The EARTH story - October 13, 1372

October 13th dawns sunny and cold. The temperature struggles above the freezing point as you prepare to reenter the dungeon: getting healed, praying and memorising your spells. At last, as noontime approaches, you head back in.

Soon you are back at the four-way intersection where yesterday you battled the scorpions and demons, and finally the vampire.

To the north is the passage which ultimately leads out.

To the east is another passage that you have already explored.

To the south is a passage which runs for 50', turning northeast after 40'. There is a passage running west in the 20' - 30' section.

To the west is the passage which leads to the room from which the demons came. There are a number of doors and passages down that way which remain to be explored.

Does anyone recall which way the vamp came from? I suggest we hunt her down and kill her, of course after we get what information we need from her," Al says with a grin, with Claw in one hand and his dark grey shield in the other.

"I remember," says Mikodin quickly.  "She went that way."

"Everyone ready?" Al asks as he starts to move that way with Mikodin.

You head west to the room from whence the demons came.

There are two doors in the south wall. One leads to the passage that you chased the vampiress down; the other is unopened.

"Let go down the one we know," Al says as he starts to move down the corridor that you chased the vamp down.

Jon steps forward and listens, then detects magic, then searches for traps and then when he finds none flexes his fingers and picks the lock, whispering, "After you, please..."

He then returns to near the back of the group.

The door was not locked so Jon has an easy time of it.

Opening the door, you see the passageway heading off to the southwest for 60' and on (right wall). In the 40' - 50' section of the left wall is a passage running east.

You head down to the intersection.

Looking southwest you see that this passage ends at a flight of stairs going down. Mikodin and Al pursued the vampiress down there.

Looking east, you see that the other passage runs for 60' (right wall) before ending at a blank wall. In the 0' - 10' section of the left wall is a 10' wide, 10' long passage running northeast, ending at a door. That door, you recall, was where the vampiress led you to last, as it opened into the lair of the black puddings. You never did get a good look at the room which lay through the door.

Tully says, "Let's move forward."

Claw and shield in hand, Al opens the door and re-enters the room carefully, making sure no puddings attack.

The room from whence came the puddings is small and triangular-shaped (right wall runs east for 10', then northwest for 10' (door), then southwest for 10' to close up). It is now deserted. You wonder how two large puddings could ever fit into such a tiny space, but since you have all adventured in this melieu for awhile and seen more incongruous sights you do not dwell on it.

Instead, you open the door to the northeast.

Again you see a triangular-shaped room (right wall runs north for 20', southwest for 10' to close up). Poking around in here, you find nothing of interest or value.

Jon asks, "Can someone detect evil or some other spell? Perhaps that can lead us to the vampire."

Equinox pulls out MC Hammer: "Sense any evil around here, MC?"

"I'm the only bad around here, man!"

Tully says, "Let's search for secret doors. This is a bit interesting with the shapes. There may be another triangular room."

People start looking.

Tully pulls out an arrow and tosses says, "Which way to the vampire?"

He tosses it into the air.

He says, "Not sure if this will work or not, but it is worth a shot."

The arrow falls to the floor, pointing southwest.

Jon, invisible, pales when the arrow works and looks through his equipment, finds a nearly year old clove of garlic, crushes it and hangs it around his neck.

Jon checks his continual stash of continual light coins and then looks to the location of the paladin and starts to slowly move forward within the
group to say hello.

"Hello, perhaps Sharone should stay near you too!!"

"Let's see if it is repeatable."

Tully tosses the arrow again and says, "Which way to the vampire?"

It points southwest again.

"Works for me," Al says as he follows the way to the southwest.

Southwest is back down the passage and down the stairs to the level below.

As you head that way, though, Ayazin, who had taken Tully up on his original suggestion, announces that he has discovered a secret door...in the east wall of the second triangular room, northern section.

Decisions, decisions...

Beth says, "Ayazin, can you figure out how to open the door?"

She shows the maps she's been drawing to the others.  "We're here in this small triangular room, just above the one marked 13, but it's hard to read. We're below the 12 there, and that's the secret door in the wall.  Chances are that it just meets up with this other passageway over here south of the four-way intersection where we had that big battle, but we might as well open it and find out."

"Let's check the secret door, would be bad if the blood sucking bitch had the drop on us with any hidden 'friends'!" Al replies as he walks towards the secret door.

"I agree," says Kithus, "that we should check out the secret door. Although the arrow points southwest, I've always heard that the most direct way is most likely not the best way or the easiest way."

Ayazin cannot find the trick to the door but Jon does, so you open it.

Through it you see a room (20' X 30': 20' south, 20' east; door in east wall right across from you). This room is bare but for a few coins scattered about on the floor, which you greedily take (10pp).

You open that door to the east.

This reveals another room (20' square: 10' north, 20' east; door in the south wall west corner; door in the east wall south corner).

In here are two enormous, bulging chests, seemingly ready to burst at the seams with what can only be a massive treasure trove.

"Any of you mages have detect illusion as well as knock?" Al inquires, looking around, thinking this is WAY too easy. He chants to Thor, "Great Lord, let me see what your power can show me!"

He casts true seeing and looks around.

Jon comments, "It's gotta be a trap of some sorts."

Jon then detects magic, but detects none.

