Wednesday 24 July 2024

Session 8: "The pitfalls of adventuring can be dangerous indeed".

23 July 2024

21st Day of May 1492 

Weather: Clear.

High Temperature: 16 degrees Celsius.

Low Temperature: 7 degrees Celsius.

Mission:  Find the Embalmers

Campaign:  Forest of Wyrms

Location(s):   Serpents Cowl Village, Embalmers Building.

Present:  Barlyn, Zinalla, Seraphina, Brielle & Glepper. (4 Guards)

Arriving: Elysande & Dameun.

21st

Glepper: "Not happy about this, it's too easy. I suggest we retire to a safe place and regroup, rethink before we continue".

They agreed and retired to the main floor and the entrance to the Embalmers building they had left not 1 hour ago.
                                                                                                                                                      It was midday. They retired to the room leading into the 2nd set of spiral stairs. It was there that Dameun and Elysande caught up with the group. Brought up to speed they all agreed that they should proceed. (With forethought and more caution!).


Advancing again to the bottom of the 2nd spiral stairs, Barlyn commented that they were now some 150 feet below ground level. The air was cooler and damp.

Glepper advanced to investigate items strewn across the floor. The floor tilted and before he could react he was falling. Slam. The floor snapped back into position. Seraphina, unable to see far in the dark and moved forward to investigate herself, calling out quietly for Glepper. Again, as before, the floor swiftly tilted and Seraphina fell, unfortunately head first! Zinalla was 3rd and the light from behind was barely enough to see into the room. They had all heard the noise, twice! Cautiously he moved into the room and as before, the floor swiftly tilted and he fell into the pit. Unfortunately for Seraphina the falling Zinalla's descent was cushioned by her body. Seraphina fell to the floor unconscious. 

Barlyn stopped. He knew instantly that something was amiss. 

Barlyn: "I think there is some sort of trap here. I am pretty sure that Glepper, Seraphina and Zinalla have triggered the trap and are now inside it."

Barlyn looked at the floor and could just make out the outlines of the trap. Dameun moved forward and agreed. Barlyn took out some pieces of cloth and marked the rough outline of the trap. The others cautiously advance around the trap.

Brielle: "If we activate the trap, we could possibly hold it open long enough for something to be jammed into the mechanism so we can see what exactly is happening."

Elysande: "Well I've been rummaging about the floor and I've found this very pretty spike, thing, would this be of use?"

Barlyn: "Just what we need".

Brielle: "Ok, Elysande, if you get on your hands and knees, push down with all your strength to activate the trap, then quickly Barlyn and yourself could hold it open whilst Dameun hammers in that piton to jam the mechanism."

Dameun: "That's sounds good, looks like it works on a pivot, if we are quick enough we can jam it open".

The 4 companions quickly got into position, the 4 guards lent a hand too. Elysande pushed down hard, the trap sprang open, Barlyn and Elysande grabbed the slab as it reached vertical and Dameun quick as a flash jammed the piton into the gap to jam it open.

Glepper: "Eventually, you've found us. Thought we were down here for good. Seraphina is unconscious, we have taken some injury from the fall but a rope should see us out of here."

A rope was dropped and wrapped around Seraphina, quickly pulled up she was just coming around when Glepper and Zinalla were pulled up too.


Elysande pointed out that the passage to the left was closed by a recent rockfall but there were a lot of items scattered about, like they had been dropped by people in a hurry. They took the passageway to the right.


They found a long corridor running north. 3 doors stood on the east wall and an opening lay ahead. Dameun watched the opening as each door was opened. Behind the middle door was a small room 15ft x 20ft. On the floor fresh blood. The walls and ceiling were covered by spiders webs. Ferns were growing from cracks in the walls, a piece of cotton 5ft x 2ft lay on the floor near the blood, nearby a book lay on the floor.

Barlyn picked the book up but as he opened it it disintegrated into mush and fell from his hands to the floor. Seraphina tutted. Barlyn just shrugged his shoulders.


