After leaving the detour of the
Tri-Boar Trail, the party continued toward the north, following the west bank of the Cragmaw creek. The rocky creek at this point was about 3 feet deep and fast flowing, making it dangerous to attempt a crossing.
The party had become spread out as they passed through thick brush along the stream, with Silvermoon, Almalexia, and Koravhik a bit ahead of the others. Between the sound of the rushing water and the wind rustling in the branches overhead, the trio did not hear a pair of Owlbears charging them until they burst through the underbrush in melee range. The three adventurers had faced Owlbears several times before, and leveraged their experience to dispatch their foes just before the rest of their comrades joined them.
Koravhik found a leather collar with a small wooden tag around the neck of each dead Owlbear. He could not read the symbols engraved on the tags. Using a bit of charcoal, he made crude copies of the symbols on the outside of his tinderbox, then shoved both the box and the tags into his backpack.
The rest of this day and the next passed without incident. However, during the third watch of the following night, Koravhik spotted what looked like a dragon's silhouette passing across the starfield over their camp. He woke the rest of the party, but no attack came, and none of the other party members saw anything out of the ordinary.
Eventually the Cragmaw Creek approached the Red River to north. The normal sounds of birds, insects, and wind rustling through the branches over head suddenly ceased, replaced by eerie silence. They stepped out of the forest into the ruined foundations of a long-disappeared village. The scattered stone rubble was covered in wild raspberry bushes. The only movement they could see were a large number of rabbits moving about slowly, nibbling on berries. Alamlexia said that she was getting serious "archfey" vibes from the area, and warned the others not to eat any of the berries or bother the rabbits.
As the party continued forward, they could catch glimpses of the Red River through the trees on the north edge of the ruined village. Near the center of the village, they found an immaculate thatched roof cottage. Wisps of smoke rose from the chimney, and colorful flower boxes were under the glass-paned windows. A covered porch spanned the entire front side of the cottage, and an woman with frizzy grey hair sat there in a rocking chair.
As they approached, the old woman greeted them, and introduced herself as
Agatha . She said that she was happy to have visitors, as no one has stopped by in a long time. Although she smiled and spoke in a friendly manner, several party members were getting creepy vives from Agatha.
The party asked her how she was able to live out here by herself, especially with all the dangerous creatures in the area. They mentioned the Owlbears that had recently attacked them. Agatha replied "Oh I'm in no danger. Reidoth's magic has no influence here in Conyberry." Before the party could ask any questions about "Reidoth", someone chimed in about the dragon that Koravhik had seen, referring the flying creature as a "person". Agatha interjected "Dragons are not people!" The discussion then shifted to the status of dragons for a bit until someone steered it back to purpose of the party's visit, the Grimoire of the Ebon Rose.
The party showed Agatha the magic hairbrush, and offered to trade it to her in exchange for the location of the Grimoire. Agatha replied that is would be an acceptable trade, but that the party would not be able to retrieve it without a password. She then told the party that the hairbrush was part of a set, and that the matching hand mirror was in the lair of wizard named Yendor. She added that this same lair contained Grimoire. When asked if Yendor was still in his lair, Agatha replied "Yes, in way I suppose he is."
She also asked the party why they wanted such a dangerous tome. Almalexia stated that she was going to study it. Agatha's eyes narrowed as she peered at Alamlexia, and warned that she did think Almalexia had sufficient skill to read the Grimoire safely. When asked why she did not simply retrieve the mirror on her own, Agatha replied "Oh, it's not the sort of place for an old woman like me." Turning towards Almalexia, she added "You'll see what I mean."
The party agreed to retrieve the hand mirror for Agatha in exchange for the password, which she told them was "
Klaatu Barada Nikto". She said if they survive the lair, they can any of the other contents, including the Grimoire. To find the lair, she instructed the party to follow the west bank of the Cragmaw Creek up into the mountains until they spotted the "weeping stone".
When Almalexia asked how to locate this stone, Agatha's flashed as she said "You can't miss it. You simply can't." Almalexia's eyes blinked twice as she shook her head, trying to clear her vision. Agatha simply smiled at her.
The party then departed, retracing their steps southward along the west bank of the creek. They saw no large animals or people until they have passed the site of the ruined Cragmaw bridge and had begun their climb into the mountains. Then they spotted a group of what appeared to be orcs on the ridgeline on east side of the Cragmaw canyon. The orcs appears to be shadowing the party, but did not move closer.
Eventually they cam across a path of smoothed stone running along the creek, almost like a road. As they neared the end of the path, Almalexia found that her gaze was drawn to a smooth cliff face next to the path. There she found two small streams of water seeping out of the rock about a foot above the path and six feet apart.
Investigation revealed that the rock above and between the two streams could be pushed through, offering only a few pounds of resistance. Beyond they found a long corridor of stone, dimly lit of magical flame sconces. About half the scones were extinguished, while many of the lit ones were flickering. The water running along the sides of the corridor did not appear deliberate, hinting at a leak of some sort further into the lair. From inside, the section of stone blocking the entrance to the creek appeared as translucent brown frosted glass.
Ruu examined the stone walls, and said that they did not appear to be carved. Instead, the looked more like potter's clay that had been smoothed and shaped by someone's hand, then fired into ceramic.
About sixty feet further on the corridor was block by a set of bronze doors. There was no handle or latch, but one of the doors had a large bronze knocker in the center. Using the knocker resulted in the sound of a loud, deep bell sounding distantly from beyond the doors. However, after a wait of several minutes, no one answered the bell, and the doors remained closed. The doors appear to open outwards, with hinges visible on each side. Koravhik then used his smith tools to drive out the hinge pins on one side ,then carefully set the door down without making much noise.
About six feet beyond the doors, the floor, walls, and ceiling were inscribed with a line of silver runes. Just beyond the runes on the floor were several small, desiccated dragonfly-winged humanoid-shaped figures. Almalexia identified the corpses as dead pixies.
Someone
[who?] jumped over the silver runes, and was immediately struck with necrotic energy. They jumped back over the runes, and then party tried using the password provided by Agatha. This appeared to disarm the magical trap, but Almalexia was still stunned for several seconds after crossing the runes. Even after recovering from being stunned, Almalexia found that her mind was clouded, and it was difficult for her to concentrate.
A bit further on, the corridor opened into a larger square room. A stone statues of a human man stood in each corner. The statues held an iron/steel scimitar in each of their crossed arms. On the floor next tot he wall across from door, slightly off-center, was a stone brazier ablaze with a bright blue magical flame. The brazier was engraved with runes that no one could read.
Almalexia cast Comprehend Languages as a ritual, and then learned that the runes meant "NO WATER". Borrowing Koravhik's 15 foot pole, the tied her waterskin to the end, then thrust it into the blue flames. The waterskin burst open, and the flames were instantly extinguished. As the flames died, a ten foot wide section of the stone wall across from the doors simply disappeared.
When the party attempted to enter the newly-revealed passage, two of the statues sprung into action, attacking the party with their blades and vicious kicks. Barely destroying the stone guardians, the party retreated beyond the bronze doors, temporarily propping up the door they have unhinged. Almalexia found that her mind cleared once she crossed the silver runes.
After a short rest, the party retraced their steps, using the password again before the crossing the runes. Almalexia was not stunned this time, but she did find her thoughts once again clouded.
We will rejoin our band of brave adventurers as they continue their exploration of the wizard's lair...
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