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Message: <blockquote data-quote="wsclark" data-source="post: 28112" data-attributes="member: 97">Session XIV - So What's Here?Snowfall 8th, 744 YNDIt is late in the afternoon and the adventures are in the great hall of the castle that they found in the Reelio jungle. They have just found a journal, written by Halaan, that tells them he left a method to find him in the upper most reaches of the castle. It's time to find out what is here.The great hall is about 35' by 60'. To the left of the fire place in the north wall is a door. Pug has found another door behind the tapestry hanging on the east wall. Lulla has looked behind the tapestry along the south wall to find it covers the opening to the south turret, containing a circular stairway going up. After a brief discussion, it is decided that the group needs to make sure that the first floor of this castle is secure before moving on to find what Halaan left upstairs. They listen intently at the east door, hearing nothing. After checking for traps and finding the door unlocked, the door is opened by Pug.They find that a pile of debris fills the center of the room. The walls and ceiling are blackened by smoke. After a careful search, they conclude that nothing identifiable remains. The group heads to the door in the north wall, listens, hearing nothing, checks for traps and finds the door unlock. Daloren opens the door. as soon as he opens the door, the stench of rotten food hits him, almost making him gag. Amid the tables and cabinets in the room something moves making a scratching noise on the stone. Daloren is immediately set upon by dire rats. Three of them are able to get into a position to attack him before he knows it, with one taking a bite out of his leg. He attempts to close the door, pulling it shut while the rats attack again. He manages to get the door closed, but one of the rats is now in the great hall. It is quickly put out of its disease ridden misery.The group formulates a plan to deal with the rats. They surround the door way so that only one of the beasts can come through at a time. With all ready to attack the first thing coming through the door, Pug kicks the door open. The rats come through the door, one at a time and the group has no problem dispatching the remaining 8 of them. Well, except for Pug losing his grip on his greataxe, flying out of his hand backwards over his head, almost burying itself in Rufio. It is a very near miss, but they finish off the rats. They enter the kitchen surveying the room. There are doors in the west, north and east walls, all having large holes gnawed in the base though it looks like someone repaired the northern door and the rats gnawed through the repairs as well. They listen at each of the doors hearing nothing.The first door they go through is the one in the east wall. It opens to reveal two beds and a small desk and chair, all of them covered with dust. Bedcovers have been thrown on the floor and all of the desk drawers are open and empty. There is a door in the south wall. Pug goes over to it and kicks it in. There is nothing but an empty closet behind it. Searching the room does not recover anything.The second door they go through is the one in the north wall. After following, what has now become standard procedure of listening, checking for traps and whether the door is locked, Shaedra opens the door. This door leads into storage rooms full of rat holes, droppings and broken pieces of wood or cloth. The rats have already eaten all of the thirty-year-old food once stored there.Off to the final door leading out of the kitchen in the west wall, Pug opens it finding a corridor that narrows and then widens leading into the west turret. Here, there is a dark and dusty chamber with a lightly used circular stairway going up. Shaedra and Lulla listen carefully but hear nothing above. They go up the stairs.They reach the second level, in a chamber just like the one below. But instead of walls being opposite the stairs, there is a balcony that overlooks the great hall. They can see that a balcony seems to run all the way around the hall, but walls block the way from here. Listening again, they continue going up.They reach the third level, finding two skeletons on the floor. One is a dwarf and wears the rusted remains of a chainmail shirt and leggings. A few tufts of hair still coat his chin. The other wears only a loincloth. Nearby lie a battle axe covered with dwarven runes, a small metal shield with what appears to be red dragon's scale mounted on it, and a javelin. Daloren casts detect magic and finds out that the shield radiates a faint aura of abjuration. It is given to Lulla along with the battle axe. Shaedra takes the javelin for the time being. Since the stairway chamber at this level appears to be completely walled in, they head ever upwards after listening.Now at the top of the stairs on the fourth level, they are again basically walled in. There is a narrow corridor heading north, similar to the one they used on the first floor to get to these stairs. The go through the corridor which opens up after about ten feet, but ends fifteen feet later. Shaedra starts searching the walls and lo and behold, finds a secret door. Carefully listening, she hears nothing and opens the door. There is another circular stairway off to the northeast, leading up and down, while a corridor heads east. They start heading down the corridor finding that it goes to the other side of the castle with another corridor about half way down heading south. There is a door about midway down the north wall and the corridor is full of dust, but at the intersection there is another door in the west wall of the corridor heading south with a hole burned in it. Two skeletons, both clad in the rotten remains of loincloths, lie in the