Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

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Zhym
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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#181 Post by Zhym »

Grothnak watches ahead until the illusionary wall is ready. When it is, he steps back behind it, holding Vadok at the ready in case the party's presence is detected.

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#182 Post by Scott308 »

Ingrid Esthof

The cleric takes her place behind the illusory wall.
Sometimes this summer I will most likely be participating in another 24 hour game of Dungeons & Dragons as part of Extra Life. This organization uses gaming to help raise money to donate to children's hospitals. I'm raising money for Marshfield Children's Hospital in Marshfield, WI, and all money I raise will go to that hospital. All donations are tax-deductible. Please take a moment to check out my donation page below. Thank you.

https://www.extra-life.org/participant/Scott Peterson

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#183 Post by drpete »

Pip lines up with the others against the wall. He whispers to Mouser "Awesome! Send 'em up the rope, or over by it, at least, so they think we left..."

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Inferno
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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#184 Post by Inferno »

Inside the Hell Mouth, the Rushmoors, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Ten. Early Afternoon. Tuesday, October 25th, 576 CY
Cloudy, damp, cold, foggy






When they retreat back to the cliff, the heroes find all the dead cultists are missing. So is the other living, bound one.

Hoom Feethos lights a candle and searches the dark, dead end tunnel. He finds ten spears, four daggers, and a shortsword protected from dampness by oilcloths. The crates contain dried beans, wheat flour, cornmeal, potatoes, corn, turnips, lard, and salt. Several dozen fresh torches are stored in a barrel. Four shovels lean against the wall. He blows out the candle and returns to the others.

Meanwhile, the Grey Mouser and Urdur Shimmerstone weave deceit out of thin air.



The little, magic-dabbling thief conjures up duplicitous torchlight in the hell mouth.
The dark gnome douses his torch and fabricates the falsehood of a mud wall to deny the existence of the heroes and Pelias' bound captive.

They stand silent and wait.

Three hooded figures enter from the east with urgency.

Image

One points at the illusory flames in the sinkhole shaft. They pass by the heroes at a proximity of mere inches.

Soon, five more hooded figures follow in their footsteps. Beneath their robes can be seen iron armor and swords. One stops to look down the dank channel to the barrels, crates and weapons. Then they continue on.

Within sight of the heroes, they confer at the edge of the precipice overlooking the bottomless pit. Their eerie, dead voices form words distant, detached and strange, like a corpse being made to speak by a necromantic puppeteer. The chilling sounds make one's skin crawl.

"Where are they?"

"There was light in the shaft. They've fled back to the surface."

"How did they survive the swamp creatures?"

"They are strong. Soon their strength will be ours."

"Find them. Secure the entrance above. I will inform our masters."


Seven hooded men climb the thick knotted rope back to the surface. The eighth moves east, back the way they came, in haste.

The heroes are alone. All is quiet. For now.


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 10 feet. X = Dead or Unconscious. O = Oozing horror's last known location.
Black area to the west of the PCs is the cliff into the main shaft of the hell mouth.






PC Status:
  • Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 23/27
    Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC 5, HP 9/15, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl
    Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 24/28
    Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 4: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 17/22, Spells: 2/5 1st lvl and 2/4 2nd lvl
    Hoom Feethos, Elven Magic-User/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC 3, HP 11/12, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl
    Long Bo, Human Druid 4: Move: 9", AC: 6, HP: 23/30, Spells: 1/6 1st lvl, 2/3 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl
    Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 3: Move: 6", AC: 2(0), HP: 29/30, Laying Hands: 0/1
    Pip, Human Monk 2: Move: 16", AC: 9, HP: 11/12
    Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 21/28
    Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC 6, HP 9/9, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl and 0/1 2nd lvl
PC Magic: Player Resources:
Last edited by Inferno on Sun Nov 17, 2019 3:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.
DM:
The Horror at Briarsgate (1e): Lovecraftian Gothic Horror (N1, homebrew)
Lost City of Eternity (1e): Hyborian Age Sword and Sorcery (B4, JG102, homebrew)
Once and Future Earth (1e): Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Dungeon Crawl (X1, B1, ASE1, homebrew)
Sauron Victorious (1e): Dire Saga for the Fate of Middle Earth (homebrew)