The northern door revealed a room much like the middle one. A small table with a jug sat against the east wall. A strange lever protruded from the south wall. Like the middle room the floor was damp, the floor was very dirty with moss growing across it in patches. Under the table could be seen a folded up piece of canvas, it was in a poor condition.

Seraphina: "Leave the lever alone, do not touch that lever!". She called out.


The southern door revealed another room exactly like the other two. However this room was immaculate, clean and tidy with only a gooey substance oozing out of the east wall. Barlyn looked around the room, on the floor was a stone bowl and a ladle. The remains of a meal could be seen, fresh not old. Barlyn started to rub his hands over the walls looking for something, anything unusual. As his hands touched the gooey ooze he cried out in pain, his hands were burning. He took off his backpack and rummage around inside for his old travelling clothes, he quickly rubbed his hands clean. He was astonished to see whatever he touched start to disintegrate as the ooze devoured his belongings. Glepper rushed into the room and poured his waterskin over the backpack and Barlyn's hands. His action saved most of Barlyn's possessions but not his backpack, travelling clothes or his bedroll.

Glepper: "Looks like you'll be sleeping rough for awhile Barlyn."

Barlyn: "Can anyone carry my items until I find something to carry them in...please?"

Seraphina and Brielle split the items up between them.


As Dameun moved into the far chamber at the northern end of the corridor the others suddenly heard a SLAM noise and the light from his staff went out. Glepper moved forward and called out, it's another tilt trap I think. The others moved up to look as Glepper went back to the room with the lever. Try as he might he couldn't budge the lever. Seraphina lent her weight but still it would not budge. Barlyn added his strength and the lever sprang down. 

Brielle: "I just heard a click from the floor!".


The guards who had remained in the first room shouted that the trap there had sprung shut too.

Zinalla: "The lever must activate and deactivate the traps! Good work".

Brielle: "There's opened crates and chests in this chamber, what looks like to be a large cage, open, and a wired looking snake sculpture on the southern wall!"


Zinalla and Barlyn tentatively advanced but the trap remained shut. As Zinalla turned to let the others know a creature dropped down from the ceiling in front of him. tentacles grabbed Zinalla and the creature  bit him. Zinalla could feel his muscles start to freeze, go solid, he could not move, he was paralyzed.

Glepper let fly an arrow as Barlyn miss timed his swing. Zinalla could sense some kind of felling returning back to his limbs. The creature took another grab for him but missed. Zinalla responded with a strike from his sword which bit deeply into the creatures hide.


Seraphina moved in to attack as Brielle cast sacred flame on the creature, twice, her first attempt missing the creature.

Strikes from the group ensured the creature lay dead before any more damage could be inflicted.

Zinalla: "A Carrion Crawler, learned about them from one of the older Paladins at the fort! If they bite you there's a good chance they will paralyze you. This one is a small one, it's bite didn't stop me for long".

The group repeated the process for activating the trap and holding the slab upright and released Dameun to his delight.

Dameun: "It was quite dark down there, glad I had the light, thank you Brielle your light cantrip is very helpful and saves or use of torches".


The chamber was searched and the only items of use were taken by Brielle, a large pouch, and Glepper, a small pouch. The group concluded that whomever had been here had already left. The cage had held the Carrion Crawler had either been opened by whomever had fled or the creature had broken out, although there was no indication that this was so. They retraced their steps and searched the first room more thoroughly. They found a quantity of items, all of which seemed to have been discarded or dropped.


PLAYER INFORMATION:

Items gained:
Brielle - a large pouch
Glepper - a small pouch
Elysande - A hooded lantern with a broken flap
Elysande - A 100ft rope made of silk
Elysande - a Cotton cape (not in a very good condition but repairable)

Potter's tools
A tub in good condition
A Potion of Healing 2d4+2
410 copper pieces (The guards demand you honour the agreement and hand over 75% of the treasure on your return to the surface = 308 copper pieces).
An excellent quality piton
A pouch containing pepper
A pouch containing some kind of exotic spice
A 1ft pole
A painting
A broken morning star
A Belt
A gown
A ripped, blank scroll
A jug of grog
A set of navigators tools
5 bolts of fine cloth
An empty flask (1 pint)







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