Printable Format

Chapter 1: A Darkness Gathering

Turn 30: The Chamber of the Obelisk

While Danton read through the poorly written journal of Geynor Ton, the rest of the party rested and had an early lunch. Finally, after a half-hour of skimming through the sheaf of papers he had found, Danton looked up and got up off the bed where he had been sitting while he read. He handed the papers to Telemachos to examine and then asked Spugnoir to assist him in updating his map of the dungeon to include the parts of the complex the party had not yet visited. When all of the others who could read had skimmed through the areas of the journal that Danton highlighted for them, the Velunese gave his summation of the significance of the text:

“There are multiple things to parse in this journal, and, if you'll forgive the extensive monologue, I shall go through each in turn. I do this both for clarity, and also because Nanoc is not wholly literate and will benefit from the exegesis.

First, we hath learned of an alliance between a ‘Great Church’ (which I presume constitutes the Elemental Eye cultists, and which evidently includes Ton, the late Chatrilon Unosh, and some also dead grand poobah obsequiously entitled ‘Master Thaque’ and ‘foul-smelling, scaly beastmen’ -- the latter of whom we've clearly not met, based upon the ‘scaly’ moniker. A potential third entity is the ‘Masters of All-Consumption,’ although that could be a subset of the Great Church -- 'tis not altogether clear to mine eyes. Another entity, possibly a fourth standalone entity, are the ‘Doomdreamers,’ though, from the context, methinks this group is a subset of another, probably the Great Church, though this is mere speculation on mine part. These cultists worship a being mentioned variously as the ‘Elder Elemental Eye,’ ‘Dark God,’ and ‘Dark Lord.’

Second, we've learned that the cultists are ‘soon’ planning to leave ‘this accursed town’, which, as a working assumption, I presume to be Hommlet. Assuming that I am correct, there is a ‘flourmill’ in the vicinity -- or p'raps in Hommlet itself -- that must be scoured for clues, since Ton was there as some point.

Third, the cult activity in this area -- in particular, in this moathouse -- seemingly concern recovery of a ‘Dark Obelisk,’ which lieth ‘under a pool in a cave.’ The cultists hath drained the pool and found a false bottom and descended therein. This Obelisk is evidently a means by which the cultists can communicate with this Dark God of theirs.

Fourth, the cultist plan is evidently to free their object of worship from its ‘unjust imprisonment,’ which wilt then cause a veritable orgy of destruction. Hmm, I wonder if that wilt finally get these Pelorian and Cuthbertian tom-noddies to do something.... Probably not.

Fifth and finally, Ton must still be in this dungeon -- unless we hath already killed him. His journal indicates that the dragon that worsted us also worsted the cultists, killing one of their grand poobahs, Master Thaque, as well as another chap named ‘Gungash.’ With Ton, it seems, likely are a few other cultists -- Tashi and Festrath -- and more gnolls. And at least some of these cultists are holed up by the Obelisk and some assured monstrosity referred to only as ‘the creature.’

With all this, 'twould seem that we must do the following: 1) Find the dug-out pool; 2) Descend into a further subterranean level; 3) Find this Dark Obelisk; 4) Contend with an unknown number of fanatics, gnolls and an unnamed horror that lieth with this Obelisk; and 5) Obtain knowledge to convey back to the Hommletian clergy to warn them of potential, impending doom -- not that they wilt do anything productive about it, save trying to purchase our services at a pittance to deal with the problem.

Here are mine own thoughts on this ‘crusade’ that we hath stumbled onto. First of all, I never agreed to follow anyone on some damned fool idealistic crusade. I am here for the reward, plain and simple -- and simply only to repair mine journal and letters, at this point. I hath not been hired to crush some violent cult, and what would be the point, anyhow? By mine own counting, there are numerous cults and dark gods in the Flanaess and the Greater Beyond, most of whom wish to engage in orgies of destruction. Stop one, and another reareth its head. Hommlet is the archetype, after all: this marks the third -- third! -- return of some foul cultists to this area, complete with their horrific designs and delusions of grandeur. In short, let the locals deal with their problems and, be assured, more problems wilt arise in short order, anyhow.

Second, this episode now soundeth more dangerous than I hath wagered. And, lest you frown at me further Aseneth, let me add that I am not wholly against taking risks. Mine previous career was fraught with risk, and mine current freebooting is no less so. But I don't risk mine life and liberty for nothing. In mine previous career, I risked it for such foolish concept as patriotism. But such delusions hath frittered away. Now, I risk it for profit ... or I don't risk it at all, at least not when I hath a choice in the matter.

And, we hath no certainty of profit in this venture. None. Sure, we hope to find oodles of cash and gems and jewelry ... to say nothing of the magical trinkets that Aseneth craves. But will we? Who knows? All that seems certain is that we wilt have battle after battle with fanatical thugs, dog-men, and some horror so awful that even that lunatic Ton dare not call it by name.

Third, this bringeth me to the last point, because I realize that every single one of you -- save me alone -- will think it good, just, wise and desirous to plunge ahead. Because the portcullis that I stupidly dropped now blocks mine own escape, because I'd likely get killed in the woods surrounding the moathouse in any event, and, lastly, because I hath grown fond of several of you lunkheads, I shalt stick it out, despite every rational fiber of mine being. So, mine final point is that we cannot have any ‘angels dancing on pinhead’ moments when we find these cultists. That is, we must resolve to capture several alive and then milk them for all that they are worth -- no philosophical conjecturing or fool hand-wringing about whether 'tis good or just or appropriate to force them to talk ... we must merely do it and have done with it.

