Loose threads
We still don't know enough about the Goat Dungeon. Further investigation is needed.
All loose threads from parent quest remain.
How did the cultists get their hands on two jars of Elvira's cookies?
In other worlds:
What became of the Lord of Ziegenwald after the party left?
Was the Red Dragon ruler of the Kobolds a tyrant? If possible, should we try and liberate them?
The juvenile Crimson Worm living in that volcano could easily wipe out the Kobold civilization if/when it matures.
Participants
Location
Short Summary
The party went to the Goat Dungeon to investigate and to hunt for Relics. We underwent a series of challenges and acquired a Relic each.
First, we discovered the laboratory where the resident Tartaurs are made, where we were attacked by tar oozes, and then we solved an alchemical riddle.
Next, for my task, we had to research a ritual in a library, and then tend to several sick Tartaurs in a hospital.
For Thanja's test, we explored a land called Ziegenwald where we had to make several moral decisions as we went on our way to depose a tyrant.
During Nas Dac's trial, we fought a few rust monsters and then attended a Death Metal Concert.
Lastly, Clayfang's challenge saw us mining for red gems inside a volcano, all to appease a huge Red Dragon ruling over a community of Kobold miners.
We also found a few magic items at the very end, which surprisingly included two jars of Elvira's cookies.
Full Report
“Special Relics! Great Prizes! Fun Challenges! All these and more can be found near the Elemental Portal Shrine South of First Landing! Bring your friends!”
The Goat Dungeon beckons all adventurers, those looking to test themselves and those seeking powerful relics, alike. I, personally, had a different third motive. The first party who ventured there reported that the dungeon is run by a cult of Baphomet worshipping goat demons. They use strong magic, possibly illusory, to create worlds meant to challenge the group as a whole, as well as individual adventurers. The possibility of such magic existing seemed incredible to me, hence I needed to confirm it first hand. Thus, I set out for the Portal Shrine, alongside my trusted colleague and demon expert, Thanja Rhuuk. We were joined by my comrade-in-arms, Gritt Clayfang, and the deadly sharpshooter, Nas Dac.
Stepping through the first threshold, we found ourselves in a laboratory, or perhaps a factory. A voice, possibly belonging to the organizer, announced that we had ended up in the tartaur production lab. We were surrounded by several containers containing a viscous substance, resembling tar. Foolishly, or perhaps astutely, I attacked one of these containers to spite the announcer, and with that: the first challenge began! From the containers, they emerged. Hordes and hordes of tar oozes. Two dozen and a half of them approached us, weak individually but a swarming menace, regardless. I summoned a swarm of rats to counter their approach, while Nas Dac picked them off one by one. On the other side of the room, Clayfang and Thanja worked together to quickly eliminate another set of oozes. The first challenge was overcome, and a door opened behind us.
Next, we were faced with an alchemical puzzle. We were presented with a tableful of liquids and had to figure out the correct concoction to lead us to the next stage:
"Before you lies 7 potions, which range from good to bad. In order to move to the section of the dungeon, you must arrange them to create a concoction that will allow you all to pass through the barrier. But be wary, for some of these concoctions will ruin your attempt and lead you to harm. And if the potions are not mixed in their proper order, then the final result will be a resounding failure. Heed the following lines, for they will hint to you the nature of these reagents. But do not fear, for if you lack a quick wit, careful study of what lies before you can also assist in divining their true nature.
* That which does nothing is centered between those that are needed
* Sometimes its best to start things off the right way.
* Avoid the darkness wherever you can, but know that it comes with the saving light.
* Fear and sadness lead to inaction alike.
* Even the sweetest of delights can come with consequences.
* Let spilt blood not be your first pursuit, or even your second.
* Three goats, three pigs, three bears, three..."
The seven potions stood in front of us: Violet, Red, Azure, White, Black, Yellow, Orange. Beyond that, stood a magical barrier.
