Banewarrens d20 (Angelsboi's party)

[diaglo]

Return to the Tomb of Horrors

Fiddle scouted ahead. Three chambers off a central corridor.

"Have you searched the place?" Fiddle asked.

"No, not exactly," Alya answered. "We were attacked by an allip. Here. And I stayed back to cover our retreat. Darian destroyed the creature and we grabbed the sword. We thought we had completed our quest."

"Have you ever heard of a dumby tomb?" Fiddle chided. "Come on, lets look around."

Sure enough within a few moments Fiddle found a secret panel. He checked it for traps. "Stand back," Fiddle ordered. He opened it. A tunnel. He spiked it open. Holding out his sword he crawled forward. The others followed. Fiddle checked for tracks, traps, and unusual seams, whatever. Who knew how old this tomb was. He came to a four way split. Ahead was a chamber. To the left and right more small tunnels. He tossed his coin into the chamber. Poof. The light went out.

"A hundred gold Lions," Fiddle Cursed. "Well at least I'm alive."

Darian brought his light forward. Fiddle tried the other tunnels. He guessed they led back to the other two chambers. And probably had hidden panels like the first. Sure enough. No other way around. Fiddle would have to cross the trap area of no magic. He retrieved his old sword. He stripped off his potions and Lightning Strike. He moved cautiously forward. Checking the floor. Tiles. Looked at the walls. A story of an epic battle. One figure stood out. He picked up his coin and proceeded forward. The light returned.

A Ten foot wide strip across the whole chamber. But why. Only by continuing would the party find out. Another corridor and a turn out of sight. The mural continued too. The new room was like a war consul chamber. A large table with several benches. The scene on the wall also depicted this tone. More figures rose up from the masses. But the central figure still remained the same. A pile of rags and possible bones lay on the far side of the chamber. Another corridor behind the pile.

Alya hummed. A small hand started playing with the pile. Nothing happened.

Fiddle sprinted forward. He leapt from floor to bench to tabletop. He danced a jig as he looked around from on high. His dismount was not as graceful. He sprawled next to the pile. Darian strolled to his side. Fiddle found 2 rings, 2 wands, a set of bracers, a cloak and a staff with a pearl on top. But none of it was magic. Plus the skeleton of the former owner. Vlad came over too. A red mist appeared down the unexplored corridor. It moved.

"I don't like this," Darian said. "That mist is almost other planar."

Fiddle, Vlad, Alya, and Sully had already run for the no magic zone. Darian ran to catch up.

 

[biorph]

Ya know I didn't realize it before

but there's enough K's in this place to choke a horse.

Acererak
Kersherec
Malkith
Kelerecent

 

[diaglo]

Critical Splat that didn't happen

It was agreed Vlad and Fiddle would scout ahead. They removed the last of their magic. And lit a normal bullseye lantern. They walked by the mist without incident. And searched the corridor. Again the warrior on the walls fought his battles. At the end of the corridor was a last chamber. Inside a statue of a man holding a sword stood on a dias. At his feet were jewels and coins. The scene on the walls showed him being showered with wealth and appreciation. A victory or triumph. Fiddle drooled over the items from the doorway. Vlad entered the chamber. A figure with bad teeth and patchy skin stabbed out with a rapier just missing. Some form of undead. Fiddle hit the thing in the head with a vial of acid. Vlad ran. The thing stabbed at Fiddle. Fiddle ran. It ducked behind a corner. Vlad and Fiddle ran back to the others.

"We have to get around the mist first," Darian said.

"At least we know we are close," Alya hoped.

"Maybe," Fiddle answered.

The party tried several things to harm the mist. Normal weapons didn't seem to work. An enchanted arrow did. But when Sully got too close. He lost a spell, some charges from a wand and his cloak wavered. The thing grew. It fed on magic.

Sully pelted it with bolts of magic which at times caused it to shrink and when Darian aided with a summoning caused it to grow. The spells were flying but the party was no closer to their goal.