I now end mine monologue and prepare for the inevitable catcalls about how, ‘high ho, we must vanquish the evildoers’ and ‘gasp, we cannot possibly mistreat any prisoners’ and ‘tsk, tsk, but you Velunese are too jaded and cynical for your own good.’ So, speak your minds. I hath spoken mine.“

As was often the case, Nanoc’s eyes had gradually glazed over as Danton spoke and by the time the Velunese finally fell silent, the barbarian’s head was fairly spinning. “Ohhhhh, there’s that headache again,” he grumbled.

“It is plain to me,” said Luger bluntly, “that we must put an end to this scourge by any means possible. I cannot bring myself to torture prisoners for information, but I will not stand in the way of procuring information in such fashion. When dealing with such vile beings, the ends justify the means. But that is a minor matter at this point. The real issue is that if this obelisk is in fact located in these ruins, we must destroy it and make sure it cannot be unearthed again. All else is secondary.”

“Boy Danton...” said Nanoc after shaking his head several times to clear it. “I could only follow half o' what ya said...with some o' them big words an what not. For what it’s worth, if ya really wanted to run outta here, well I ain't gonna let you wander round the woods by yourself. I s’pose Spugnoir here'd probably like to see his little girl an’ might join us. But I'd hope and I think you do see that Tel an' Aseneth an' Xaod an' Luger here would keep on going, and they'd be short a couple three fellas. You know you can't choose when you die and today is as good as any, so think 'bout it don't do no good. Heck by now I am sure if there is cultists in Hommlet and it sounds like they is, they knows somebody done sold a lot o' stuff that shoulda been wit someone else. I mean I am sure them wagons an' horses is likely to be seen. We know from Luger here that Bar Keep ain't a good person and she knows we was headed this way. So I don't know that Hommlet be any safer, heck that there Chat-rilon fella was from Hommlet.”

“No,” continued Nanoc, “I think we gotta see this through. I thinks there is treasure to be had here. Look at what all we got 'fore we even came down here.
I think the only question is do we head right for where we knows the cultists is hangin' out or do we look at some o' these other places first? Well if'n ya was to ask me, I'd say lets take out the cultists. They looks to be the only org-go-nized group here. We git rid o' them then rest we can take out as we please and rest and camp if we need to to heal. So I think Spugnior ought to take us right ta where those cultists... ex-caved... the place whatever that meant and we oughta have at 'em. By Kord it seems just the thing to do.”

Danton shook his head. “Nanoc, my boy, if all things were equal, I'd leave this dungeon forthwith. Money can be made the whole wide world over, and at less risk. But, fear not, I'm not looking to duck out now, leaving you all in the lurch. Methinks you'd probably do just as well without me, in truth, but mine conscience might plague me if it proved otherwise. I hath enough baggage to carry around without having your deaths on my account. As for where to go, I have no quarrel with finding the cave and Obelisk straightaways. But p'raps we should first simply check this chamber's closets and adjoining quarters that Spugnoir hath pointed out? Should only take a few moments, and, given that these areas are obviously occupied by the cultists, a bit of probing might turn up a useful clue or two. I'll be doubly careful with these closets, hopefully having learnt a thing or two from that last portcullis-trap mechanism!”

”Danton, my friend, take heart!” said Telemachos with a laugh. “We have never had such men under arms as now. You hath secured the healing that we so desperately needed. We have powerful magic at our disposal. And we are united, or so I thought. The promise of reward may be much, much greater than you think. You already hath sold off a great deal of booty after only exploring a few rooms and dispatching our wretched foes. I may find clues about my uncle and we can help Aseneth on her quest. Moreover, although the philanthropic part of your nature may be weak at this point, eliminating the evil denizens is a worthy action methinks. Unsheath your needle and press on, soldier!”

“I shalt certainly do mine part, and I share your hope that we shalt find enough booty to make this venture worthwhile. As to whether eliminating this evil is a worthy task, I'm a bit less sure. Good Telemachos -- and, for that matter, Masters Xaod and Luger -- don't take me wrongly. I hath no love for evildoers, none whatever. If they die at the point of Telemachos's sword or Nanoc's axe or even, less likely, by mine own needle, 'tis a good thing and no mistake.

But I confess that I'm not entirely sure whether any larger end is achieved. Evildoers are like weeds in a vast garden, or disease among a great throng of people. You can eliminate it in the individual instance, if you art skillful or lucky, but never can it be totally quashed. If you'll pardon the continued metaphor, 'tis equivalent to plucking weeds from morning 'til night, day upon day and week upon week, until your own days are done and the garden hath not changed much at all. And if one could pull all the weeds at once and have done with it, could we be sure that 'twould necessarily be for the best?”

With all signs indicating that Danton was picking up speed for another soliloquy, Nanoc groaned and put his head in both hands. Telemachos, however, simply cut off the Velunese mid-sentence:

“Good Danton, I join the ranks among us who suffer headaches from your philosophizing, despite mine own education. Methinks the recent arrival of Luger is stimulating a longing for the company of his missing brother. You can overanalyze this to death or simply pick up your pinpricker and do battle! If it is grand adventures you seek, then perhaps we can join those going to war soon. Now, let us move on!”

