Everyone is healed, and Relan is trained at last.
This morning you again descend into the dungeons of Castle Greyhawk, and soon find yourself back on the second level level...ready to complete your mapping so that you can be paid by Akitrom.
Stump suggests going to the t-intersection east of the main ballroom entrance, and then north to the first t-intersection, then look both north and east from there.
Lore nods in agreement and follows Stump...as do the rest of you.
Reaching your goal without incident, you look east.
In that direction, the passage runs for 30', then ends.
Looking north, this passage continues for another 30' as well, then ends. However, there is a door in the 10' - 20' of the east wall.
You head up and open this door.
Beyond is a 30' square room. There is a window in the middle of the east wall. The place is compeletely empty...but for the presence of about 100 bats...clinging to the ceiling. All of the bats have notes attached to their legs with string.
The bats are quiet.
Lore readies a sleep spell, but holds back from using it.....
Looking at Stump, he whispers..."So what do you think?"
"Pick a string. Any string. We got long ones, short ones, curly ones, straight ones, brown ones, black ones, red ones, white ones."
Stump pulls the string nearest him.
The bat flutters away, leaving Stump holding the string with the note attached.
It reads -
"ATTENTION FIENDS OF ALL PERSUASIONS
PARTY TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT. ALL YOU CAN EAT! JUST FOLLOW THE BATS."
Lore will pull a string too and get a note.
Another bat flutters away, leaving its note.
The message upon this one is the same.
Stump asks the rest "Shall we go crash the party?"
Darian says in a voice of finality, "Don't even think about going. I have no intention of attending another fiends gathering. The last one almost did us in."
"Ah. Where's your sense of adventure? What kind of a fighter did you say you were?" Stump asks Darian.
Darian gives a feral smile. "One with brains and a desire to stay alive for as long as possible. I don't have a death wish as you apparently do."
Lore looks at the two..."I think Darian has a point Stump. We are obviously not prepared for another encounter with death. Anyway...I think that these are old notes...the party's already over I would guess."
Wellyn looks around shaking his head.
"This is not what I left home for. I need to find what I was looking for," he says in a kind of 'I'm not really here...' voice.
"Good luck and good day gentleman," he adds finally. And he heads back to the surface...
There appears to be nothing else of interest in here.
"I think Lore's right, Stump. I say we just finish this level mapping as soon as we can and get out of here and onto more interesting and challenging things," says Gwenned.
Grinning, Stump replies "Ah, but does it not say that those who live by the sword, which defines us fighter types, shall die by the sword?"
Stump then says "Shall we pull some more strings then, or continue?"
Darian grins back. "Ah, that explains a lot, doesn't it? Maybe for humans, who breed like rats, it is okay to live as such. But, I was taught differently. Besides, I'm not only a fighter but a mage as well. That means that my mentality has a different slant than your own."
Lore, with a look of disgust on his face at all of this politically incorrect rhetoric, leaves the room and starts to explore the rest of the level by himself.
Stump quickly thinks about it, then takes off after Lore.
Darian looks at the other two with a mystified look and says, "What did I say to offend them?"
Gwenned chuckles, "It's an elvish thing, I imagine."
Gwenned joins the group.
Darian scratches his head and follows Gwenned making sure that Relan also follows. All of you can hear him mutter, "I still don't understand..."
You all catch up with each other at the end of the passage, to the south.
To your left and right a passage runs east - west. To the east it runs for 30'...turning south after 20'. To the west it runs for 90'...turning south after 80'. In the 25' - 45' section of the north wall is the entrance into the banquet hall. In the 30' - 40' section of the south wall is a passage running south.
Relan, speaking like a man possessed by the DM, remembers that there is a door down the far south hallway that you never opened...and suggests that you open it now.
Taking Relan's direction, Lore goes to the door and checks for traps and sound. If it is safe, Lore will then open the door.
The door opens to reveal a large, odd-shaped room that fills up that entire area. Another barracks, it too is deserted.
You search.
The room is filled with sleeping mats, assorted junk and several wooden chests, which, when opened, are seen contain only worthless personal items and a few coins totaling 22cp. In one, though, you also find a rock crystal that you think may be of some small value.
However, in the northwest corner of the room you find a pair of bone dice and a pile of coins, totalling 150cp, 110sp and 80gp.
You leave the barracks and return to the hallway with the loot.
Stump, twisting his map this way and that, wonders if all of us should head up and collect our money for this level, as it looks to be completely mapped.
"Any suggestions?"
"What about that room without a door? Did we explore all four walls?" Darian points at it (& next to it).
That turns out to be a mapping error, you are informed from on high.
Gwenned will gladly follow the others out of this place.
So, you head out.
