Group explore the hidden laboratories of Sorshen, discovering powerful magics and accidentally releasing a pair of oozes who give them a tough fight. The group settle to rest; Anastasia seduces Gedout.
The next morning as the group are waking, they hear a Gray Maiden patrol. Gedout kills the leader, three are captured and made to swear allegiance to 'Sorshen' - Keelan. Two more Gray Maidens appear, but are captured before they can escape to warn others. They reveal the teleporter up to the next level, kissing the foot of a Sorshen statue. The first three are set to guard the lower level, while the other two accompany the group through the teleporter to a quay on the shore of an underground lake. They notice Keelan-Sorshen getting to her feet after kissing the Sorshen statue's foot...
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Quillax's Account - by Keelia.
Part 1
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As I shake the water from my clothes, I look around the now-crowded room, trying to find where to put myself without falling in the grate or bumping into others. I dislike leaving my Clank behind, but he would not fit. I will ensure we return for him.
The room is small, barely three strides across, and has four doors. Whilst I was tying up the boat, our casters have found it is an anti-magic spell that nearly caused me to drown. This is worrying as our magic users wear no real armour and depend upon magic heavily. And I cannot retain an animal form, to me, that is more unsettling, being forced from my nature by magic. Still, what is, is. I have blades but I sense no danger, although it is hard to smell anything over the smell of wet barbarian or hear over the complaints of wet clothes.
We find there are four exits from the room, excluding the grate through which we entered. A door is chosen at random and, after a quick listen and a casual check for traps, it is opened.
There are four rectangular shapes, larger than adult human sized, covered with sheets. There are short chains with cuffs at each corner of the rectangle. After what happened with Keelan and the last rectangular object we interacted with, I am very wary. Gedout rips the sheet from one to reveal an empty stone surface. The sheets are all removed and to my relief, there appears to be no further coffins. After a reminder not to trap themselves in the cuffs, I leave the team to investigate, keeping my senses attuned to the room we left. There were three other doors, after all, and we are not quiet.
A book found causes quite a stir with Sephiria, who exclaims with delight over three spell parchments tucked inside. If I understand her excited babble, they are very powerful. perhaps written by the runelord's apprentices, or even the runelord herself. They are safely tucked away and the book is pored over by those who can read it.
Gedout and Neril have expressed an interest in the next door now to our right, and it is opened. The smell of sulphur causes me to recoil and refuse to enter the debris-scattered room very far. Sephiria and Anastasia push their way through the group as a book has been spotted. As has a pentagram on the floor. I pull back, remembering the last summoning circle. The fire elemental was not something I would have wanted to fight. After some discussion, spell casting, and investigation, it is determined the pentagram is a summoning circle for a powerful monster. It is also unstable and our very presence could set it off. But the book is coveted by Sephiria so it is snatched away from its lectern home with mage hand, careful to avoid the pentagram. Apparently, this one was written by the runelord and is worth a great deal, both intellectually and monetarily. I will have to watch and intervene should someone make off with it to the market. With nothing more worth risking summoning the beast, I insist we leave and close the door.
We cross the room to the opposite door and find an abandoned alchemy lab. Knowing my companions, I quickly check for anything dangerous and find three unstable potions to be avoided. We find four more that are not dangerous to handle and those with the abilities to determine what they are investigate. I keep an eye on Gedout, who seems overly fascinated with a corroding urn that has place of pride in the room. Until we know what is in there, it's best not to touch. When I look back, the four potions we found had been secreted amongst robes and packs. I care not who has what, with the exception of perhaps Keelan and Gedout. I fear they might drink something questionable out of curiosity.
After running out of things to investigate, the Urn draws attention. General consensus is we want to know what's in the sealed, corroding jar, but we're fairly sure it's bad as it's corroding from the inside out. After further discussion, we decide to secure a safe path first and find at least two rooms' distance in case it's poisonous gas.
With Neril literally climbing the walls with boredom and Gedout resorting to investigating the contents of his left nostril, I urge the team towards the final door.
That door opens to a large room with a starburst pattern on the floor, some rather graphic wall art (I didn't know someone could bend like that), and some stone couches. Paranoia following the summoning circle in the other room determines we take care here. We determine the starburst is actually a suggestion spell - relatively harmless generally but I attempt to radiate the understanding that if anyone tries this on me, I will hurt them when it wears off. Thankfully, I slip through the room towards the opposite door without incident. Others are not so lucky.
Gedout, still fascinated with Keelan's gender/body switch, decides to have some fun after being bored for the last few hours. Although, I admit that Keelan did perform an admirable handstand.
We continue past the room and into a proper boudoir. While Anastasia investigates the bed, I spot a hidden door in the far wall. Interesting.
Remembering the urn, I suggest that now is a good time to check it. We have a door which will allow us to proceed forward if need be and two rooms' distance. Another mage hand (from Anastasia -ed.) and a quick retreat. As expected, inside was a bad thing. We retreat from the ooze which is unlike the ones we've seen before. It proves it is more unusual by giving chase.