His speech interrupted before it had hardly started, Danton through his hands up in the air. “Wonderful. One group of fanatics chasing another. It scarcely matters who’s chasing whom: poor Danton is caught in the middle regardless!”

Once the group was ready to resume its explorations, Danton examined all three of the doors on the south wall (search: 1+10=11, 7+10=17, 16+10=26). As far as he could tell, all three were free of traps or other unpleasant surprises, and Nanoc opened one after another. As Spugnoir had indicated, the southwestern and southern doors simply opened on small, empty closets, while the southeaster door led to a long, dark hallway running due south. Having glanced down the hallway, the party members shut this door once again and then turned to search the room to the west, which Spugnoir described as yet another ruined, empty barracks.

When Nanoc led the way into this supposed barracks, the party members saw that it was an oddly shaped chamber, running northwest for thirty feet with a ten foot wide area extending another twenty feet off to the north. The room was filled with wooden kindling and bits of smashed furniture that appeared to be the remnants of at least a half dozen beds. The chamber was otherwise empty. Given the strange shape of the area and the twenty-foot long “corridor” that led to nowhere, Danton searched the place carefully for any sign of hidden passages or secret doors (search: 15+10=25), but found nothing.

Having exhausted the other options, the group returned to the southeastern door in the first barracks and proceeded through it, weapons at the ready as the party now moved towards an area that was almost certainly still occupied by whatever cultist forces remained in the dungeon.

The ten foot wide corridor beyond the door ran south for twenty feet before coming to a Y shaped intersection. The main hallway continued to the south, while another part branched off to the southeast and continued for as far as the light from Danton’s torch could go.

“The way out lies that way,” said Spugnoir, pointing off to the southeast. “The excavation is straight ahead,” he continued, pointing south.

Thirty feet past the split in the corridor, the party came to another intersection. One hallway ran off to the west, while directly ahead a set of stairs descended into darkness to the south. A foul smell arose from the stairs. Spugnoir nodded towards the stairs.

“Stand ready,” cautioned Telemachos. “I believe we all remember what that vile stench signaled the last time we encountered it.”

“Right,” said Danton, moving forward to stand alongside Nanoc at the top of the stairs. The scout held his torch high, illuminating the staircase and the hall beyond it with the familiar greenish light. When he did so, the light of the torch shone not only on the stairs, but also on a misshapen humanoid creature that had hidden in the darkness below. With the element of surprise lost, the undead thing rushed at the party—preceded by its nauseating stink.

[Initiative: Ghast: 5, Nanoc: 6, Danton: 13, Luger: 18, Aseneth: 24, Xaod: 8, Telemachos: 20]

[Fortitude saves: Nanoc: 10+6=16; success, Danton: 7+0=7; fail; Luger: 20+6=26; success; Telemachos: 4+5=9; fail].

While most of the party, including Aseneth and Xaod, was able to shrug off the effects of the foul smell, both Danton and Telemachos caught a full breath of the stench, causing each to gag and retch. Telemachos rushed forward anyway and leapt down the stairs screaming something incoherent before landing on the undead with Shatterspike slamming into the thing even as the fighter knocked it off its feet and sent it crashing to the bottom of the stairs (attack: 15+9-2=22; hit; 13 damage).

With Nanoc pausing momentarily to ensure the gagging Danton was alright, Luger was the next one down the stairs. While the creature was still trying to regain its footing, the cleric ran it through with his longsword (attack: 20+4=24; critical hit: 11 damage).

Danton, Xaod, and Nanoc then rushed down the steps after Telemachos and Luger, leaving Aseneth and Spugnoir at the top. The Velunese tried to move around the stinking undead to attack it from the back, but he retched and lost his lunch as he drew close, barely managing to keep hold of his rapier as his stomach emptied its contents all over the floor (attack: 2+5-2=5; miss). Unfortunately, Xaod was right behind Danton, and bumped into the scout when he stopped so suddenly, knocking Danton off his feet and blocking the paladin’s charge towards the undead.

Thus it was left to Nanoc, who had been the slowest down the stairs, to try to finish the putrid creature that Telemachos and Luger had wounded before it could regain its feet and its balance and attack anyone (attack: 18+10=28; hit; 10 damage). The barbarian’s huge axe smashed into the undead’s center of mass just as it regained its footing and it had turned to attack Luger. The devastating hit nearly cut the creature in half, and it fell to the stone floor unmoving.

Although the fight was over, both Danton and Telemachos continued to gag and retch. Nanoc approached the Velunese and clapped him hard on the back, but to no avail—in his agony the scout was oblivious to everything around him (listen: 4+7=11).

Because of Danton’s distraction and all the noise it made, the only warning of additional danger the party had was when both Nanoc and Telemachos became the targets of hostile magic (Nanoc will save: 12+2=14; Telemachos will save: 5+1-2=4). While Nanoc managed to resist the sudden compulsion to panic and press himself against the wall, Telemachos began babbling incoherently about his mother and the unscrupulous suitors that harassed her and sought to claim his ancestral lands.

“Enemy spellcasters!” hissed Luger, pointing down the hallway with his longsword.

