Aella shook the brain jellies from her head and looked around, "What's going on? Where are we?"
Baylore filled her in, "We're in the cellar beneath the ruins of the abbey. All those dead guys over there were monks and acolytes."
Brenna interjected, "Turned out they were not only corrupt, they were worshiping some elder elemental being called 'Olhydra'. Torture and human sacrifice and other nasty stuff. We captured these two."
Aella nodded, "Got it. What's next?"
Brenna pointed to the meditation room. The tapestries on the wall had been drawn aside to reveal a concealed door. "We think that's the entrance to the secret dungeon. We're going in there next."
Baylore addressed Lemundo the Lovely, "Lemundo, stay out here with 'Beep Boop' and guard these two prisoners.
Lemundo nodded her assent.
The team readied their weapons and opened the door.
A short tunnel widened into an unfurnished and undecorated thirty-foot-square chamber. Standing next to one another in the center of the room were two enormous skeletal guardians with massive bull skulls atop decaying shoulders. Each guardian bore a massive, rusted axe. Despite their age, the skeletons were dripping wet and covered in a glowing green slime or mold.
Five corpse-like figures were arranged shoulder to shoulder along the eastern wall. Each of the corpses appeared to have drowned in agony.
The massive skeletal minotaurs shambled to a defensive position and hefted their axes to attack the intruders.
CHAPTER 27
"THE WINDING WAY"
The B-Team:- Baylore - Neutral Human Pirate and Pugilist (Monk).
- Brenna Whalersdottir - Chaotic Good Human Sailor and Divine Soul Sorceress, long-lost daughter of Whaler.
- Bordar Graniteshaper - Lawful Good Dwarven Bearer of Grudges (Barbarian), on a quest to rescue the son of the leader of his clan.
- Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf Outlander and Storm Sorceress from Ket.
Brain Jellies:
- Alot Aname - Neutral Good Warforged Fighter, ancient sentinel of a wizard's fortress, spent several decades deactivated underwater.
Guardians of the Winding Way
The two skeletal minotaurs took position to either side of the entrance. Baylore and Bordar charged forward and engaged in combat while Brenna and Aella targeted the skeletons from the hallway with their spells.
A dark spectral form emerged from one of the bodies on the wall. It was black and humanoid but with an indistinct face and glowing eyes. It strode forth and glared at Bordar. Bordar shrunk under the withering stare of the creature. Brenna shouted, "Be careful! It's a bodak! They can stare you to death!"
The bodak directed its gaze towards Brenna. This allowed Baylore and Bordar to concentrate attacks on the dark creature. Though the bodak was a formidable opponent, it eventually fell to their attacks.
Upon the defeat of the bodak, Brenna got the attention of Aella. Brenna held up the medallion she had taken from the body of Ozymandias. Brenna asked Aella if the medallion looked familiar and what it might mean.
Suddenly the skeletal minotaurs stood at attention and held their weapons at rest.
Brenna noticed this but was confused by the strange behavior.
Bordar rushed into the room and engaged the minotaurs. The skeletal guardians resumed their threatening posture and re-engaged in battle.
As soon as the minotaur skeletons were reduced to piles of inanimate bone there arose another threat. Spectral ghosts emerged from the bodies along the wall and flew around the room. One reached its ghostly hand into Bordar's body and he felt the life force within him begin to drain. He retreated quickly and avoided the worst of the effects.
Brenna stood forward, "Hold on! I have an idea!" She brandished the medallion engraved with geometric symbols, "Back! Return to your posts!"
The ghosts stopped their attack and dutifully returned to their positions within the human remains embedded in the east wall.
"Hey! It worked!"
The party opened the door on the east wall and exited the room.
DM Note-
The medallion is not a holy symbol and it doesn't control the undead guardians of the Winding Way. It only "deactivates" them to allow safe passage. It wasn't even Brenna's turn but I heard Brenna's player ask Aella's player about the medallion. It was Bordar's turn so I interrupted and said, "They stand at attention and hold their weapons at rest. What do you do?" Brenna's player barely noticed and Bordar's player just kept attacking without caring - which reset the minotaur.
