Dr Midnight
Explorer
SESSION 39
Sunday, 9th of Harvester
DOUBT
The party bent over the chess board and studied it- all except for Nanny, of course, who stood attentively… and Dartan, who had no love for chess. He walked restlessly about.
“Can we… Should we move the pieces?” It was found that no, the pieces could not be moved… but they could be turned. Each rotated on its own central axis.
“The board itself isn’t magical… nor are any of the pieces,” Jamison reported.
After fifteen minutes, Dartan grew bored of waiting around, and decided to investigate the drawn curtain to the north. He pulled it aside and ignored the questions behind him. This large, rectangular room had open doorways along the northwest and northeast. Standing in front of the curtained doorway, right before him, was a statue of two snakes wrapped around a winged pole. The pole rose up from a small, flat pedestal. On the opposing wall, above the serpents' heads, were carved the letters "E," "S," "C," "N," "W," and "C."
The snake-statue turned to face him with a low grating noise as the stone of the pedestal turned. One snake head spoke. “If you wish to pass by me…”
“State how many in your party there be,” the other added.
“Tell the truth, and pass at will.”
“Lie, to me, I'll strike to kill."
Dartan was happy to face something in combat after all this riddling and guessing, but he humored the creature. “There are seven of us,” he said, drawing his sword with a hopeful grin.
The thing hissed and came to life, ripping away from its pedestal and attacking. Dartan swung at it and clocked a huge chunk of stone out of it. Nanny stamped up behind him and swung at the construct from over Dartan’s head.
“What are they fighting,” Kizzlorn asked, only half-interested.
“I don’t know, but I want in,” Vek said. He stood and walked over to find the battle already done.
Dartan slid his sword back into his scabbard with an unsatisfied scowl. “This is too easy. This dungeon needs bigger creatures, and more of them.” He stepped over the rubble of the shattered snake statue into the room beyond. He glanced at the ESCNWC overhead and made a disgusted noise. None of them ever took the time to figure out just why the snake hadn’t been satisfied with the truthful answer…
The others didn’t really feel like working on the chess puzzle anymore… there were new corridors to explore. They followed Dartan and Nanny through into the next room. They walked through the north passage. It turned east and came to a door, that Vek opened. This large room was filled with 14 pews, seven to a side. At the south side was a raised dais, upon which were three closed chests. There was a door at the southeast, and another at the southwest. There were two torch sconces on the wall behind the chests, but neither of them were lit.
Each of the chests had a rune engraved upon the lid, and words carved into their fronts. Together, the words read "A TINY SIN AS TINY AS AN INSECT."
Dartan rolled his eyes and left them behind, to explore the other passage from the ESCNWC room. He went east, and Lem followed him.
“Ahh, let him go,” Jamison said. “Dartan when bored is like a caged animal. Best to let him go get into his own trouble.” From his position outside the room, he cast a spell on the center chest and it opened. He opened the other two in like manner, and a flash of greenish light emanated from the chest furthest from them. As no one was in the room, no one seemed affected…
Vek walked into the room and studied the chest. “Insanity… everyone else stay out until it’s run its course.” Vek’s brain, of course, had rotted away with the rest of his soft tissue. He wasn’t under the symbol’s control.
“You can read the symbol, Vek?”
“No,” he laughed. “It’s the one with ‘A TINY SIN’ written on it. Rearranged… INSANITY.”
They waited until the room was safe, then entered and looted the chests. The door at the other side of the room opened, and everyone’s head snapped to see what was attacking them, their hands all going to their weapons.
Dartan and Lem stood there, with a look of excitement quickly souring on their faces as they saw where their adventurous path had taken them. “Damn it,” Dartan cursed.
They walked up the stairs at the other end of the room and found a door that opened into the COBBLER room. A secret door was always fun to discover, but not from the business end.
“So… we’ve been everywhere, correct?” Orthos was checking his hand-drawn map, and it seemed every door and passage had been taken… except for two. “Here we go,” he said. The room with A NIP OF MEAD OR PURE ALES had two sets of stairs leading down that they had not taken. They walked back to that room and began to descend through the door to the south… the one that didn’t spell PAIN in jumbled letters overhead.
Vek led… and stepped on the trapped stair ten steps down. The stairs all turned downward and formed a smooth slide. Vek, Nanny, Orthos, and Dartan tumbled down into the darkness. The others still stood at the top. The four slid down and landed. Vek was first to his feet, looking about.
This room was large, and cast entirely in a thick, sulfurous crimson light. Torches burned along wall sconces, and their smoke filled the cavernous room so that the opposing walls were hidden entirely. Smoke roiled amidst what appeared to be dozens of statues. Stone statues scattered all through the room- each appearing to be in mid-combat. Statues of armored men and women. Cracked and perfectly carved. Not one of the Knights trusted them.
Then, rapidly, a sound: CH-CH-CH-CH-CH-CHhh….
Vek’s keen eyes saw something shift at the far end of the room. At this distance, it was just a dim form moving through the red mist. Greenish eyes glowed. The head seemed to move, shapeless.
A slithering was heard on stone. “Best stand and ready yourselves,” the lich warned with a smile. “…and try not to mock her hairstyle.”
