Team 1 Progress
Taking leave of the CRYPT OF THE OLD GUARD, Hogwash the Elf Bard, Pigsnout the Elf Fighter, Meldor Ironforge the Dwarf Wizard, and Lightfingers the Elf Rogue returned to the EXAMINATION ROOM. This time, they decided to take the west door. The door led to a short hallway. They came to an intersection where they could see stairs to the north and that the hallway eventually doglegged right, but they ultimately decided to continue forward through an unlocked door in front of them.
No one noticed that Rosmita Stout the Halfling Bard was no longer with them.
The door led to a spacious LIBRARIAN’S OFFICE with a large desk and several bookshelves. They could see more bookshelves in an adjoining room to the south via wide open double doors. On the desk was a key labeled STORAGE ROOM. There were a stack of books on the desk also. One book was open to an article on The Heresy of Kroakatoa.
There was also a diamond-shaped tin badge with a large eye with a star-shaped pupil in the center and four small tentacles at each point. Since they were told by the undead Captain of the Guard not to touch anything, they proceeded into the next room, which was obviously a LIBRARY. After passing several stacks of books, they came to a display table upon which rested a large Star Sapphire.
As they examined it, they were accosted by an Ipsimus sentry, a floating octopus-like creature with four tentacles. In each tentacle, it held a magic wand. “Visitors?” it spoke. “Hall pass?”
Realizing they needed the badge with the tentacles back in the LIBRARIAN’S OFFICE, they made a mad dash back to safety. The Ipsimus attempted to stop Meldor Ironforge with a confusion gaze, but he was too distracted by his own terror to be affected. Hogwash grabbed the badge and when the pursuing Ipsimus sentry noticed it, it ceased hostilities. They asked it where the LIBRARY STORAGE ROOM was and it obliged.
Grabbing the LIBRARY STORAGE ROOM key, they opened it to find a small room. Unlike they other rooms they’d come to, it was dark. As every member of the party had darkvision, this was no problem. They examined a chest briefly but when Lightfingers mentioned the possibility that it might be a mimic, based merely the fact that he’d heard of such things, they passed it up. The rest of the room was notably empty. A large tunnel had been dug into the back of the LIBRARY STORAGE ROOM and the contents had been taken. So far, the Captain of the Guard’s information had paid off.
The tunnel led to some natural caverns. They could see a light ahead caused by a small campfire. A small chest and a weapons rack stood off to one side. The shadows of two War’tode guards were cast upon the wall, but a natural stone column blocked them from view. Lightfingers attempted to sneak up the pair, but he tripped on a rock and let out an involuntarily gasp of pain. Lest they sound the alarm, Hogwash attempted to cast Charm on the closest one. Instead, it backfired and the creature became horribly revolted at him.
“Smellves! Oh! They’re hideous! I’m gonna hurl!” When it ran away in disgust, the other War’tode ran with it.
The party was left standing in the NORTH WATCH CAVERN with three exits (the tunnel behind them, the passage the War’todes had used and another to the south), wondering where they should go before the War’todes brought back their friends.
Team 2 Progress
Meanwhile Fizzle the Elf Wizard, Kerla Chog the Human Fighter, Fenris Fairweather the Human Rogue, Jotun Yggdrasil the Dwarf Cleric and Cullos Crowbane the Human Wizard continued their attempt at a jailbreak from the PRISON HOLDING CELLS.
Fenris grabbed up the magical key they’d purchased from the opportunistic Cuisses de Grenouille; however, unwilling to waste it, he attempted to pick the lock on Kerla Chog’s cell.
Unsuccessful, he used the magic key. To their surprise, Kerla Chog awoke from unconsciousness. Yotun took a moment to search a cell and had the good fortune of finding a collapsible staff. When he held the one-foot rod in his hand, it magically expanded to 10 feet. Encouraged by his find, Cullos searched his cell and found – goblin poop!
He did not keep it.
Fenris pulled out the arrow that was still lodged in his foot but overcompensated and, upon release, stabbed himself in the head with it. He tore his common clothes into strips to make bandages to staunch the bleeding.
Hearing voices in the GUARD ROOM, they were alerted to the fact that the jailer was returning with at least two more War’todes. They also mentioned something about an Ipsimus. Fenris attempted to pick the lock to the north exit of the PRISON HOLDING CELLS, unsuccessfully. Using the magic key, Fenris, Cullos, Yotun and Kerla made a hasty exit.
