Chapter 14: Abyss of the Damned

[AleBelly]

"I say we start upwards and work our way down," says [bold]Telkis.[/bold] "Same reasoning as before. Unless some sign in the mud tells you we should do otherwise, Brevos." He makes a mental note that the hooded figure not sinking in this Garl-forsaken mud is Mouser, in case he loses track. Watching the thief and the paladin lowering prisoner cages, he adds "What are we going to do with them? We can't set them free in this hole - they'll die. Perhaps we reassure them, then put them back and return for them when we can escort them out?"

"Your words are wise. Yet we are faced with no good choices, Telkis. This is the best of them. If we fall here, we subject these poor souls to unspeakable torment. I venture to say that is a fate worse than death. We at least give them a chance to flee if we fall" replies Pelias.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo looks around nervously, searching for any evidence of the pair of undead monsters that he sent his insects after a few moments ago. He does not like the idea of freeing the poor souls in the cages yet.

"The way I see this, freeing them is unwise at this point, though I will not stand in your way over it master Pelias."

"The spider always sprinkles a few treats in its web for the unwary insect to investigate. That is how it feeds. If these cages are only decoys, meant to stop nice folks like us......well, most of us, then we are simply falling into the cultists trap right now. I am not saying that we shouldn't free them, I am just a bit unclear about what we plan to do with them if we free them now, before we know what is actually happening down here."

After speaking his mind, the lanky druid moves a bit to the south, stepping into the lower tunnel for a quick look once the ranger has checked over the ground there.

"I hate to be argumentative at every turn Telkis, but I believe the so called masters we seek will be found in the lowest levels of this place. That is simply the way of nature, you see. I say our priority at this point is to find a second, alternative spot where we might be able to hide and rest without fear of being discovered. I don't know about the rest of you, but my magic is nearly depleted for this day. I could also point out that setting these prisoners free only attracts more attention to the fact that we are still in here."

[DadsAngry]

Hoom Feethos:

"As one who has been inside those cages and subject to the torment at the hands of these cultists, it's better to die trying to escape then endure more suffering at their hands. Am I not right in this Urdur? Would you have rather that Mouser left you behind in that cage; to wait for us to rid the land of this cult before freeing you? Only one in league with this evil would suggest keeping these innocent humans in captivity."

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur nods. "I'll not leave anyone in these cages while I have the means to release them." Urdur lowers as many of the cages as he can, and uses the keys to open them.

[drpete]

"I think our options here are either to 'press on' or 'retreat'. If we are depleted, let's take what we can...
The prisoners and these dark treasures, and remove them. If we still have strength, we try to cleanse this dark place. Prisoners wont slow us much."

Pip will join in trying to lower cages to rescue whatever is trapped in them, alive, dead, or otherwise.

[Inferno]

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







In the mist and the din of the putrid waterfall, all the heroes except Grothnak are concealed in the vestments of the Enemy.

Brevos the ranger scans the ground and finds tracks everywhere, moving in all directions. The most appear to be at the mouth of the downward shaft. Long Bo the druid peers down the sloping tunnel and sees it extends at least 60 feet. Wall-mounted torches light its steady descent into Hell.

The heroes debate the wisdom and ethics of freeing the caged prisoners into this wretched underworld of unspeakable horrors.

Mouser, Pelias, Pip and Urdur are decided. They turn winch handles to lower the four inhabited cages.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" shrieks a woman's voice from inside one hanging prison.
"Please! NO! Sweet merciful Merikka, I beg you," cries another cracked, pitiful voice.
"HELP ME!" wails a third desperate prisoner before succumbing into abject hysteria.

The iron cages are lowered halfway to the cavern floor, and then everything changes.

Suddenly, the heroes are not alone in this dank cavern of forsaken souls.

Suddenly, the cave walls have eyes, eyes that burn with an ancient evil not of this world.





Horrific faces blossom around those inhuman eyes. Unnatural reptilian faces that are an affront to Man, Nature and all the gods of mercy and righteousness.