I didn't want to give away the secret. I couldn't ask, "[Brenna's player], are you still holding the medallion?" because that would have been too obvious. So I asked, "[Brenna's player], what are you doing with your hands right now?" and Brenna's player answered, "I dunno. Casting a spell?" while waving his hands around. So I took that to mean Brenna put the medallion away in a pocket. So the specters attacked. Only later did Brenna's player catch on to what was happening.
A dark spectral form emerged from one of the bodies on the wall. It was black and humanoid but with an indistinct face and glowing eyes. It strode forth and glared at Bordar. Bordar shrunk under the withering stare of the creature. Brenna shouted, "Be careful! It's a bodak! They can stare you to death!"
The bodak directed its gaze towards Brenna. This allowed Baylore and Bordar to concentrate attacks on the dark creature. Though the bodak was a formidable opponent, it eventually fell to their attacks.
Upon the defeat of the bodak, Brenna got the attention of Aella. Brenna held up the medallion she had taken from the body of Ozymandias. Brenna asked Aella if the medallion looked familiar and what it might mean.
Suddenly the skeletal minotaurs stood at attention and held their weapons at rest.
Brenna noticed this but was confused by the strange behavior.
Bordar rushed into the room and engaged the minotaurs. The skeletal guardians resumed their threatening posture and re-engaged in battle.
As soon as the minotaur skeletons were reduced to piles of inanimate bone there arose another threat. Spectral ghosts emerged from the bodies along the wall and flew around the room. One reached its ghostly hand into Bordar's body and he felt the life force within him begin to drain. He retreated quickly and avoided the worst of the effects.
Brenna stood forward, "Hold on! I have an idea!" She brandished the medallion engraved with geometric symbols, "Back! Return to your posts!"
The ghosts stopped their attack and dutifully returned to their positions within the human remains embedded in the east wall.
"Hey! It worked!"
The party opened the door on the east wall and exited the room.
DM Note-
The medallion is not a holy symbol and it doesn't control the undead guardians of the Winding Way. It only "deactivates" them to allow safe passage. It wasn't even Brenna's turn but I heard Brenna's player ask Aella's player about the medallion. It was Bordar's turn so I interrupted and said, "They stand at attention and hold their weapons at rest. What do you do?" Brenna's player barely noticed and Bordar's player just kept attacking without caring - which reset the minotaur.
I didn't want to give away the secret. I couldn't ask, "[Brenna's player], are you still holding the medallion?" because that would have been too obvious. So I asked, "[Brenna's player], what are you doing with your hands right now?" and Brenna's player answered, "I dunno. Casting a spell?" while waving his hands around. So I took that to mean Brenna put the medallion away in a pocket. So the specters attacked. Only later did Brenna's player catch on to what was happening.
The corridor beyond presented a pair of intersections- a four-way junction followed by a T-junction.
Bordar confidently led the way. At the first four-way intersection he chose left and strode headlong towards a left turn.
Baylore became worried that the dwarf was perhaps a little too incautious. "Bordar, you should slow down and watch where you're going?"
Bordar looked over his shoulder, "What?"
At that the floor beneath his feet disappeared and revealed a dark pit. Bordar plunged into the pit and landed ten feet below with a wet smack. The smell of burning acid and wafts of smoke began to rise from the pit. Bordar was out cold and lying in about two feet of caustic acid!
The B-Team sprang into action! Baylore cursed and removed his pack. He took out a length of rope. Brenna grabbed the rope and tied it around her waist. Aella ran forth and kicked Brenna hard, sending Brenna into the pit! Baylore held the rope fast to stop her fall.
Brenna lurched to a stop just above the unconscious Bordar. She reached out a touched Bordar. A spell of healing brought Bordar back to consciousness. His eyes became wide and he screamed in pain and terror - he was still half-submerged in acid! He grabbed Brenna and, with a stomp to activate his magical boots of striding and springing, he leaped out of the pit, Brenna in hand!
