Chapter 32: From Beyond

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur is unable to keep from retching at the sight and smells before him.

CON check (12) [1d20]=18

He does his best to keep his torch aloft as he follows the others through the filth.

[Urson]

Jerome
CON 12 [1d20]=16

Jerome, already sickened by the events upstairs, retches again. Cuthbert help us! It keeps getting worse...

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Inured to the stench from all the horrific scenes the group has already encountered, this latest atrocity doesn't faze the staunch holy-woman. Clutching her Holy symbol- just in case she soon needs to call upon the grace of Holy Tritherion- the cleric cautiously advances into the room, eyes searching for signs of anything still living...or, perhaps more accurately, not entirely dead.

Constitution Check (10): [1d20]=5

[Inferno]

The Accursed Mansion, Blackchapel, Hookhill, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Two. After Nightfall. Sunday, December 25th, 576 CY







In their search for the Hookhill Ripper, the doomed heroes must have strayed into Hell.

Overwhelmed, Bo, Jerome, Mouser and Urdur empty their stomachs by way of their mouths. (-2 to all d20 rolls)

The young paladin wipes his jaw and groans, "Cuthbert help us! It keeps getting worse..."

The grey druid exclaims, “Is there no mercy left in this world?”

"No," replies a blood-chilling voice from somewhere inside the chamber of horrors!

"If it's mercy you seek, guv'nor, you've come to the wrong world. You'll find none of it in this one."

Faron and Ingrid spy no movement.

"And Cuthbert can't help you, mate. No one can. You're in too deep. You've no bloody idea what you've stumbled into."

Perhaps the voice is coming from the unseen side of the ghastly corpse pile? (at "?")

"But I wouldn't worry your little heads over it. It'll all be over soon enough."

Malicious laughter echoes, cold and black as the grave.


Actions?!


Map Detail:

One square = 10 feet. Lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory.

Behind the DM Screen:

Telkis: CON check: [1d20]=6 Succeeds.

PC Status:

Faron, Human Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 19/22, Glowing Sword
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl, Sickened
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 19/25, Spells: 1/5 1st lvl, 4/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 4: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 14/23, Laying Hands: 0/1, Torch, Sickened
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 35/38, Spells: 3/6 1st lvl, 2/4 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl, Torch, Sickened
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 5: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 27/37
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/11, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl, Invisible, Torch, Sickened

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)
Invisibility (Urdur): Target: self.
Wall of Fog (Urdur): Duration: 5 rounds.

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome's fury tries to overcome his nausea. Feel free to bugger yourself. He joins Mouser, staying away from the charnel pile.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur stays near the rear of the group, waiting for whoever taunts them to show him/her/itself. He checks the door they entered to make sure no zombies follow them in. He checks the walls for a torch sconce as well.

If he has both the time and ability to do so this round, Urdur also examines the walls to determine if there is any unsafe stonework.

[jemmus]

Faron
I don't fancy wading through that filth.
Let the thing come to us.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser agrees with Faron wholeheartedly and stands fast.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo nearly stumbles as he moves backwards, staying as far away from the pile of death as he can get.

If any part of his feet or legs are under the surface of the shallow water, he stands on the bottom step instead, hoping to prevent any blood loss from unseen monsters this time.

He mumbles back to the familiar sounding voice, expecting no further answers.

"When exactly? Let me guess, at midnight?"

"So, what world is this then?"

[ChubbyPixie]

"We've seen worse," says Telkis, pushing his revulsion at the bodies way, way down.

"To whom do we have the pleasure of speaking? Do you live here, or are you just waiting to die?"

[Inferno]

The Accursed Mansion, Blackchapel, Hookhill, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Two. After Nightfall. Sunday, December 25th, 576 CY







Beneath the house beyond the World, a dreadful voice emanates from the far side of the shocking pile of cadavers.

Telkis replies, "To whom do we have the pleasure of speaking? Do you live here, or are you just waiting to die?"

The inhuman voice chuckles with malicious depravity. "Call me Arthur. This is where I live... and eat."

Urdur backs up and quickly glances over his shoulder. Nothing is coming up behind them yet. His invisible hand fixes his torch into an iron sconce set into the sturdy stonework, so his location is hidden once more.

Faron, Jerome and Mouser halt in their tracks as Jerome curses the vile atrocity that taunts them in this most heinous of places.

Long Bo steps back and asks it, "So, what world is this then?"

Arthur's wicked smile is heard in his reply, "The Dreamlands, you poor lost things."