Al sees that the chests are actually two monsters, ready to eat the first people who come within striking range.

He tells the others.

"Mimics," says Devlin. "We met one in Razamataz's dungeon, remember?"

Jon stops on hearing this.

"Mimics? Well guess it's the mages first, then."

Drinor chuckles. "Monsters that prey on the greedy and avaricious? I like them! I suppose we ought to do away with them, though."

"Kill them," Al says, waiting for the archers and spell casters of the group to pummel them.

Glancing about, Al also spots another secret door...in the west wall north section of this room.

Beth looks back and forth at the others, then shrugs and says, "Well, they're sitting targets."

She tries to zap each chest with her wand of paralyzation.  Once a ray hits each one, she says, "Somebody with a really big sword move forward and find out if they actually got paralyzed."

"Funny, Beth, but as long as you promise to heal me up all nice, I will go forward," Al says with a wink.

Aldarin steps forward and begins casting a lightning bolt, forking it to catch both beasts.

Mikodin, who was about to step forward to engage the beasts, quickly drops, rolls, and runs out of the way of rebounding lightning bolts.

"Uh-oh," says Equinox, looking for a way to get out of the way of the lightning that is about to go bouncing all over the room.

While the rest of you scatter for cover Aldarin completes his spell. His calculations were correct, and the bolt does not rebound sufficient to zap anyone but the mimics.

"ROAR!" you hear as the two chests jump into action, charging at Aldarin. Apparently Beth's wand did not affect either of them. Both are damaged by the lightning, though, one severely.

"Hmm, nuts," Beth says, and fires off a volley of magic missiles at the less-wounded mimic.

Aron attacks the more severely damaged mimic, using his dagger.

Drinor strides forward with his flaming broadsword, attacking the nearest mimic.

Ayazin draws his scimitar and guards the rear of the party, looking out for other monsters who may be attracted by the noise.

Aldarin attacks the one most effected by the lightning bolt with his flaming sword.

Kithus jumps in front of the lesser damage mimic, eager for action. He tries to slash the mimic.

"Dun, dun, DUUUUUH!" is heard.

Al jumps in and protects Aldarin, slicing at the mimic closest to him.

Equinox joins Ayazin at the rear of the party and asks MC to keep checking to see if any evil comes our way.

Jon hides in shadows while invisible.

Mikodin attacks whichever is closest, saying as he does so, "Sorry, Aldarin, for ever doubting you."

"Please accept my apology as well, Aldarin" says Equinox.

Aldarin smiles slightly as he continues his attack, saying, "Do not fear my friends, my ego is not that delicate.  Although it in NO way compares to that of Farad," he finishes with a wink.

Op Code jumps up holding his sword and, if room permits, attacks one of the mimics.

Beth's magic missiles slam into the more intact monster, leaving it more hurt than ever.

Meanwhile, the other mimic belts Aron in the chops for 6 hit points; he then misses with his blade.

Beside him, Aldarin slashes with his flame tongue, and the monster dies in flames.

Close by, Drinor tries to do likewise with the last mimic. He takes a hit below the belt for 9 hit points, but then the paladin slays the monster.

Revealed where they were sitting when you opened the door into this room is a hole in the floor, filled to the brim with coins.

Before you have time to start salivating again, though, the secret door opens and there stands the vampiress.

"You have returned to me," she says to Sharone, "I knew you would."

Sharone starts a prayer to Idun.

Equinox readies his rope to use on Sharone if she shows any sign of succumbing to the vampiress again - or on anyone if the vampiress hypnotizes someone else instead.

He stays in the back of the party.

"MC, keep making sure that no evil is sneaking around here, OK?"

"No bad, man!"

Aron will attack the vampiress if she gets near him, otherwise he waits and lets the spell casters do their stuff.

The cavalier rushes over to slice at the vampiress.

"Hold Sharone!" he commands the group as he deals with the blood sucking woman.

Tully fires arrows at the vampire.

Tully's first arrow flies wide.

"In the name of Hecate, Sleep!" she commands.

Tully drops to the floor, snoring to beat the band.

Then, Al is on her, slashing at her quickly. She gazes into his eyes with a look of need and desire...and for a moment he hesitates as the brain between his legs vies for control of his will with the brain between his ears. The latter is successful, surprisingly, and he strikes her again and she shrieks hideously.

Al swings a third time as she lunges at him. Connecting with his blade she is badly hurt, and her bite misses its mark. He swings again and chops into her a fourth time...and she is gone.

You look through the doorway and into the room whence she came.

It measures 10' square (door in north wall). In here is a coffin, its lid open. Lying atop the fresh dirt which almost fills the coffin is the vampiress, seemingly sleeping the sleep of the innocent.

Tully awakens.

"Whew!"  Beth says.  "First, Aldarin, great shootin' there against the mimics.  You know how to throw a mean and carefully placed lightning bolt.  I'm impressed.  And, Al, good job against the vampire."

Aldarin nods with a smile to Beth, "Thank you, my dear."

"I aim to serve, m'lady!" Al says with a bow as he seeks to finally finish off the vampiress. "Might you have some holy water on you?"

Jon comments, "It's too easy, methinks. Can someone detect evil in here, just to make sure we aren't surprised? Geerzo, any magic around here?"