He landed beside the pit and did his best to wipe the acid off his body using whatever shirts and bits of cloth were handy. Bordar's eyes were wild. He was shaken to his core. "That was horrible! I am in a great deal of pain!"
Baylore said, "You nearly died. Lets retreat so you can rest and clean yourself off."
The team retreated back to the cellar, holding the medallion aloft to keep the specters at bay. They rested for an hour and caught their breath.
DM Note-
Well THAT was exciting!
Bordar has a passive Perception of nine. NINE! He walked right into the pit. The fall was 1d10 damage. Bordar took it in stride. The acid however was 4d10 damage. I rolled 10, 10, 10, and 1. I gulped. Brenna's player saw the roll and winced. I told Bordar's player 31 damage.
He said "I'm out!"
Baylore's player said "That is very very bad!"
Bordar's player asked why.
Baylore explained, "Whenever you take damage when you are dying, you automatically fail two death saving throws."
Close. The rule is on page 197 of the PHB and says the following:
Damage at 0 Hit Points. If you take any damage while you have 0 hit points, you suffer a death saving throw failure. If the damage is from a critical hit, you suffer two failures instead. If the damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum, you suffer instant death.He was thinking of the times he got hit by an attack while at 0 hit points, which is an automatic critical and thus does two death saves in damage. Damage from an acid is not a critical hit. Its just damage.
In any case, the players worked out a plan. Baylore used his action to retrieve rope from his pack. I allowed Brenna to take the rope and tie it around herself in place of her movement. She prepared a healing spell action in case she became adjacent to Bordar. Finally, Aella kicked Brenna, shoving her into the pit. I had Baylore make a Strength saving throw vs 10 to hold onto the rope and Brenna made a Dexterity saving throw vs 10 to execute the maneuver. She healed Bordar for 8 hit points. Bordar stood up, grabbed Brenna, and used his magic boots to jump out.
Great teamwork all around!
However, everyone was low on HP so they decided to take a short rest, spend some Hit Dice, and recharge some Sorcerer spell slots.
Return to the Corridors
After an hour or two of rest the B-Team returned to the secret passages. Brenna held the medallion aloft as they easily bypassed the spectral guardians. This time Baylore took the advance position. Baylore moved slowly, cautiously, checking the floor and walls inch by inch. He found a two-foot wide path around the sides of the acid pit. At the end of the corridor was a door.
Aella said, "Wait, that can't be right! We just looped around. That door should open onto the corridor leading to the minotaur room!"
Baylore shrugged. He checked the door. It opened outward. He found a wire on the door that connected to the ceiling.
"Its trapped." he announced.
"Can you disarm it?" inquired Brenna.
"Nope! Not in my skillset."
He tied some string around the door handle and the team backed away. He pulled the door open and a massive stone pillar in the ceiling slammed down right where one would stand if they were opening the door. Beyond the door was a blank wall.
"Okay, that makes sense." said Aella.
DM Note-
Aella's player is an architect in real life so she's usually the group mapper. Plus she's good at it. She was very confused that the door didn't line up. At first I thought she had misunderstood my descriptions and mapped it incorrectly. I looked at her map and assured her, "Nope. You are one hundred percent accurate so far."
The corridor was a dead end.
They retreated to the four-way intersection. Before they could advance, Baylore spotted a thin metal wire strung tightly between the walls at just about thigh height for an adult human. Low enough to make it awkward to crawl under and high enough to make stepping over it difficult. Just ten feet beyond the tripwire was another four-way intersection.
Baylore said, "Lets go around."
"Why? Why don't we cut it?" demanded Bordar.
Baylore stood back, "Cutting it will activate whatever its supposed to trigger. So go ahead, be my guest. Just let us back away."
Bordar considered this, "Good point. Lets go around."
They continued down the main corridor and took a left at the T-junction. That corridor connected with another T-junction but another tripwire brought them to a stop. They backed up and took the other corridor. It turned right with two doors located in the corner.
Baylore could find no tripwires or traps so he opened the door.