"We need to figure out its weaknesses," Fiddle stated the obvious.

"Baba Sybil had a set of bellows by her chimney," Alya mentioned.

"That's as good a start as any, " Fiddle agreed. "Anybody got a torch? Lets try fire on the thing."

 

[diaglo]

update to follow sometime this evening or tomorrow.

looks like Vlad, Darian, Alya, Fiddle and Sully will all be in the thick of things. starting with the nishruu.

 

[diaglo]

Red misty morning haze

The party gathered around the campfire. They would need to decide what to do about the red mist. And the no magic zone. And the undead rogue thing. And finally the statue with the sword.

"A nishruu," Darian said. "It took me all night but I finally remembered what that mist is called. It is a being from another plane. An outsider. They drain the world of magic."

"I could've told you that," Sully acknowledged. "But who would summon it and why? It seemed intelligent. Maybe we can reason with it. I speak Draconic and a few other languages."

"I speak a few languages also," Alya quipped. "But I haven't yet mastered the ability to speak all of them thru magic. What about a bellows? We borrow one from Sybil and draw off the mist bit by bit and expel it into the no magic zone."

"I still say we burn it," Fiddle humphed. "Gas evaporates in flame."

"Go ahead and try it then Fiddle," Darian nodded. "I think I have an idea, if you succeed."

So after resting and praying and gathering themselves for the day, the party plunged back into the tomb. Nothing had changed from the previous trip, nor had anything new appeared. Fiddle stripped off his magic and ran ahead with a torch. He encountered the mist. But it didn't seem to notice his presence. So Fiddle waved the torch menacingly. This caused the mist to shift away. A definite reaction. Fiddle ran back and told the others.

"Great," Darian was elated. He drew his flaming sword and placed his other magic aside. "Come Fiddle lets end this."

"I'll aid you as best I can," Fiddle replied. "If the thing drains your blade at least the torch will provide light."

"I have an idea," Alya stepped forward. She hummed a tune. The sword vanished. "An extra spell will help keep the magic on the sword."

Darian and Fiddle fought the nishruu. It was a bout of parry, dodge, thrust, and scamper. Fiddle could only aid Darian by distracting the mist. The sword winked out once in the fight, but the torch held the mist at bay. Darian also summoned small fire elementals to help. The combination of magic, fire, and luck won the day. Darian's last blow caused the mist to burn black and disappear for good. The sword went out again. But returned a few heart stopping moments later.

"Yes," Alya rounded the corner in preparation to sing a ballad of inspiration.

"You just missed the fun," Darian said. "I'm nearly spent today magic wise. You best heal us if and when the need arises."

Darian and Fiddle went and collected their other items. The party advanced to the statue room.

 

[diaglo]

Curses or curst; Foiled or epeed again

Fiddle tossed the torch into the room. It lit most of the statue, the coins, the gems, and the mural. But not the undead rogue.

"I think the area ahead is a no magic zone also," Fiddle thought out loud. He tossed his coin ahead. It blinked out. He picked it up and tossed it further. It winked out and back again. The back wall was now more visible. "The rogue is around somewhere so be careful."

The party moved into the room. Fiddle and Vlad in the lead. Darian and Alya followed. And Redd and Sully brought up the rear. Darian swept his lantern around into the remaining darkness.

Redd sneezed. Sully looked up as the creature lunged at him with dagger and rapier. Both too high. Sully jumped back and coated himself in magic. Fiddle entered the fracas. His attack deflected aside by the undead creature.

"Foul creature Begone," Darian called on Lathander. The light poured forth. The creature was unaffected. Alya fired her bow. The arrow hit the wall. Vlad took up a position on the other side of Fiddle and struck the wall with his axe instead of the creature.