"Oh yeah...she's wearing it!"

Jon asks, "What is it? Cloak, dress or something else?"

"Undress her and see, big fella!"

Jon takes out the continual light coins and look for traps and secret compartments.

"Good idea. MC? Anything evil around here, other than the half dead Vampiress?"

"Only me! I'm bad!"

Al runs to her to lop her head off with his scimitar.

"Don't we need to put a stake through her heart, or something like that?  Bury her head in a running stream?  I seem to remember a bunch of things one is supposed to do to a vampire, but I have never dealt with one before, actually," says Mikodin in a matter-of-fact voice.

"A stake would help, yes, but from what I recall you need to behead one and pour holy water all over their resting place so they can't come back," he comments. "Anyone have a stake?"

"Whatever you want to to do is fine, but just to make sure, why don't we also drag her outside and let her cook in the sunlight?"

Sharone asks someone to fashion a stake out of the lid of the coffin.

Devlin flexes and sets to quickly fashioning a crude wooden stake.

"You go, girl," Beth says empoweringly.

"I'd like to drive this through her heart myself, if that's okay with everyone else?"

"Sharone, have you any holy water?" Al inquires.

Sharone opens her backpack and extracts a couple of pints of water, "Idun has blessed this water, use it with her blessing."

"Thanks, darlin'!" he says as he kisses the back of her hand after taking the water.

Beth put her hand on the Al's shoulder and gently pulls him back, hissing, "Al, let her do it."

"As you wish," he says, stopping short. Leaning in to Beth, he asks in a whisper, "Why? What ritual is she performing? As a cleric of Thor, I do know my way around divine rituals, perhaps the Idunians do it differently."

"I dunno," Beth says, "but she said that she wanted to do it, and she looks busy."

Sharone smiles at Beth. "No, let him pour the water, I'll be happy with pounding the stake home and then calling on Idun for her to take the creature to rest."

"That's your cue, Al," Beth says.  "Go for it."

The cavalier takes the holy water, sprinkling the coffin as well as on the vampiress.

The holy water hisses as it touches the tainted soil and her body. The vampiress opens her eyes, then smiles as Sharone presses the wooden stake to her breast.

"My time of guardianship is done," she whispers softly, "You have only to take the Key from its Guardians."

Her eyes find Drinor.

"Hecate has a present for you. You will need it, where you are going," she sighs, as Sharone drives the stake into her heart. Her eyes glaze over, she exhales one last time, and she dies, a faint smile on her lips.

Sharone then performs a ceremony releasing the soul of the vampiress to Idun. "My goddess will ensure she has eternal rest."

While Sharone performs the ritual, Beth quietly scribbles on her map to get it up to date, comparing it with Op Code's.

"I want to check something," she says.  In the 20x20 room just east of the small room with the vampiress' coffin, she opens the door on the east wall and looks out, expecting to see a 30' hallway which leads to a T-intersection and hoping that nothing eats her.

She sees what she expects to see.

Satisfying her sense of anal retensivity, she then closes the door.

When Sharone finishes her ritual, you search the body and the coffin.

The vampiress wore a suit of chain mail, clearly of elven make and of excellent quality. You also find a scroll, 2500gp, 1750pp and five fine diamonds (5000gp ea.)

Geerzo informs you that the chain mail and scroll radiate magic.

In the room where you fought the mimics you also find a trove, in a hollow in the floor which one of the monsters sat atop: 6000sp and 2 gems (100gp ea.).

Beth points at the south door in the 20'x20' room and says, "Let's go that way next."

You open the south door in the room where you battled the mimics. Revealed is a 30' X 40' room (20' east, 40' south), which is entirely bare and uninteresting. You poke around in it anyway, and are rewarded when Aldarin spots a secret door in the west wall, 10' - 20' section (measured from the south). Opening this door reveals a passage running west: the same passage which originally led you into this area; the one which terminates at the passage running northeast - southwest.

It appears that you have finished this level.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Beth mutters under her breath, regarding the vampiress' last words.  "Everybody's a dark threatener."

Drinor raises his eyebrows, and waits until the vampiress is dead before speaking. "Hecate has a present for me? I wonder what it could be. Probably involves a nasty death. But, then again, didn't she have the scepter?"

"I believe so", says Mikodin.  "It's that part about 'where you are going' that has me slightly worried."

"Nice haul, folks," Al says with a smile.

Beth tries to silently read the scroll just to see what's on it.  She will feel very stupid very shortly if it's cursed.

She cannot understand it.

"Can anyone detect a curse or cast an augury to see if we should try to read it before you try that again?" Equinox asks the party. "I don't think that anyone wants to see the disaster in Razmataz's dungeon befall us again."

Aldarin inspects the elven chain.

"If no one has any objections, I could really use this armor for protection.  As you can tell", he says, lifting his arms out to his side, "I currently have no protection other than the minor magical cloak that I am wearing."

Beth says, "No objections here, but talk to the others.  If you do wear that armor, any chance I could borrow your cloak?  I've got absolutely no protections on whatsoever.  Alas, as a pure sorcerer, I can't wear armor without losing the ability to do what I do best.  One of these days I really need to get my hands on some better magical protections."