When the others looked, they saw that thirty feet to the south the corridor ended. There was an arch or doorway on the western side of the corridor near its end and from that opening two armored humanoids had emerged to engage the party. One was a tall, dark haired man, while the other was a scaled, reptilian biped with a black cloak and a long tail emerging from the back of his plate mail. As Danton retched and stumbled about, the light from his torch spun wildly about the walls, floor and ceiling. One moment the view of the two newcomers was clear, while the next they were cloaked in shadow. But by the chanting coming from the end of the corridor, it was obvious that they were engaged in additional spellcasting.

[Initiative: Cultists: 3]

Realizing the danger, Aseneth immediately fired off a pair of magical projectiles, targeting one at each spellcaster. Luger was experienced enough with magic to realize that the woman sought more to disrupt the cultists’ spells than to do much real damage, but both foes seemed to shrug off the projectiles that hit them and continued their magic.

“Have at them quickly!” screamed Luger as he charged down the hallway. “Xaod with me against the creature! Nanoc—get the man!”

With Telemachos now going back up the stairs in an apparent attempt to tell Aseneth all about his mother, it was left to Nanoc, Danton, Xaod, and Luger to deal with the two spellcasters. As they ran towards the pair, the armored reptile emitted a stench at least as nasty as that of the undead and all four of the party members once again struggled to avoid collapsing in spasms of nausea (fortitude saves: Nanoc: 7+6=13, success; Danton: 4+0-2=2; failure (cumulative –4 penalty to all actions, -1 strength; Luger: 14+6=20;success).

While Nanoc had now encountered enough stinking foes to have thought to avoid any deep breaths as he approached these latest enemies and while Luger seemed somehow immune to the every foul smell the party encountered, this latest sensory attack was too much for Danton, who had his feet give out underneath him and collapsed to the floor, where he lay, twisted and retching, while the others ran onward. The scout’s torch slipped free from his grasp, and clattered across the stones, coming to rest against one wall, where it continued to provide its green light.

“Time ta die!” spat Nanoc as he cut the legs of the human cultist out from underneath him (attack: 13+10=23; hit; 16 damage). The man went down in a welter of blood and the enraged barbarian spun about, hoping the reptile remained standing so that he might cut it down as well.

When Luger and Xaod reached the reptile, the cleric slashed at the beast with his sword, but the thing’s heavy plate armor easily deflected the blade (attack: 5+4=9; miss). Xaod was no more successful, his own sword being blocked by the large metal shield the creature carried.

“This one is truly dangerous!” yelled Luger. “I can feel the corruption all around him—it augments his protection! Nanoc, we shall need your help here! Only our combined might can vanquish this foe!”

At that moment, the reptile finished its incantation, and a huge rat, nearly four feet in length, appeared at its side, taking the place of the cultist Nanoc had killed.

“Take…one…alive!” screamed Danton between fits of gagging as he struggled to sit up.

“I am trying doing that using spell!” yelled Aseneth from the top of the stairs, “But is not working—something is blocking!”

As Aseneth continued casting spells, the woman struggled to ignore the fact that Telemachos was tapping her on the shoulder and tugging at her sleeve in an effort to get her attention as he related some story about his missing father.

With the rat having appeared between him and the reptile, Nanoc was forced to deal with it before he could take on the other creature. He swung his axe at it in a wild arc, hoping to simply sweep it out of the way (attack: 3+10=13; miss), but the rodent leapt aside and then flung itself at him. Nanoc swatted it away with his arm, but the thing continued to harry him and keep him from going to aid the others.

Nearby, both Xaod and Luger (attack: 2+4=6; miss) continued to flail ineffectively at the thrashing, armored reptile. Its spellcasting finished, at least for the moment, the thing swung a heavy morninstar at Luger, but he blocked it with his shield. The impact sent a chilling numbness up the length of the cleric’s shield arm, but he managed to keep hold of his protection.

Taking his time now, Nanoc aimed his axe carefully and cut the rat in half when it leapt at him a second time (attack: 17+10=27; hit; 13 damage). Unfortunately, Luger (attack: 1+4=5; miss) and Xaod were as ineffective as ever against the armored creature, which backed into the doorway at the end of the hall as Nanoc approached, obviously not wanting to be flanked by any of the three attackers it now faced.

With allies to both his left and right now, Luger swung his sword at the reptile with all his strength (attack: 17+4=21; miss). With the creature distracted by having to defend against so many foes, Luger was able to slip past its guard, but his sword still clanged harmlessly against its thick armor. Xaod still did no better, and the reptile blocked his latest attack with its shield. In fact, had it faced only Luger and Xaod, the reptile might have been able to continue fighting all day, since neither had demonstrated the slightest ability to pierce its defenses.

However, Nanoc had now entered the stalemated melee, and he quickly changed the equation. Not bothering to waste his strength against the creature’s plate mail, Nanoc went straight for its neck, and his axe severed its head with a single swing (attack: 20+10=30; critical hit; 47 damage). As the reptilian head rolled onto the floor and the armored body crashed backwards into the next chamber, both Luger and Xaod’s jaws dropped and they stood frozen in stunned silence.

“Remind me never to get on your bad side, brother!” said Xaod finally.

Himself stunned at what his axe had wrought, Nanoc exhaled loudly. “I think Kord done made me stronger!”

