Chapter 7: Patronize

GM You are standing in an octagonal, crimson room. Black ornaments are mounted on the walls, in the center near where you stand hang long dark chains that end in empty manacles. The iron doors are partially open revealing Crucem pacing in the room of shadows.
(What is your plan?)
Marcel After a short acknowledgement of Crucem, I begin heading northward into the maze
GM You head through Crucem’s room to the north exit. You make eye contact with Crucem, but she doesn’t seem to want to speak with you and has a worried expression on her face.
The room beyond lies the living mosaic floor-snake who waits smiling.
Marcel I enter the room, swallowing a lump of saliva
GM The living serpent mosaic watches silently waiting for the wrong move.
Marcel I give him a glance, across the room, back at him, across the room, back at him. I begin to cha-cha across the room
GM You cha-cha slide across the tiled floor, sending the exasperated serpent back to its resting position. Across the room you once again face the dreaded 4-way rope bridge. Directly across leads through the chessboard. Left to the former vapor-filled king’s tomb, and right to the knife-happy shell.
Marcel Chessboard room!
GM The chessboard room is in chaos. The Pawns are mingling on the wrong sides of the board, the Rooks have stacked themselves on each other, and one Queen is having a rather heated argument with her own Bishops. Still, none of them are able to move on their own.
To the east side of the room lies Gibba’s corpse, now being licked clean by colorful humming birds.
Two exits on the opposite side of the room: northwest to the jade eyes, northeast to the room of abject horror.
Marcel I proceed to the northeast side of the room
GM Within the next room is the nearly pure white area containing a single black line extending from your door to the opposite exit. IT begins to morph and change shape into a hooded figure before eventually settling on the shape of a harlequin wielding a baguette.
You leap from corner to corner along the line, crossing the room in seconds. On the other side you find yourself in the corridor leading ahead to the scarab den. To your left leads to the room containing the hypno disks.
Marcel I head towards the scarab room, goosebumps forming on my neck as I remember my last time in here
GM You prepare yourself and enter the area beyond the corner. You hear it before you see it, but there is a single scarab scuttling on the stone floor.
Do attack it or sneak past?
Marcel I sneak past, remembering the horror of our last encounter
GM You sneak past the giant scarab without a sound. You once again reach the torchlit hallway. To the north end of the corridor lies the pentagrammic room where you discovered the infinite note, and to the south lies an unknown door.
Marcel Let's go south this time
GM You enter the long room to the south. Inside you find a solemn, lonely statue. The statue is a of a gigantic head with a long face, looking towards you. The stone of the statue seems to blend into the floor as a solid piece as if it were a part of the foundation itself. On its base is some writing chiseled into the stone.
Another door exits to the south.
Marcel I examine the writing chiseled into the stone
GM It reads:
Set Watch I Was, By The Elephant King And Many Of My Brothers Now Gone. Then The Lizards And Their Books. They Ruled For One Thousand Years. Then Came The Medusa. And Bred A Maze From Flesh And Frozen Bone. Then Three Sisters And Their Court. I Have Not Seen The Sea For Many Years. Or Heard The Sound Of Waves. Now You Come. Are You Those Sent To End This Land? As The Elephant King Promised You Would?
Marcel I head out the south door
GM The next room opens to a small room lit by hanging censers, about a dozen by your count. The censers hang from the ceiling at various heights; some a foot from the ceiling and others inches from the floor. The room is tight enough that moving between them would be difficult without contact.
There is a door south and southeast.
Marcel I'm going to head towards the south east corner, not necessarily avoiding them, but moving them slightly out of the way
GM When you push through the censers you nudge one of the ropes holding one up. You hear a sloshing noise briefly before the room fills with fire and sound. The censers have exploded on being moved.
Marcel (8 hp remains) Did they all explode? Am I free to move about the cabin?
GM Yes, chain explosion.
The southeastern door is swung open by the explosion revealing a black room covered in brown roots and foliage. The other door opens in, apparently.
Marcel Brown roots and foliage here I come!