Player:
Agax Gryyg: Gamer of Urth, Ravenloft
Azoth Al-Aziz: Lovecraftian Cultist, Tamoachan
Blodget: Foolish Young 9th Level Hobbit, Dark Clouds
Dredd Doomsmith: Dwarven Deathtrap Engineer, Tomb of Horrors
Elijah Crowthorne: Marooned Prophet, Pirates
Jack in the Green: Ancient Child, Giants
P.T. Codswallop: Larcenous Impresario, Dimwater
Sir Ugghra: Bestial Half-Orc Aristocrat, Brotherton
Swilbosh: Savage Lizard-Warrior, Keep
Tantos Vek: Failed Paladin, Under Streets
Ulfang Chainbreaker: Barbarian Liberator of Slaves, Tharizdun

DM bio is here.

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#185 Post by ChubbyPixie »

Telkis is a bit disconcerted hiding behind the illusiory wall with the others until the cultists depart. He'd had to trust Urdur that it was even there - since he knew it was false, it didn't manifest for him. He felt like he was hiding behind... nothing... while the hooded figures stood just inches away. He shakes his head in amazement. "Magic!" he murmurs very, very quietly to himself. "That's how you do it. Nice work, Urdur."

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#186 Post by ravenn4544 »

Mouser nods happily that the ruse worked. He whispers, "Do you think the towns people would be dressed in armour in swords? Did you catch that? Well, those few climbing the rope are fish in a barrel - i'm of a mind that we ought to shoot some..."

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#187 Post by Scott308 »

Ingrid Esthof

Good observation, Mouser. I think we should be able to deal with these armored foes without worrying we may be hurting innocent villagers, the cleric replies softly. They would not expect us to come from behind them.
Sometimes this summer I will most likely be participating in another 24 hour game of Dungeons & Dragons as part of Extra Life. This organization uses gaming to help raise money to donate to children's hospitals. I'm raising money for Marshfield Children's Hospital in Marshfield, WI, and all money I raise will go to that hospital. All donations are tax-deductible. Please take a moment to check out my donation page below. Thank you.

https://www.extra-life.org/participant/Scott Peterson

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#188 Post by SocraticLawyer »

"You guys go ahead," says Urdur, still concentrating on the wall. "I'll keep this going in case they come back."

Urdur continues to concentrate on maintaining the illusion.
How do we know you're not a donkey-brained man?

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#189 Post by drpete »

Pip observes "Ummmm, guys...? The point of all this trickery was to avoid having to fight them. We've succeeded in that. Those guards will be up there for a long time. This is not an army. That may be a significant part of their armed force. Let's go deep, fast, and see if we can get to the heart of this place while the guards are deployed elsewhere!"

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#190 Post by wolfpack »

I agree with pip Brevos voices quietly.

let us move forward quickly they will spend some time looking for us in the swamp.

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#191 Post by OGRE MAGE »

Long Bo has seen illusions before, but he never imagined that one could work as well as this one just did. He steps away from the wall, and then back behind it, shaking his head in amazement for a moment.

"That was fricking brilliant! Very nicely done, friends! No way did I think that would work as well as it did!"

The druid shakes his head at the idea of following them up the rope.

"We already know what we will find out there, we need to find out what is in here. I must agree that we shouldn't follow them. Our concern is getting to the bottom of this cult and putting a stop to it. If we can avoid some of the heavy fighting and the casualties it will cause us, I think we should."

The druid turns to Brevos once again, hoping his tracking skills can be utilized here.

"The one that fled told the others that he was going to inform the "masters". If you could track his movements, he might lead us right where we need to go, no?"