"Absolutely, my dear.  You would be more than welcome to use the cloak."

Though of Elven craft, the chain mail is sized for a human, so it does not fit Aldarin.

Tully says, "I have normal leather armor. Would anyone mind if I use it if Aldarin can't?"

Op Code mentions, "There are two hallways, to the east of here, that are unmapped. They probably hook up to make one barren hallway, but before we
head down to the next level, let's just check it out."

Beth nods.  "Let's do.  Then, downwards, I guess."

You head out through the east door in the mimic room. After 30' there is a "T" intersection with a passage running north - south.

You go down to the intersection and look.

To the north is the four-way intersection where you battled the scorpions. To the south the passage runs for 20' and ends, but opening to the east after 10'.

You go south and take a look.

The east opening is actually a passage running northeast...for 50' (left wall) before turning northwest. In the 40' - 50' section is a passage running west...which obviously runs back to the previously mentioned four-way interesection.

"Sweet," Al says, "goin' down?" he asks with a smile.

You head down to the next level.

Al and Mikodin have been here before, pursuing the vampiress.

At the bottom of the stairs is a 10' wide passage running south. for 60' and on. In the 20' - 30' and 30' - 40' sections of the west wall are two doors.

You go down to the doors. While Jon is inspecting them you look south. The passage continues for an additional 40' beyond what you saw from the bottom of the stairs and on. In the last 10' section of the west wall is a passage running west.

Jon announces that he hears no noises and detects no traps at the doors.

Finding the closest door, Al kicks it in and has Claw in hand.

Op Code is ready with sword in hand.

Beth arches one eyebrow in watchful curiosity.

Al opens the first door. Through it you see a hexagonal shaped room (right wall runs northwest for 20', southwest for 20', south for 10', southeast for 20' (door in southernmost section), then northeast for 20' (door in southernmost section).

This room is bare.

Beth randomly picks the door in the southeast wall, and says, "Let's go that way."

Op Code reminds the two of them that the door in the southeast just goes back into the hallway where they just were. "Check out the door to the southwest instead."

"There's a little space," Beth says.  "The hallway door was on a north-south wall, but this is on a northeast-southwest wall.  If they're the same door, then that would be pretty interesting!  Let's open it."

"You are right, Beth," Op Code nods. "I am trying to shake this nasty cold that is building in my head. It must be affecting my eyesight."

Aldarin steps forward brandishing his flaming sword and shield, in preparation.

Al flies over to the southeast door, lands beside it, and kicks that one open.

Mikodin stands guard to the rear, aware that monsters seem to have an uncanny ability to attack from the rear once the party is engaged to the front.

Opening the southeast door, you are confronted by a room of irregular dimensions (right wall runs south for 10', east for 20', north for 30', then southwest to close up (door in same wall as this one to your left).

First off, Beth and Op Code notice that while there is a door adjacent to this one as seen from the new room, there is no corresponding door on the other side of the wall in the hexagonal room. Also, there does not seem to be a door leading out into the passage where they expected it to be.

They start to get a Dungeon Mapper's Headache.

"Uuuggghhh," Beth mutters.  "That's why only chaotic people can survive when mapping dungeons."

Second, you observe that there are monsters in here: six large (8' tall) frog-like creatures with red flesh flecked with gray.

"Take them all," hisses one of them, and they move towards you.

Aldarin immediately extends a hand and calls forth a web spell to fill the room.

"Demonspawn!"

"This is more like it," Al says as he steps up to the closest one.

Tully takes a rope out of his pouch and tosses it towards the things with instructions for it to entangle them.

"Slaads!" Beth says, for once all those studies when she did when she was small paying off.  "Extraplanar!"

Beth casts protection from evil on herself, and then if time allows tries to zap one of the slaads.

As people react, the slaadi, their cover blown, speak words of stunning force and power.

Kithus, Beth, Op Code, Tully, Aldarin and Al are sent reeling and sprawling to the floor, senseless, their spells and attacks wasted.

"C'mon, Drinor, let's fix these guys!" says Devlin, stepping over the drooling form of Al to attack the nearest slaad.

"Indeed," growls Drinor, and rushes into melee combat with his flaming sword drawn, slashing at the nearest slaad.

Mikodin suddenly realizes that the rear of the party doesn't need nearly as much protection as the front; therefore, he leaps at the nearest slaad, screaming, "Die, reptile breath!"

The cavalier drools on himself until he can pull himself together and attack.

Beth drools a bit too.

Equinox throws his rope of entanglement at the slaad Mikodin is about to attack.

Then he draws MC Hammer and tries to protect the senseless party members all around him from the slaadi.

Ayazin turns to his wolf and mountain lion companions, and orders them to attack the slaads as well. He then casts flame blade to provide himself with a magical weapon, though he continues to watch the rear.

"Arf! Arf!"

"Meow!"

Jon wonders what all the fuss is about; it's not time to eat, so why would Beth want salads? Looking forward, Jon sees the members of the group fall over and thinks, must have been a strong salad. Maybe they don't like anchovies or dark olives. Seeing a bit of a battle starting, though, thoughts of eating are put in the left side of his brain, fall out his ear and are gone for the moment.