The priests and sorcerers among them cannot help but shudder. For they know of what Arthur speaks:

The Dreamlands is a myth, believed to be a vast, alternate dimension, accessible to Oerthly beings through dreams. The waking world, the "real" universe, is its twin; the other side of the same coin.

This mirror world is said to share many similarities of geography and astronomy. However there also exist other races, intelligences and civilizations that do not reside in the waking universe.

Legends speak of means through which it is sometimes possible to physically enter the Dreamlands while still awake, through gates and portals.

In a low voice, Ingrid tells Faron, Jerome and Telkis the terrible things she knows about where they are, as Arthur laughs.

And with dread, the doomed heroes recall...

Ingrid detects an unspeakable Evil not of this world, permeating the very foundation and every wall of the ominous house!

Then Urdur, the conjurer of deception, weaves a spell of truth. It awakens within him sleeping senses, allowing him to see those invisible things that only birds and beasts can half-perceive.

Before his disbelieving eyes, a constellation of seething, sorcerous energy writhes into being, infusing the entire manor!



The gnomish sorcerer realizes the nature of the black magic. The accursed mansion is a doorway to somewhere else! A doorway that can open only when the stars are right, upon such pagan holy days as:

The Autumn Equinox

All Hallow's Eve (known also as Samhain or The Witch's Sabbath)

All Saints Day

The Winter Solstice

and Winter Solstice End

From their investigations, the heroes know that on these nights sacred to druids, witches and warlocks, the Hookhill Ripper has murdered a woman of this sprawling, ancient city.

Actions?!


Map Detail:

One square = 10 feet. Lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory.





PC Status:

Faron, Human Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 19/22, Glowing Sword
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl, Sickened
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 19/25, Spells: 1/5 1st lvl, 4/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 4: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 14/23, Laying Hands: 0/1, Torch, Sickened
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 35/38, Spells: 3/6 1st lvl, 2/4 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl, Torch, Sickened
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 5: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 27/37
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/11, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl, Invisible, Torch in sconce, Sickened

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)
Invisibility (Urdur): Target: self.
Wall of Fog (Urdur): Duration: 3 rounds.

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[jemmus]

Faron quietly returns to the door they entered from and sees if he can pass through. Will doing so return them to the mundane world? Or were they already in the Dreamlands when the ruined mansion transformed into an opulent interior? He suspects it's the latter. But still, he will test the door, knowing that the undead they left behind may be waiting.

[ChubbyPixie]

"Well, we can't go back out there," says Telkis, indicating the door they entered through with a nod. "I'm of a mind to deal with the owner of this voice and be done with it."

He pulls out his bow and readies himself.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur inches his way invisibly to the south eastern corner of the room. He prepares to cast a spell if their interlocutor shows himself.

Does being in the Dreamlands affect any of Urdur's spells? Would he know if it did?

[OGRE MAGE]

Sometimes when Bo is sleeping, he knows and understands when he is dreaming. Ocasionally to the point of being able to manipulate what happens in his dream state. He wonders if this Dreamlands world works similarly.

He closes his eyes and tries to relax his senses. His breathing slows as he thinks about he room and his friends in a different way.

When he opens his eyes again, he tries to think of the dead bodies as puffs of clouds, staring though them to get a better look at this Arthur fellow.

If he finds that this process works in his mind, he starts floating or walking in the direction of the unseen voice.

I am not sure if that would be the equivalent of a disbelieve or something similar?

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome moves South, hoping to get a line of sight to the Speaker. He will stop at the SE corner.
You seem very confident for something that lurks in a dark corner.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

The stalwart cleric knows that the only way to put a stop to the Hookhill Murders is to put a stop to Arthur. Thus, she goes on the offensive, challenging the unseen enemy. Moving south a few steps, the priestess prepares for battle, mace at the ready. You do not scare us! We have seen and defeated things that would shatter the minds of most. You are but another abomination for us to dispatch. I walk toward you because I am not afraid, yet you cower in the darkness. Show yourself, and meet thy doom!

If anything other than her party members get within range, she will lash out with her mace.
Mace vs Undead (THAC0: 18): To Hit: [1d20+3]=9+3=12, damage: small [1d6+4]=2+4=6 / large [1d6+3]=5+3=8

[ravenn4544]

Mouser sees no immediate way forward or back. He attempts the futile.

Cast friends at the figure

[jemmus]

Faron runs to the west holding his glowing longsword, in order to attack the fiend from the side.

[Inferno]

Mouser

Cast friends at the figure

Hi Raven,
Friends is cast upon oneself to raise Charisma, fyi.

Onward...