Chapter 6: Beneath the Inn of the Damned

[dmw71]

Avril watches with awe as the infernal creatures leaps over Long Bo and hastily departs back down the passage; wondering, and hoping, it is not retreating directly into Hoom and Mouser, whom seem to be trailing behind. While the sense of an immediate threat wanes, she accepts there is no time to dawdle as, as long as they're in or beneath this cursed building, there is little doubt doom lingers in another shape or form nearby. She nods appreciatively towards Ingrid as she feels her vitality return, but quickly her attention to Long Bo. She studies the shaking and helpless druid with concern. "I'm afraid the cure for his more obvious condition is beyond my capabilities," the elven maiden admits. "But here," she says, lightly touching the druid's shoulder as she issues a prayer to Corellon. "This should help dull some of your pain."

CLW on Long Bo: [1d8] = 2

Her olfactory senses kick in and she recognizing the unmistakable scent of smoke coming from the direction the vile abomination retreated. 'May it burn in perdition,' she thinks to herself, hoping the fire producing the smoke she smells was set upon the undead creature. "Obviously, turning back is not an option," she agrees with Moogeye. "But what to do about Long Bo?" the normally decisive elf asks as she looks down at the enormous druid lying immobile on the ground before her.

"Does anyone know what become of Hoom and Mouser? Or what lies up ahead," she asks, turning and pointing down the passage to the west (towards 22).

[Zhym]

"Hoom and Mouser would never do such a foolish thing as set fire to our only known exit!" states Grothnak with firm conviction. "The villagers must have attacked us with fire again!"

[Inferno]

DM:

Ingrid remembered that Khorst Maltess the monster hunter...



...once told her: “The paralyzing touch of the undead is not caused by poison, but deathly cold, and unsettling terror. Its effect is temporary, lasting long enough for the creature to eat you alive.”

[ChubbyPixie]

Does Telkis sense that any of the passages south seem to slope upwards or downwards? As in, could possibly be a way out?

[AleBelly]

Pelias starts to chase the fleeing ghoul down the tunnel, but then thinks better of it. He stares down the hallway nonetheless, willing it to die again.

He seems less concerned by the flames than the others. "No wood down here. The smoke will subside. Let us turn our attention to Bo. Often when one of these abominations rend the flesh of the living, they go still for awhile. But he should recover. Let us explore further when he does."

[Inferno]

Day Five.
Village of Briarsgate, Beneath the Golden Grain Inn (6)
Between 11pm and midnight, Thursday, October 20th, 576 CY.
Full moon, partly cloudy, damp, cold, misty.





Their only exit blocked by fire, realization dawns upon the heroes that they are trapped like flies within the web of dark tunnels. Mercifully, the fell wind is keeping the subterranean channels from filling with smoke, and the adventurers from suffocating to death.

Telkis treads southward to a fork in the maze and, by the light of Ingrid's lantern, sees that neither path slopes upward. The gnome warrior grimly reports his findings to the others.

Avril moves to Bo's side and prays to her Elven god to heal the wounded, paralyzed druid. (+2 hp) Long Bo begins to regain control of his body, and his fear. His paralysis leaves him.
Pelias moves west and he and Avril look toward the stone dungeon of iron cages, and see writhing yellow light coming from the direction of the doorway (19).



The adventurers realize they must find another way out of this Stygian labyrinth.

Actions?





Meanwhile... For Hoom's and Mouser's eyes only. Their responses will be private as well.

Outside, Mouser focuses his mind downward and can unnervingly hear everything being said in the tunnels below! (all PC dialogue from 2/11 forward)
The thief believes he may be able to follow his friends by trial and error, but they are not moving; they are currently under the main road, in front of the Golden Grain Inn.

Golden Grain Inn Area.jpg (127.81 KiB) Viewed 704 times

Map: X marks Hoom and Mouser. Each square is 20 feet.

Mouser "hears" no other voices outside, within range of his unnatural senses. Nor does he see trees or shrubs to cover his path to the front of the inn. The village must have been cleared when the town was settled. But the full, harvest moon is in the southwest sky, casting deep shadows on the northern and eastern sides of the inn.

Hoom and Mouser move to the water pump and Hoom clogs it with strips of fresh venison from his pack. Both men see firelight in the window of Beswill's bedroom (room 5) and lamp light undulating and growing in the kitchen window (room 2).

Actions, Hoom and Mouser?
Please wrap your replies in spoilers. Thanks.