A ballista located just behind the door shot a heavy black iron bolt the size of a small spear. It struck the wall behind Baylore with a loud "Cthunk!" and wobbled.
"Okay then," said Baylore , impressed. He opened the second door.
It, too, shot a heavy black bolt from an automated ballista. It struck Baylore in the shoulder. He staggered back from the impact.
"Ugh! Didn't expect there to be two!"
Brenna helped remove the bolt and applied dressing and a medicinal patch to the wound.
The corridor to the right connected to the second four-way intersection they saw beyond the tripwire. They advanced and took the corridor to the left.
The Curse of the Jade Vampire
The short corridor opened into the corner of a room forty feet square. Another exit lie in the near corner to the left. In the center of the room was a large jade statue of a beautiful elven woman. The statue was exquisite.
All around the room were open chests overflowing with gold coins and various gemstones. A large metal strongbox was locked closed on the far side of the room.
Baylore and Brenna looked at one another and simultaneously said the word, "Mimic."
Brenna took out her crossbow and loosed a bolt into one of the open chests. Nothing happened.
The party loitered in the entry while Brenna and Baylore considered the next move. Bordar strode right up to the nearest open chest, "Fine, I'LL trigger the mimic!" He began hacking away at the chest and the gold with his axes. Gold coins went flying and the chest was reduced to splinters. To everyone's surprise, the axes sundered several gold coins.
Bordar picked up a broken coin, "Hey! These aren't gold! These are WOOD!"
At that moment the statue transformed from a beautiful elven maiden into a horrible fanged nightmare. The jade statue stepped off its pedestal and crept near Bordar with its hands raised like rending claws.
All around the room were open chests overflowing with gold coins and various gemstones. A large metal strongbox was locked closed on the far side of the room.
Baylore and Brenna looked at one another and simultaneously said the word, "Mimic."
Brenna took out her crossbow and loosed a bolt into one of the open chests. Nothing happened.
The party loitered in the entry while Brenna and Baylore considered the next move. Bordar strode right up to the nearest open chest, "Fine, I'LL trigger the mimic!" He began hacking away at the chest and the gold with his axes. Gold coins went flying and the chest was reduced to splinters. To everyone's surprise, the axes sundered several gold coins.
Bordar picked up a broken coin, "Hey! These aren't gold! These are WOOD!"
At that moment the statue transformed from a beautiful elven maiden into a horrible fanged nightmare. The jade statue stepped off its pedestal and crept near Bordar with its hands raised like rending claws.
Brenna shouted, "Stand back!" and held aloft the medallion. The jade statue was undeterred. "Wait, what?"
Baylore ran to Bordar's aid. The monstrous jade statue slashed at the pirate pugilist with its claws and bit him on the shoulder with its long snake-like fangs. Baylore gritted his teeth at the pain and felt his muscles begin to tighten. He had been cursed!
Bordar was next to be bitten by the jade vampire. The dwarf stiffened and found it difficult to fight.
The jade vampire took advantage of its opponent's lethargy and continued to slash and bite them. Throughout the onslaught both Bordar and Baylore continued to hack and punch the statue while Brenna and Aella lobbed magical attacks.
Eventually the statue was shattered and the curse was broken - the pair were returned to normal.
The party split up and examined different parts of the room. The chests were indeed all filled with fake wooden slugs painted gold.
Baylore spotted tiny holes placed all around the strongbox, "Its trapped. I'm guessing needles."
"I'll smash it open!" declared Bordar.
"No!" said Baylore , "You'll just set off the traps and fill the room with needles."
Aella said, "I've got an idea." She made everyone stand back twenty feet from the strong box and cast a spell to freeze the lock, hoping the ice would expand and it would break open. The lock froze but it triggered the trap, filling the area with tiny poisoned needles.
"Told you!" said Baylore .
Bordar looked in the strongbox and found nothing but a note that said, "Congratulations, Thief! I hope the effort was worth it!"
Bordar rolled his dwarven eyes.
Meanwhile Baylore found a hidden door behind a tapestry.