Clayfang, prompted by the fifth clue, began smell testing the liquids. The violet potion had a sweet smell, the red potion smelled like blood, the azure potion smelled like the ocean, the white potion smelled like milk, the black potion had a smell similar to the oozes that we killed earlier, the yellow potion smelled of rotten eggs, and the orange potion smelled like oranges. Soon enough, they figured out the solution. Mixing in equal parts the orange, white and red potions, they took a sip and successfully pass thorugh the barrier. The rest of the party followed suit.
We ended up in a hallway with a podium and a quill which seemed to beckon me. I brought out my Grimoire and began writing down my observations in the field of arcane knowledge, as prompted by the podium. Next, we arrived in a Grand Library where the entire party had to picth in and research to figure out the ritual which would unlock the next room. Next, we arrived at an infirmary where the party ran around for six hours straight treating injured tartaurs. Finally, as I finished writing my report on the patient's conditions for the day, my Grimoire absorbed the essence of knowledge and life, transforming into a Relic. A set of gates opened before us, leading us into a forest.
Seeing that it was night outside, the party decided to rest. While we slept, apparently a demonic-looking glaive had fallen from the sky, which seemed to have bound itself telepathically to Thanja. Jig'Thad is what it was called. We stepped into the forest, wandering through the long narrow path. Eventually, we were stopped by a gang of brigands who demanded we hand over all our valuables to them. 'Brigand' isn't the right word. The men were armed with broken pitchforks, wearing armor that was practically worthless. The party was reluctant to kill what were clearly farmers that had fallen into hard times. Most of us at least. Jig'Thad seemed to push Thanja into attacking them for blocking us, but she refused. Finally, I 'bought' their 'spears' off them for a sum of ten gold pieces and let them run off. The men informed us of a town up ahead. We also learned this land's name: Ziegenwald.
After a while, we were once again barred from progress. This time it was a mad lion, clearly under the influence of some foreign substance. Despite Jig'Thad prompting Thanja to put it ut of its misery, the party worked together to wrestle it down, allowing me to diagnose and treat the poor beast. Apparently, it had ingested a drug called 'Grit' and inducing it to vomit it out cured it instantly. Gritt then took a minute sample of 'Grit'. Their strong metabolism allowed them to benefit from the enhancing effects of the drug while minimizing the adverse effects. We were about to carry on following the forest path, but Jig informed us about a secret location up ahead. Despite its track record, we decided to trust the glaive. And I'm glad we did, as it led us to a crumbling old ruin, littered with magic items. Searching the place, each of us found something of value amidst the ruins. We set off once again for the town.
It was a small farming community, living within their means. From the elderman, we learned that a new 'Lord' had moved into the tower and was demanding a great tithe from the people. While we contemplated our next step, the Lord's Knights arrived. I tried to explain to them how their lord was foolish for overcharging his subjects, but before I could suggest better economic poilcies, the men attacked us. I summoned Hilde, hoping to cripple them, but the Knight's turned out to be far too fragile, as each of them were cut down in one hit. Gritt managed to temper his strength and knock out the last Knight, whim we took prisoner. I reprimanded the party for rushing to violence, but the townsfolk seemed happy to see their tormentors buried. Gritt wished to bury the bodies, but the elderman refused. At this point, Thanja had a rather unorthodox plan. Borrowing a cart from the village, she loaded on it the unconscious knight as well as his fellows' gear. Gritt buried the bodies someplace outside the town, and the party set off for the lord's tower.
After half a day of travelling, we arrived at a Manor. Apparently, the tower could be raised and lowered by some mechanism. We barged in through the main gate, which seemed to be the tower's attic. Descending a few levels and lying our way thorugh the house staff, we reached an elaborate hall. There we confronted the lord of the manor. He was weak, and his servants abandoned him at first sign of trouble. All he could do was bark empty threats as the party restrained him. We collectively decided it was up to Thanja to choose a just punishment for this man. After some deliberation, she went up and chopped his hand off. A fitting punishment, I'd say. The man fled, and Jig'Thad began to glow with a bright golden light. It seemed we had passed, as another portal led us to the next stage.
