Session 22: Off with Thier Heads!

General Summary

Session 15JUN 2019: We set out to the north, with a little confusion as we must re-orient. Eventually, we find a room that is a rat warren. Passage through the room is normal for small creatures, like Gnomes, but more difficult for larger things. We hear some hammering, and other noises of work and occupation. Feng volunteers to check things out, while trying not to step on awkward things and break stuff.   I back up his advance, as I am small and well-suited to moving here. As we progress, we find several Goblins at tables, bargaining for goods. They haven't noticed us. So, we enter like nothing is out of the ordinary.   This works! Lorin reminds us that we are looking for “bolts and bread” and she reads the signs to find the appropriate vendor. We begin searching. Lorin finds the table we need, and a Goblin sets out his wares. One of them is something loosely described as “bread.” We attempt to trade for one of the mining picks, and he lets us take a piece of bread. Upon further reflection over our notes, we determine that we don’t actually need the bread and bolts, we owe continue on.   We eventually discover a room where seven Goblins are erecting a stage. Interesting, but likely irrelevant. So, we search the Market further, and find a total of three exits with doors and Bugbear guards. At the SE corner, Feng asks the guards what is beyond the door, and they answer, “Ek’s room.” Lorin asks “Who is Ek?”   We are allowed to enter and meet Ek! THe room beyond is populated by a well-dressed human, several Goblins, and a bound Dwarf with his beard shaved off. Conversation ensues, and we learn that the half-Drow has attacked Ek’s workers to the SE. We are given blessings to ko kill it. In the mean time, Lorin and Lily are approached by a little human girl, who tells them that “We are cursed, and you must remove the circlet.” Ek is wearing a circlet. ‘Nuff said.   We go through the S exit from the Market, and find more passages. The bugbear guards told us to go north, so we do! These halls are fairly clean, to our surprise. The walls are covered with magical Dwarven frescoes.   As we approach an eastern-going corner, we hear footfalls and a booming low voice, saying, “How many eyes does Zanathar have?” We answer incorrectly, and Feng nearly eats some booby-trap darts.   The dart launchers turn out to be your most formidable enemy to-date, but we make it past. The next room is a cavern, which is more habitable, and seems to have some bugbears in it. AS I try to soothe Akira, Det fucks with me a bit. Naturally, I punch him in the nutz. Then we fight the bugbears!   They turn out to have some crossbow-wielding friends, whom we kill. Behind them is the Spider-Drow, who tries to appease us. We kill it and take its head.   Loot: 14g, food for a month, and the Magic Key around its neck. The key opens a silver-bound chest with 100g. I gather some spider poison (6 applications, 1 minute per, d10 damage) and the two swords. We head south.   We find a barracks room, and a passage to the east. The doors in this corridor have a water elemental decorative motif. We open a door and push through. We see, in the center of the room, a Dwarven skull suspended in glass or a viscous liquid. The liquid is a gigantic slime cube, which we fight and kill, but not before Feng is temporarily engulfed in the malignant Jell-O monster’s body. We recover the skull, which is a magic artifact that can enlarge one object/creature once per day.