GM This room has an interesting dip into the ground that turns into a vine tunnel heading east-west below the floor. There is also an open door on the eastern wall, but all you can see is the glimmer of water’s reflection on the inside wall.
Marcel I go towards the open door on the western wall
GM This room is lit by two orbs of light at the bottom of a shallow pool of water. Within the water swim several fish. Each fish has long, flowing fins and a long, pointy nose. The room is mostly water and it is impossible to cross without wading or climbing on the brick walls. [DC 18]
Marcel I look into the water and use my sapphire to attempt to force the fish into a lotus position
GM You flash your glowing euphoric sapphire and it envelops the room in a powder blue glow. The fish slow their movement to a near standstill, but unfortunately are unable to contort their ribbon-like fins into any meditative positions.
The sapphire’s glow fills your body a second time, starting at your toes and moving up your bones. Nirvana tickles at the base of your skull, but doesn’t quite fill your mind. Maybe there’s something you can do to access more powerful effects?
Marcel I sit in front of this body of water and let the peace wash over my body
GM It relaxes you and you let your body loosen, but it doesn’t quite fulfill you. There is a tingling feeling at the back of your head that straddles the line of relief and discomfort.
Marcel I get into the water with the fish, in a relaxing manner
GM The glow of the jewel begins to wane. While the fish remain calm, you feel its effect on you diminish.
Marcel I slowly wade across the body of water towards the door on the western wall
GM You pull yourself out of the water onto the landing before the door. Water drips from your robe and breeches in small splatters. The fish behind you stare with full, black eyes and their pointed noses twitch with longing.
The next room, like the one before, is covered in vines and foliage and contains a deep green pit forming a tunnel of plants leading only west.
To the south is a door that is obviously trapped on your side. Knives and blades of various sizes are arranged on stings and pulleys to assault any who open the door. To the east is a door barely hanging off of its broken hinges. Within it can see some kind of scaffolding connects this room to the next.
Marcel Can I figure out how to disable this trap?
GM Roll Disable device
Marcel 18
GM You easily determine which crucial parts maintain the mechanism and are able to disable the trap. The blades clamor to the floor harmlessly and you may now easily access the door before you.
Marcel I proceed through the southern door, past the trap
GM You recognize the room on the other side of the door. This long, sparsely decorated room is where you released the fairy prisoner, Ysanne Smallbone.
If this is correct than you know that the path forward will lead you back towards Crucem’s room, and the other door in the last room leads towards the hidden door Tyko Wort led you too.
Marcel I'll go back into the room and look into the tunnel
GM You step down into the tunnel to get a better look. You can see where this tunnel connects to the room two areas over, and how that tunnel goes some ways into the distance. At the end you can see what looks like sunlight.
Marcel I go towards the sunlight
GM The distance is longer than you thought it would be. As you creep closer through the tunnel you feel the air grow warmer. Reaching the light, you find yourself at the bottom of a pit that’s too deep to climb without using the vines that cover the walls [DC 10]. The “sunlight” shines from a frosted yellow glass ceiling. The tunnel continues about another twenty feet to the west to another glow of sunlight.
Marcel I will continue another twenty feet.
GM You find yourself at another pit just as the last. The glass ceiling lets in more sunlight lighting the room above the pit.
Marcel I turn around to climb up out of the pit 8
GM You fall. You try again at this pit but are unable to reach the top. Perhaps the vines are too loose here. You think you should try at the other pit.
Marcel 19
GM You are finally able to pull yourself out of the undergrowth and into the room above. The room is nearly bare save for the foliage that covers the flagstone floor. There is only one exit to this room and it leads east, the opposite direction of the pit you failed to climb.
Marcel I go out the east exit
GM The proceeding room is a veritable jungle. The flagstone floor is completely concealed by thick roots and ferns that span from wall to wall. The air is thick and humid. The space here is wide enough that you can see that unlike previous sections of the maze, the walls here do not reach the glowing ceiling and provide an open-air space that this garden shares with the nearby rooms. You would estimate the walls are close to fifteen feet in height. There is only one other doorway in this room; it’s located directly opposite of where you entered.