That evening you present the map to Akitrom. He glances at it and hands over some chits authorizing you to collect 1000gp apiece from the bank in the Citadel Union.
Then, he holds up an elf.
"This fellow wandered in here today looking for adventure. Do you want to help him out? He says his name is Harmless - er - Harmstrick."
An elven figure steps forward to greet Harmstick. He is dressed in a black robe, black soft boots, and has a short sword at his side. From the look of him you can't decide whether he is a magic user or a thief....maybe he is both?. "Greetings Harmless....my name is Lore", he says with a half-grin.
"Greetings Door...Lore I'm Harmstrick and I'm here to face my first adventure. I hope I can learn things of you, What have you done in this castle, tell me a little please. I hope I'll be useful."
"Hi, I'm Darian, pleased to meet you." Darian wears a grey cloak with the hood pulled up. Light brown hair peaks out from the hood and plain brown eyes. His face is not remarkable and is easily forgotten. He is short for a man. However something about his face tells you that he is not human, but an elf, even though you cannot see his ears.
You can see the chainmail on his arms and you note that his shield bears an emblem of a fighting hawk. He carries a bow and quiver on his back along with a backpack.
A blond haired, blue eyed, human, dressed in a brown robe covered by banded mail with a long sword at his side and a shield carried on his back, approaches Harmstrick "Hello, my name is Stump. What are your qualifications my good man?"
You look an elf wearing a black hood, he has a shot sword in his waist and a bow hanging in his back.
"Greetings Stump, I'm very excited and motived about my adventures. I'm here to make me a name and gain some experience. I'm a great mage, trained by Amrosh (one of the most powerfulls magicians) And you? what is you work here?"
Stump replies "I am a warrior by trade. I myself am here to find riches and become famous."
Lore grins.."Think I'm going to like you Harmstick.... There really isn't much to tell. Our little group here is working to clean out a Dungeon for some rich guy. So far we've wiped the first two levels clean, and I think we are about to start on the third. I won't kid you though...It's a strange place..and we've had some difficult situations arise...on the other hand it is good money. Your welcome to join us if you'd like."
Darian says to his fellow party members, "I've qualified to go train with the fighters' guild whenever you can spare some time from adventuring."
"And I think it's time for me to go find a ranger who can teach me more of the ways of the woods, if you can spare the time."
Gwenned looks quite happy with things.
Stump suggests that the treasre be divided now. "By the way, has anyone kept track of how much we found?"
Relan replies, "Jibber Jibber."
Risotta giggles and hands him a banana.
Relan suddenly seems more attentive to his surroundings than he has been for quite some time. "Th..thank you m'lady." He says with a puzzled look on his face. "Sorry for my lack of attentiveness, but I have recently been contemplating my debt to my church. Know that I have the voucher for this money, through the graciousness of your father, I may repay my debt and no longer fear retribution by the exalted, yet sometimes volitile, St. CUthburt." Now, what was everyone talking about? Money? Well, by my count, Akitrom has given us 2000gp each, and we found 900gp that the troll had. It also had a large opal, but it has not been claimed or divided.
"There was also the room is filled with sleeping mats, that contained a few coins totaling 22cp and a rock crystal that may be of some small value.
"Also in that room we did find a pair of bone dice and a pile of coins, totalling 150cp, 110sp and 80gp.
"So I have our total, not including the 2000 each from our host, at 980 gp, 110sp, 172 cp, one large opal, a rock crystal, and bone dice. If I have left out anything, I assure you it is quite unintentional."
Relan peels his banana.
Lore looks at the others...
"Well, since some of you need to train I suggest we meet back here in a few days...until then I'm going to see an old friend.."
Before Lore leaves....he asks the group.."Would you like me to take the large opal, the rock crystal, and bone dice and see what I can get for them?"
"That would be fine, Lore." Relan says. "If you don't mind, I would also like to walk with you, at least as far as the Temple. I must repay what I owe there." Relan excuses himself from the table and heads for the door. "Oh, and welcome to the group, Harmless!"
The elf-mage replies to Darian.
"Hi, I'm HARMSTRICK and is a pleasure to meet you, you look very wise. I hope you can teach me some things like what I'm really doing here."
A lot of people are wondering the same thing about themselves...
"And I, Harmstrick, am called Gwenned." A tall human dressed in forest greens and wearing a fine suit of chaimail with long sword, dagger, and long bow about him smiles at you. He has a chiseled face that has seen many winters and many summers. His medium length hair is braided into many small but ornate knots that hang down the back of his neck.
"I am a man of the woods, and I hail from near the village of Hommlet."
Harmstrick says while he looks Lore with his black deep eyes.
"That sounds very interesting for make name and money, I hope we can leave clean those dungeons. Of course I'm with you"
Darian and Gwenned leave to seek training. Lore and Relan also leave.