Jon tries to take a position on the left side of the door with his back to the dungeon wall waiting to attack the back of any of the creatures that manages to get by Drinor, Devlin or the monk. With Geerzo in hand, he covers the glow with his cloak.

Hearing Beth say 'extraplanar', Aron knows he has little chance of harming the creatures with his hands. So to do his best to help the team out, he pulls out his magical dagger and attack the closest slaadi.

The battle is joined, with a clash of steel and claws.

Devlin draws first blood, opening a massive wound in his foe while dodging a claw attack. His second swing kills the slaad, spraying its entrails across the room.

Mikodin has an easy time, as Equinox's rope snags his target. The monk casually snaps the monster's neck, killing it.

Drinor avoids a claw but misses with his flame tongue. The second claw attack hits him for 1 hit point.

Aron lands a lovely hit with his glowing dagger. Then, he is clawed twice for 4 hit points and bitten for 6 more.

Ayazin's wolf attacks as the slaad claws him. The wolf howls in agony, and bites the monster. The slaad claws the pooch again, then decapitates the canine with a well aimed bite.

Close by, the cougar misses with his claws, then is clawed by the slaad. The cat then bites the slaad, then is badly bitten by the monster.

Two slaadi are down and three more are injured. Kithus, Beth, Op Code, Tully, Aldarin and Al are pretty well over the effects of the power word by this time and are able to act again.

Beth lets fly with a magic missile into the remaining uninjured slaad.

Her missiles do not affect the monster.

Mikodin draws his magical hand axe and cleaves it at a slaad.

The monk attacks the slaad which just killed Ayazin's wolf. Mikodin is faster than the monster but still he misses. However, he successfully manages to evade the claws and teeth of the slaad.

Shaking his head to clear the stunning effect, Aldarin brandishes his flaming sword and charges the nearest slaad, which is the one attacking Ayazin's mountain lion.

The cat takes a claw hit and screeches in agony, as it scratches the monster. The cougar is scratched again, and is looking badly injured, as it in turn misses. The slaad misses with its teeth as the cat bites it.

Aldarin attacks next from the flank, driving his flame tongue into the slaad's side.

Drinor continues to slug it out with his slaad. The monster's claw is wide as the paladin opens a nasty wound. Drinor is scratched for 1 hit point, then answers with another sword hit. However, the slaad catches him in its maw for 10 hit points of damage.

Aron fans with his dagger, then is clawed and bitten for 18 hit points, leaving him slipping around in a puddle of his blood.

Devlin moves quickly to help out the stricken monk, chopping the slaad down with two mighty swings.

Jon sees his opportunity and steps out of the shadows,  stabbing the slaad on Mikodin in the back.

Kithus tries to save the cat, by helping Aldarin on that slaad. One hit from his glowing two-handed sword is all it takes.

Close by, Op Code strikes the slaad attacking Drinor, all but killing it.

Shaking the drool from his kisser, Al wades into the fray, and kills the monster on Mikodin.

Drinor suffers another scratch from the last slaad for 1 hit point before killing it.

"Good fight," Devlin comments, "Excellent battle, Aron."

All of the monsters are dead. Ayazin's cougar retreats to a corner, where it starts licking the one wound it received from the slaad madly.

Searching the room, you find 10,000gp and three bejeweled necklaces (7000gp ea.).

Changing his robes, Aron comments, "I could use some healing."

Adding to Devlin, he says, "Yes, I almost bled the monster to death."

"Come here, kitty," Al says to the cougar, "I will heal yah!"

"Thank you, Alhamet," Ayazin says mournfully, as he kneels by the corpse of his dead wolf. He strokes its fur as he addresses the corpse. "It was good to walk with you by my side. I will bury you beneath the shade of a tree, whose roots will be nourished by you."

The cat hisses at Al and stays in its corner, obviously in pain.

Ayazin approaches the cat and examines its wound, calming it so that Al can cast his healing spell.

The wound appears to be ugly and inflamed...unlike the other wounds the cougar suffered.

Ayazin says, "Oh dear - it looks like it's been poisoned or infected or something. Everyone please check your wounds, make sure you're not affected the same way."

Al approaches again and then intones, "Please heal this companion of the poison and his pain," as he tries to cast neutralize poison and then cure serious wounds on the cougar.

However, the big cat does not let Al get close enough to cast his spells.

"Fine," he says as he crosses his arms and does not complete the spells.

Ayazin uncorks a Sweet Water potion and pours some into the wound, and gives some to the cougar to drink as well.

The wound immediately starts to look better, and the cougar starts to purr.

Aron checks his wounds.

Sharone takes out her first-aid kit and does the rounds, checking the group's wounds, especially looking for poisoned flesh.

None of the other wounds appear to be poisoned.

Jon looks for a poison sack in the monsters and examine the teeth, looking for how the poison is inserted into the victim.

There seem to be channels in their claws.

Drinor lays hands on Aron, healing his wounds for 16 hit points.

"Thank you Drinor."

"What manner of creatures were these? Someone said they are demons, but they did not radiate evil, nor do I recognize them as creatures from the lower planes. Beth, what can you tell us about them?"

"Chaotic creatures," Beth says.  "Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it does mean they will always have their own agenda.  I believe that they are supposed to be from the plane of Limbo.  Because they're from another plane, a protection from evil spell might work against them, keeping them out or at least making you harder to hit."

