Still sitting back-to-back in their blindness, the party froze as a haughty voice worthy of Hyacinth Bucket demanded to know who they were. Konrad piped up… we’re the cleaning crew, but we were caught unawares in your corridor of mirrors. Mandras held his breath… Oh – you ask for hired help and it never shows up, then it comes unexpected… well get on with it… your sight will return soon or words to that effect. A long hour later the party felt able to see, some more than others.
Dulo tentatively entered the great corridor with a lantern and a gust of wind snuffed it. Next, Mandras and Alf went in, no light, just using infravision. Mandras was determined to open the N door he had seen and try to have the party experiment with two doors open at once.
Opening the door gingerly, he saw a rather unglamorous corridor running a short distance northward, with three doors on the E side – purely functional, nothing posh as the great corridor. The rest of the party entered the great corridor to join him and Alf when the great gust of wind slammed shut the door that he was determined to keep open… slammed shut on him with a force to do some minor injury even through his plate armor.
Listening at each of the 3 doors, Mandras took the lead opening the furthest south. The room’s recessed floor was covered in green goo and there was a treasure chest on a concrete plinth at the back. After a short debate and watching rations that Alf threw in disappear from sight, it was agreed to leave it alone.
Next was the furthest N door. Opening that revealed a linen closet… clean but musty. Nothing heroic in here!
Back to the middle door, where the patter of many feet had been heard. A quick look in revealed 30-foot ceilings and a mess of spider webs with three fat Shelobs nesting therein… How did they ever find food in there?! Mandras lit an oil flask and tossed it in while Alf slammed the door shut, or so it was intended. A limb batted the oil flask back out and luckily it missed the party. The limbs of 2 spiders began to glow and Rarder felt the wave of spells hit him, just managing to stave them off. Dimplepool and Jalready were hit by a sleep spell and collapsed in a heap. Konrad managed to hit a spider with oil and set it alight while Zoohats tossed another vial at the webs. This time the door was slammed shut and the party waited. Thrice the spiders tried to force the door, succeeding on the last attempt. The party now saw 10 giant spiders… Rarder yelled Illusion! – but there was nothing for it but to hack at them until the source could be killed. Three or four were felled in quick succession and the rest disappeared. In the reeking smoky room, the party found a chest hanging 15 feet up in the air swaddled in precarious remains of webs. Alf cut it down and discovered a fine collection of gems and necklaces.
Returning to the grand corridor, for lack of other egresses from the servants’ corridor, the adventurers felt their way along the wall in total darkness to the next N door. There was a current of air, Mandras felt something but it was not metallic and his amour kept it out. In a mad rush, they pulled the N door open and piled into a lavishly decorated bedroom with a 4-poster bed. Five shadowy forms rushed in among them and combat ensued. Mandras took light damage but felt his strength ebb. Realizing they were up against shadows, he redoubled his efforts, while he still could and slew two of them with his mighty axe. When he looked up, his colleagues had killed the other three.
As the party caught its breath, they were startled by a lazy voice emanating from the bed: what’s happening?