The revolting, loathsome visages grow heads, then bodies. Then seven abominable figures emerge directly from the walls themselves, as if from out of a mirror, or out of one's blackest nightmares.



Those heroes that have witnessed this before find it no easier now.

The startling, immoral manifestation is perversely at odds with the very laws of reality. Deep in their bones, the heroes feel violated and queasy just watching. Worse, the serpentine horrors themselves are an anathema to Life, a fundamental transgression; twisted, disgusting mockeries of Creation and Men.

Lizardmen and their kin are not unheard of in swamps or subterranean caverns. But they are natural, stone-age primitives, more beast than man. These are not them. These cold blooded, aberrant atrocities of nature are more Man than reptile. Or perhaps they are something else entirely. Their cunning eyes, hands and jagged, sinister spears betray an alien intelligence beyond lizardkin, and perhaps that of Man as well. More chillingly, each of the nightmare creatures are a unique, depraved mutation, their degenerate bodies perversely warped and twisted by some unknown, unnameable force or will. Their stench is abhorrent.

These are not the progeny of nature nor of lizardkin, but more likely that of the ghastly abomination whose graven image is worshiped in every unholy chapel the heroes have uncovered:



Then, impossibly, things get worse. One detestable, vile reptilian speaks a frightful approximation of the Common Tongue that makes the skin crawl and one's hair stand on end.

"What are you doing?" it hisses in a voice alien, otherworldly and wrong.


Actions?!


Map:

Grey squares are hanging cages.

Cutaway View:

West is left. East is right. PCs are near the red "X."
Lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory.


Rolls and Rulings (non-essential reading):

Party Surprised? (1-4): [1d6] = 3 Yes. But the serpentine atrocities do not attack.

PC Status:

• Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 19/27
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC 5, HP 9/15, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 20/28
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 4: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 17/22, Spells: 2/5 1st lvl and 1/4 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, 1/3 2nd lvl and 1/2 3rd lvl
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 3: Move: 6", AC: 2(0), HP: 19/30, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Pip, Human Monk 2: Move: 16", AC: 9, HP: 11/12
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 13/26
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC 6, HP 9/9, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl and 0/1 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.

Player Resources:

• Tale of Terror (the story so far, in words)
  Graven Images (the story so far, in pictures)
  The Innocent and the Condemned (npc's)
  A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
  Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[DadsAngry]

Hoom Feethos:

From underneath his hooded disguise Hoom shouts “’Ai! ‘Ai! Shub-Niggurath!” in the hopes it will gain the group some credibility with the cultists.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis turns slowly towards the voice, then stands stock still under his robe disguise, willing himself with an effort not to assume a defensive stance. He has no trouble willing himself not to speak, though, leaving that to someone more eloquent. And taller.

[OGRE MAGE]

Under normal circumstances, Bo would be intrigued to find a strange new alien race of creatures out in the wild. These are not normal circumstances.

He can't tell if it's from the torturous drone of the incessant flute music, the constant sound and stench of the swamp water splashing all over him, or his own party members chanting evil words and phrases over and over, but the druid can't seem to shake the constant feeling of having to vomit in this place.

And now, the freeking walls are coming to life as unfathomable reptilian monsters? Even during his worst blue fungus trips, his visions and sensations of dread were never this horrible.

Not wanting to face these monsters in combat, the druid gives his friends a look that clearly indicates that they should stop what there're doing. He then squats slightly and projects his voice over the heads of the others, keeping one eye trained on the lower passageway as he speaks.

"Calm yourselves! The masters ordered the cages be lowered half way so the prisoners can better hear the priest's rituals."

[AleBelly]

Pelias says nothing, watching carefully. He's ready to fight as soon as things go south.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser stops lowering the chains, a tainted part of his soul somehow twisting at Hooms utterance. His hands stutter on the winch and backs away head bowed at Bo’s ruse.

[SocraticLawyer]

At the back of the group, Urdur quietly readies his flask of oil to throw at a cultist. He says nothing, gauging the reaction.

