Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur looks through the treasure for any weapons, scrolls, potions, other magic items that might prove useful. He leaves the coins.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis shrugs at Bo from behind Pelias with a look that says "it seemed like a good idea..." He makes a mental note to keep keeping an eye on the thieves, who are acting pretty much the same as they have from the beginning. Not everyone can be full of noble intentions, he supposes. Still... mind control and all that.

He walks over to check out the odd narrow alcove extending west from the recently found secret door.

Not sure anyone's checked that out yet. We've been in here since Thanksgiving... can't remember.

[drpete]

Pip will tell the mirror "Be patient... it will be alright..."

Then Pip abandons the mirror, and walks over to the sinkhole area while the others search. Is there, maybe, a way down? Is it possible to see the rope we came down (and that the guards went up...)?

[Zhym]

Grothnak rolls his eyes. All it takes is a pile of treasure and the group is bickering and sniping at each other again.

He takes a look back at the mirror. The paladin has a point—the fate of more than one person is at stake. But he will not turn his back on evil. If he can help, he must.

"I will show the mirror my face," he says. And he does. But he closes his eyes. The mirror asked to look at him. It did not ask him to look at it.

[drpete]

Having just stepped away from the mirror, Pip looks back, aghast, at Grothnak.

[wolfpack]

before Grothnak looks in the mirror Brevos motions at hoom and back to the mirror.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Seeing Grothnak use the mirror, the cleric's breath catches for a moment, worried that this action may doom the brave warrior.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser, still somewhat out of sorts from his time with the book, nudges Hoom as he motions to the group about to look into the mirror, and whispers "And they think we're crazy?!?.."

[Inferno]

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







In the cavern of unspeakable horrors, the warped, anguished voice of the mirror guides the heroes to a hidden cache of the possessions of the cult's victims. Then she asks to see their faces.

As Ingrid and Pip look on in horror, Grothnak says, "I will show the mirror my face," and he does, careful not to open his eyes or direct the reflection at his allies.

"... ...tthhhhaaaannnkk... yyoooooooooooouuu..." the unseen looking glass weeps. Then, "...Pppllleeeaaaasssseeee... ...Ooooppeeeen... ...yyyooooooouuuuurr... ...eeeeeyyyyyyeeeessssss... ...Iiiiiii... ...wwwwooooooonnn'tttt... ...hhuuuuurrrrttt... ...yyooooooouuuuuu... ....Iiiiiiiii.... ....ppprrrooooommmmiiiiissssssseeeeee...."

Telkis searches a nearby alcove and confirms it to be a natural formation with no secrets to tell.

Pip of Hochoch moves west to the main shaft of the sinkhole. There, the disciple finds a thick, knotted rope spiked to the rock floor, trailing down the Hell Mouth into pitch darkness. No rope leads upward. The swamp-waterfall in the shaft almost drowns out the eerie, echoing flutes. But the revolting stench remains. Sickly daylight illuminates the shaft above. Pip scans for the maw to the bleak grey sky but his view is blocked by a massive outcrop in the muddy tunnel. (see cut-away view) Sunset is nigh.

Hoom, Mouser and Urdur move past the blood-soaked altar to search through the possessions of the dead and the damned. A few gems and jewels shimmer in the torchlight, and more gold and silver coins than can be carried.



The momentary elation from discovering this treasure is darkened by the realization that all its former owners are enslaved, dead or both.

(Please forgive me for taking liberties to expedite this...)

Urdur finds an exquisite ring of gnomish design. Trusting the craft of his kin, he places it on his finger. It suddenly glows blue in his eyes, as do many of the items in the hoard of the forsaken. (Ring of Magic Detection)

Urdur pulls the following enchanted items from the hoard:

• A pair of soft doeskin boots of elven make.
  A shield with heraldry from Hookhill.
  Eight elvish arrows in a quiver.
  A long sword from a lost human empire.
  An iron halberd of unknown origins.
  A pair of bronze bracers woven with intertwining motifs.
  A wooden shield blazoned with a lone tree.
  A mace from a dwarvish forge.
  Two different scroll cases. The heroes' dire need weighing upon him, Urdur carefully opens the cases and finds several parchments within. He recognizes runes of magic power, but also sees words in the common tongue near the top of each page, identifying the magicks transcribed:
  • • (Clerical spells: Cure Disease, Dispel Magic, Earthquake, Neutralize Poison
      Illusionist spells: Blindness, Blur, Deafness, Mirror Image)
  Four flasks and bottles of different makes and materials. Mouser recklessly uncorks them, and sniffs and tests their contents.
  • • (Potions of Heroism, Healing, Speed and Extra Healing.)

Hoom finds a small iron box with a hinged lid. His disbelieving eyes read the inscription of Praetorius the jeweler etched upon it. It is locked tight.

The seeming disregard given these riches by the sinister masters of this accursed pit remind all of their utterly alien motives and desires.


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 10 feet. Z = the undead. C5 = Pelias' unconscious, bound captive.

Cutaway View:

West is left. East is right.
PCs are near the red "X." Pip is at "P." The oozing horror is at "O." A dead cultist is at "C."





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 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, 1/3 2nd lvl and 2/2 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 3: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 17/28
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC 6, HP 9/9, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl and 0/1 2nd lvl, Torch

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)

[Zhym]

As Ingrid and Pip look on in horror, Grothnak says, "I will show the mirror my face," and he does, careful not to open his eyes or direct the reflection at his allies.