The creature moved away from Fiddle and Vlad very awkwardly. Vlad shocked it as it tried to roll passed. It lunged for Sully. The rapier found its mark. Sully moved again. This time he tossed a handful of shiny dust at the creature. Fiddle landed a dagger thrust. Darian sprinkled blessed water. The creature sizzled and burned. A light appeared in Alya's face as if she had an epiphany. She hummed a tune of healing. She reached out and touched the thing. It burned even more. Crumpled and fell apart. Vlad flexed.

Fiddle went to the pile of treasure as the others hovered over the corpse, detected for magic, and healed Sully. He pocketed some gems before Vlad and Alya appeared at his side. They gathered the coins; mostly coppers, some silver, and a few gold and the few gems Fiddle missed.

"There's no sword. Just a scabbard," Sully said. "Next time remind me to coat myself with magic ahead of time."

"Looks like the rapier fits the scabbard," Alya added. "I could use it."

"Hold on," Fiddle blurted. "Let me make sure it is safe."

Fiddle went to work on the statue. He searched each step of the Dias as he climbed. And then around the base of the statue. The legs, the torso, the neck, And then the buckle on the scabbard. And then he climbed on the statue and searched the head.

"Let me undo the thing," Alya grew impatient. "Did you find anything?"

"Watch and see," Fiddle tilted the head back and looked down into the neck. A grating sound was heard behind and a passage revealed. A puff of old air escaped from the corridor beyond. Fiddle climbed down and undid the buckle of the scabbard. He handed it to Alya. He then spiked the door.

 

[diaglo]

Tarzan and Jane meet the Blob

The corridor went beyond Fiddle's light. Darian stepped up with his lantern. 40' and it turned. Fiddle scouted ahead. Alya observed the walls for any inconsistencies. None were noted. At the bend Fiddle found a large pit.

"Let me check it out," Fiddle said. Fiddle began to hammer a spike into the ground 15' back from the pit and attach his rope.

"We can leap this," Darian noted. "It looks about 10 ft across."

"Speak for yourself," Sully hinted.

"Okay," Fiddle was ready. "I'll climb down into the pit and look for any goodies." Fiddle tossed 35' of rope down into the pit. He grabbed with one hand behind and one in front as he looped the rope around his waist. He would rappel down face first. He leapt off the edge and down. Darian stepped to the edge with his lantern. The first 10' were no problem. Suddenly the remaining 25' or 3 lbs of rope were weightless. As if they no longer existed. Fiddle saw something move. He reversed momentum and ran back up the rope. Darian reacted. He too saw the movement.

"SOmething coming," Fiddle screamed.

Fiddle and Darian just made it clear of the pit as a cubic glob of fluid slid up the pit. They ran.

"It's a cube," Alya said. She fired an arrow into the mass. The shaft dissolved. The arrow head floated. She ran. Vlad too fired into the creature and ran. Sully picked up Redd with one hand and ran.

"How do we stop it?" Fiddle yelled as he ran. He pulled out his bow.

Darian called for help from Lathander. "At least it is slow." A brief flash of light and then a hiss soon followed.

Everyone was in the statue room again. Alya, Vlad and Fiddle fired arrows. Sully waited. When the creature entered the room, he called forth his magic balls. The gelatin became goo and burst on the floor.

"I think it's dead," Fiddle poked at it with his dagger. "Does anyone have any rope? The cube ate mine. My silk rope. That was 10gp and the most useful piece of equipment I had."

"I've got a hemp rope," Darian answered. "I do still right, Fiddle?"

"I can fly us across Fiddle," Sully remarked. Fiddle smiled.

"I'll jump it," Darian said matter-of-factly. Vlad nodded too.

"Attach a rope Sully and I'll swing across," Alya thought.

Fiddle crossed with Sully. He guarded the other side. Sully hammered a spike into the ceiling and tied the rope. Alya grabbed hold and swung. She landed in the pit with the rope. The spike just missed her head. Sully recovered the rope and Alya climbed up. Her dignity almost intact. Darian and Vlad secured the rope on their side as Fiddle and Alya did on the other. They crossed over without incident.

