Adventure Three, Session Ten

INT. XAXMENETHAN'S VAULT - MORNING
When we last left our heroes, they were deep under the casino known as "The Gilded Anchor," where they were attempting to acquire the severed head belonging to the half-orc crime boss (of the "Bloody Garrote") known as Garvistan. After being led down to the "underground gambling floor" by the beholder's henchman Ruuthias, the party was escorted to a chamber where they expected to meet Xaxmenethan (crime boss to the gang known as "The Eye") himself. They were in turn confronted with an aged, withered "beholder" who they soon discovered was only playing the "role" of Xaxmenethan. In fact, this creature was a spectator named Preelaxus, which he eagerly revealed to his new friends... the party.
Preelaxus was incredibly lonely and explained to the party, once Ruuthias left them alone of course (locking them in the chamber), that he's played this role many times before. His purpose was to eliminate anyone Ruuthias found to be undeserving of Xaxmenethan's attention. He was supposed to kill the party, but he didn't want to. Plus, he'd just given them the stone that Ruuthias coveted so highly. So, moments later, when Ruuthias seemed to have returned, Preelaxus decided to pretend that he killed them, while the party played dead, positioning themselves around the room and lying prone on the floor.
Ruuthias opened the door, but in walked the bear-man (possible werebear) from the fighting pit. He was being commanded by Ruuthias, who ordered him to search the bodies for the stone. Apparently, he heard some of the spectator's discussion with the PCs about it. The man-bear seemed to determine that at least several of the PCs were actually alive, but for whatever reason kept this secret to himself. The only stone he turned up was the "luck stone" on Mangy. Unfortunately, Ruuthias was dissatisfied and decided to search Mangy himself.
Just prior to being searched, Mangy actually swallowed the "control stone" so eagerly sought by Ruuthias. It took virtually no time for the henchman to determine that Mangy was actually alive. The jig was up, and the rest of the party revealed their true status. They quickly attempted to begin parlaying with Ruuthias, wanting to bargain with him. But before he'd even address them, he decided to punish Preelaxus for his deception. With a wave of his hand, Ruuthias shot a powerful ball of fire from his fingertips, striking the spectator and (seemingly) killing it on the spot. He then turned his attention back to the PCs.
The PCs once again attempted to bargain with Ruuthias, now telling him that they knew where the stone was, and that they were willing to exchange this information for the head of Garvistan. Ruuthias covertly used his ability to Read Thoughts and probed Mangy's mind. There he found out the truth. The dwarf had swallowed the stone! Ruuthias flew into a rage and his physical form suddenly began to break down. The skin of his face went loose and began to slide down, forming into something like a snout. Large, bony protrusions shot out from his elbows, settling into blade-like spurs. Finally, his skin began to harden and produce scales. His eventual form was that of a hunched, clawed, five foot lizard-thing; a creature the party eventually identified as a Slaad.
Ruuthias, now in his true form, lashed out at Mangy, his claws aimed for the dwarf's stomach. But just before he would have disemboweled Mangy, something stopped him... The control stone. It seemed now that it was in his possession, Mangy could not be harmed by the creature, and what's more he could even control it!
Mangy demanded the creature help them retrieve the head. In return he promised to hand over the stone (once he expelled it from his digestive system). Supernaturally compelled, Ruuthias had little choice but to cleave to Mangy's demand. To that end, he suggested the characters keep up the ruse that one of them was a representative of The Club Masters, sent to induct Xamenethan into the exclusive order. He said he was able to see through the original deception early on, partly because they chose the "obvious" person (Warren) to play the part of the Club Master. Ruuthias further explained that they'd never expect a dwarf, thus making him the perfect candidate. Mangy would have to play the part.
Mangy made it clear that he's not good with improv or diplomacy, so he requested the others in the party to do the majority of the talking. Ruuthias, for his part, would back up their claim and help sell the notion that they were actually members of the elusive organization. Now, with a rough plan in place, the group (along with Ruuthias as their compelled guide) left Preelaxus' chamber and headed back towards the casino proper.