In the southern half of this room you are five brick chimney-like wells that extend out of the ground like planters.
The northern half is composed of a small pond complete with lily pads and cattails. The edges of the pond go all the way up to the northeast corner of the wall where a large waterwheel spins from water entering from the other side of north wall. You can see a gap in the wall at the top of the wheel that could be an exit but would be a very tight fit.
As you step further into the foliage, hear a sound of deep laughter echo into the room. The guffaws below over the northern wall and accompany a pair of giant, webbed claws that grasp the top of the wall from the other side.
The figure connected to the claws begins to pull itself over the wall. The creature that reveals itself to you is hideous and resembles a demonic toad. Its face is wide and its mouth is fulfilled with rows of sharp teeth. Four glowing eyes sit below a crown of horns.
“Ahaw! Ahaw! Haw!” The beast continues to laugh. Leaping off of the wall, he lands in the pond sending a wave of water into the air that falls just short of you. “Well, well. Who do we have here?” The toad swims to the edge of the pond and rests at its shore. “Another lost wanderer?” A long tongue passes over the teeth and licks the excess water off the toad.
Marcel I feel threatened, pull out my ruby crystal to try to fry the little fucker.
GM You reactively cast a fireball from your ruby and you can feel an intense heat from the gem radiate over your hand. A blast erupts across the toad’s body searing off its skin in a cloud of steam.
“Ahaw! Ahaw!” The toad slams his hand in the mud. “I thank you. I indeed planned on molting today.” You can see that the demon’s skin is already beginning to rejuvenate. “Such an atypical character; how very interesting.” He climbs out of the water in crawls nearer. “Tell me wanderer, what is it you seek?”
Marcel I tuck away my gem as I speak, “I-I seek a 'torn' sister. Not Chronia, however. She doesn't seem interested in what I've proposed to her. Who are you, demon?"
GM “Ahaw! Indeed! She has been in quite a repressive mood for a while. Well, more like a few decades! Ahaw!” He convulses on the muddy bank and slams his hand down again, reveling in his self-perceived humor. “You may call me... Carnifex.” He seemed to contemplate on the name for a moment.
“I see you’re the one that has that jeweled lich’s eyes. A shame you didn’t finish him off all the way, maybe then Chronia would have been more receptive, Ahaw! Say you wouldn’t happen to be the one who vanished the Vapor Thanes, or slew the Fracture-Of-The-Bone?” Carnifex leans in towards you in anticipation of your answer.
Marcel "I am the one who slain those beasts, Mr. Carnifex! A question for you now. Do you happen to know where Chronia's sisters may be?" I look around for a seat to have a short chat with the demon.
GM “Ahaw! Incredible! My how you have shook the hive. I do know where each Torn sister resides, but pray tell. Why is it you search for them? They most certainly would not wish to meet you, Ahaw!” Carnifex settles down into the mud, coating his underbelly.
Marcel I give out a chuckle. "I wish I could tell you, but I don't quite know myself. I'd get into the details of my time in this maze, but I wouldn't want to bore you. It is my understanding that getting at least one of the sisters out of here is my ticket out of this maze."
I glance towards the demon. "Why would they not want to meet me?"
GM “So, you seek them yet do not know of them? Brilliant! You must be new here, or just visiting, eh? Ahaw! The immortal three sisters fled here, mostly, on their own, ehh— millennia ago. You see, each was born so perfect that they could deny the world around them. If you have Zygmunt’s eyes then you must have already met the youngest sister, Charity Torn. So perfect that she prevents those around her from causing harm to anyone. Zygmunt torments her with his unwanted love.” Carnifex finishes drawing a heart in the mud. “She locked herself away here after escaping enslavement by her traitorous retainers. She stays here by choice to avoid being abused by mortals.”