The Iron Guardians
The party explored the concealed corridor. It opened into another room forty foot square. The walls, floor, and ceiling of the room were covered in plates of metal. Two iron pillars held up the ceiling in the center of the room. The pillars resembled glowing red coils. The air shimmered from the heat radiated from the metal plates. The room was, for all intents and purposes, the inside of an oven.
Baylore said, "I don't buy it." He moved into the room. The heat and metal plates disappeared and were replaced with to large iron-clad automatons shaped like minotaurs. Each minotaur had an arm that ended in an axe blade and an arm that ended in a heavy hammer head. The iron guardians charged the human pirate.
Brenna rushed into the room to help Baylore . In so doing she became trapped in the corner.
The second guardian moved to block the entrance, trapping Bordar and Aella in the corridor.
Brenna cast an Acid Spash spell. The acid struck the nearer guardian and splashed onto the second. The guardians iron covering began to corrode.
The torso of the nearer guardian began spinning while its legs remained still. The whirling axe-arm and hammer-arm repeatedly slammed into Baylore and Brenna.
Bordar attacked the guardian blocking the corridor while Aella hurled chaos magic at the automaton.
Eventually they were able to destroy the automaton blocking the corridor and Bordar rushed to join the fight in the room. The second iron guardian was soon likewise destroyed.
Upon the defeat of the automatons, the party surveyed the room.
Bordar pointed out, "Where are the prisoners? I thought this was a prison."
The room was filled with chests of gold, stolen bolts of fine cloth, and other treasures. A narrow flat object in the corner was covered by a sheet. Brenna peeked under the sheet and saw a mirror with a decorated border of intricately carved gold.
Brenna said, "I think they're in the mirror."
Bordar incredulously replied, "What?"
"I think this is a magic mirror. It traps souls. There's a password to activate it and another password to release a prisoner."
"What's the password?" demanded Bordar.
Brenna shrugged. She held up the medallion but nothing happened. She started guessing myriad passwords.
"What was the name of the sea god? Hydrox? Hydron? Hail Hydros! Open Hydrox!"
None worked.
DM Note-
The password was "Hail Olhydra" and when Brenna's player got close I was like "C'mon. C'mon. SO CLOSE!" Eventually Brenna's player got frustrated and just started shouting random words. I had to step in and say, "Okay, you're done. Leave it alone."
"We should rest on this." suggested Baylore . "Let's hole up in this room."
Aella beetled her brow, "I know we're low on spells and healing, but we literally just woke up and started our day like three hours ago."
"Have you got some place to go?"
"What about food?"
"We've all got dry tasteless rations."
"And water? We're each brought a gallon of water onto this island and we drank that yesterday."
"Deal with it."
With that, they spent the entire day in the vault studying all the items for magical properties, counting the gold, and resting. They slept on the floor, ate only dry tasteless rations, and went without water.
Eventually they decided to leave the vault.
Baylore said, "We'll interrogate the prisoners in the cellar. They'll know the passwords."
Brenna said, "We should take the mirror with us. Its portable."
Aella suggested, "We should put it in the magical bag of holding!"
Baylore , Brenna, and Bordar looked at Aella in shock and simultaneously cried, "NO! LET'S NOT DO THAT!"
"Why not?"
Brenna explained, "The mirror is an extradimensional prison. The Bag of Holding is an extradimensional space. If you put extradimensional stuff within an extradimensional bag, bad things happen."
"Oh."
The mirror was easily portable and they carried it out of the Winding Way.
Mirror Mirror
When asked about the mirror, Odium said he had no idea it was in the vault. He was sent to audit the ledgers and was only visiting. He knew nothing about the mirror or any passwords. He spitefully pointed out that the only person who MIGHT know the password was Ozymandias and that they killed him.
The young acolyte who had been caught cleaning the meditation room shouted his angry defiance at the infidels. The elemental princess of the oceans will rise up and swallow them. Hail Olhydra!"
Brenna nodded and turned to the mirror, holding up the medallion, which she thought was a holy symbol, and said "Hail Olhydra!"
The mirror flashed, filling the room with light. Brenna, Bordar, Aella, and the others shielded their eyes from the glare.
