Session 2: Evil Below Report

General Summary

After destroying both the zombie in the ancient gambling den, and the wererat in the dungeon temple, the heroes returned up the stairs to Garan's shop and The Rest to puzzle over what they had found. Curious onlookers at the Inn and Marcus Wrathbone listened as the heroes told of what they found. The abandoned gambling den was a mystery to all and Marcus suspected it hadn't been used in decades. He had never heard of such a place. More troubling, however, was the somewhat used dungeon storeroom and temple. It seems the wererat had been moving within this complex for at least several weeks if not longer. The rotting foodstuffs in the storeroom suggest they had been there some time.   Brimble Knackles's precise description of the slain, transformed wererat convinced Marcus that she must be Illyana Tatranova, a recent arrival in Steigs. Not much was known about her. She assisted at the carpentry shops and acted as an occaissonal porter for the Keep. When Thomen Jax tossed the wererat's medallion onto the table gasps arose from several patrons; the embossed grinning skull of Iuz starred out from the bronze disk. What would Iuz worshippers be doing in Steigs. Is this some tiding of more war to come from that evil? Or perhaps the rumours of a nearby cult are true? (Latest Rumours in Steigs). Although the heroes had questions, there were no answers to be found in the pub. Marcus suggested they might seek the counsel of Zeke Snowmelt, but he could be more trouble than he's worth. That, or perhaps answers would be found in the caverns beneath the dungeon temple.   The party decided to stay a night at the Rest before delving the caverns. Brimble used this time to sell his acid-etched gems, so he could purchase special inks for transcribing spells. He visited Gasser Shinebright, the local representative of the Thornward Miner's Guild, but the dwarf would offer no coin for the damaged gems.   After a restful evening in the pub (with a few rounds bought by thankful townsfolk), the party once again descended the dungeon stairs from Garan's chamber. Mi'tsuru'gi noted the trapped step sprung by Falkas , was a recent addition. Moving through the temple and down the trapdoor behind the altar, the party lowered themselves into the caves.   The caves were ancient, made by the twisting of water through the limestone outcrops in the hills running the length of Thornward Province. Quickly the passages branched in multiple directions, and a near cavern was home to a green slime that fell upon Falkas. After a time the adventurers picked up a trail of sorts, footsteps that wound a passage through the caverns, but lost the trail later. Staring down darkened passages, at one point they noted a flickering light and followed it to a dead-end, and lair of Giant Rock Snake. The flickering light was torch with Continual Flame cast upon it, perhaps bait for the snake, but snatched up by Thomen after they dispatched the snake. Another nearby cavern was home to a Cave Moray, secreted into a large crack running from floor to ceiling. The Moray gained a suprise attack but was eventually overwhelmed by the party and after the creature's death, Brimble moved through the crack to an inner chamber serving as the Moray's nest. Inside he found an assortment of coins and a small metal flask shaped like a dryad with two tiny emerald eyes and containing liquid. He also found a half-eaten body, likely that of Garan. Brimble took a boot from the corpse to serve as identification.   Leaving the Moray cave, the party noticed the passage wall was a rough tarp, painted to look like the limestone of the tunnels. Behind this was a 25' passage that ends upon a cliff face, 250' above the forest northwest of Steigs. Also in the corridor behind another grey tarp was a small alcove with a wooden cage holding six cooing pigeons. A wooden chest nearby was locked, but the key Thomen took from the wererat opened it easily. Inside were two daggers, a full wineskin, and a teak scroll tube with several parchment sheets inside. In an electrum bowl were 12 small leather harnesses to attach to pigeons, each harness has a small wooden tube attached to it. It seems the wererat was sending messages, but to who?   Back in the village, Marcus confirmed the boot indeed belonged to Garan, and was sad to learn of his passing.

Rewards Granted

Monster XP:
Giant Poisonous Rock Snake x 1: 50
Cave Moray x 1: 200
Uncovering wererat identity: 200   Total XP per PC/NPC: 112   Treasure:   Brimble: dryad flask (~175 gp, not including liquid inside), coins from Moray lair (41 sp, 7 ep, 12 gp, 2 pp)
Thomen: continual light torch
Mi'tsu: electrum bowl (~85 gp)