Beneath the Inn of the Damned 9.jpg (604.91 KiB) Viewed 704 times

Map Key:

• Each square is 5 feet. Movement in the tunnels is halved.
  Only the illuminated areas, that were visible to any PC this round, are shown.
  Red is used to indicate the dead.
  Brown-darkened areas are your recollections.

Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/1: AC 7, HP 4/9, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 1/2: AC 4, HP 10/10, Spells: 1/1 1st lvl
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 2: AC 4, HP 16/17
  Hoom Feethos, Elven Magic-User/Thief 1/2: AC 3, HP 7/8, Spells: 0/1 1st lvl
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: AC 3(1), HP 14/16, Spells: 1/4 1st lvl and 2/3 2nd lvl.
  Long Bo, Human Druid 2: AC 6, HP 4/15, Spells: 2/4 1st lvl and 2/2 2nd lvl. Lantern
  Moogeye Comcra, Human Monk 2: AC 8, HP 11/11
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: AC 2(0), HP 16/19, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 2: AC 0, HP 18/19 Lantern

Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.
  Potion of Clairaudience (Mouser): Duration: 18 minutes

Resources:

• Map of Briarsgate
  NPC List for Briarsgate
  The Story So Far

[Fulci]

Ingrid Esthof, cleric

Ingrid turns to Bo: "I thought you stayed back with the Mouser and Hoom! What happened?"

After a short conversation, Ingrid will propose to search the tunnel leading to the west/south-west from the intersection.

[ChubbyPixie]

""Yes, let's stick with the original plan proposed by Avril and stick to the right-hand paths... by the way, that was Bertram in there. He's as dead as he's gonna get, now. He was holding this. I don't know what to make of it." Telkis passes the locket back through the line. He then heads down the right tunnel looking carefully at floor, ceiling and walls for danger.

[OGRE MAGE]

Ingrid turns to Bo: "I thought you stayed back with the Mouser and Hoom! What happened?"

Bo

I......well.......I came to look for you. What was that damn thing? Last I remember, I was plunging my spear through that disgusting creature. Where did it go off to? Are there any more of them down here?

Bo looks around to make sure everyone is aright before casting some healing upon his battered body.

CLW [1d8] = 4

[DadsAngry]

Hoom Feethos:

Hoom stops stuffing meat into the pumps spigot. "That should do it. If nothing else it should slow it down."
Hoom digs back into his pack and tosses Mouser his flint and steel and pull out his last bottle of oil.
He uncorks it and douses the pump handle all the way up to the spigot and then down the main body of the pump.
"Try not to light me on fire."

OOC: Next action is to run for cover to hide. Tree, bushes or the side of a building. He is looking for Mouser to lead the way.

[Zhym]

Grothnak follows right behind Telkis if he can get into position.

[AleBelly]

Pelias, confused, will guard the rear as Telkis leads on.

"Have Hoom and Mouser betrayed us? Has the foul mephitis of this town affected them?" we wonders aloud.

[Grognardsw]

"The others are underground in front of the tavern, where there is no cover," whispers the Grey Mouser.

Though he wants to follow them, the thief needs to stay undercover. He moves off with Hoom to the trees and underbrush north, then moves along under cover toward the graveyard. If there is opportunity to dip south under cover, to "listen" in for the party's progress underground, Mouser will do so.

[Inferno]

Day Five.
Village of Briarsgate, Beneath the Golden Grain Inn (6)
Between 11pm and midnight, Thursday, October 20th, 576 CY.
Full moon, partly cloudy, damp, cold, misty.





Trapped! Sealed in by flames, the adventurers urgently search for another way out of the dark, wet, foul-smelling catacombs... without knowing whether there is one.

Telkis leads, continuing to turn right at each crossroads. Grothnak remains steadfast behind him, and Pelias serves as much needed rearguard since Bo and Avril are wounded and lightly armored.

Long Bo shakes off the last of the shivering, deathly cold and heals his wounds with a holy prayer (+4 hp).

Telkis advances down the western tunnel. It winds left and the gnome detects that its slope descends.

shaft.jpg (330.12 KiB) Viewed 651 times

The shaft opens into an empty, rough-hewn chamber (25) where the the shadows writhe before Telkis' lantern. The timbers at the southern end of the cavity have collapsed, leaving a mound of loose, muddy earth against the far wall.

Actions?

Beneath the Inn of the Damned 10.jpg (143.3 KiB) Viewed 651 times

Map: Each square is 5 feet. Movement in the tunnels is halved. Only the illuminated areas, that were visible to any PC this round, are shown.