Jon asks, "Would you detect magic please, Geerzo?"

"No!" the sword replies. "No magic, that is."

Jon takes some of the body parts of these monsters.

"Nice haul, let's collect it and keep going!" Al says with a smile.

You go back into the hexagonal room and open the door in the southwest wall. This reveals a 10' wide passage running west for 60' (right wall), turning south after 50'.

You go down to the corner and take a look.

From the back wall the passage runs 50' and ends.

You go down and poke about for secret doors but fins nothing.

You return to the hexagonal room.

While the rest of you were exploring, Jon was dissecting one of the claws of the slaad to try and follow the channel to find the poison sac...wearing gloves.

After some delicate surgery he finds the sac. It is empty.

You are back in the hexagonal room.

Beth points at the door heading southwest.

"Let's go that way now," she says.

However, Op Code points out to Beth, "We just came from there. It is a dead end and we found no secret doors."

"Oh," Beth says, sounding very sheepish.  "You're right.  That'll teach Rob to post from work.  Whoever Rob is."

Beth then says, "Well, looks like nothing to it but to go through the east door and on south in the passageway.  We might want to open the door just south of this door in that passage way, to see if it leads into the slaad room like it looks like it should.  Never know, might be something funky here.  If it does just lead into that room, we can call it a one-way door and merrily head southwards."

"What about what looks to be a one-way door from the slaad room? I wonder if it is a gate of some type?" Op Code wonders.

Taking point, Al approaches the door and does his trademark kicking it in with Claw in one hand and his obsidian shield in the other.

Tully plays a little tune and follows Al. He puts his instrument away before he kicks in the door. "Gotta love the direct approach."

Equinox retrieves his rope before following Al.

Al boots open the apparent one way door in the northwest wall of the slaad room. It leads back into the hexagonal room.

You pass through it without any ill effects and head back out into the north - south passage.

Al kicks open the apparent one way door in that passage, and you behold the slaad room again.

You head south down the passage.

After 50' (from the one way door) is another 10' wide passage running west. It goes for 50' and then opens up to the south, while the south passage continues for 55' past the passage, turning east after 50' and becoming 5' wide. In the 40' - 50' section of the west wall is a 10' wide passage running west.

You head down the first west passage and take a look at where it opens up.

At this point it actually becomes a 20' wide passage running south, for 40' from the back wall. After that it ends, but there is a 10' wide opening in the east half of the end wall.

You stroll down there and take a look.

You are peering into a 20' square chamber (20' south, 10' west; 10' wide passage running south out of south wall west half; 10' wide passage running east out of east wall south half).

In here is a horde of undead, namely 9 wights, who, surprisingly enough, surprise some of you.

Drinor, Aron, Equinox, Kithus, Op Code, Tully, Sharone, Beth and Ayazin are taken off guard.

The wights rush at you.

When the surprise of the wights wears off, Op Code will attack with sword a-swinging.

Kithus will follow Op Code's lead as the surprise of seeing a horde of undead wears off. He will attack with his two-handed sword.

Jon immediately starts to cast a new spell for the first time.

"Wights your arms and legs are slowed,
 Slowed you shall be,
 So death we can give you for all eternity,
 Slowed you are now, like grass to be mowed."

Without waiting for the reaction to the first spell Jon starts to cast
again:

"Wights rhymes with lights,
  Let us light you up with fire,
  Fire from the red wall,
  May you no more on humanity blight"

Aldarin attempts to cast a web spell into the room to snare the beasts.

Drinor stifles a powerful yawn as the undead appear around him, oblivious as he is to their presence. Once he realizes what's happening, he'll attempt to turn any wights not affected by Al's turning: "Oh! Um.... begone in the name of Tyr!"

Ayazin idly picks his nose as he daydreams of better times, walking through the Blackwood with his now-dead wolf by his side.

Mikodin swallows hard, having had unfortunate encounters before with level-draining undead, and grabs his magic axe and rushes forward at the wights, screaming "Die, you false pretenders to life! Or, rather, die again!  For good!"

Displaying the painted symbol of Thor on his shield, Al cries,  "BY THOR'S HAMMER, BEGONE FOUL CREATURES!" as he  turns them with Thor's blessing.

The undead are consumed in holy fire, which fills the room with smoke.

Jon and Aldarin save their spells.


Jon says, "Hey, well done Al, a mighty impressive shield you have there."

"Thanks, but it wasn't the shield. It was Thor's might channeled through my very being!" he says with a nod. "I am just a vessel for his might."

When the smoke clears, you see two men standing at the entrance to the south passage. One carries a longsword; the other a broadsword. The longsword does not glow; the broadsword does.

"Here for the key to the bridge?" asks one of them.

Jon moves carefully into the the room and looks for any left over wight ash, traps and treasure while trying to stay away from the men.

"Yes, indeed!" Al says with a triumphant smile, replying to the man. "Praise Thor! Who might you be?"

"The guardians of said key," the man replies. "Are you a follower of Thor?"

"Absolutely!" he says with a grin.

"I am, too." Equinox says. Then, to MC Hammer, "Any evil around here, MC?"

"No is as bad as me!"

"What?"