intersection. Rotten spears with stone heads lie nearby.Pug pokes the skeletons to see if they move, nothing happens. Meanwhile, Lulla starts listening at the door in the north wall. Pug and Rufio wander down the corridor heading south, noticing two additional doors in the east wall and one in the west before reaching the end of the corridor which opens up into the south turret tower. They head back to join the group. Lulla hasn't heard anything behind the door and following standard party practice, they enter the room without incident. The room contains a wardrobe, chairs, chest of drawers, foot locker, and bed. All are a mess, been ransacked long before their arrival. All of the furniture has been damaged and is worthless. It is now off to the first door on the west wall of the corridor heading south, the one with a hole burned in it. After listening and checking, they enter the room.The room is a mess! Skeletons in rotten loincloths and broken or rotted spears, arrows, and axes, all with stone heads, litter the place. Broken glass and twisted metal stand on the two tables. Debris litters  the cabinets and shelves that line the south and west walls. Black marks cover the floor in the corner near the door and in the southeast corner lies the remains of a skeleton in burned and blackened robes. The walls, ceiling, and floor around the figure are all burned. They start searching the room for anything useful when all of a sudden, they are attacked by monstrous centipedes! Rufio takes damage from them as he is flanked by two. No one but Shaedra seems to be able to hit them as she takes the first one out with a well placed critical hit with her greatsword. Pug is bitten by one. The group is not having any luck in dealing with these things as Pug momentarily slips as he tries to cleave the creatures.Shaedra moves up to deal with one of the two attacking Rufio, but can't seem to hit it. Rufio takes more damage and so does Lulla. Pug takes damage from two of the creatures and is starting to get annoyed. Pug provides a might cleave, killing two of the huge insects and steps over to help out Shaedra. Daloren can hit the broad side of a castle. Thalen, Rufio and Lulla have no luck either.Shaedra misses again while Pug is hit again. Rufio looks wobbly and barely escapes his situation by moving to the far corner of the room. Fortunately, none of the creatures hit him as he moves by. Pug swings and kills one of the creatures that was flanking Rufio. Lulla and Daloren still can not hit any creatures, but fortunately, the centipedes do not hit them either.Shaedra moves to help Lulla out, killing one of the two facing her. Pug moves to help Daloren out killing one more. Daloren finally manages to hit one, killing it. The remaining one is quickly dispatched. Rufio downs a potion of Cure light wounds and Shaedra lays on hands, fully healing him. Shaedra goes over to Daloren and cures the disease he picked up from their encounter with the dire rats earlier that day. Lulla cures the fairly well beaten up Pug before they continue. Unfortunately, Pug and Lulla don't feel completely well, feeling not as quick as they were before. They suspect that the centipedes have some type of poison in their bite.They exit the room and head south down the corridor, going to the remaining door in the west wall. After listening and checking the door, they enter the room. Books lie everywhere around the room. While a few still stand on the shelves that line the walls, most are scattered about, spines broken and pages torn. On the good-sized, bloodstained table in the room lies a skeleton. A torn, stuffed chair stands nearby next to a smaller table.They start searching the room, Daloren especially since he is interested in finding books on magic. About a minute into the search, they suddenly see a man appear seated at the table, reading a book. The ghostly image causes Pug, Rufio and Daloren to become rooted to the spot, unable to turn away from watching the ghost. The man has dark hair and wears out of date clothing. As they watch, he looks fearfully towards the door, is then lifted by unseen hands and placed on the table. Though he struggles, cuts begin to appear on his arms, face, and chest. Suddenly, his chest seems to burst open and he lets out a final, fearful scream before lying still. The body fades away, leaving only the skeleton of the table.After taking stock of themselves, the group decides to rest here for the evening. Daloren spends some time searching through the books in the room, finding a few interesting things such as "Making glass", "Uses of Common Animals in Magic" and "The Magical Properties of Gemstones".Snowfall 9th, 744 YNDThe group wakes up refreshed and ready to continue their exploration. Even Pug and Lulla feel a bit better, but not completely whole. The leave the room crossing the corridor to the southern most door on the east wall. After checking the door out, they open it revealing bookcases still full of books standing on two walls while in the far turret there are several broken chairs and a broken table with a thick layer of dust. This is the first room they have entered that is basically undisturbed. Most striking about the room is a large circle made of precious metals set into the floor. Silver and gold are interwoven with iron and steel in a double circle with runes between the two rings. Two braziers stand close by the edge of the circle, while a third lies toppled on the floor across the room. Within the circle stands a raven peering right at them.They enter the room, looking around, amazed that the room isn't trashed. They then noticed Rufio shaking his head as if something was bothering him. Pug asks him what's wrong. He replies, "There was a voice in my head saying, 'Take me with you! Take me with you! I want to leave!, Help me!'". Shaedra immediately