MORE TO COME…
Sunday, 9th of Harvester
DOUBT
The party bent over the chess board and studied it- all except for Nanny, of course, who stood attentively… and Dartan, who had no love for chess. He walked restlessly about.
“Can we… Should we move the pieces?” It was found that no, the pieces could not be moved… but they could be turned. Each rotated on its own central axis.
“The board itself isn’t magical… nor are any of the pieces,” Jamison reported.
After fifteen minutes, Dartan grew bored of waiting around, and decided to investigate the drawn curtain to the north. He pulled it aside and ignored the questions behind him. This large, rectangular room had open doorways along the northwest and northeast. Standing in front of the curtained doorway, right before him, was a statue of two snakes wrapped around a winged pole. The pole rose up from a small, flat pedestal. On the opposing wall, above the serpents' heads, were carved the letters "E," "S," "C," "N," "W," and "C."
The snake-statue turned to face him with a low grating noise as the stone of the pedestal turned. One snake head spoke. “If you wish to pass by me…”
“State how many in your party there be,” the other added.
“Tell the truth, and pass at will.”
“Lie, to me, I'll strike to kill."
Dartan was happy to face something in combat after all this riddling and guessing, but he humored the creature. “There are seven of us,” he said, drawing his sword with a hopeful grin.
The thing hissed and came to life, ripping away from its pedestal and attacking. Dartan swung at it and clocked a huge chunk of stone out of it. Nanny stamped up behind him and swung at the construct from over Dartan’s head.
“What are they fighting,” Kizzlorn asked, only half-interested.
“I don’t know, but I want in,” Vek said. He stood and walked over to find the battle already done.
Dartan slid his sword back into his scabbard with an unsatisfied scowl. “This is too easy. This dungeon needs bigger creatures, and more of them.” He stepped over the rubble of the shattered snake statue into the room beyond. He glanced at the ESCNWC overhead and made a disgusted noise. None of them ever took the time to figure out just why the snake hadn’t been satisfied with the truthful answer…
The others didn’t really feel like working on the chess puzzle anymore… there were new corridors to explore. They followed Dartan and Nanny through into the next room. They walked through the north passage. It turned east and came to a door, that Vek opened. This large room was filled with 14 pews, seven to a side. At the south side was a raised dais, upon which were three closed chests. There was a door at the southeast, and another at the southwest. There were two torch sconces on the wall behind the chests, but neither of them were lit.
Each of the chests had a rune engraved upon the lid, and words carved into their fronts. Together, the words read "A TINY SIN AS TINY AS AN INSECT."
Dartan rolled his eyes and left them behind, to explore the other passage from the ESCNWC room. He went east, and Lem followed him.
“Ahh, let him go,” Jamison said. “Dartan when bored is like a caged animal. Best to let him go get into his own trouble.” From his position outside the room, he cast a spell on the center chest and it opened. He opened the other two in like manner, and a flash of greenish light emanated from the chest furthest from them. As no one was in the room, no one seemed affected…
Vek walked into the room and studied the chest. “Insanity… everyone else stay out until it’s run its course.” Vek’s brain, of course, had rotted away with the rest of his soft tissue. He wasn’t under the symbol’s control.
“You can read the symbol, Vek?”
“No,” he laughed. “It’s the one with ‘A TINY SIN’ written on it. Rearranged… INSANITY.”
They waited until the room was safe, then entered and looted the chests. The door at the other side of the room opened, and everyone’s head snapped to see what was attacking them, their hands all going to their weapons.
Dartan and Lem stood there, with a look of excitement quickly souring on their faces as they saw where their adventurous path had taken them. “Damn it,” Dartan cursed.
They walked up the stairs at the other end of the room and found a door that opened into the COBBLER room. A secret door was always fun to discover, but not from the business end.
“So… we’ve been everywhere, correct?” Orthos was checking his hand-drawn map, and it seemed every door and passage had been taken… except for two. “Here we go,” he said. The room with A NIP OF MEAD OR PURE ALES had two sets of stairs leading down that they had not taken. They walked back to that room and began to descend through the door to the south… the one that didn’t spell PAIN in jumbled letters overhead.
Vek led… and stepped on the trapped stair ten steps down. The stairs all turned downward and formed a smooth slide. Vek, Nanny, Orthos, and Dartan tumbled down into the darkness. The others still stood at the top. The four slid down and landed. Vek was first to his feet, looking about.
This room was large, and cast entirely in a thick, sulfurous crimson light. Torches burned along wall sconces, and their smoke filled the cavernous room so that the opposing walls were hidden entirely. Smoke roiled amidst what appeared to be dozens of statues. Stone statues scattered all through the room- each appearing to be in mid-combat. Statues of armored men and women. Cracked and perfectly carved. Not one of the Knights trusted them.
Then, rapidly, a sound: CH-CH-CH-CH-CH-CHhh….
Vek’s keen eyes saw something shift at the far end of the room. At this distance, it was just a dim form moving through the red mist. Greenish eyes glowed. The head seemed to move, shapeless.
A slithering was heard on stone. “Best stand and ready yourselves,” the lich warned with a smile. “…and try not to mock her hairstyle.”
MORE TO COME…