“Truly a sight to behold,” muttered Danton, picking himself up off the ground finally, and wiping vomit from his face. “But you have left none alive for the questioning.”

“Evry’body’s a critic,” said Nanoc dismissively.

“Would someone please getting him leaving me alone!” shrieked Aseneth as she came down the stairs and joined the others, Telemachos trailing in her wake and going on about the honors he earned at the Royal Furyondian Military Academy.

“Great,” said Nanoc. “Tel’s gone all nutty again. I jus’ hope we don’t have ta hear no more ‘bout the ‘glorious’ Frog Man!”

The barbarian grabbed Telemachos with both arms and shook him for at least twenty seconds. When he finished, Telemachos looked around dazedly and asked: “What happened?”

“Somebody hit ya with a spell an’ ya went all weird—again,” replied Nanoc. “Ya were harassin’ Aseneth an’ going on ‘bout yer mom—givin’ out way too much information, if ya ask me. Now, pull it tagether an’ let’s get movin.”

With the three enemies destroyed, the vile smells they had produced began to fade and the party was able to search the bodies. No one wanted to touch the undead, which did not appear to have carried anything anyway, but Nanoc removed the very well made half-plate armor from both cultists, as well as two large steel shields, a scroll, what appeared to be three potions, a set of ochre robes carried by the human, the cloak the reptile had worn, two quality morningstars, a pair of light crossbows, 20 bolts, a total of 65 gold in assorted coins, and a black robe carried by the reptile. Interestingly, while the human had worn one of the familiar inverted Y pendants, the reptile had carried something different—a circular black metal pendant with what looked like a two-tiered inverted ziggurat engraved in its center.

“This is good plate armor,” said Nanoc, looking at both Luger and Telemachos, “prob’ly better than what you fellas got right now. I ain’t interested in it—too restrictive an’ it prob’ly aint’ no better’n what Xaod’s already got, but if you guys want it, jus’ say so—otherwise I bet it’ll fetch a good bit o’ money back in Hommlet.”

Having searched and looted the bodies, the party then moved into the chamber to the west of the end of the hall. The thirty-foot by thirty-foot room was very cold, and everyone in the group could feel that the unnatural chill was a corruption in the air and environment—similar to what Luger had felt from the armored reptile, only stronger.

A wide pit in the center dominated the room, its sides slick with moisture. A pulley had been affixed to the ceiling and a rope descended from it, connected to four more ropes. These in turn were tied to the edge of a 10-foot-wide wooden platform, circular in shape, in four different places to provide stability. The platform, pulley, and rope all looked new. A lantern sitting atop a stool in the southwestern corner illuminated the chamber. Scattered about the pit edge were picks and shovels, and a strange statue rested in the corner farthest from the entrance. Against the north wall stood a large, round, flat stone about the diameter of the pit.

The statue in the corner was a rectangular block three feet high and two feet on a side. Each side had a distinctive figure carved into it. The first was jet black, and depicted a tall, muscular man in full plate armor with unfamiliar flanges and fluting. He wore a cape and held a wavy-bladed sword.

The second side was dark green, carved into a man swathed in a flowing robe with long sleeves and a high collar. Covering the face was a mask that bore a strong resemblance to the one the party had found on the body in the great hall of the moathouse and subsequently sold to Joman Dart in Hommlet.

The third side was a deep blood red and depicted a man in high boots, a doublet, and a pair of twisting gauntlets. A hood drawn tight around the face covered his head.

The fourth and final side of the statue depicted a man colored deep indigo. The figure was clothed in a many-pleated robe with a sash covered in strange sigils. His head was cowled and he cradled a scepter in his folded arms.

“This must offer clues of some sort,” mused Danton after examining all four sides of the statue. “It will require further examination.”

“Fair nuff’,” replied Nanoc, “but it’s gotta weigh a ton. Let’s collect it on the way out an’ not try hauling it all around and onto that there lift. We are gonna have ta take that lift down, ain’t we?”

The hanging platform did indeed seem to be the only means of proceeding. There were no other exits from the room save for the hole in the center and Danton found nothing else of note (search: 4+10=14).

“I like this not one bit,” groused the Velunese, “we go ever deeper, both metaphorically and physically.”

“Don’t you get started on all that mumbo jumbo again,” said Nanoc. “Let’s get goin.”

The wooden platform was large enough for all seven party members to fit on it at once and the ropes seemed more than strong enough to support their combined weight. When all were standing atop it, Nanoc carefully loosened the ropes and began to lower the platform down into the hole in the floor. The platform swung slightly as it moved, and everyone on it grabbed hold of one of the ropes for stability. After passing through almost ten feet of a shaft surrounded by solid stone, the platform emerged into another open area. Although the lantern above provided some light, Danton’s torch illuminated the entire area.

Indications existed that a stone plug, most likely the one the party had seen up above, was once placed roughly fifteen feet from the top of the shaft, then carefully mortared and sealed. Just above that point, a 4-foot-wide tunnel carrying an underground stream emptied into the shaft, the water spilling down into the darkness below. A two-foot-wide opening was visible just below the top of the shaft on the far side of the opening. When the shaft below had been sealed, the water from the stream likely filled the entire open area until it reached the hole near the top and flowed onward from there—forming the underground pool described in Geynor Ton’s journal.