We arrived at a desolate location, most probably in the plane of Metal. The landscape was barren rusted fields, with a thick air of rust around us. We heard a rhythmic sound coming from a distance. Approaching, we found a group of Tartaurs attending a Death Metal concert. A Tartaur encountered by the previous party, Billy the Wiz, was performing on a massive stage, along with his reptilian companions: 'Billy and the Saurians'. Once we reached close enough, four rust covered creatures landed around us, as the crowd dispersed. We were to put on a gladiatorial show for the gathered crowd and we were ready to rock.
Our foes consisted of a pair of rust oozes and a pair of rust monsters. The voracious abberations attacked us, hoping to get a mouthful of our metal gear. Nas Dac's gun, Gritt's weapons, Thanja's armor and my chunk of cold iron; each had a piece taken off. However, the creatures had bitten off more than they could chew as the party made quick work of them, much to the crowd's applause. After our victory, the concert resumed. Thanja and Nas Dac enjoyed themselves, while I found myself at the sidelines patching my wounds. Though discordant and loud, I managed to find some merit to the rhythm. Clayfang, meanwhile, climbed onto the staged and became one with the band. A layer of smooth rust formed on Nas Dac's rifle. Instinctively, she tried to get it off, but soon realized that it was the Plane suffusing itself into her weapon, transforming it into a Relic.
Soon after, the show was over and the tartaurs dissapeared. Billy left Clayfang with some advice, asking them to go to the lowest level for the final challenge. A surge of intense heat swept through the area as a portal opened beneath the stage. Upon my recommendation, the party decided to rest for the night before diving into the inferno. This gave me time to prepare some spells that would help us get through the intense heat. It also gave us the chance to repair our equipment. The next day, we dove in as soon our preparations were done.
We discovered we were inside a volcano, with several red scale kobolds running around. Their foreman, Snags, mistook us for workers and gave us heat-resistant suits and asked us to go mine the lower levels of the volcano. Clayfang, in their element, led us down as close to the bottom of the volcano as we could go. On our way, we found kobold workers who had been attacked by fire elementals. They were nice people, but seemed wary of outsiders. Eventually, we reached one of the lower levels when we spotted a juvenile crimson worm a considerable depth below us. Such a creature is the stuff of legends, and our party would have been no match for it. Instead, we decided to mine here, far from the death-bringer. Soon enough, we were attacked by a pair of fire elementals, but they were no match for us. We continued our mining operation without further issue, save the fact that Clayfang was quite remorseful for the slain elementals. Collecting a good bounty, we climbed back up.
The foreman led us to the 'Boss', a huge Red Dragon smoking a massive cigar. It had a powerful aura about it, though I was unable to accurately discern its age, possibly beacuse I was too scared to look it in the face. Clayfang, however, stood defiant. Upon being presented the gems, it asked for Clayfang's pickaxe, and breathed elemental energy into it. Clayfang boldly asked for one of the cigars which, too, the grateful dragon granted. Our challenges over, we located the final portal and stepped through.
Lastly, we found ourselves in a large dining hall with a sack on the table. All the loot we had gathered back at the Ziegenwald's ruins, along with, suspiciously, two of Elvira's cookie jars were present in it. The items which were supposed to be in our backpacks were gone, including Gritt's oversized cigar, as well as a bottle of tar ooze and poison that I had hoped to smuggle. With nowhere else to go, we recalled. Soon after, each of us left to attune to their respective Relics.
I went in to the dungeon with many questions, and returned with even more. During our time there, Thanja and I had used several detection spells. Yet, they seemed to function normally, as they would in the 'real' world. Hence, either the worlds we visited were real, and not conjurations, or they were illusion far stronger than either of us could detect. My own bias is towards the former theory. We learned that the Tartaurs are made in a laboratory, although the true motive, if any, behind the dungeon is still a mystery. For now, we might just have to take them at their word, until another party ventures there. I'd advise the next set of adventurers to not follow my example, and instead, be as cordial as possible with the organiser, lest they slip out some valuable information.