"... ...tthhhhaaaannnkk... yyoooooooooooouuu..." the unseen looking glass weeps. Then, "...Pppllleeeaaaasssseeee... ...Ooooppeeeen... ...yyyooooooouuuuurr... ...eeeeeyyyyyyeeeessssss... ...Iiiiiii... ...wwwwooooooonnn'tttt... ...hhuuuuurrrrttt... ...yyooooooouuuuuu... ....Iiiiiiiii.... ....ppprrrooooommmmiiiiissssssseeeeee...."

"Why?" answers Grothnak, eyes still closed. "You asked to see a face. Now you have. How will opening my eyes help you?"

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo contemplates using his magic to entomb the greedy thieves in the secret room forever, but pauses since his little friend Urdur has done nothing to deserve such a fate.

The thought gives the druid another idea however, so he enters the room again and has a look at the items he might be able to use against the evil of this horrible place.

"Whoever put all of this in here obviously does not care much about it. Therefore, it is my belief that they likely don't monitor it very often."

If we can leave the pile looking close to the way it does now, or maybe with the help of another illusion, perhaps we could use this secret room to our advantage and rest in here unmolested? Unless they aim to add to the pile, they may never know that we are in here."

The lanky human takes up the wooden shield and drops his own where it laid on the pile. He eyes up the wonderful potions, but realizes that none of them would be as useful to him specifically as the ones he needed to use up earlier in this quest. He looks over the bracers, but does not try them on until everyone has had a chance to dig through the pile for things they could each use.

"We should leave the coin and gems alone until we are ready to leave this place. I don't think riches will do us much good in the lowest levels of this underground hell."

He never takes his eyes off of Hoom the entire time he speaks, expecting nothing from him but more argument.

[DadsAngry]

Hoom Feethos:

Hoom fills his fingers with jeweled rings, his neck, wrist, and ankles with necklaces and bracelets. He takes a few of the smaller gems and swallows them, retrieve them at a later time. When he comes across the small iron box that belonged to Praetorius the jeweler he pauses a second and examines it. It's locked. He stands and holds it to the closest light source and examines the box for any triggering mechanism would suggest it been trapped.

40% - Find/Remove Traps [1d100] = 88

It looks safe. "Mouser open this for me or lend me your tools."

[ravenn4544]

Mouser - not one to be outdone by his friend - also stuffs choice gems and jewels into his pockets. The boots he will grab also if no one has claimed them and quickly stuff them into readily available straps of his pack.

He looks at the small chest and with his tools quickly works the lock as others debate the next steps forward.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur takes the ring, bracers, illusionist scroll case, and potion of healing. Character sheet updated. He uses his new ring to determine whether the flask with the fiery orange solvent is magical. He makes a mental note to add the spells on the scroll to his spellbook when he has the time.

Urdur nods at Bo's suggestion. "This seems like the safest place we're going to find, if we wish to recuperate. Although keeping everyone silent for an extended period may become an issue...." he says, indicating the mirror.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

This mace seems to be of a higher quality than the one I currently carry. Perhaps the dwarven forge imbued it with greater hardness and strength, in order to more readily smite those of an unholy bent. She will stow her old mace in her backpack, and wield the new one.

[ChubbyPixie]

Sensing the commotion in the treasure room, Telkis enters. The piles of coins and jewels make him sad thinking of where they came from. As the others pick up interesting items one by one, his eye is (not) drawn to the shield with the Hookhill insignia (since he's obviously too small to use it effectively with his morningstar, which, as a gnome, he must use two-handed. ). He instead picks up and examines the Potion of Speed. "I suppose I could benefit from some extra protection from these zombies. Never thought to use one of these before. At least I might get less gore on me - can never get the stink out more speed," he says.

I couldn't miss out on the Great Treasure Grab of 576.

Edited to reflect the fact I can't use a shield. Duh.

[wolfpack]

Don't do it grothnak. it is a trap trow the mirror down and let us destroy it.

[Inferno]

DM:

The heroes claim their prizes from the treasure of lost souls. (please see OOC thread)

Urdur sees a flickering cyan aura around the fiery orange solvent from the shelf.

Hoom asks Mouser to open the small, iron lockbox of Praetorius the jeweler. The little thief complies. (Mouser, please roll vs Pick Locks)

In an act of mercy or madness, Grothnak continues to speak to the mirror with his eyes closed. "You asked to see a face. Now you have. How will opening my eyes help you?"

"Nnnooootthhhiiiiinnngg... ...ccaaaaaannnn... ...hheeeeelllppppp... ...mmeeeeeeee... the fragmented voice of the mirror replies.
"Iiiii... ...wwaaaaannnntt... ...ttoooooo... ...aaaaassssssskk... ...yyoooooooouuu... ...aaaaaa... ...qquuuueeeeeeesssssttiiooonnnn...
"Ppplllleeeeeeeaaaaaassssssseeeeee... ... ...Lloooooookkk... ...aaaaaaatttt... ...mmeeeeeeeeee...?..."

Brevos urges: "Don't do it Grothnak. It is a trap. Throw the mirror down and let us destroy it."

The forlorn woman in the unseen glass says, "...Nnnnoooooooo... ...Ppplllleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaasssssssseeeee..."


Actions?

[ravenn4544]

Mouser

Pick Locks (43%): [1d100] = 42

[Inferno]

DM:

Mouser expertly picks the lock and opens the iron box.

Within, he and Hoom find the mechanisms of a poison needle trap (that would have been triggered had Mouser failed his roll!) and a large, perfectly cut diamond.

In Urdur's eyes, the scintillating gem glows with a shimmering blue halo.