"Whoa! Sorry, man! I meant, 'nothin' is as bad as me!'"

"What is the price for the key?"

"Your lives."

Tully says, "How about your lives?"

Tully pulls out his rope and if they attack, he will use it on them.

Beth, meanwhile, begins muttering under her breath.  She's working on a Polymorph Other spell.  She will direct it at one of the two men, and attempt to turn him into a frog.

"Ours are not in question."

"Are you trying to kill us?" Al asks the two men.

Mikodin steps forward, and says to the men, "You appear to not be evil.  We need the key.  Will you give it to us?"

"Over your dead body," says the second man.

"Somehow, I don't think so", says Mikodin as he launches a kick at the man's head.

The cavalier launches an attack with Claw.

As the monk and the cavalier rush across the chamber to attack, one of the men speaks a word of tremendous holy power.

Al is deafened and slowed.

Mikodin stops frozen in his tracks.

Drinor, Equinox, Op Code, Sharone, Beth, Ayazin, Aldarin, Devlin and Jon are stunned and slowed.

Aron, Kithus and Tully also are paralysed.

Ayazin's cougar is killed.

Beth manages to slur out the final syllables of her spell, but it does not affect her target.

To add insult to injury, the second man also speaks a word of incredible magical power, directed at Al. The cavalier drops to the floor, senseless, and begins to drool again.

Devlin is already stumbling to attack.

Sharone s...l...o...w...l...y cast sa silence on the visor of one of the men, hoping this will stop their spell casting as the verbal components will not work.

Equinox fishes his ring of invisibility out of his belt pouch and puts it on.

He turns invisible.

Beth takes out her wand of paralysation.

Drinor lurches forward into melee with his flaming sword drawn. "By... Tyr's... severed... hand... the... key... shall... be... ours!"

Ayazin blinks back a tear for his cougar companion, then incants a summon insects spell and directs the swarm toward the man who uttered the first word of holy power.

Still shaky from the magical power, Aldarin begins to pull his sword from ts sheath, taking a mostly defensive posture, "If you are not evil, and we
were actually sent here by Thor with two of his worshippers, for the key.  Why would you demand our lives?"

"Thor is a weakling, as are his followers," replies the one who spoke the holy word.

If either makes an offensive more or appears to begin to cast a spell, he will attack the nearest.

Jon shouts, "S T O P  this is madness!! Truce."

The elf is ignored.

As he struggles to advance on the men, Drinor says, "And who do you follow that dare insult Thor? Answer before I slice out your tongues!"

"We follow Ssendam and Ygorl," says the one who spoke the power word.

The downed cavalier growls and deep in the recesses of his mind, he memorizes the man's face as he knows once his wits are about him, he will be facing Thor's might through his vessel named Al.

The spell casters quickly realise that the stunning has left their minds so muddled that spell casting is useless.

Suddenly a pillar of flames erupts off to one side, and you hear the invisible Equinox scream, as he takes 21 hit points of damage.

Then, Devlin and Drinor are on them.

Devlin is struck twice for 23 hit points. The warrior swings his bastard sword and misses.

Close by, Drinor also misses, then is struck twice for 14 hit points.

Aldarin is moving up.

Sharone takes out her stool and moves out of the firing line to give her scrambled brain time to clear. " M..y....h..e..a..d....h..u..r..t..s..."

Beth fires her wand.

The wand strikes a man but he is not affected.

Devlin is struck twice more for 15 hit points, as he misses again with his bastard sword.

"M a g i c a l..." he slurs, tossing his blade aside and slowly drawing his flame tongue.

Close by, Drinor lands a hit with his flame tongue. The blade does not harm the man. The paladin is struck twice for 20 hit points.

Aldarin enters melee with his flaming sword and shield, helping Drinor on his target.

Aldarin also bounces his flame tongue off of Drinor's adversary without hurting him.

Equinox jumps out of the flames and throws the rope, thus becoming visible.

The rope entwines itself around both the man and Devlin.

Jon suddenly becomes visible and rams Geerzo into the back of the trussed up man.

"Mmmmmph!" says the sword.

The man sags, pulling Devlin down on top of him. As he dies he turns into another frog-like creature, similar to the ones you battled a short time ago.

After that, Equinox flickers to cougar form for the purpose of some quick healing...for 4 hit points.

Sharone shakes her head.

"Slaad can't cast power words."

She prepares her flail for combat.

Equinox disentangles his rope from the body of the slaad and Devlin.

Op Code shakes off the cob webs and goes into attack mode, moving to help Drinor.

Jon says, "Well done Geerzo. Let's go for two out of two? Drinor or anyone else do you want to use my spare blade? I expect it will do considerable damage."

Jon moves forward, circling to get behind the other man/creature while pulling out his spare magical blade.

Seeing that his sword is having no effect, Drinor gives a bellow and attempts to overbear the slaad, tackling him to the ground.

Suddenly Devlin, Jon, Equinox, Drinor, Aldarin, Op Code, Mikodin and Al all feel what sounds like a roll of thunder within their skulls.

Devlin roars and strikes out at Equinox.

Jon also turns and swings Geerzo at Devlin.

"You are supposed to attack that man thing, not me, you dork," Equinox yells at Devlin as he throws his rope at him, entwining him, but not before Devlin prods him with his flame tongue for 16 hit points of damage.