With little else to see here, Nanoc continued to lower the platform. It descended another ten feet or so with the stone walls of the shaft close at hand and water from the stream splashing onto the platform and the party members, causing the chill in the air to be felt even more. The water pouring down created a mist, deepening the chill of even those standing on the far side of the platform that were not hit by any of the falling water.

When the platform emerged from the shaft into some vast cavern, the party could see, through the mist, that the floor below was just over sixty feet from the top of the shaft where the party had first boarded the platform. The ground below appeared very smooth and black in the light from Danton’s magic torch, with veins of deep violet running through it. The shaft walls spread out into the darkness, opening onto the vast chamber.

When Nanoc finally brought the platform to rest on the ground, he and the others could see that the surface resembled black marble, but had no luster, while the veins of purple were thick and jagged. The entire surface appeared to be slightly convex, with sides lower than the center. Stranger still, the floor did not extend to the cave walls around it, as though it were merely a large platform itself. It was about 30 feet across, but the cave was much larger than that in every direction. Beyond the floor edge, the cave walls plummeted farther down into darkness. At the western rim of the black floor, another circular wooden platform hung suspended over the darkness, with another rope and pulley system pounded into the rock above it.

“Just where is this obelisk?” asked Danton aloud. “And how deep must we go to find it?”

“The heart of any evil is always deep in the dark,” pronounced Luger.

“C’mon,” said Nanoc. “Enough talk already. Let’s go.”

The barbarian stepped off the platform and onto the black marble surface, walking towards the second wooden platform. However, the moment his feet touched the obsidian surface, the purple veins in the rock began to shift and slither, moving towards Nanoc like tentacles buried in the ground. The barbarian stepped quickly back onto the platform and the purple veins ceased their movement.

“I am thinking we would being wise to go very fast to other platform,” said Aseneth.

“Yeah, what she said,” agreed Telemachos. “I didn’t like the look of that at all.”

With Nanoc in the lead and everyone moving as quickly as they dared across the convex surface, the party members managed to scurry to the second platform before any of the purple veins in the rock beneath their feet managed to come in contact with their boots or shoes. Once everyone was safely atop the platform, which hung over any abyss far too deep for the light of Danton’s torch to reach the bottom, Nanoc began to lower the group deeper into the depths.

While the first descent had passed fairly quickly, the second seemed interminable. Minute after minute passed while Nanoc lowered the party and the platform deeper into the dark. Every now and then, Danton’s torch illuminated the distant cavern wall, but most of the time, the platform sank deeper with only the purple-black of the marble pillar or platform to one side and only dark, empty space visible in all other directions.

Accompanied only by the sounds of Nanoc’s exertions and the movement of ropes on pulleys, the trip downward went on and on, the air growing colder and colder as the party descended.

This cold, dark, silent journey was suddenly and horrifically interrupted when a long, reddish tentacle appeared out of the darkness overhead and tried to wrap itself around Telemachos’ armored body. Stunned, the fighter managed to duck free of the thing’s grasp even as everyone on the platform screamed, shouted, and looked upward.

In the air above the platform, floated something out of nightmare—a horrible, misshapen creature with a great orb-like mass accompanied by a huge beak-like maw and ten long, ropy tentacles that hung below it and now swung towards the platform and the party.

[Initiative: Creature: 8, Nanoc: 6, Danton: 20, Luger: 20, Telemachos: 7, Aseneth: 11, Xaod: 3, Spugnoir: 13]

While the creature descended until it was immediately above the platform and all ten of its huge tentacles curled towards Telemachos, with two of them striking the fighter (hit for 6 damage), Nanoc hurriedly tied off the rope in an effort to stabilize the platform and prevent it from falling if he were hit or otherwise distracted. When one of the tentacles wrapped around Telemachos, the soldier stiffened and ceased resistance (fortitude save: 6+6=12; failure). Although he was not yet held in a good grip, the flying beast still dragged Telemachos towards the edge of the platform.

As chaos erupted atop the platform, Aseneth fired magic missiles up at the flying beast. At the same time, Danton hooked one of his feet in one of the ropes and then raised his crossbow to crack off a shot at the huge mass floating over the platform and the party (attack: 14+5=19; hit; 3 damage). Luger got off a good shot as well, managing to fire a bolt directly into the creature’s open beak (attack: 20+4=24; critical hit; 5 damage). The massive form overhead shuddered under the impact of the various projectiles, but the tentacles continued to seek a stronger grip on Telemachos.

Throwing caution to the wind, Xaod drew his blade and charged across the shifting surface of the platform towards the tentacles pulling Telemachos to his doom. Unfortunately, between his blade, shield, and heavy armor, as well as the shaking, twisting platform beneath him, the warrior lost his balance and his footing, falling on his face and then sliding towards the edge of the platform. The paladin tried to grab hold of something as the edge of the platform approached, but to no avail. First Xaod’s sword, then his shield, and finally the warrior himself went flying off the edge of the platform and into the abyss, his scream echoing off the cavern walls as he disappeared into the dark.

“This is the only spell I have left,” said Spugnoir suddenly, “but here it goes!” The potion maker uttered words of power and then four more magic missiles shot upward and slammed into the mass overhead. Combined with the multiple blasts the creature had already taken, this magical fire was too much for it to bear. The great body shuddered and heaved in the air and then whatever force held it aloft seemed to fade and the huge body fell.

