S1 E25: Ildaban the Magnificent

General Summary

The gang solves a complex layered puzzle to gain entrance to the depths of an abandoned dungeon for information on how to literally save the world - only to find it not entirely abandoned, or even intact.

• Having arrived at the location after finishing their tete-a-tete with the mysterious Fey Sisters, Lorfel puzzled over the entrance lock puzzle for a while, with the last hint coming from Willow's direction that Quindarin was fascinated with the tablets and used them as keys to his own locks and riddles. 
• In the end, the lock solution is super easy, barely an inconvenience to Lorfel - but at the same time there's a twinge of something deeper and darker, the knowledge that Quindarin's puzzles are a simple mortal homage to the real thing, but the real thing is also out there, somewhere, and it beckons to all of them.
• Wizard eye scopes out the initial areas of the understory, which appear to be large domestic rooms shaped with magic. Initially the stairs lead down to a lower level with a small, dry fountain basin and a curious stone statue of a woman in armor who appears to be sleeping on the floor. Everything is covered in significant plaster and stone dust. 
• When examined, the statue is a little too lifelike, reminiscent of Ophidra's work, but of a cruder material, a sort of generic brown-grey sandstone. The woman in the statue has no weapons visible but is otherwise dressed like a guard from the town, more or less - hard to be certain since the stone doesn't preserve colors or heraldry. Strangely, she's also barefoot.
• As they move into a dining area, a solid table and six seats formed from the stone of the floor itself right down to the dishware, they become more aware of a bad smell on the breeze, as well as a hint of wood smoke. They also begin to see tiny bits of parchment, as if someone threw a library into a wood chipper, scattered across the floor, and more dust covering everything. 
• Another sleeping guard statue is found here, a male human, armored the same, also weaponless and with bare feet. The walls have idyllic scenes of a wizard performing various helpful tasks, but the wizard has been gouged out of many of these reliefs. A tapestry made to illustrate a certificate of thanks from the Keep has been defaced, with Quindarin's name removed and a different name written in deep speech: "Ildaban the Magnificent".
• Creatures reminiscent of lizardfolk are spotted trying to sneak up on the gang, and not doing a great job of it. Zalock suggests in a whisper that they may be something he's heard of, Troglodiles or Troglodytes perhaps, a smelly sort of human/croc hybrid. They spring out to attack, and the gang dispatches five in short order, but the sixth runs away; Blizzard briefly gives chase but lacking darkvision, can't see where it's gone once it gets outside the dim lighting of Mae's flaming sword.
•  He does know the general direction, however, to the north; and their obvious duck-like footprints and the stink of them will be easy enough to follow whenever one might wish. Along they way they see more defaced wall art and more references to the awesome power of Ildaban the Magnificent.
• The gang finds book covers in a completely demolished library that physically pains them to look at - not just because of the destruction of rare books, but because this was where they had planned to learn more about the planar conjunction Willow had warned them about. The books are gone, but the covers remain, and three of the five are legible: "The Aerial Domain of Dagezuu" - which sounds like it was demonic, perhaps; "The Undercavern of Camazotl" which would have had obvious interest relative to recent events; and "The Plane of Inverse Symmetry" which may have referenced the phenomenon leading to the double-tailed snake and the other biological horrors found in Willow's home. Alas, the covers are all that remain intact, and the pages are likely among the shredded debris all over the floor. A suggestion to perhaps try the mending spell is met with the realization that while this might restore blank pages to the books, it's not likely to restore the actual writing.
• They fiddle around with Quindarin's old furniture in various domestic rooms, finding clothing that has deteriorated to dust, as well as a wooden tray with a small bottle of some kind of black inky liquid they decide not to uncork; they also find ample stores of a variety of bulk foods, spices and ale in barrels that seem strangely new. They also come across a treasure trove of sorts, primarily of interest to Lorfel, of all manner of either spell components or alchemy ingredients, as well as what looks like a small black cat preserved in some kind of fluid. 
• When they open the lid, the cat springs to life and takes off like a shot into the dark at a much greater speed than any of them seem likely to keep up with, back the way they came. Eventually they decide the only way to go is in the direction that the fleeing Trog went, as there appear to be no stairs leading to levels below.
• But when they round a couple of corners in that direction, they realize that most of the underground structure is simply - gone. Some disintegrating force has evidently carved through the floors which have collapsed several layers down to the bottom, more than a hundred feet below and perhaps two hundred feet across; if the circle of the tower were a full moon, the intact area they have searched on this floor is merely a crescent. 
• The Troglodyte has escaped into this yawning hole. Things go from bad to worse when they can dimly see something spherical and toothy rising in the light of some bioluminous fungus or magical effect at a distance. They hear a strangely deep voice speaking a language Lorfel understands: "Now who are these assholes?" and a Beholder hovers into view at a distance of more than a hundred and fifty feet, and about 140 feet off the floor.
• The gang explains themselves politely, considering the circumstances, but the Beholder is supremely unimpressed: He is Ildaban the Magnificent, and they seem unwilling to be his slaves, so that makes them eligible for the honor of being his next meal. As he gets closer they notice he's wearing some kind of odd hat or veil.
• Blizzard invokes Camazotl's Staff of the Bat Swarm to harry Ildaban with a couple of bat swarms; the gang is so far distant that little else can be done effectively, and this does give Keebler the ability to focus his attacks more effectively with sneak attacks, which makes a huge difference in his damage output. But Ildaban remains unimpressed. He uses his anti magic eye to snuff out Lorfel's held Magic Missile, and nearly drops Xi Shi with a single beam from his Ray of Death; Zalock falls asleep, dropping his weapon and his namesake +1 shield to the edge of the floor beside him, safe for now but vulnerable to all sorts of bad things depending on which of Ildaban's rays activate.
• We ended the session mid-fight, and will pick up the exciting conclusion next week ;)

Rewards Granted

• A small vial of dark black liquid
• A fishbowl-sized container of some kind of health syrup, recently containing a preserved cat that sprang to life and ran away.

Missions/Quests Completed

• Enter Quindarin's Tower

Character(s) interacted with

Ildaban the Magnificent

Report Date

20 Sep 2022

Primary Location

Quindarin's Tower & Undercroft

Secondary Location

The Borderland Marches