Session 14: The Stone of Golorr
General Summary
Session 03APR2019: Feng investigates the rest of this large chamber and finds that is, essentially, an abandoned wine cellar, complete with broken bottles and rotted racks. We also find a plethora of humanoid remains. Adjoining rooms seem to reveal no further purpose, but we do find in one side-room that the bones are arranged in a ritualistic manner; we suspect that this might be a re-animation chamber. The astute reader might recall that this chamber is but one of two, with the entrance to the new chamber behind a similar false wall in the original poop-river channel. We choose to investigate, and initiative rolls are made. Maps and figures out, kids! The door pushes open quite easily. We are instantly confronted by a combat in progress, with two groups fighting, one of them undead, and some dead on the floor. We choose to kill the undead. We kill the necromancer and his sekeletons. We find a spellbook bound in skin, a key, 19 gold, and a leather pouch bound in singed human hair. This chamber is formed from two smaller rooms, and is filled with refuse and rat droppings. The far chamber used to be blocked by a brick wall with arrow slits, clearly intended to ambush the unwary. Stone stairs go up to an alley/street entrance. A plain wooden door opens to a room including a desk, tables, a coatrack, and an emty wooden trunk. Gnosh, Feng, and I head up another stairway and find a Gazer-thing, another kenku, and a shadow that runs away, which seems to be another kenku (could be wrong). Feng attacks the Gazer. IT is,now, quite angry, and blasts Feng with a blue eye-beam of coldness. I stab the Kenku with my usual effectiveness. Gnosh webs the stairs, but misses the fleeing Kenku. Bob runs up the other stairs and enters a crappy tavern. Det burns the useless web, Feng is charmed by teh Gazer, I am blasted by a green beam into a wall, Lily kills the Gazer, and I kill the Kenku(!). Collectively, we chase the fleeing Kenku through the streets, with Bob in the lead. As we give chase, we have quite a lot of difficulty seeing the Kenku, presumably because of the poop in our eyes. Many obstacles block our path, but we eventually chase the Kenku into a rundown tower. It grabs a homeless kid as a hostage and flees into the tower. We break down the barred door, and continue the pursuit. Bob goes down a stairway into a cellar, which seems to be outfitted as a prepper’s dream hideaway. In the north wall is a locked wooden door. Lorin follows with the key. Gnosh and I take flanking positions for the upper stairway (which is to say that we are not brave). Lily is the first one up, and finds the Kenku holding the kid hostage. The room appears to be a nest area for the Kenku. Bob runs upstairs and vaporizes the Kenku with a particularly well-executed Witch Bolt. The kid, newly rescued, grabs his toy and runs the heck away. We found the Stone on the dead Kenku! Upon investigation, the Stone appears to be sentient. Det takes possession, but not without some difficulty. As Det gains control, three more Gazers appear from holes in the roof. Combat is joined! We kill the Gazers, but not without a heart-stopping moment wherein Det loses a WIS save and hands the Stone to a Gazer, just before we kill it. Investigation of the tower reveals a Wizards’ laboratory behind the locked basement door. Arcane runes are scratched into the walls, and we also find a Teleportation Circle. When we try to leave the Tower, we are confronted by a flock of Lizard men on the outside of the door. As we begin sniping them from the roof, a bugbear appears. As we’re killing all of these lovely creatures, a lookout runs away. We take the Stone to the Lords, and they politely remind us that the Dragon Hoard was always the target; the Stone is just the key, and we’re still on the hook for our pardons. Poop. When Det questions the Stone, which cannot lie to him but needeth not be helpful, he asks “Where is the Dragon Hoard?” It answers, “Where adoring crowds cover the vault of gold.” We get two more questions before dawn.
