Chapter 13: Underground City of the Demon God

[Scott308]

Loche

After drinking his fill, Loche tosses his pack on the ground before lying down and using it as a headrest.

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

Mako unburdens himself with his pack and belongings dropping them all to the ground leaving him in his loincloth. He then descends into the cool waters and fills his waterskin. He tosses the filled waterskin in onto his pile of belongings before quenches his thirst from it. He then immersing himself in the cool waters, washes away the grains of sand that have covered him since coming to these drylands. Clean of the desert he swims below the surface and tries his luck at catching something to eat.

[OGRE MAGE]

Xorxen finds a quiet spot away from the others to lay down his meager belongings. He tries to make a small area fit to sleep on and speaks to the others before quickly falling asleep.

"Wake me once it is my turn to take a watch. I don't care when that is, as long as I can get a few hours of sleep first."

[SocraticLawyer]

Garrin keeps his sword and shield handy. "I'll take first watch. Get some rest. I'll wake you when it's your turn."

[Urson]

Zahra
Zahra drinks her fill, then spends some time trying to catch crayfish. Soon, she'll lie down and try to sleep.

[Inferno]

The Vast Subterranean Caverns Beneath the Great Pyramid
Lost City of Khemsa, Forgotten Kingdom of Verulia, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day Five. Night?, 17th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia





In the dreamlike subterranean lake, Mako washes away the dust of the Great Pyramid, but not its memories. He and Zahra ensnare enough blind cavefish to make a small meal. Then exhaustion overtakes the explorers and they sleep deeply by the shore of the clear cold underground pool.

Again the outlanders dream of the malevolent all-seeing eye that has haunted their dreaming selves since they first came to this parched and ancient land.



Still, it watches. Still, it knows.

Still, the dread inhuman oculus stalks their nightmares, tirelessly watching them from the black abyss of endless night below.



Another starless night passes and once more, Amethu, Xorzen and Zahra have no memories of their dreams. When the night watch has cycled through, the miraculous healing mists of Osorus have cured many of the adventurers' injuries.

The sunless dawn finds everything quiet and the surface of the lake as smooth as glass.


Actions? (Spell casters may memorize new spells.
Amethu and Zahra, please roll to heal as per the house rules.
Garrin, Loche and Zahra, please mark off 2 torches each. Thanks.)





PC Status:

• Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 10/14, Spells: 7/7 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl
  Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 3(1), HP: 26/26, Laying Hands: 1/1, Torch
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 14/14, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 18/18, Torch
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 10/10, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl,
  Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 3: Move: 17", AC: 6, HP: 16/16
  Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 3: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 19/21, Torch

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
  Healing Mists of Osorus (All except Amethu and Zahra): All lost HP recovered with 8 hours of sleep. Wakeful rest, or sleeping less than 8 hours, enables recovery of 1 HP per hour. Duration: "months."

Player Resources:

• The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
  Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
  Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)
  An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[ChubbyPixie]

After the party is up, Kiri will poke around, never getting out of sight of the camp, looking for an obvious route to proceed. Are there more stairs going down? Will they need to follow the edge of the lake? He hopes they needn’t find a way to cross it.

[ravenn4544]

Amethu

Hp gain (Con of 8) [1d100] = 76

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

Lighting his candle he studies the pages within his animal skin covered tome. Mako fills his mind with arcane knowledge. (spells refreshed).
He then packs up his gear to continue the journey with his comrades.

[Scott308]

Loche

Waking refreshed from the previous days exertion, Loche does a bit of stretching in preparation for what he believes will surely be another full day of hiking. C'moan! Th' langer we sit 'ere, th' efter we git tae whaur we ur gaun. Na point in sittin` aroond.

[OGRE MAGE]

Xorxen spends his morning meditating and stretching, putting his body into uncomfortable positions for no apparent reason.

He takes time for drinking and refilling his water vessel before finally cleaning himself with the cool water.

He searches around the immediate area of the camp for any spots in the rocky formations that might be hidden or secret.

[Urson]

Zahra

pecentile [1d100] = 57 Only one point healed.

Zahra helps Xorxen search for clues in the area. She ranges further than he does, up to 200 yards away.

[SocraticLawyer]

Garrin joins the others, looking for the best way to proceed.

[Inferno]

The Vast Subterranean Caverns Beneath the Great Pyramid
Lost City of Khemsa, Forgotten Kingdom of Verulia, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day Six. Morning?, 18th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia





Refreshed and restored, the explorers are ready to continue their pilgrimage to the mysterious underworld.

No secret paths are discovered and the adventurers continue down the well worn steps, down into the bowels of the earth to discover what countless centuries of the cruel reign of Zargoth have wrought upon the survivors of the Verulian race.

The astonishing subterranean landscape dramatically transforms the deeper they descend. Over untold hours of journeying, water gives way to fire and brimstone.

It is as if they are entering the hinterlands of Hell itself.



The temperature warms and the sulphurous stench grows thicker than the tree-like stalagmites that loom all around them.

At one point, they exit a tunnel onto a breathtaking view of a towering lavafall of heat and fire and light cascading down into a burning river of bright lava that flows before their path to Pandemonium.



Stone tiles, baked before Atlantis was born, bridge the river of flame.

Hours pass in these infernal regions and suddenly their path is broken. Ahead, another stone bridge crossing the lava river is sundered at its center, leaving a ten foot gap in mid air.



Beyond the shattered bridge, the worn steps continue on into the enormous maw of another black tunnel.


Actions?!





PC Status:

• Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 11/14, Spells: 7/7 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl
  Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 3(1), HP: 26/26, Laying Hands: 1/1, Torch
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 14/14, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 18/18, Torch
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 10/10, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl,
  Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 3: Move: 17", AC: 6, HP: 16/16
  Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 3: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 20/21, Torch

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
  Healing Mists of Osorus (All except Amethu and Zahra): All lost HP recovered with 8 hours of sleep. Wakeful rest, or sleeping less than 8 hours, enables recovery of 1 HP per hour. Duration: "months."

Player Resources:

• The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
  Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
  Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)
  An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[Urson]

Zahra

As they proceed, Zahra coughs and sneezes occasionally, trying to clear the sulfur stench from her nose and lungs. She has been using a javelin to make blazes on stalagmites or on the cave floor, trying to make sure the group doesn't get completely lost.

At the broken bridge, she stands near the edge, looking up to the cave ceiling. She's looking for possible attachment points for ropes.

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri pulls out his rope and grapnel. “I have this,” he says. “Or, we could simply jump, one by one with the rope about our waists. If one falls, I can save him or her with feather falling magic, then we reel the rope back in. I can do it once only, though.”

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

"Surely there is an alternative to jumping."

[SocraticLawyer]

"Friend Amethu," says Garrin, "You once ensorcelled a boulder, increasing its size. Could you perform the same magic again? Could you make a pebble large enough to place across the gap? How long could you maintain such sorcery?"

[Urson]

Zahrah
There has to be something better than a flying leap over certain death.

[Inferno]

"Friend Amethu," says Garrin, "You once ensorcelled a boulder, increasing its size. Could you perform the same magic again? Could you make a pebble large enough to place across the gap? How long could you maintain such sorcery?"

I think Amethu could enlarge an inanimate object by 20%. More than enough to lodge a boulder, or to lock a tilting floor. But spanning a ten foot gap could be a challenge.