Most of the sixth month was spent recuperating in the mine with Grubbycheek. Aderian spent time with the miners, learning the rudiments of the trade. And while most of the raiders healed, Saul did not wake up. By the seventh day of the seventh month (7/7), they resolved to take him to Lah for healing. They carried him down from the mountains, past Tosasth, to the river camp. The lion remained close by, still considering the druid his friend.
While camping at night, eight flesh eater zombies rushed out of the darkness. They were easily dispatched. In the morning, they walked to the ruined tower, then arrived home on the ninth. The next day, Ollie and Aderian took Saul to see Lah. They donated 1,200 gp to the church, and Lah performed a miracle that revived Saul. It did not restore his acid-scarred scalp, but he was fit for fighting once again. Ollie shaved the hair from his own head in solidarity.
When they returned home, Tienarth told them how he enscribed the cloudkill spell into his spellbook from the scroll they found the month prior. Hocuspo spent lavishly in the town, throwing a party where all were invited, including the destitute. This won him a bit of fame in the community. Meanwhile, Saul found a secluded spot in the forest to bury 1,600 gp.
Ollie bought a wagon and two mules in hopes of extracting the diggerbot found in the Doukreg dungeon. He expected to sell it for a large sum, perhaps to a king or wealthy merchant. Ferris spoiled a potion made with the ankheg acid and created a potion of longevity instead.
On the 12th, they headed back to Doukreg by way of the tower and the river camp. When they arrived in the late afternoon, Tienarth scried the diggerbot and saw it in an unrecognized tunnel. They camped in the city that night and were undisturbed.
The next morning, they left the wagon and the mules at the surface as they marched down the winding tunnel once again. As before, Tienarth transformed himself into a golden dragon. Ollie pondered the path to return to where they left the diggerbot, but was somewhat confused as none of them were making a map. They chose a wide tunnel that moved into an area of red sandstone. After an hour of walking, they knew they’d gone the wrong direction, but decided to explore this new area rather than turn around.
The rock of this level bore a uniform reddish tint. Every 20 feet, a glowing rod was stuck in a bore hole, a great boon to visibility. They first found a chamber with nothing for than a padded chair in an alcove. It was deemed suspicious and largely ignored. The west end of the chamber opened to another from which a strong metallic odor drifted. A 12-foot figure faced away from them towards a web-clogged passage. A large sack was at its feet. The consensus was that they’d found the iron golem described by the fleeing adventurer Dillon, met weeks before.
The golem was left alone, though some discussion was made about attacking it. Ollie headed north to find a chamber containing a mummified body laying sprawled on the floor beneath small grate on the wall. The sound of rushing water cames out of the grate. After listening for a while, a bit of human voice was heard. Ollie tore the silvery pants off the mummified corpse.
Presently, a halfling arrived from the western passage. After some conversation in which he offered little information, the left looking for the exit to the surface. Ollie went west and immediately stumbled into thick spider webs. A giant black widow spider leaped on him, and it was momentarily surprised. Ollie tore himself free of the webs, but the spider bit him viciously. A black stain spread over his face as the venom spread underneath the skin. Fortunately, Ferris was quickly at hand with a potion of anti-toxin, and Ollie was saved. Still in dragon form, Tienarth reached over and bit the spider in two.
Moving north, they came to a larger chamber that smelled faintly of manure. In the center was a circular curtain bolted to the ceiling. Inside the curtain, a shower spigot pointed down to drain in the floor. A cap and jumpsuit hung from a peg. Another curtain crossed over the the southeast corner, behind which was a white seat. A buzzing was heard from inside. Ollie tipped open the lid of the seat to find the source of the buzzing. Two feet below the open lid was a purplish glow. Items dropped into the purple energy disappeared, and they concluded they were being disintegrated.
Ollie expressed his intent to dangle something on a string into the energy. The caverns echoed with the roar of the dragon’s voice, telling him, “don’t do that!”
Moving generally east, they came to another chamber where seven black mirrors hung. Each had a knob at its base. Ollie discovered that pushing the knob displayed different views on the mirrors. One of the views showed the metallic figure seen elsewhere on this level, and another seemed to look out through the figure’s eyes. Other views were obviously inside the dungeon but not otherwise recognized.
End Notes
- Time
- 6/5 – 7/6 downtime in the mine
- 7/7 – 7/9 return to St. Orlan
- 7/10 – 7/11 at home
- 7/12 – 7/14 back to Doukreg
- 7/15 – Into the dungeon
- Treasure: none
- Combat 775 XP
- 8 Flesh Eater Zombies 600 XP
- Giant Black Widow Spider 175 XP
- 8 Characters 97 XP each
- Aderian (fight) 108 XP
- Ferris 107 XP
- Hocuspo 107 XP
- Nate (fight) 108 XP
- Ollie (underground, lead, fight) 100 XP
- Saul and Lion 107 XP
- Tienarth 97 XP