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Session 22

January 15, 2023

Note: This play report contain spoilers for the adventure The Incandescent Grottoes.

The Fighting Mongooses

  • Finnegan, the grimalkin
  • Jymes, the hunter
  • Philimandrus, the illusionist
  • Rodger, the paladin of St. Elsa
  • Tomumbulo, the moss dwarf

Their Retainers

  • Bors the Great, a warrior hungry for glory
  • Ewe's Milk Esther, a frost elf compelled to the party's service
  • Gresham, carpenter turned fighting-man

Recap

Session #21

Today's Adventure

The Fighting Mongooses, while considering their plans in the lower crypt of the Incandescent Grottoes, were rejoined by Finnegan. Some further time was spent examining the rails upon which the grille floor rested, and speculating about its mechanism. Jymes collected some rubble from the collapsed tomb and began throwing chunks of stone stile onto the metal grille until the trap was re-triggered. The grille floor plunged into the acid once more, never again to raise.

After some consideration, the Mongooses opted to retrace their steps to the opposite side of the acid bath room, hoping for a new perspective and suspecting treasure might be concealed therein. As they traveled back, they noted the absence of the egg-laying horror they spotted earlier, and opted to spend some time purging the giant rat carcass of its infestation of giant insect eggs.

The Mongooses descended to the lower level again. Passing the burial urns, this time there was no sign of slugbabies, and they proceeded beyond to the edge of the pool of acid. From the pool of acid rose a stone pillar covered in candle sconces, and beyond that on the far side, a hallway and alcoves looking much like the one the party currently occupied.

Philimandrus cast quasimorph, transforming into a giant centipede. Jymes tied one end of a fifty foot rope around his segmented body, and Philimandrus crawled up the wall, across the ceiling, down the pillar and around it once, ensuring the rope was secured well by the candle sconces, then back up to the ceiling and cross, finally descending back to the opposite hall and transforming back into himself.

He began inspecting the alcoves on the wall, observing that each held a grotesque face with a gaping mouth. Finnegan took this time to transform into her chester form and dart nimbly across the taut rope, easily joining the illusionist before transforming back.

Finnegan inspected the grotesques more closely, observing a rotating mechanism in the mouth and small holes in the eyes, while Philimandrus, moving aside to make room for his companion, noticed that the alcove at the far end of the short hall contained not a grotesque but a small square stone door at chest height with a keyhole.

Finnegan attempted to pick the lock with her claw, but ultimately resorted to sledgehammering the door down when that did not work as planned. Beyond the door, lay a small cubic space containing dozens of stacked oversized coins, a hand mirror, a scroll case, and a small pouch. As the stone settled, Philimandrus heard the whirring of mechanisms from the six grotesque faces before their eyes began billowing thick plumes of choking noxious gas.

Finnegan seized the scrollcase and hand mirror in one paw, throwing the pouch to Philimandrus, who fumbled it, before both adventurers threw themselves hastily at the rope before the poison gas filled the hall. They missed.

The grimalkin and the illusionist, immersed in corrosive acid, scrambled to the pillar and clambered up, using the candle scones as hand and foot holds. After another perilous rope crossing, they rejoined the party and Finnegan mourned her formerly glorious fur.

Inspecting the items they retrieved:

  • Extracted from the dissolving scroll case, Finnegan found two scrolls, one arcane and one divine, handed to Philimandrus and Rodger for safe keeping, respectively.

  • The ebony hand mirror showed Finnegan the face of an unpleasant memory from her past, further upsetting the temperamental grimalkin.

After another discussion, Finnegan and Tomumbulo opted to make another trek across the ropes to retrieve the remaining treasure, Finnegan in chester form, Tomumbulo balancing with a ten foot pole. Tomumbulo made a misstep and fell, but caught himself using the ten foot pole. On the far side, they found:

  • Four dozen oversized electrum coins
  • The fallen pouch of five lead sling bullets marked with an evil eye

On the way back, unfortunately, Tomumbulo slipped again and plunged into the pool below, acid scouring the moss dwarf's mostly nude body. Swimming back to the ledge by the party, he proferred the ten foot pole, which the party used to drag him from the acid, only slightly the worse for wear.

The party rested and discussed their options, before returning to the upper floor and entering the southernmost crystal grotto with the keening crystals. When Jymes entered the room, the crystals spoke, "Bow before the Faceless Lord", and he kindly obliged.

Venturing further into the purple moss covered grotto, they peered past the fallen stone door into the hallway beyond. In the darkness beyond were five doors, one ajar. Also, barely noticeable in the darkness were two translucent four-foot slugs crawling along the ceiling toward the party.

The party fell back, firing arrows and slings at the slugs, and Philimandrus prepared a flaming oil flask to throw. Rodger stepped up to the doorway and slew both slugs with two mighty swings of Sir Chyde's magic sword.

As the party caught their breath, they were disturbed by the appearance of a dozen scrabies with heavy packs. They spent some time bartering with the scrabies for their strange goods. Finnegan purchased an never-wilting eternal dewdrop flower, plucked from Faerie, while Philimandrus purchased a sage toe, and Tomumbulo stocked upon on root vegetable rations.

The party paused to share a mug of foamy ale dispensed from the scrabie caravaneer's prodigious nose, and discuss their next move.