“Hold on!” screamed Danton, matching word to action as he grabbed a rope with his right arm and held on for dear life. The others did the same, all save Nanoc, who seized the tentacle wrapped around Telemachos and sought to pry it loose (strength check: 4+5=9; failure).

Then the huge body slammed into the platform. It had not yet built up much momentum, so rather than smashing the wooden conveyance it simply knocked it wildly to the side. Those who held ropes were able to keep their grip as the platform was knocked into the marble wall next to it. Miraculously, Nanoc, without the benefit of a rope, somehow managed to stay on his feet as the platform swung about beneath him (balance check: 19+4=23).

A fraction of a second later, the dead body of the flying creature was falling past the platform, with first the large mass, and then the tentacles, disappearing into the dark, just as Xaod had done—and the one tentacle still fastened around Telemachos was carrying the fighter with it.

As Telemachos’ paralyzed form was carried over the edge of the swinging platform, Nanoc had one last chance to reach out for the fighter. Throwing himself onto his stomach and diving for the Furyondian’s legs, with the rest of the party watching in shocked amazement, Nanoc somehow managed to grab hold of Telemachos’ left leg as the fighter went headfirst over the edge of the platform (strength check: 20+5=25). There was an initial jolt to his arm that Nanoc thought might wrench it right out of its socket, but then the tentacle must have slipped free of Telemachos’ body at last and Nanoc lay stunned on his stomach, holding the fighter’s weight below him with one arm while the platform’s wild movement slowly lessened.

As the others rushed forward to help Nanoc pull Telemachos back up onto the platform, there was a great crashing sound from somewhere far below.

By the time the platform finally stopped swinging, Luger had managed to shake Telemachos out of his torpor, but the fighter, who had been conscious and aware of everything that was happening to him throughout the entire ordeal, sat in shock at how close he had come to death.

“I wanna get ta the bottom ‘fore any more o’ those things show up,” said Nanoc, moving back to the rope and pulley mechanism that lowered the platform.

After nearly another five minutes of slow descent, the platform finally reached the real bottom of the huge cavern. Here the stone floor was worked and smooth—except for one spot nearby where the body of the flying creature had impacted on the stone, causing the floor to break and crack in a wide area.

Farther away from the spot where the platform settled to the ground, two symbols were carved into the floor on the western side of the cave: a two-tiered, inverted ziggurat, black in color, and a flaming sun, also jet black. In the other direction, rising from the middle of the cave, a thin pillar supported the black and violet mass of what the party now realized was an enormous inverted obelisk—the surface of which had first appeared to be the floor of the chamber. On the other side of the cave, water spilling from above collected into a pool.

“I had thought that we might be best served to cart off the obelisk when we found it,” said Danton, looking up at portion of the two hundred foot long obsidian mass that his torch illuminated, “but ‘twould appear the thing be a mite large to carry.”

“Say, Danton,” said Nanoc, pointing at the relatively small pillar that held up the giant inverted obelisk, “how can that little thing hold up that there huge black thing? That jus’ don’t seem right ta me.”

“It cannot,” replied the Velunese, “at least not by the so-called ‘laws’ of physics as they are known to mortal man and taught in the schools.”

“But,” protested Nanoc, pointing at the obelisk.

“I know, my boy, I know,” said Danton, “’twould appear that such ‘laws’ are not what they once were. Best not to look at it overmuch—and try not to think about it either. You wouldn’t want another headache, after all.”

Not far from the fallen body of the creature and the landing spot of the platform, the party made another somber discovery: the body of Xaod the Slayer. Smashed and broken by the fall from such a great distance, it was obvious that Xaod had been killed instantly upon impact. His armor was wrecked and all of his equipment was as smashed as his body.

“Ain’t no way to go,” said Telemachos sadly, “and it was almost my fate too. We’ll see you on the other side, my friend.”

“No follower of Heironeous is ever truly destroyed,” said Luger. “Xaod has merely moved on to continue the struggle on more distant fields of battle.”

As the party stood around Xaod’s body, the chill in the air only grew deeper around them (fortitude saves: Nanoc: 17+6=23, Danton: 16+1=17, Luger: 3+6=9, Telemachos: 14+5=19). Although Nanoc, Telemachos, and Danton were able to move about, stamp their feet and remain relatively warm, at least for the time being, a chill began to sink into the bones of Luger, Aseneth and Spugnoir, with all three beginning to shiver (Luger takes 4 subdual damage).

“This is a fell place,” said Danton, “and I fear that with each passing moment we shall more regret ever coming here. But since I know that you all shall insist on finishing what we hath started, let us get on with it.”

The bottom of the vast cavern was at least a hundred feet across, and the party moved first to examine the two strange symbols that had been visible from the platform. The first, that of the flaming sun, seemed an evil perversion of some otherwise good sign of light and life. Upon closer examination, the other symbol, the inverted ziggurat, was identical in design to the markings on the strange black pendant Nanoc had taken from the body of the reptile-man far above. At least for the time being, the party chose to give both of the engraved symbols on the ground a wide berth.

At the center of the cavern, impossible though it seemed, the huge obelisk came to a very narrow point that was balanced atop the thirty-foot high pillar that stood there. The pillar had been carved from the rock itself and appeared to be quite solid. Iron rungs, mostly free of corrosion, had been hammered into it, allowing anyone who wished to climb up to the point where the pillar met the obelisk.