On their way back, the made a pit stop to place the bear-man back in his cell, much to Teffa's consternation. The party was taken into the corridor adjacent to the arena, where a good many rough beasts were held. Lots of prison bars, with all manner of "arms" reaching through, begging for freedom. There were tentacles, claws, pincers, pretty much anything you could imagine.
INT. CASINO FLOOR - MORNING
Once back on the busy main floor, Ruuthias explained that he'd need to go alone to prepare his master for their arrival. This required a bit of trust on the PCs part, but they decided to follow along and Ruuthias left them to go find his master. In the meantime, with little else to do but wait, the party partook of some more gambling at the "low stakes" tables.
Long story short, Mangy ended up beating a rather perturbed noble, who challenged him to a rematch. After insults were traded back and forth, Mangy still managed to leave the table with more coin than he began. The party noticed a commotion at one of the adjacent tables, the one in question being a particularly "high stakes" table. It seemed the "red man" they saw previously (upon their initial arrival at the casino) was getting into it with a new person... a tall, guant man with skin nearly grey, and his companion, a slightly hunched person completely obscured in a cloak and robes.
Just as things began to escalate towards a physical altercation (the red man drew his blade), Ruuthias returned to the scene. He instantly saw something in the tall, gaunt man. The slaad told the party that he was certain this man (and his companion) were the "real" Club Masters, sent to do the work the party was pretending to do. He said time would be of the essence, for Xaxmenetan has "eyes everywhere" and would soon make the same connection Ruuthias just made. They'd need to buy some time if they were to pull off their deception.
Teffa suddenly had a stroke of inspiration. She proposed going back down to the arena cells and releasing the bear-man from his cage, in order to have him run wild on the casino floor, thus creating a distraction. Everyone agreed, and the party returned to the cages. They explained themselves to the bear-man and opened his cell. Only then, looking at the sad creature, did they realize he might not be enough on his own. They decided to then open ALL the cells for maximum chaos. Once released, the creatures all began to fan out in different directions. Adi offered to stay behind and attempt to corral them towards the casino floor. She then ran off, grabbing a few hostess trays and banging them together to grab the creatures' attention. It worked.
The remaining party then proceeded to Xaxmenethan's "throne room."
INT. XACMENETHAN'S LAIR - MORNING
The party found the gold inlaid double doors, signifying the entrance to the beholder's lair, guarded by two Darklings. Ruuthias demanded to be let in, but the guards explained that the master was no longer inside. Apparently the beholder was meeting with someone. A person they described as having the "top half of a beautiful woman and the bottom half of a lion or panther." Ruuthias instantly knew who they were referring to. He told the party that this "person" was a Lamia, and worked for the Club Masters. She was well known to Xaxmenethan, and wasn't necessarily here to induct him. Apparently, she visited the beholder often to conduct business and give advice.
Further, Ruuthias knew where they would be meeting and offered to take the party to them. After some deliberating, the party decided to try another angle. They wanted to gain access to the "throne room" in order to search for the head while the master was away. Ruuthias, not able to deny Mangy's request, badgered the guards until they caved and allowed them in. Basically, the slaad told them that he was to retrieve something that the master forgot and bring it to him.
Once inside, Ruuthias shut the door behind him so the guards couldn't witness the proceedings. The room was rather large, roughly forty square feet. In its center, an circular depression (about ten feet in diameter and three feet deep) was filled with many luxurious pillows, giving the place the general vibe of a harem. Directly above the short pit was a five-foot diameter, circular hole in the ceiling, covered with a metal grate. As the beholder could float, this seemed to be the passage to a private chamber, only accessible by Xaxmenethan.
Mangy remembered his Immovable Rod and, along with Teffa, came up with a plan. She would use her Qualenti high magic (innate to dark elves) to levitate up to the grating and use both the rod and 50' of rope to create a way up for the rest of the party. She then floated up and found the grating easily removable (in fact it slid into a compartment in the ceiling itself). She placed the rod horizontally about a foot above the grating and attached the rope. The rest of the party began to shimmy up. Ruuthias made it clear that he'd never been up here and didn't know what to expect.
