The Mouth of Doom: Session 21
General Summary
“Fire you say”
Report Date
06 Mar 2021
After exploring more of the dungeon, the Wrenjers and their allies were in a heated battle with a group of bandits. Jarvis had gone through the door before the thieves had tossed oil flasks and set them ablaze, isolating the artificer from his allies. The paladin had a clever idea but it was going to take a bit of time to maneuver Maybeth’s sarcophagus lid over the flames, because it seemed like the bandits were fully betting on keeping the others out of the room. As Zetwuzadi was ready to place the lid, the crate Jarvis was standing on was set on fire, causing significant damage and prompting Leofric to rush through the flames as they heard someone in need of his mending.
As the little pink flames licked over Jarvis’ wounds, healing him, Zetwuzadi lowered the lid allowing access into the room. This entire time, the paladin had been trying to use diplomacy to end the battle peacefully. Some of their allies headed her wishes, not causing life threatening damage while others still went full throttle into battle. In Leofric’s defense, one of the orcs seemed rather keen on murdering him. The thieves were taking orders from a tall lanky, pale man who snarled at the others to keep fighting but as the battlefield was slowly leaning towards the Wrenjer’s winning the day, the man quickly pushed one of his crew members at the paladin while he disengaged and slipped out of a secret door that Jarvis had not noticed before. Without their leader, the others--who were not already taken care of-- surrendered.
During the fight, their new companion Vadim had incapacitated a redhead woman with laughter and after he kicked her weapons away, he released his spell. With an extended hand he offered the women a hand up stating “Forgive me beautiful lady” the flirting continued. Meanwhile, Jarvis had found the leader’s exit route and had it already pushed open. They could hear the sounds of his footfalls leading away until all of a sudden they started to move more silently. With the path ahead leading to possibly more danger, the group shuts the secret doors and starts talking with the redhead. After talking for a bit, they learned that this particular group of thieves had worked on the outskirts of Gylidd Syn Aethri and had spent a significant amount of time near Dreffen Lawr. They had been approached by a group of cultists who worshiped the Master and offered this part of the dungeon for them if they looked over the entrance. The one caveat was that they were to leave the cultists alone. This was working for them as it was hard to start a thieves guild anywhere near Gylidd as the guard is just too good at their job.
Their leader was Jackrat and even though the redhead had muttered, in Thieves Cant, to the only other thief currently not knocked out, that Jackrat had left to gather reinforcements, she honestly believes that he left and went further into the dungeon. It seemed that two of the guild members were true believers of the Master. Not only were they given the entrance to guard and free reign of the area outside of the Mouth, each member was given a magical enhancement that allowed them to see perfectly in the dark. Even using the big brain power of the group, they were unable to determine what spell could have been used. The Wrenjers opted to bring them all back to Castle Calaelen for the others to deal, redeem or whatever with. Before they left, the wizard identified one magical item in a crate that was filled with a variety of loot.
They leave the Mouth of Doom with the thieves and the bodies-including Maybeth. At the castle, the bandits are placed in the dungeon to deal with later, while the bodies are brought up to the newly re-sanctified temple to be given their last rites and make sure the castle wouldn’t be housing any more undead. The Wrenjers do not linger long at the castle and head directly back to the Mouth of Doom after a short rest.
As not to draw attention to themselves entering the dungeon, they avoid heading through the northern door. Heading south, they notice more hallways, doors-secret or otherwise, and rooms. A glass mosaic of local flora and fauna adorns one wall, in one of the rooms, some of the tiles had been pulled away and as they discuss to further investigate or not, a large centipede scurries out of the hole. When there is one, there is usually a nest and so they just shut the door and leave down the hallway. This part of the floor seemed to be rather empty and dusty as they traversed the hallways.
The group was very thorough, not opening a secret door until all the others were opened and explored. Down one of the hallways, they stumble upon a room. Te’Leyuura can feel the magical auras behind the wall behind her as they walk into the room across the auras. The room was secured shut with pitons and as they pushed the door open, they clattered to the floor while the door bumped into a skeleton. A nutty smell assaults them as they enter the room, but no one was able to place what it was or where exactly it was coming from. The room told a story, two bed rolls had been used to secure two dead companions of the body near the door. They had secured each exit and had been holed up in the room, slowly dying of starvation. The unfortunate dead had a chest and a map that had a course marked from Gylidd Syn Aethri to the Mouth of Doom.
Before they had entered this room, they had looked down a hallway located behind a secret door, at the end of path Jarvis had noticed a small pool of built up condensation, they now find that the door that, logically, mirrored the they had found just moments ago also had condensation building up on it. The room that laid behind the moist doors, was a rather wet room, slick with a wetness that when the light touched it showed it was green. The ceiling above seemed to sag but was structurally sound. They determine it must be a green slime. Wanting to investigate as much as they can and Leofric’s need for a sample, Artem and Jarvis move into the room with Enya and Te’Leyuura using their fire magic on the ceiling to keep the green slime at bay.
As Te’Leyuura was needed to identify which of the three chests they had just found behind a door containing the magical auras, Leofric stepped up to use his radiance to attack the slime as well. Artem and Jarvis are able to successfully open each chest and leave the slime room as the ceiling finally gives way, under the weight and the magical spells. The auras she had been sensing were two scrolls locked in a chest with two of the others being trapped. They continue exploring the area beyond the nutty room. Each door seemed to just open to more hallways.
They find a room decorated with tapestries, the material they were crafted out of and the skill behind the artist made them worthless. The tapestries depicted a scene outside of the dungeon. Around the skull entrance, a battle between a small army of Wrenjer archers and a large force made up of ogres, who are led by three black-robed figures wearing helmets decorated with curling ram’s horns. These leaders are apparently clerics of the master, and each one carried a mace topped with a metal skull. In the corner of this room, probably the only skeleton that had not been reanimated was found in a pit trap, they exhume a body from the pit, it looked to be a Wrenjer. Beyond the tapestry room, it connected back to the centipede room. They wonder who is feeding them and if they should just try to lead them out of the dungeon at another time
During the last little bit of hallway travel, Vadim and Ansible chat about music. The unique instrument that Vadim has with him is named Truth and Lyre and has a wondrous sound. Ansible, in what seemed like a lifetime ago, used to sing and they request that Vadim plays something from Asheido where the bard hails from. Their conversation wraps up with the hope to play some music soon when they return to the castle. Rounding the hallway they come upon a large open room.
The large room has three rows of pillars and at the end of them there are two large bronze fire pits that are set near the southern wall. The fire pit bowls are adorned with leering gargoyles around the rim and have eerie green flames that rise ten feet into the air. The pillars are also adorned with a multitude of small gargoyles.