At the same time, Jon backstabs Devlin for 15 hit points.

Meanwhile, back with the slaad, Drinor tries to overbear the man-form, but he is tremendously strong and will have none of it. Instead, he chops twice into the paladin for 15 hit points.

Aldarin steps back as Op Code moves in, but misses with longsword #2.

The slaad blinks, and suddenly a fireball engulfs you all.

Mikodin, Tully, Kithus, Equinox, Al, Sharone, Beth and Jon take 39 hit points of damage. Beth, Mikodin and Equinox are rendered unconscious.

Aron and Devlin are  vapourised.

Drinor, Op Code, Ayazin and Aldarin take 20 hit points.

Al's deafness has worn off but he continues to drool in an entertaining fashion.

Drinor takes two more hits from the slaad's sword and drops dead.

Only Op Code faces the monster now. He lands a mighty blow and draws first blood.

The slaad turns to deal with him.

Al lunges to his feet as he shakes off the effects of the power word and leaps to aid the ranger.

The rest of you are still either stunned or paralysed.

Jon, still enraged, moves over to the smouldering form of Equinox and with a quick swing of Geerzo, beheads the druid.

Op Code connects again, then suffers 9 more hit points of damage from a sword hit.

The cavalier grins ferally as he slices and dices with his scimitar of speed.

The cavalier easily connects twice, attracting the slaad's attention.

Aldarin continues to melee with the last Slaad, however his flame tongue seems to be unable to hurt the monster.

Suddenly a glowing rune appears in the air before the creature. You quail before the powerful magic, realising just how hopeless this quest of yours is.

Op Code throws down his sword and surrenders.

Ayazin whimpers and falls to the floor.

Jon ignores it and moves over towards Sharone...

Aldarin also gives up.

Al, however, keeps chopping away, striking twice. His second swing opens up a massive wound in the creature's abdomen. Its innards fall out, and it drops dead to the floor, reverting to its original frog-form as it does so.

The symbol vanishes.

Op Code, Ayazin and Aldarin sit up.

Jon stops himself in mid-thrust from murdering Sharone.

A moment later the stunning, paralysing and slowing effects wear off. You hurriedly rush about and tend to the wounded.

Beth and Mikodin revive to find that the slaadi are dead. Also dead are Aron, Drinor, Equinox and Devlin.

Searching the creatures you find the two swords (a longsword and a broadsword), and a large key.

Tully says, "Why don't we take a break? We have the key. Let's get these folks raised, do some training, regroup and then head back in here."

"What thinks the rest of you?"

Aldarin nods, "That sounds like an excellent idea."

He then helps tend to the wounded.

Picking up the key, Al smiles.

"Bastards! Sounds good, Tully. I could pray for two raise dead spells per day," he says as he collects the other items on the dead slaads.

"Does anyone have a portable hole for the dead bodies?" he inquires.

"Let's carry them out. I have a portable hole, but I don't know if they have any dimensional items on them and I don't want to toss them in to find out.
That is something we should probably find out. Alternatively, we could strip them of their items, then toss them in."

"I can take one of them," Al says as he looks for someone he can secure over his shoulders. He hefts up the dead body and carries it out of the place.

Aldarin grabs the two swords and a body.

Mikodin blinks a few times, trying to orient himself.

"Where are the others?" he asks Beth.  "Jon, where are you?  Still invisible?

"We must find the others." he says solemnly.  "We are not enough to carry on this mission by ourselves.  How shall we raise the dead?"

As he regains his orientation, Mikodin realises that the entire party is present...some dead, some alive.

Ayazin holds his head. "Oh dear dear, that was too close. We need to be careful with those slaadi. So many dead... I sure hope they can be revived. I don't have any healing spells memorized, either. Let's be careful getting them out of here."

The druid gathers up the remains of his cougar, together with the body of the wolf.

"Nice job, guys, whoever took care of them," Beth says.  "I suppose we should see what we can do for these poor folks; our patrons may be able to help us."

Jon says, "Geerzo, detect magic, please?"

"Swords are magic!"

Hefting the long sword from the slaadi, Aldarin states, "I will hold on to this sword for the time being since my own sword appeared to have no effect
on these creatures.  Just in case we run into any more on our way back out."

He notes that there is the symbol of a sword engraved into the blade.

The blade does not glow.

"Good idea." says Kithus, as he tries to recollect what actually happened and shake off the last of the effects of the spell he was under, clearly not liking what he remembers, "It was just too fast, darn it. I couldn't even help."

Jon says, "Well err Aldarin...if you think it's best but it might be better to use this one on loan you really don't want to use a sword you know nothing
about it might even be cursed or evil or not nice..."

"Great Thor, please heal this woman!" Al says as he casts a cure light wounds spell on her and places his hands on her shoulders.

Jon turns to the high priestess, "Sharone, seeing as I didn't kill you, would you mind providing some healing out of that stick of yours?"

You gather up the bodies. Before departing you take a quick look down the south passage whence they came. It runs for 90' in all and then ends. There is nothing else down there.

It appears that you have completed this dungeon, save for some areas that you skipped on the first level, and found what you were looking for.

You head back outside, and return to Kelar's tent.

Next day

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