The next room they entered was filled with the belongings of former prisoners, including armor, weapons, and loads of common clothes belonging to humans, elves, dwarves, goblins and various other species. Seeing as the team still had all their possessions when they awoke, this very fact suggested that there had indeed been a mix-up when they were imprisoned. Yotun searched through the armor in this PRISONER STORAGE ROOM and found some Gauntlets of Ogrish Strength but had no time to attune them for the War’todes had arrived in the GUARD ROOM with their Ipsimus sentry.
The squid-like Ipsimus held four magic wands in its tentacles.
Cullos noted that the Ipsimus called themselves “The Masters” and that it was passing odd for it to be taking orders from War’todes, since it was usually the other way around.
While the injured guard took used a healing potion, another began unlocking the barred door to the holding cells. Seeing his old “friend,” Fizzle attempted to reach for him, only to narrowly miss having his hand bitten off by the Ipsimus sentry. Fizzle felt betrayed that the War’tode guard had a “new friend.”
Saying a prayer to the mad god Moriarty, Yotun rolled a die and received a “one” in reply – a vision of Moriarty’s draconic eye that portended imminent death and dismemberment!
Seeing the danger, Yotun used his collapsible staff to bar the door to PRISONER STORAGE ROOM, leaving the charmed Fizzle to his fate. Kerla and Cullos hid near on either side of the door, out of sight of the Ipsimus sentry. Hearing his friends say that the tentacled Ipsimus was coming and thinking it was much closer than it was, Fenris ran for the back door of the room – only to fall through a pit trap in the center of the room!
He fell into the room below, bleeding and unconscious at the foot of a stone statue of a War’tode wizard in the act of casting a spell. The magical key was knocked out of his hand during the fall and lay nearby.
Spotting some nearby rope, Cullos tossed it to Kerla, who secured it to the bars of the door to the holding cells. They dropped the other end down the floor trap. Sliding down quickly, they wound the other end of the rope to the stone statue to prevent the Ipsimus sentry from opening the door above. Noting that Fenris was beyond saving, Cullos took the magical key.
Fenris the First Fallen
A poem by Dandylion Discord the Bard.
Fenris Fairweather,
A rogue with some pluck.
A pity he didn’t
Have a bit more luck.
Instead of gaining sweet freedom
And bright shiny loot,
He failed to pick locks
And shot himself in the foot.
Then fell at the feet
Of War’tode stone.
The first one to die.
But is Fen really gone?
Team 3 Progress
Upon exiting the Pit of the Dying, it took Bhardor Silvertongue the Dwarf Bard and Dishrag the Elf Cleric a moment to realize that two of their party, Belwyn Darkhand the Halfling Fighter and Eondul the Human Wizard, were trapped on the other side of the portcullis; however, there was a “new” member of their party.
Actually, they simply hadn’t noticed Katnip Everdeen the Dwarf Rogue because the rogue had been hiding amongst the body parts in the PIT OF THE DYING up until that point. They could determine no means to free their comrades so they continued onward, hoping Fizzle wouldn’t decide to feed them to the Avatar of Kroakatoa.
Eager to prove her usefulness, Katnip ran ahead through the tunnel and came to a larger cavern. Two paths led away from their tunnel on either side. The left path led to a tunnel on their level guarded by two War’todes. The path on the right ramped down to the lower level, where another War’tode guarded another exit below. Another War’tode stood in the center of the WEST WATCH CAVERN below. The rogue was noisier than intended, instantly alerting the War’todes to their presence.
Not wanting to be trapped, Dishrag and Bhardor ran to join Katnip. Katnip attempted to shoot one of the War’todes with her shortbow, but tripped and as she fell forward she released the bowstring and shot behind her, hitting Dishrag in the side. The Wart’ode tossed his spear at them in retaliation, but it fell far short. Bhardor tossed a dagger at the War’tode below them, scoring a minor hit. Enraged, the creature leapt up the 10 feet to their level but was so proud of the effort that he forgot to attack. After taking another hit, it turned around and leaped back down, running for its life. One of the other War’tode guards sounded the alarm after it was targeted by another member of the party with minor damage. Meanwhile, the spear thrower ran at the party, but then stopped and turned, remembering that he’d forgotten to pick up his spear on the way. Dishrag cast Sacred Flame, melting the War’tode’s flesh from its bones. The bones clattered at their feet in a charred heap. Katnip finished off the injured leaper with her shortbow as the two remaining War’todes fled through the exits they once guarded. The party was left in an empty cavern in a situation very similar to the first team’s predicament.
Adventure Inc. 
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