tries to detect evil and is surprised to find a great deal emanating from the raven. She tells everyone that the raven is evil and as they turn to look at the raven, it begins to change its form into a 2 ft. tall humanoid with leathery bat-like wings, deep red skin and gleaming white teeth and fangs sporting a barbed tale.It say, "Free me. I've been stuck in here for 30 years." Pug says, "Why should we free you?" It replies, "Because I've been stuck in here for 30 years. It is a long time and so lonely. There is no one to talk to." Shaedra addresses the imp, "If you help us find what we are looking for, maybe we will free you." The imp tells her, "If you free me, I'll help you find what you are looking for." "Not quite", she replies, "you have to help us first before we might let you out." He answers, but not directly to Shaedra as he shifts his gaze to Pug, Daloren and Thalen, "You know, in the room right below this one contains a throne made of solid gold." Pug, Daloren and Thalen look at one another with something strange in their eyes. Daloren and Pug turn to the imp and Pug says "What else is there?" "There is a chest sitting next to the throne as well", the imp responds. Daloren asks, "And what is guarding all of this?" The imp tells them "A small cat." Daloren and Pug look at each other, notice Thalen is already gone and tell the group that they'll be right back after they get Thalen. Shaedra, Lulla and Rufio stay behind trying to deal with the imp.Pug and Daloren catch up to Thalen as he heads down the stairway in the southern turret. When they reach the next floor they find that weapon racks fill the place though most of the swords and other weapons look rusted beyond repair. Two crumbling skeletons lie on the floor. After searching through the mess, they find a number of items intact: a heavy crossbow, three short swords, a halberd and a might composite longbow (+4 Str bonus).They then continue through a set of double doors to a large great room which is completely wrecked. In the center is a large table with a blackened hole in it, the rest of it partially burned. Fallen metal rods lie on top of ashes near the north wall while another that has fallen from the west wall lies in the rotten tapestry it once held. An intact tapestry still hangs from the east wall and shows a mighty battle. Toppled chairs are scattered about the room and at least two full skeletons are here. The doors they came through are very ornate. Their face and the floor directly before the, are both blackened. Before them lies a skeleton. In the east wall are a set of double doors. Daloren checks for traps and finds one that has already been tripped. Now on to the doors, which are locked, actually doubly locked. He takes his time and after several minutes succeeds in picking both of them.Shaedra, Lulla and Rufio tell the imp that they are going to check on their friends and will be back. They head down the stairs and stop in the entrance to the great hall, just as the others open the double doors on the east wall.As the doors to this room slowly open, the sight in front of the rich, velvet curtains on the far side of the room grab their attention. In the center of the turret, steps lead up a few feet to a dais on which stands an ornately decorated throne of brilliant gold. A small vial (detect thoughts) lies on the thrones cushioned seat. Next to it is a heavy chest upon which sits a small, dark-colored cat! Pug, Daloren and Thalen enter the room, starry-eyed at what they see. They approach the throne and chest. To see if the cat is friendly, Daloren attempts to pet it. It softly responds. Daloren, filled with confidence kneels down to examine the chest lock. As soon as he attempts to touch the chest, the cat jumps on his back and tries to claw him to death! Daloren and the cat are grappling each other and the noise they are making reaches the ears of Shaedra, Lulla and Rufio who head into the room just in time to see Daloren throw the cat off his back. The brave group of adventures swing wildly at the cat, killing it with no harm to themselves.Daloren turns back to the chest to have a go at the lock only to see a slightly larger black cat sitting on the chest! Shaedra exclaims, "Great, a cat with nine lives." But Pug has an idea and goes over to the cat trying to grab it. He succeeds in grappling the thing, yelling out "Get something to put this thing in!". Lulla pulls out a sack and they stuff the cat into it. It tries to claw its way out, starting to shred the sack. Shaedra brings up a backpack and they plop the cat, tied up in the sack, into it. They then beat it unconscious.Finally, with the cat out of the way, Daloren starts working on the lock, but can't open it. Pug decides to use brute force and after he and Shaedra beat up on the chest for quite some time, they finally get it open. It has taken a half hour to see that the chest contains (with Daloren's appraised value for each item):<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> a gold crown studded with gems (6,000 gp)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> an ornate spyglass (900 gp)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> a silver tiara with small sapphires (2,000 gp)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> a platinum scepter studded with rubies (7,000 gp)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> a jade bracelet of intricate design (1,400 gp)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> a pair of silver and gold earrings (300 gp each, 800 gp for the set)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> an ivory armband (600 gp)</li> </ul>He also estimates that the throne is worth 10,000 GP to the right buyer.The six of them look at one another with big grins on their faces.</blockquote>

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