Bo secures a half dozen torches from the barrel before leaving this area.

"If there is nothing in the crates that we need to take, we should get moving as quickly as possible before we are found out again. And can we please stop dropping things into shafts so we don't tip the cultists off to our presence again?"
Not sure about tracking through the mud, but I figured it was our best option for getting where we need to be quickly.

6 torches added to Bo's sheet.

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#192 Post by Zhym »

"A fine ruse," agrees Grothnak. He is usually not one to approve of trickery to avoid battle. But here, where his foes would not truly be fighting of their own accord, it is acceptable. His true enemies are the things controlling these people.

"But the men we deceived will soon see that we are not in the swamp, and will then be at our backs. We must make haste to use our advantage while we can."

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#193 Post by ravenn4544 »

Mouser shakes his head "It will take them about 3 seconds to figure out we aren't up there and come back down. We need to take them out. If they are down here there must be another way out, yes? Burn the rope!"

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#194 Post by wolfpack »

Brevos will try to track the one who was returning.

[1d100] = 73

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#195 Post by OGRE MAGE »

ravenn4544 wrote:Mouser shakes his head "It will take them about 3 seconds to figure out we aren't up there and come back down. We need to take them out. If they are down here there must be another way out, yes? Burn the rope!"
Bo starts to wonder about this thief as well now.

"They were instructed to find us and secure the entrance. I don't think they will be back anytime soon. Destroying the rope will only alert them that we are indeed still down here. We need to control our blood lust and stop looking for a fight around every corner. Our immediate attention needs to be focused on finding these so called masters that their leader spoke of."

The druid assists Brevos in any way that he can while he searches for the latest tracks.

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#196 Post by ravenn4544 »

Mouser grumbles and turns away from the rope "Have it your way, Druid. If they come back and kill us, I'll haunt you with an 'I told you so' - you can mark my words." He clutches his favored weapons and is ready to delve deeper into the pit.

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#197 Post by ChubbyPixie »

Telkis shakes his head, confused. "I'm worried about you, Mouser," he says. "When this is over, we need to look into getting you some help. With the burning thing." He then moves into position and prepares to leave with the group.
:)

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#198 Post by SocraticLawyer »

Before he leaves with the group, Urdur grabs the four daggers from the supply room, assuming he's been told of them and can get there quuckly.
How do we know you're not a donkey-brained man?

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#199 Post by DadsAngry »

Hoom Feethos:

Hoom moves close to Mouser and speaks softly in their private cant.
"Easy Grey or the gongfarmer will label you a spy as well. Trust old Hoom, his days are numbered. Even his little bird has left him."
he says with a smile.

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#200 Post by Inferno »

Hi. I'm back.
Ale mentioned he was traveling for work, so I'll move this along. :)
DM:
The Horror at Briarsgate (1e): Lovecraftian Gothic Horror (N1, homebrew)
Lost City of Eternity (1e): Hyborian Age Sword and Sorcery (B4, JG102, homebrew)
Once and Future Earth (1e): Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Dungeon Crawl (X1, B1, ASE1, homebrew)
Sauron Victorious (1e): Dire Saga for the Fate of Middle Earth (homebrew)

Player:
Agax Gryyg: Gamer of Urth, Ravenloft
Azoth Al-Aziz: Lovecraftian Cultist, Tamoachan
Blodget: Foolish Young 9th Level Hobbit, Dark Clouds
Dredd Doomsmith: Dwarven Deathtrap Engineer, Tomb of Horrors
Elijah Crowthorne: Marooned Prophet, Pirates
Jack in the Green: Ancient Child, Giants
P.T. Codswallop: Larcenous Impresario, Dimwater
Sir Ugghra: Bestial Half-Orc Aristocrat, Brotherton
Swilbosh: Savage Lizard-Warrior, Keep
Tantos Vek: Failed Paladin, Under Streets
Ulfang Chainbreaker: Barbarian Liberator of Slaves, Tharizdun

DM bio is here.

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