Outside, behind the inn, Hoom and Mouser pour oil on the water pump and set it ablaze! Then the pair run north to take cover beyond the tree line! But as they clear the inn's corral, they see no trees to their north! Just the river. Not wanting to get caught in the open, they quickly dive behind the corral.

From the shadows, they peer out over the stalls, beneath the roof, and see two villagers (V) burst out of the Golden Grain Inn (6) from the kitchen door.

"CAW!" warns Sephus the crow from a nearby treetop.

The villagers hold empty buckets and an oil lamp, and stop dead in their tracks at the spectacle of a burning water pump. "Hell! Did that little bitch escape?" one growls as he looks around for Moogeye.

Golden Grain Inn Area Map 10.jpg (134.01 KiB) Viewed 651 times

Map: X marks Hoom and Mouser. V marks villagers. Each square is 20 feet.

In the moonlight, Hoom and Mouser (X) can make out leather armor, sheathed short swords, and one of their faces:

perfect mask of hatred as he roars.jpg (77.8 KiB) Viewed 651 times

Neither villager seems to spy Hoom or Mouser yet. They have too many distractions. The flames in Beswill's bedroom window are growing.

inn window.jpg (131.18 KiB) Viewed 651 times

"Quick! The Weavers' pump!" one yells.
"Help! FIRE!" shouts the other at the top of his lungs.

Actions, Hoom and Mouser?





Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/1: AC 7, HP 4/9, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 1/2: AC 4, HP 10/10, Spells: 1/1 1st lvl
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 2: AC 4, HP 16/17
  Hoom Feethos, Elven Magic-User/Thief 1/2: AC 3, HP 7/8, Spells: 0/1 1st lvl
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: AC 3(1), HP 14/16, Spells: 1/4 1st lvl and 2/3 2nd lvl.
  Long Bo, Human Druid 2: AC 6, HP 8/15, Spells: 2/4 1st lvl and 1/2 2nd lvl, Lantern
  Moogeye Comcra, Human Monk 2: AC 8, HP 11/11
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: AC 2(0), HP 16/19, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 2: AC 0, HP 18/19, Lantern

Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.
  Potion of Clairaudience (Mouser): Duration: 17 minutes

Resources:

• Map of Briarsgate
  NPC List for Briarsgate
  The Story So Far (in words)
  The Story So Far (in pictures)

[Fulci]

Ingrid Esthof, cleric

I haven't stated this explicitly in my previous post, but Ingrid picks up the lantern she placed down on the ground before the fight!

"A dead end? Let's examine this room quickly - just to make sure no monster creeps up behind our back from that pile of mud..." she says, than scans the space with her lantern.

If everything is "normal", she will propose to track back and take the next path.

[Zhym]

"We have no time to search," counters Grothnak. "We must find a way out at once!"

[Starbeard]

Moogeye Comcra

"Yes, time is not one of our current luxuries. A quick exploration to ensure we are not followed should prove sufficient," says Moogeye. She steps forward and stands before the far wall at her pole arm's full reach, roughly skewering and stirring the thick mud a few times with the weapon. If her brief test fails to unveil any secrets or produce any deathly shrieks, she heads back to her position in line.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter

"Grothnak is right! Everyone in the room - we should go back out and advance around the next right-hand turn!" As he waits for the others to file in, Telkis will look over the collapsed mound. Is there anything sticking out of it? When all are ready, he'll head back out and take the first right. "Careful of the walls, now. As you've seen, there's already been a collapse."

[Starbeard]

Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter

"Grothnak is right! Everyone in the room - we should go back out and advance around the next right-hand turn!" As he waits for the others to file in, Telkis will look over the collapsed mound. Is there anything sticking out of it? When all are ready, he'll head back out and take the first right. "Careful of the walls, now. As you've seen, there's already been a collapse."

(In light of this, I should clarify that my intention is to have Moogeye prod the muddy ground at the far wall, but not the wall itself—i.e., nothing that looks like its holding the cavern up. I realize my post is pretty ambiguous.)

[AleBelly]

"The unstable earth leads me to believe some foul rituals have taken place - perhaps this is where the transformation of the dead to the undead occurs. There is no wood this deep, let us take time to inspect. I will watch this passage" suggests Pelias.

Inferno, please let me know if this assumption isn't correct. As I understand it, it's wet stone where they are, which is unlikely to burn. Can Pelias tell if the wood bracings are spaced far enough apart to avoid spreading?