The Mouth of Doom: Session 25
General Summary
Lay On Flames
Report Date
03 Apr 2021
Standing near the hospice ward of the Menders located in the Mouth of Doom, Leofric pondered about what this group of Menders was doing here. He suspects that they must have entered a Brume adjacent area to deal with a disease that was rumored to have been created by Vrokíva. The northern ward would have been dedicated as a light hospital while the southern ward, the Forbidden, would have been used for anything highly contagious. Unfortunately, it looked that the northern ward must have been used as carry over from the Forbidden and that every patient was viciously murdered. The Wrenjers postulate that this area must have had the same sickness they had, the pestilence and that they could be carriers therefore shouldn’t return to Castle Calaelen or Zelkor’s Ferry until they are cleared. Before taking a rest, they discuss the need to purge everything but have not started the process yet.
As they traveled back to the column room for rest and harvesting, Ansible and Vadim are magically transferred to the warlock’s obsidian rod. Zetwuzadi just places the vessel on her person as it is common enough for the group not to have to worry about their return. The room looks to be how they left it; the green flames still blazing, and two very large elemental anaconda bodies lying where they died. While most of the party rested, Jarvis and Artem managed to skin one of the snakes. After their short rest, they decide to investigate the room with the metal cobras. Artem had noticed a staircase just past them one of their first trips into the dungeon, however, at the time they hadn’t cleared the floor. Now they are prepared to delve deeper into the dungeon.
The room was rather featureless, other than the two rusted iron cobra statues flanking a set of stairs on the southern side of the octangular room. Each statue had been crafted out of pedestal and radiated transmutation magic. As Jarvis stepped cautiously into the room, the cobra reacted with lightning speed, lashing out. Because the cobras were constructs, some of them thought they could be resistant to magical damage, a true iron golem would be immune and for a moment the wizard was distraught but quickly noticed that these were not true iron golems. Battle commences, with the group having a hard time hitting the constructs but once they did the cobras seemed to be falling apart. Only one of the iron cobras managed to bite one of the Wrenjers but Zetwuzadi takes the brunt of the hit. The pain was intense as it bit down upon her arm, hissing and releasing poison that caused her to become confused. She lashed out, swinging at Jarvis. But as quickly as it confused her, she was back to her senses nearly slaying the cobra. It was the wizard who launched a firebolt and melted the iron.
A quick investigation of the room discovered three lovely rubies, hidden under a trap door. They also found that the staircase is trapped physically and mechanically. Each surface is coated with a slick oil and as the stairs descend down 60 feet at a 20 degree angle before switching back upon itself, each step looks to be trapped in such a way that when triggered it would retract and make a slide. Sending the wizard’s familiar down to scout, Te’Leyuura feels like it descends the same amount as the secret ladder in the transmutation pool. Artem is then tied off to the undestroyed iron cobra to disarm each step while Sindragosa kept watch down the stairs. After five minutes of steady work, the rogue had disarmed the stairs and each Wrenjer used the rope to descend.
The fool who designed the dungeon once again marked the location of where the portcullis would fall with blue circles; however, the group is unable to determine how it would be triggered. Two pitons get shoved up and into the openings, making sure the trap isn’t triggered. From his angle, Artem could just make out a disc of metal but not what could be on the circle. They peak around the area, noticing a door at the end of the hallway. The door is trapped but the most interesting thing is that behind the door they could hear a large fire and evocation was radiating on the other side of the door. Leaving the door alone, they move back to the main hallway which they investigate and unlock a door that opens into a generally triangular shaped room that has a large statue of a demonic mountain goat headed man riding a black dragon. The creature has a bat on their shield and they are hovering over a stagnant pool. It could be depicting the Master or someone who was cosplaying them and was expertly crafted. The shield radiated transmutation magic and as Artem used an arrow to disturb the algae on the pool the bat animates and rushes the rogue. They made quick work and soon the bat was scattered into many little pieces. Many of the pieces fell into the pool revealing some items had been ‘offered’ to the statue and the bat was their protector. The more perceptive of the group could notice that the bat pieces were trying, very slowly, to reform.
Once Jarvis mentioned that the pieces were moving, Zetwuzadi nudged the piece that was closest to the shield further away with her foot, she continued to sweep the pieces away while the others discussed what to do, after they determined that Te’Leyuura was going to ritually cast Identify, she turned to gathering them into a sack. While the wizard started her work, the rest waited patiently in the hallway keeping watch. They soon hear a shuffling approaching and they fall back into the room where they try to muffle the wizard’s sound by stuffing a tarp around the door. Artem and Jarvis could hear what sounded like four bipedal creatures dragging something but not up the stairs and most likely to the roaring fire door. Finally the wizard discovers that the bat would reconstitute within the hour and it wouldn’t matter if they destroyed the pieces or not, a new bat would protect the pool regardless.
They believe that the shuffling belonged to zombies. They once again wait while Te’Leyuura casted detect magic. But once they are prepared they make their way up the hallway and on the right they find another door. This door had ornaments made from aethrin skulls and the door was painted with rudimental runes in blood. A quick scout by Artem discovered that the hallway turned and led to more hallway and a door. Turning their attention back to the adorned door, they ready themselves for a possible battle, but the door opens to a room with two doors and a grate. The grate seemed to emit no light and looked extremely dark, the middle door had no noise emitting from and the southern door they could hear gnoll speaking and laughing. Moving through the room was difficult as it was littered with detritus and bones.
As they approached the door, they could smell the rotting meat and when the door opened, they actually had the gnolls surprised. They could see repetitive writing and rudimental symbols for the Master on the walls, to Zetwuzadi they seemed kin to the pumpkin gnolls. A quick round of battle leaves the surprised gnolls and hyenas injured. Enya summoned her fire companion, dealing damage and had them transport to her, dealing more damage. Zetwuzadi gets the first kill while Artem can hear noises from the grate, warning them all for potential reinforcements. A massive gnoll joins the fight and swings at Enya’s new fire elemental. More gnolls follow the leader and the Wrenjers in the main room are quickly surrounded. Enya is able to deal some fire damage to the group and then teleports Leofric, her companion and herself out of the danger room.
Unfortunately for the leader and their followers, the leader tried to kill Sindragosa and in response the wizard dropped a fireball on the room, sculpting the spell around her friends then followed that with her familiar breathing fire upon the gnolls before she flew safely away. Moonbeam is dropped upon them by Leofric and Zetwuzadi finishes off the leader with Artem slaying the final gnoll. They quickly investigate each detritus filled area, the grate had a darkness spell upon it and it led to another room. In the middle room they found written in Gylidder common, “Damn, it is alive… have to sleep or die.”