On the far, eastern, side of the cavern, a ten-foot high archway was carved out of the stone in such a way that it seemed to be nothing but a curved mass of writhing tentacles and serpents. Beyond the opening of the arch was a smooth, black wall.

In the northeastern part of the cavern, the water that poured down from above, spattering across the top of the obelisk, before running down its eastern side, and finally collecting in a pool. About ten feet across and perhaps two inches deep, it filled an imperfection in the floor’s otherwise smooth surface. The water ran in a rivulet across the floor through a large crack in the cave wall, disappearing into the earth.

Other than these strange sights and a few isolated piles of rocks and boulders scattered about the distant edges of the cavern, the cold, dark place appeared to be empty.

________________________________________________________________

Notes for turn 31:

Since the huge cavern the party is now in is difficult to describe, I have included the visual representation above. A is the chamber where the descent began, B is the shaft, C the obelisk, D the inverted ziggurat symbol, E the flaming sun symbol, F the pillar somehow holding up the obelisk, G, the archway on the wall, and H the pool of water. If you have questions, let me know. Otherwise, please send postings for Turn 31 by the end of Friday, November 10th.

Current date/time: 15 Lipanj 592; approximately 1400.

Items gained this turn: 2 sets of half-plate armor, two large steel shields, a scroll, three potions, a set of ochre robes and a set of black ones, a black cloak, two masterwork morningstars, a pair of light crossbows, 20 bolts, a total of 65 gold in assorted coins, another inverted Y pendant and an inverted ziggurat pendant.

Undivided Loot previously gained: none

Items used/lost/destroyed/sold this turn: none

FOES DEFEATED:

This Chapter:

Entire Campaign:

Current Status of the Party:

Nanoc

AC: 17

Hit points: 35/47

New XP: 653

XP total: 7078

XP needed: 10,000

Equipment: great axe, silver-plated short sword, masterwork studded leather armor, 69 arrows, 2 quivers, backpack, waterskin, 18 days trail rations, bedroll, 2 sacks, 2 flint & steel, bearskin, tent, 50’ rope, 1 sap, masterwork composite shortbow, masterwork shortsword, 4 iron triangles with inverted ‘Y’ , potion of cure moderate wounds, three black cones made of some unknown substance, a black scepter decorated with a half dozen violet gems, a small black sphere, and a black metal tube; taken from the two cultists at the top of the shaft: 2 sets of half-plate armor, two large steel shields, a scroll, three potions, a set of ochre robes and a set of black ones, a black cloak, two masterwork morningstars, a pair of light crossbows, 20 bolts, a total of 65 gold in assorted coins, another inverted Y pendant and an inverted ziggurat pendant.

Gold: 687

Silver: 220

Danton

AC: 15 (16 vs. one opponent)

Hit points: 18/19

New XP: 653

XP total: 7078

XP needed: 10,000

Equipment: rapier, 6 daggers, light crossbow, studded leather armor, quiver with 33 bolts, bedroll, backpack, flint & steel, thieves picks, waterskin, 11 days trail rations, hooded lantern, gold ring engraved with the name Karakas, 1 sap, 1 metal key from Yusdrayl, Everburning Torch, scrolls with pyrotechnics and melf’s acid arrow, waterlogged journal, 6 iron triangles with upside down ‘Y’ inside, 1 protection from fire scroll, 12 scrolls of cure light wounds, 2 scrolls of cure moderate wounds, new journal, notebook, pen, ink, parchment in sealed waterproof box, 5 unknown potions from cultists in dungeon, pipe, tobacco, metal box, whetstone, two scrolls from cultists in the dungeon, six packets of tinder for lighting fires, gold inlaid dagger, Journal of Geynor Ton

Gold: 272

Silver: 0

Telemachos

AC: 18

Hit points: 14/32

New XP: 653

XP total: 7078

XP needed: 6,000

Equipment: splint mail, short sword, 2 daggers, longbow, quiver and 33 arrows, large wooden shield, backpack, large sack, flint and steel, 21 days rations, waterskin, bedroll, tent, 1 sap, Shatterspike (Longsword +1 with special properties), honey and berries, 2 iron triangles with upside down ‘Y’ inside, splint armor (badly damaged in an encounter with Nanoc’s axe), large steel shield, light crossbow, masterwork morningstar, set of ochre colored robes, 10 bolts

Gold: 65

Silver: 210

Luger

AC: 19

Hit Points: 11/15 (all damage is subdual damge from the cold)

New XP: 653

XP total: 2528

XP needed: 3,000

Equipment: longsword, heavy mace, light x-bow, dagger, 20 bolts, chainmail, large steel shield, 3 belt pouches, large bag, 50’ rope, 5 torches, hooded lantern, 3 oil flasks, flint & steel, 10 days rations, silver holy symbol of Heironeus, 3 flasks holy water, 2 healer’s kits, backpack, cleric’s vestment, traveler’s clothing, waterskin, bedroll, iron triangle with upside down ‘Y’ inside

Spell Selection:

Level 0(4): purify food & drink, detect magic, read magic, guidance
Level 1(3+1): Domain:

Turn Undead attempts left on current day: 1

Gold: 20