We find out quickly that it is acidic, which explains the corrosion of the urn. I'm going to stay well back as an animal form is going to do me no good unless I want burned paws or mouth. Spell casting it is. Luckily, the monstrous slime does not fare well against magic or weapon. We nearly destroy one when a second appears. Hopefully, there are no more than that. Once both are destroyed, we wait but no more appear.
Part 2
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Despite my suggestion to rest, some of the party decide to explore the next door's contents. It reveals a hallway with ten more doors. Nine are identical. I stay put, suggesting rest now that there is no immediate threat. Ignored again as there might be something behind those doors, the nine identical doors are opened to reveal bedrooms.
The final door on the right (ed. - north wall) is ominously cold. Most of the party agrees it should be investigated when we are rested. Gedout has a different idea.
Thank Mother Nature that I was not in that hall as, due to a sudden wave of cold, most of the group is unconscious. Neril, who barely avoided the same fate, starts to recover our friends by dragging them towards safety. I start to cast healing spells, beginning with Keelan as he, no she, can also heal.
We are fortunate to be able to get everyone up to their feet once more. After that, the consensus is to rest - finally.
I watch with amusement as the tiefling tries her hand at seducing the barbarian with the suggestion star. I wonder if she was too subtle with her suggetion as he brushes off her advance. Instead, she goes for reward and shares her water. Which she drugged with a love potion. This makes me displeased. You do not drug anyone in the group while in enemy land. I ponder what she could be playing at for a moment and resolve not to take anything from her until I am certain of her once more.
We discuss sleeping arrangements, and most decide to stay in the main room so as not to split the group. Whilst not comfortable, at least we are safely together. Except for Gedout. And shortly after, also Anastasia.
And it suddenly becomes clear. She is a succubus, of course. Silly me. I appreciate that at least they took a different room, although the thick stone walls and the two closed doors did little to quiet the sounds of their coupling. Neril casts a silence spell which gives us peace until they are through and finally, we are allowed to sleep with the protective alarm set on all the doors, courtesy of Sephiria.
However, Neril's hissed warning is the first notice I get that there is something wrong. Although my own ears soon pick up the whispered voices. Voices that do not belong to our group. We ensure our group within this room is awake and quietly prepare ourselves. Listening at the door reveals that touching the frost door is still haunting our steps as apparently puddles of water that gave our presence away.
I glanced to my companions when the sounds showed they had discovered our companions in the next room. But why has Keelan stiffened? Did he, she, hear something I missed? But it quickly turned out that we had a plan. Keelan does have the body of a RuneLord, after all, and the door was thrown open as our ruse that Keelan was a RuneLord began. But our sleep addled states worked against us, so we entered into battle.
We killed one but subdued three of these armoured enemies that smell of hatred. A liberal use of Keelan's new form (hair neatly straightened) and the suggestion star, resulted in us getting three 'followers' turned to our side. I hide their dead leader's body so as not to distract them from their belief that Keelan is who he, she, is pretending to be.
After liberal questioning, we determine the plan of Anastasia's newly found half-sister, who was bound in her mother's place in the Lady's Light. Anastasia has a knack for deceit and Sephiria uses her noble background to support it. Even Neril gets in on it. I keep my distance. I do not want to spoil their work.
Unluckily, two more Grey Maidens spot me and the distance or my own lack of acting weakens my intimidation. They flee rather than fall in supplication of our bard. We give chase. They will not listen to reason, but we do not dare kill them lest we shake the faith of the three which we healed. If we do, we would be outnumbered as they are heavily armored.
Neril, Sephiria, and Keelan are able to subdue one heading for some doors. I head quickly for the other Maiden, who has lit a grey flame. It is unsettling and I don't want to see what can be done with it. I have heard tales of these Grey Maidens, a bear is better suited for this. I cast my hopes that my superior weight should help pin her and it does. Little Tricks gets the torch away when it falls from her hand.
Our converts manage to talk these two new ones into believing our story, so we now have five Maiden converts. It will go badly if they turn against us now, so we must be careful. We find what the torch can do - it opens the door to a teleporter! Apparently, out the other door is a series of enemies we would have struggled against, likely finding defeat if they had been summoned.
We decide to use the teleporter. We quickly realize a problem. For our ruse to continue, these Grey Maidens must not know that Keelan is not the real RuneLord, so they cannot see him, her, use the teleporter. We send some away to guard the doors after the others have gone ahead. Then, Gedout goes through to act as a distraction in the hopes that they do not see Keelan rising from the crouch. I follow through immediately and see Keelan still rising as I do. I try to bluff that I caused him, her, to stumble. I do not think the Grey Maidens believed it though. I do not lie well. They make no movement of threat, at least.
Now, we must decide our next course of action.
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