[Zhym]

Grothnak pauses just long enough to see whether Bo's ruse works. But he strikes out at the evil things at the first sign that they are not fooled.

Halberd +2 (+3 v. Evil) (THAC0 18): [1d20+4] = 18+4 = 22, Dmg [1d10+6] = 5+6 = 11 (S/M) [2d6+4] = 11+4 = 15 (L)
Extra +1 to hit and damage not included in the roll above.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

The cleric waits to see what response the reptilian creatures have to their ruse.

Sanity: [1d100] = 4

It just seems like I should be making these checks. I played a decent amount of Cthulhu at Gary Con, and this game is more sanity warping than games that were designed to do that. This might be the best Call of Cthulhu game I've played.

[wolfpack]

Brevos stands still head down hands under the robes ready to draw weapons

[drpete]

Close to the reptillian monsters, Pip steps away from his winch. As he does so, he motions to the closest reptile man, then to the winch, as if silently suggesting it take up the turning of the crank for itself.

[Inferno]

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







"What are you doing?" the horrific serpentine man hisses in an eerie, unsettling imitation of human speech as it lowers its hood to reveal its ghastly writhing head. (R7)

Inhuman eyes slide from unhooded, armed Grothnak, to the small shapes of the gnomes, to the bound cultist that had been borne by Pelias.

Evil, hooked spears slowly rise in suspicion. Then Hoom suddenly shouts black, eldritch blasphemies from the accursed tome, “’Ai! ‘Ai! Shub-Niggurath!” Mouser feels the words' transgression upon his very soul.

The alien, jagged barbs hesitate.

Pip steps away from his winch as Long Bo the druid speaks. "Calm yourselves! The masters ordered the cages be lowered half way so the prisoners can better hear the priest's rituals."

The heinous, man-shaped serpents widen their fiendish eyes. The tentacle-crowned horror snarls, "What?! WE are your masters!"

Those are the last words the despicable anathema ever speaks.

Dead before it can utter another syllable, the vile atrocity's head flies from its shoulders as Grothnak's new halberd suddenly decapitates it in a gruesome spray of black blood!





Actions?! (Everyone, please also Save on 1d20. You want high. Please post your actions regardless of the die roll result. Thanks.)


Map:

The towering waterfall is a 5' diameter column in the center of the pool.
Grey squares are hanging cages.

Cutaway View:

West is left. East is right. PCs are near the red "X."
Lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory.





PC Status:

• Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 19/27
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC 5, HP 9/15, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 20/28
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 4: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 17/22, Spells: 2/5 1st lvl and 1/4 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, 1/3 2nd lvl and 1/2 3rd lvl
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 3: Move: 6", AC: 2(0), HP: 19/30, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Pip, Human Monk 2: Move: 16", AC: 9, HP: 11/12
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 13/26
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC 6, HP 9/9, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl and 0/1 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.

Player Resources:

• Tale of Terror (the story so far, in words)
  Graven Images (the story so far, in pictures)
  The Innocent and the Condemned (npc's)
  A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
  Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[DadsAngry]

Hoom Feethos:

Hoom sheds his robe and draws his short sword. He waits for the masters to come to him.

Save [1d20] = 8

[AleBelly]

The heinous, man-shaped serpents widen their fiendish eyes. The tentacle-crowned horror snarls, "What?! WE are your masters!"

"Wrong!" cries Pelias. "You are vermin, to be crushed beneath our feet!"

His actions don't quite match his words.

Attack with long sword +1 (THAC0 18) [1d20+1] = 9+1 = 10, damage [1d8+1] = 3+1 = 4

He's using the new sword but this is a roll for his +1...not sure the properties of the new one.

Random d20 [1d20] = 9

[Zhym]

"No squid is my master," avers Grothnak. He continues hewing at his foes.

[1d20] = 13
Halberd +2 (+3 v. Evil) (THAC0 18): [1d20+4] = 8+4 = 12, Dmg [1d10+6] = 5+6 = 11 (S/M) [2d6+4] = 11+4 = 15 (L)
Roll does not include extra bonus vs. evil.