Adventurers
- Alfredward (Dwarf 4) and Humphrey (Elf 1)
- Jinx (Magic User 1) and Knuckles (Thief 1)
- Koko (Cleric 4)
- Mandras (Dwarf 1)
- Rarder (Fighter 5)
The party regrouped and set forth with a more resourced expedition into the mountains, intent on clearing out this ruin for the ratfolk, dreaming of quick and easy wealth. Treading through downpour, they could make out little in the way of tracks outside the great set of double doors so opted to camp overnight and see if anything emerged.
When nothing did so, the adventurers descended into the depths, leaving some retainers to guard the camp and horses. All was quiet down below. One door led to an empty room but for three brass rings set into the wall, and another lead to a vast hall where ceiling and floor stretched out into darkness. Opting instead to head down a stairway, the party readied to descend further while Rarder spiked shut the vast hall door. Unfortunately the sound of his hammering drew them all to the attention of some great flying stingers, and a swarm descended upon the group.
The party quickly hacked through most of them and sent the last few buzzing away, but in the scuffle they weren’t able to form ranks and protect their more vulnerable companions, and both Jinx and Humphrey lay dead. After retreating with their fallen comrades and adding Knuckles to their exploration group, they descended again and made for the stairs down.
As Alfredward and Rarder took the first steps down, something clicked beneath their feet and a portcullis came crashing down behind them, cutting them and the warhound Atilla off from the rest of the group, and then came the sound of yaps and howls coming from below. As they braced their shields, the rest of the party frantically strained to lift the portcullis while lobbing oil flasks through the gaps over their comrades’ heads. The flames burst in front of a charging pack of bipedal hounds, sending them yelping back down the stairway. With time back on their side, the party levered up the portcullis and the isolated companions rejoined their friends.
Giving the the yelpers a chance to flee further, they investigated the vast hall, hurling torches into the darkness. The flickering flames promptly disturbed a number of fungal creatures lining the many pillars, and they let out piercing wails. The party hastily retreated and spiked the door shut again, then turned their attention back to the stairs down in the depths.
Faced with the options at the bottom of a locked door, a door with a draft coming through it and a passage leading towards a foul stench, the party opted for the latter. Confronted with further doors, they followed the smell. It led them to a room with several decomposing bodies strewn across the floor. Stomach churning with nausea from the odour, Mandras and Koko approached them while the others kept an eye out for anything approaching from the rear.
Lifting one of the dead limbs, it came right off in Mandras’ hand and several creepy crawlies emerged and started burrowing into his skin. Frantically he jammed his flaming torch against his army, wincing as he burned flesh only recently recovered from his near incineration at the hands of fiery canines. Fortunately, the bugs could not survive the heat, and were extracted.
While this was going on, a door next to the party was flung open and some familiar hound-headed assailants fell upon the party. Their attacks bounced off the adventurers’ magical armour, and they were quickly routed. With nowhere to flee – having been lying in wait in a small room – they surrendered. The party tied them up and questioned them about the contents of the rest of the dungeon, and then executed them, unwilling to risk a third attack from behind.
Heading onwards, the party found themselves in a large cavern with a gaping hole revealing the open sky above and black, unseeable depths below, as well as glimpses into a couple of rooms up a floor or so. There was also a large statue standing in the centre of the room but before the party could do anything there came a flapping of wings. Everyone swung into position and raised their weapons, but promptly lowered them at the sound of beautiful, melodic songs coming from above. Several humanoid bird-like creatures flew into view and Koko raised his trident. Nobody else moved, and the cleric stared as all of his companions stepped forward slowly, entranced.
Seeing that Koko was unaffected by their singing, the trio of flying creatures swept down towards him, vicious claws raking forwards, but he clattered the trident against his magical shield, and the sounds of battle roared into the cavern, sending the feathered beasts careening backwards. Disconcerted, they fled up the crevice and away. The rest of the adventurers gazed forlornly up after them. They resisted any urging from Koko to leave.
A trio of heads – one human, two small green human-ish, all wildly overgrown – poked their heads over the ledge from one of the floors across the chasm. The cheerful human described their significant period of time stuck down here between a roc and a harpy place, most of their companions consumed by the enchanting latter. Asking them to keep an eye on his companions, Koko risked heading back up to the surface with only Atilla by his side. In the entrance hall they were forced to run for their lives as a dirty great spider had just taken up residence there; it wasn’t quick enough to catch them before Koko could slam the doors shut behind them.
Catching his breath, he called over his last retainer, Altza, who’d been left guarding the horses. Together they dashed into the complex, hurling oil flasks at the spider as they ran past, a solid hit incinerating it and its newly-placed webs.
Back down in by the chasm, the marooned trio led Koko & Altza up to their ledge, leaving the bewitched adventurers below. There they set a trap with chopped up limbs from the executed hound folk, hoping to lure the harpies in when they returned. Sure enough the flapping creatures descended upon the remains, and the cleric captured them all in a Silence spell. The others loosed arrows and oil flasks upon the feathery assailants, butchering two while one fled again.
Returning to the rest of the adventurers, they found that only Koko’s three retainers remained under some enchantment – the others were back to their normal, albeit more bashful, selves. Leave Alfredward, Knuckles, Mandras and Hats to watch over the retainers in case the last harpy returned again, Koko and Rarder started investigating the large statue of a cyclops. They pried away its gem teeth, but the eye seemed particularly special – it turned out to be an ioun stone which could absorb spells directed at the bearer.
They spent some more time exploring as-yet-unsearched room, failing to enter one but discovering a chest full of gold pieces in another. It took several trips to carry the whole lot out, and on their penultimate trip they found themselves swarmed by a mass of giant rats pouring into the room. Despite not being able to form ranks they fought the beasts off, though their faithful warhound was found dead beneath a pile of rodent corpses. Meeting up again with the other half of the party by the chasm, they found another harpy corpse and the entire group back in possession of their senses. Not wishing to push their luck any further, the whole crew retreated back to the surface and made the journey back to their fort.