekaym’ offer of 1200gp of magic item. (He borrows 1300 gp from Rendar and requests a Scarab of Golembane, based upon the report of ‘rogue like statues accompanying Auric’s Warband’.)
The party awakes from their night of dungeon exploring and heads back the underground pool that we know enters into the underground river leading to the Ghast’s room. It takes some time to convince the ‘Inhumans’ to relocate to someplace other than the one pool that leads to the hidden chambers under the arena. Sorra, Rendar and Elias enter the hidden area via the pool using swimming and a rope of climbing. They dispatch the Ghasts in the ante-chamber before the remainder of the party arrives via Elavil’s dimension door.
The party slowly and carefully makes their way up the chimney to the next level, which is where they made it to the evening before. Moving beyond the well/chimney the group finds a small 15’ x 15’ room that looks like a bunk room (and it reeks of decaying flesh). There is a Morhg and three of the Kyuss Super Zombies here, although they go down pretty quickly. No one is infected by the worms, so the party burns the bodies and continues moving.
This area of the underground chambers is all worked stone of some age, but still stable and in good shape. Estimates are 60-100 years old on the stonework. Although the area seems to be well-hidden from accidental discovery, it appears that there is regular traffic in most of the rooms we pass through.
The party finds one 15’ square side chamber dominated by a large ancient (broken) device that Elavil surmises was used to pump huge amounts of water through a pipe. The party opens an access way in the 2’ round pipe, but it is too small for anyone to fit in. Elavil sends in the intrepid unseen servant after detecting an epic level magic source just a little way down the pipe. The party knows they are under the arena, and that the pipe takes a turn up toward the arena; perhaps this pump was used for special effects in the arena?
Proceeding down the corridor, the party finds a room that has a simple altar in the East wall facing a double set of doors in the West wall. A writhing green beam of unnatural light emanates from the scrolls and shoots across the room, bathing the doors in the same unnatural green glow. Elavil casts an unseen servant and directs him to walk through the beam. The party tries breaking the beam with a cloak, which has not effect (the beam continues to shine across the room, ignoring the cloak.) Elias offers to let anyone use his mirror and prism to play with the beam; amidst much foot shuffling and stammering, no one takes him up on his offer. As the party moves to and fro in the room, everyone is careful not to break the beam of light.
The double doors that the green beam strikes open into a 25’ long hallway that ends in an stone filled lattice work depicting an obscene orgy of worm laden bodies topped by a Kyuss skull breathing a scream of triumph. Elias breaks out a small section of the lattice with a magical mace. Using his mirror and dancing lights, the group determines that the ‘egg’ fills the entire circular chamber beyond the lattice, which seems to extend up out of site. We believe we are directly under the arena floor. This information, coupled with the broken water pump, leads us to believe that this used to be a system for flooding the arena (perhaps for mock sea battles). It should be noted that the DM neither confirmed nor denied this hypothesis. Since we can see movement inside the egg, along with a sickening mix of purple and green colors and fluids, the party feels it most likely that this worm will emerge in the arena area.
We find Lahka, our patron’s sister animated as a zombie. She opens the door for a Tiefling Cleric who proceeds to attack the party. The Tiefling Cleric has chainmail, shield, unholy club, periapt, prayer beads, and the Cleric’s unholy symbol.
The clerics room is dominated by a central pillar of segmented marble carved to resemble a green worm…which everyone in the party ignores (although it does not radiate any magic, since we are thoroughly searching the room using detect magic.) The room contains a bed, cupboard, an elongated ornate trunk, and several tapestries depicting green worms. The trunk is made of dark wood, and bound in steel. The side panels are painted in shades of green and black depicting a series of figures infected by green worms. Huge green worms invade the above ground portion of the painting from the cavernous (lower) section of the frieze. Inside the chest we find the items listed below.
• 100 gp
• 3 green gems (100gp)
• 3 aquamarine gems (500gp)
• a potion (cure moderate wounds)
• a scroll (divine: death ward)
• two scrolls (arcane: ethereal jaunt)
• three small bags of dust: transmutation
• 2 blocks of incense of meditation
• 9 blocks of incense
• a wand: radiates conjuration
• a spoon: radiates conjuration
• three vials of oil: oil of gentle repose
It is also determined that the chest has a horrible magical trap on it. The person opening the chest must make a high FORT save, or become part of the frieze decoration. That character will then need to make another FORT save later, or be eaten by the worms in the frieze. Nasty stuff, that. The single door in the corner of the room opens into a short hallway that goes around a corner.
A brazier in the NW corner of the (next) rectangular room fitfully illuminates the room. Behind the curtain is a mosaic composed of tiny green tiles depicting a horrible mass of green worms writhing across the wall. Out of the urn materializes what appears as a demon (Acolyth, a shapeless horror that is used as an agent of the Abyss in regions where most demons would hesitate to venture). The Acolyth erects a wall of ice in the corridor, trapping Sif, Mendravis and Coleman in the chamber with itself. The remainder of the party begins breaking through the wall of ice. Mendravis smites the demon, doing massive damage and causing it to move out of melee with him. Sif scores two critical hits with his bow (yes, two), but realizes the creature cannot be critically injured. In order to make matters worse, it becomes apparent that only Good aligned weapons can cause the creature harm. Sif puts his bow away and turns to the wall of ice, drawing his swords to help hack it down. Coleman casts a gas cloud spell, but the creature is immune to gases. Citing the gas cloud as ‘brilliant’, it cast the same spell. Sif is slowed, but Mendravis and Coleman are unaffected. Coleman and Mendravis manage to finish it off with spells just as the party hacks through the wall of ice. There are two emeralds worth 1000gp each, and the curtain is worth approximately 250gp (one way vision). The party forgets to package up the curtain, but does take the gems.
The secret door near the urn opens into a passage sloping up that is very long. Following the tunnel several hundred feet, Elias finds a secret door approximately 60’ from the end of the corridor. The secret door opens into a basement storage area in Raknian’s basement. Sif makes his way into the basement, as does Elias and Elavil. Elavil detects for magic, but finds none. While Sif listens at the door, Elias obtains several vintages of very nice wine. Elias also finds a pair of uniforms for Raknian’s personal guard…they are just about the right size for the fighters in the party. Elias is the last person out of the basement, and covers tracks. Sif re-closes the secret door as soon as the party is all back in the passageway.
On the way out, the party returns to the side passage near the Kyuss Zombie bunk room and makes its way up the side passage behind the secret door that leads to the magically trapped platform. Sif professionally disarms the magical trap and manages to take only 25 points of damage (after save) from the ‘Slay Living’ trap. The party proceeds through the door into a small storage room filled with wine and vinegar bottles. A door at the top of a set of stairs opens into a hallway which the construction matches the Cenobe area. Rendar disguises himself in one of the Raknian personal guard uniforms (and alters his appearance, as well). He explores a short distance up and down the hallway. He realizes he is in the Administrative area, and he comes back and tells the party. There are many people moving about in the Administrative area, since it is daytime, so the party thinks it best to return after hours.
The party finds their way to the underground pool, and manages to make it back to meet with Ekaym before he leaves. He has the items and supplies the various party members requested. We return Lahka’s body and gently explain that we found her body in a hidden area under the Cenobe. (The party never did attempt to speak with her spirit to garner any further information against Raknian). We also tell him SOME of the information that we found in the hidden catacomb area under the arena. We do not mention the Apstolic Scrolls or the Kyuss Worm incubator. We eat dinner in the common area, talking about tournament type things and then return to the party’s chambers to make plans.
The party rests for the evening in preparation for Day 2 of the tournament…
END OF SESSON
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