Fiddle scouted ahead. The party found a cavern with a float ball of eyes. Fiddle fired an arrow into the thing. It exploded. The cavern contained a pit of bubbling tar and a slick bridge. Alya used some magic to clean the bridge.

 

[diaglo]

Liches

"Who dares to distrub the tomb of the great Kersherec?" a large bony warrior with a sharp halberd shouted.

"We are the Stormslayers," Fiddle answered. "Who wants to know?"

"I am Ivan," he replied, "the Right Hand of Kersherec. Cursed to guard his tomb until I have been freed."

"He's a Lich," Darian remarked. "Cursed did you say? We are seeking the sword you guard. The Greatsword your master wielded. The Sword of Truth also known as the Sword of Lies."

"I don't know this sword," Ivan flexed.

"Why are you cursed?" Fiddle asked. "And how do we free you?"

"I made a pact with my master's chief rival," Ivan told his tale, "the wizard advisor Amarak, to help him gain the favor of King Acerarec. I slew my master. But as a last laugh I was cursed. Only when Amarak's tomb has been plundered and his spellbooks thrown into the tar pit will I be free."

"We'll think about it. Shake on it," Fiddle advanced. Ivan flexed.

"Okay lets go," Alya called out.

The party left. On the way to the surface they talked about what to do next. Sybil should know. The party would tell her about the undead rogue and guardian. Maybe she would know more about the story Ivan told.

"She's a Lich," Darian remarked again. "Or soon will be. I'll ask Lathander for guidance."

"Great toss your bones," Sully chuckled. "I'm wondering if signs will say Yes. Or Try again will come up on your magic 8 bones."

"Weal and Woe," Darian gasped. "Let us find the Elf Lich."

The mist had returned but Fiddle found the trail. Sybil was not at home. Her tracks led to the West. She had paused near a newly excavated tomb. The smell of wet animals wafted from the entrance. Fiddle made note of the place. And checked for tracks and traps.

An hour later the party found the frail elf. Sybil gathered herbs and fungi from a strange garden.

"Beware the banes of Eslathagos Malkith," she blurted.

Alya told Ivan's tale. And showed off her new rapier. Sybil filled in a few more pieces of the story. She told them what she knew of beings like Ivan and the rogue. As well as the location of Amarak's tomb. And his possible form still being present. The newly opened animal smelling one.

"He's a Lich," Darian guessed.

"You think everything is a Lich," Vlad smirked.

Fiddle asked about Kalerecent of Lathander. Sybil said the presence of good still existed nearby.

"So I guess we plunder the wizard's tomb?" Alya noted. "We can then visit Ivan with the books. If he tries to renege on his word we kill him. If we can." She looked at her new rapier. "I hope this isn't cursed still."

 

[diaglo]

Them

"Hold on a second," Sully paused. He covered himself in magic. "Okay, that's better."

Amarak's tomb had been assaulted by the orcs, ogres, and other humanoids in league with the Moandites. Or at least that is what the party surmised from information Sybil provided. Humans too had tried to enter. But their failure was still evident on the battlefield. The victors, the humanoids, had done a nasty job of hacking, slashing, and clawing their way inside the tomb. After 20' or so a rough tunnel dropped out of sight. A thick rope was secured and dangled down into the darkness, perhaps 40' to the bottom. The party climbed down into the tomb.

They stood in a proper room. An antechamber. The only exit opened into a corridor. A set of stairs rose gradually in the corridor. Two rough tunnels ruined the walls. One on either side. The main corridor continued. The tunnels were smaller than the entryway tunnel and showed signs of some different tool. Fiddle examined the markings. He led the way into the tunnel on the right.

"Right hand rule?" Sully asked.

"That's the plan," Fiddle responded.

The party trekked into the passage. Every time the passage split, they went right. Several times they came to dead ends. Someone or something had deliberately blocked the passage with a boulder. Fiddle rounded the next corner. He looked up to see a field of fungi.

WWWWWWwwwwaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhHHHhh

Two toadstools Fiddle's size screamed an alarm. Fiddle and the rest ran back to the main corridor.

"What do we do now?" Darian asked. "If they summoned some guards there is no way we can climb out of here without exposing ourselves. And we don't know how many of the humanoids are down here."

The party began to debate. Fiddle and Vlad looked around while on guard. When nothing came, Fiddle chose the other tunnel. He made it 10' into the tunnel when something grabbed him. A large insectoid with acid dripping off its jaws. Sully followed and fired his magic balls. Alya began to sing. She coated Fiddle in grease. Fiddle still couldn't break free. The creature retreated with Fiddle into a larger chamber. Vlad and Darian brought up the rear.

Sully tossed 3 more balls of magic. Alya buried an arrow into the creature's abdomen. It dropped. Fiddle tumbled free drawing his blades. Another creature spit a stream of acid at Fiddle, Alya, and Sully. Fiddle avoided the mess. A third insect attacked Vlad and Darian. A fourth could be seen in the original corridor, but it wouldn't fit with the mass of bodies. It disappeared to the left. Vlad and Darian retaliated.

Sully fired off another series of magic balls. Alya healed Fiddle all the way back to normal. He leapt into close combat with the insect. His dagger found a weakness. The insects attacked back. Fiddle parried the bite. Vlad and Darian tried again to bring down the rearguard. Its carapace was too tough.

Sully kept up the magic assault. Alya went to Vlad's aid. Fiddle brought down the insect with Lightning Strike. He heard a scraping sound to the side.

"Something's moving over there," Fiddle yelled to Sully.

The last visible insect spit acid at Vlad and Alya. Sully had just enough protect from the tunnel. And Darian was on the other side of the insect's head. Vlad and Darian swung again. The fourth insect crashed thru the wall behind Vlad.

Sully collected himself. He tried to find a way to help. Fiddle charged opposite Vlad and landed a savage blow. Alya fired an arrow over Fiddle's head into the creature. The insects attacked Vlad and Darian. Vlad broke the hold. Darian stepped forward and bashed the new attacker with his mace. Sully saw his chance. He fired one magic ball at the new very hurt insect. It collapsed. And the remaining two balls struck the last insect. Vlad ended the fight.

 

[diaglo]

Don't mock the happy fun cleric

"I hope there aren't any more," Sully said. "I'm out of my offensive spells. Unless I refocus some of my stronger magic."

Alya and Darian ran around healing the party and themselves.

"Ankhegs," Fiddle told everyone. "I think we can guess why we haven't seen the humanoids."

Sully, Darian, and Alya couldn't decide if they should leave or stay. Fiddle chose the new tunnel to scout ahead. He didn't go far when he found a stash of old weapons and armor. Too much to check and Fiddle had to leave marks for a quick retreat just in case.

"Where'd he go?" Darian asked.

"I'll get him," Vlad said.

The others soon caught up to Fiddle. He was staring into a large burial chamber. More like a catacomb. The bones of many dead lined the walls. Fiddle strode into the room. Vlad entered right behind him. The bones stirred.

"Liches," Vlad laughed. Fiddle, Sully, Redd, and Alya joined in.

Darian's face darkened. He didn't see the humor. He adjusted his lantern so everyone could see better, but refused to reach for his holy symbol. "Fine. You handle them."

"Back into the tunnel," Fiddle scurried back. One of the skeletons scratched him as he passed by.

"We will fight them one at a time in the tunnel," Vlad agreed. He repositioned at the entrance and hit one of the skeletons with his axe. Nine of the undead advanced.

Sully and Alya looked to Darian again.

"It isn't nice to mock the Priest when we are in a tomb," Darian schooled. He pulled out his holy symbol finally. "Begone." The mass of skeletons crumpled.

"My guess is there is a similar chamber across the corridor," Fiddle surmised. "This place was too uniform before the ankhegs and humanoids ruined it. There is a passage over there."