He grumbles quietly and rubs more mud onto his fresh skin. “The middle sister, Zamia Torn, is... nearby. Or part of her at least! Ahaw! She separated herself from her own body to escape herself. Her perfection made any who laid eyes upon her fall deeply in love with her. And she hated it! Ahaw! She came here in spirit to flee her suitors and see her elder sister.” “Unfortunately for her, her body remained in perfect stasis complete with her love powers. Doubly unfortunate for her that the Lich Xanthoceras brought her body here to reunite her and force her to marry him. He keeps her body nearby, just two rooms north.” He points over his shoulder with a webbed claw. “I wouldn’t recommend looking at her, lest you fall in love forever! Ahaw!”
Marcel I listen closely to the demon's story. Taking mental notes, before thanking him and standing up to go and examine the room.
GM Carnifex’s eyes follow you as you move around the room. “If you don’t mind, what was your offer to Chronia?”
You find a large tool in the brush, about as long as a broadsword but much thicker in girth. It looks like it matches the bolts restraining the waterwheel. There is a frayed roped hanging over the lip of one giant pipe. The pipes are taller than you, and you unable to look inside without climbing them.
Marcel I approach the pipe to attempt to climb it, talking to Carnifex," My offer? I tried taking away what I thought was keeping her here and that didn't seem to work. So, I'm exploring my options at the moment."
GM “Ahaw! You tried to remove the curse? Is that why you destroyed Zygmunt’s skull. One out of three isn’t bad, but she’s not going anywhere until she’s ... out of time! Ahaw! But then there’s her own love trap...”
Roll climb [DC 8] or acrobatics [DC 10]
Marcel I attempt to jump up the pipe with an acrobatics check. 8
GM “Chronia is cursed and she knows it. Despite this she fell in love with the matron of this prison, Psyteramona, the Blue Medusa. Even if her curse is broken, she would not leave the maze without the Medusa no matter how much she would want to escape. Nor would the Medusa leave without her lover.” Carnifex inches closer ever so slowly, like a cat stalking a mouse. “If you were to break the curse and bring them together, perhaps then they might be more amiable to your offer? Mmm?” You feel a light rumbling throughout your body, vibrations from Carnifex’s curious grumbles.
Marcel "Interesting... And if I were wanting to break the curse, how would I go about doing that?" I take a step back from the imp, gulping as I'm concerned with the amount of excitement that is emanating from Carnifex
GM “Kill the liches, naturally. Finish each off all the way, soul and all, and Chronia will be free. Won’t be able to get to Wort as you are though,” Carnifex scratches his scaly chin. “You’ve seen already seen her time wall, yes? Inside the wedding? Mhmm, you’ll never get past that as you are.”
“You should just take that with you,” He points towards the area near your feet. You hadn’t noticed before but you see a small, stony toad beneath the brush. How long had it been there? About six inches long, the statuette looks like a reddish petrified frog. “Yes, that should get you through.”
Marcel I pick up the toad, scanning over it with curiosity. "Not that a don't believe you, but how will does petrified frog get me through a zone that literally distorts time?"
GM “Ahaw! You’ll just have to have faith. Do you accept?” Carnifex is motionless in anticipation.
Marcel "Accept... What am I accepting exactly? I know how you guys work. There has got to be a catch to this magical time frog."
GM “Accept the gift. Accept the chance that I can give you to accomplish your goals. All I need is that you promise to rescue Chronia and her lover from this maze.”
Marcel I try to read him to see if I think he is being genuine (1) - 1 = 0
GM You consider his words and feel that he genuinely wishes to help you.
Marcel I accept the gift.
GM Once you accept you feel the floor begin to rumble. Suddenly, a horde of frogs reveal themselves from behind the foliage and debris. The stone front in your hand animates and looks up at you with glowing eyes. You hear Carnifex’s voice in your head, “The pact is made. Go east, O’ Cursebreaker, and smite the vile liches. Enact this will so that the prisoners you seek be freed.”
Carnifex himself begins to burn away, perhaps as part of the effect of your ruby. You hear him quietly ‘Ahaw’ in your mind as he fades to ash. The amphibious chorus grows and fills the gardens. The living-stone frog in your hand stops shining and you see its coloration has changed to a reflective, gemlike finish similar to tiger eye.