The vertical tunnel extended upward approximately another twenty feet, where then it suddenly bent into a horizontal shaft, so Teffa repeated her plan and continued to float upwards with the rope. Eventually the entire party managed to squeeze into the 5' wide horizontal section of tunnel. However, once they made it to the relative safety of the new tunnel, they heard something...
Xaxmenethan had returned.
And the beholder was not alone. The Lamia, named Klybera, was with him. The beholder instantly bellowed out Ruuthias' name. Apparently the guards told him they were in here.
The party kept heading down the tunnel. It eventually reached another, shorter vertical shaft, at the top of which lay a room! This must be Xaxmenethan's private chambers! No longer able to levitate, the party needed to find another way up to the top of the final shaft. Tommison figured out that she, being the tallest of the group (and with a draconian tail), could shimmy up the shaft and then send a rope down for the others. As she did this, encountering much difficulty in executing the task, the sound of the beholder was getting MUCH CLOSER...
Once up in the room, which was indeed the beholder's private chambers, the party quickly found the head, placed upon a pedestal, amongst a bunch of other "objects of art" and treasures. Mangy retrieved the head and placed it in his sack. But the beholder was coming, quickly, and there was but one other exit out of the room! Another shaft, twelve feet up and offset from the one below it by about six feet. The party quickly began moving furniture and crates (which contained various treasures) to create a stairway to the shaft. Mangy then used his trusty Immovable Rod, placing it horizontally in the middle of the shaft they used to enter the room, essentially blocking anyone from moving past it.
It all came down to a race against time, as the beholder began using one of its eye beams to slowly disintegrate enough of the shaft surrounding the rod to be able to slip past it (the rod itself was being immune to his eye beam). It soon looked as if they wouldn't make it, but then Mangy ordered Ruuthias to stay behind and create a distraction by first verbally insulting his master, and then attempting to "negotiate" with him.
Somehow the party managed to get up through the shaft in the ceiling just as the beholder gained access to his own chamber. Thankfully this new shaft was only about 6 feet high before it turned horizontal, and the party managed to get up to the twist just as a piercing SCREAM emanated from down below. Most likely Ruuthias' death screech.
To their great relief, the party found this final shaft opened up to the hallway between the casino and the arena pit, only ten feet up from the floor beyond. The party removed the grating blocking the shaft and proceeded to jump down to the great hall. They found the hallway eerily quiet, but they didn't stick around to figure out why. They made for the casino floor... and the exit.
INT. CASINO FLOOR - MORNING
The party entered the main floor only to find it dark, the lights all having been smashed, and littered with the bodies of many gamblers, as well as the majority of the creatures released from the pens. All the bodies were smoldering, as if previously set ablaze. With no time to investigate, the party made for the final hallway... the one leading outside. As they closed the distance to the hall, they suddenly saw the crumpled body of the man-bear, still alive but badly hurt.
Mangy and Warren kept moving, but Teffa and Tommison went to aid the bear. They lifted him up and dragged him towards the exit, his arms slung over their shoulders. Halfway to the exit, they saw the only other living people in the room... the tall, gaunt man and his companion. In fact, these two were essentially blocking their path, even though they had yet to notice the PCs.
Teffa and Tommison crept, as quietly as possible, behind the two men, following them down the hall towards the exit. It seemed as if the two were stalking Mangy, having either seen or heard him run to the exit.
Meanwhile, once outside, Mangy hailed a carriage. Amazingly, one stopped for him. He and Warren crammed in and Mangy paid the driver 50 gold to "loop around the block." The carriage took off just as the two strange men exited the building.
Realizing there was no way to sneak around the strange men, Teffa and Tommison (with the bear in tow) searched for another exit. They soon found an emergency exit that opened up into an alley on the side of the building. Just as they pushed through the door, Mangy's carriage was rounding the corner. They quickly flagged it down, and moments later the remainder of the party was in the carriage (along with the bear).
Unfortunately, they realized at this point that they didn't know what fate befell Adi. Not able to do anything about it, and hoping for the best in regards to her fate (maybe she made it out and back to the ship?), Mangy commanded the driver to head off, back towards the docks...