When the light died down, Baylore was gone!
Baylore was trapped within the mirror!
Baylore said, "I don't buy it." He moved into the room. The heat and metal plates disappeared and were replaced with to large iron-clad automatons shaped like minotaurs. Each minotaur had an arm that ended in an axe blade and an arm that ended in a heavy hammer head. The iron guardians charged the human pirate.
Brenna rushed into the room to help Baylore . In so doing she became trapped in the corner.
The second guardian moved to block the entrance, trapping Bordar and Aella in the corridor.
Brenna cast an Acid Spash spell. The acid struck the nearer guardian and splashed onto the second. The guardians iron covering began to corrode.
The torso of the nearer guardian began spinning while its legs remained still. The whirling axe-arm and hammer-arm repeatedly slammed into Baylore and Brenna.
Bordar attacked the guardian blocking the corridor while Aella hurled chaos magic at the automaton.
Eventually they were able to destroy the automaton blocking the corridor and Bordar rushed to join the fight in the room. The second iron guardian was soon likewise destroyed.
Upon the defeat of the automatons, the party surveyed the room.
Bordar pointed out, "Where are the prisoners? I thought this was a prison."
The room was filled with chests of gold, stolen bolts of fine cloth, and other treasures. A narrow flat object in the corner was covered by a sheet. Brenna peeked under the sheet and saw a mirror with a decorated border of intricately carved gold.
Brenna said, "I think they're in the mirror."
Bordar incredulously replied, "What?"
"I think this is a magic mirror. It traps souls. There's a password to activate it and another password to release a prisoner."
"What's the password?" demanded Bordar.
Brenna shrugged. She held up the medallion but nothing happened. She started guessing myriad passwords.
"What was the name of the sea god? Hydrox? Hydron? Hail Hydros! Open Hydrox!"
None worked.
DM Note-
The password was "Hail Olhydra" and when Brenna's player got close I was like "C'mon. C'mon. SO CLOSE!" Eventually Brenna's player got frustrated and just started shouting random words. I had to step in and say, "Okay, you're done. Leave it alone."
"We should rest on this." suggested Baylore . "Let's hole up in this room."
Aella beetled her brow, "I know we're low on spells and healing, but we literally just woke up and started our day like three hours ago."
"Have you got some place to go?"
"What about food?"
"We've all got dry tasteless rations."
"And water? We're each brought a gallon of water onto this island and we drank that yesterday."
"Deal with it."
With that, they spent the entire day in the vault studying all the items for magical properties, counting the gold, and resting. They slept on the floor, ate only dry tasteless rations, and went without water.
Eventually they decided to leave the vault.
Baylore said, "We'll interrogate the prisoners in the cellar. They'll know the passwords."
Brenna said, "We should take the mirror with us. Its portable."
Aella suggested, "We should put it in the magical bag of holding!"
Baylore , Brenna, and Bordar looked at Aella in shock and simultaneously cried, "NO! LET'S NOT DO THAT!"
"Why not?"
Brenna explained, "The mirror is an extradimensional prison. The Bag of Holding is an extradimensional space. If you put extradimensional stuff within an extradimensional bag, bad things happen."
"Oh."
The mirror was easily portable and they carried it out of the Winding Way.
Mirror Mirror
When asked about the mirror, Odium said he had no idea it was in the vault. He was sent to audit the ledgers and was only visiting. He knew nothing about the mirror or any passwords. He spitefully pointed out that the only person who MIGHT know the password was Ozymandias and that they killed him.
The young acolyte who had been caught cleaning the meditation room shouted his angry defiance at the infidels. The elemental princess of the oceans will rise up and swallow them. Hail Olhydra!"
Brenna nodded and turned to the mirror, holding up the medallion, which she thought was a holy symbol, and said "Hail Olhydra!"
The mirror flashed, filling the room with light. Brenna, Bordar, Aella, and the others shielded their eyes from the glare.
When the light died down, Baylore was gone!
Baylore was trapped within the mirror!
To Be Continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment