Menka returned from his interview with the demon wench at (9) unscathed. Apparently demonic, the woman was a creature of surpassing beauty. She stated quite clearly that if we could get Guldar Heel to free her she would aid the party in its quest to find Melios and the brooch and would be willing to hand over “Hraelock’s” treasure.

Menka also returned to find the small, blue creature that had been following the party around lying dead in a pool of its own blood. Arkadios claims the little creature threw itself on Flint’s sword after begging Arkadios (unsuccessfully) to kill it. Somehow the rest of the party managed to sleep through the tumult.

Lycovyne and Kyril drew the second watch and the party made it through the rest of the watches without incident. Gonchar and Arkadios both heard “ogrish” voices beyond the door at (8). Menka cast2 cure light wounds spells then rested for 2 hours to get them back.

On his way back from his interview at (9) Menka found a door behind one of several tapestries in the hallway. The door was held open with a wine bottle. After resting and examining the location again the bottle was missing. Lycovyne was able to find the secret door via Elven search although he could not open it. Upon the door was written Hobgoblin in very archaic common. Flint was able to open the door. It opened onto a 10’ platform with some fresh blood spilled upon it. Stairs lead downward into a cavern.

The party decided to first descend the ladder at (8). Gonchar first, of course. Following Gonchar down the ladder, the party descended 80’ into a wet hallway 100’ long which lead east to another ladder going down. Repeated searching for secret doors in the hallway yielded nothing. We didn’t find them.

The hallway did, indeed, terminate in a rusted ladder which descends into the depths of the earth. With Gonchar once again in the lead the party descends 30-40’ into a rough-hewn 20x20 cavern (10). Another hallway lead west, terminating in a “T” with water lapping quietly to the south (11) and a ladder “up” in a small chamber to the north (12). The body of water extends out for at least 60' (the limit of infravision for those so equipped). The party decided to head up the ladder at (12), rusted and slick as it was.

80’ straight up, again, terminating in a narrow corridor heading west. As the party marched down the hallway the dwarves described it as being hundreds of years old but recently (and very poorly) shored up. 60’ from the ladder the corridor terminated in what was apparently a dead end.

Lycovyne found a secret door and Flint found a poison trap. Flint was able to disable the trap but still got “stuck” and needed to save vs. poison, which he did. The door opened into a small chamber which sloped upward into a corridor, also recently shored up. Several hundred feet upwards via this corridor and the party was getting close to the surface, according to the dwarves. Even so, it is apparently a dead end.

Gonchar found a secret door in the terminal wall and Flint found no traps. Gonchar found the trap the hard way while opening the door but made a successful save vs. poison. It was a small door, barely allowing a dwarf to pass upright, leading into a well. Rungs led up the far wall in the well and Flint climbed up to look around. The well ended in someone’s basement – possibly the basement of Guldar Heel’s tower! The party decided to hold off on entering what was almost certainly that same tower and go back and investigate von Hraelock’s treasure.

The Wet Ogres#

Heading back to the concealed door in the hallway between (7) and (9) via the ladder at (8) the party was attacked at the underground body of water by what appeared to be 4 “wet ogres”, the largest carrying a trident.

Party lost initiative but Arkadios got off one shot with his long bow for a hit. Lycovyne then took down the big ogre with the trident. Flint climbs walls, drops behind an ogre, rolls a natural 20 on a backstab and then Gonchar deals the coup de grace, taking another one down. Menka, Lycovyne and Arkadios all score hits on the third wet ogre and Gonchar takes him out from the flank.

The party attempted to parley with the remaining ogre but received no response though he obviously understood. The remaining ogre then broke from combat and headed back to the water. The party was unable to take him down before he disappeared below the surface.

• 3 “wet ogres”: 32, 29 and 20 HP

It is noted here that according to our (now mysteriously dead) little blue follower the “wet ogres have one”, meaning possibly a key or a piece of a larger item (see Session the Third for details). The party did not find anything of value on the bodies of the 3 slain wet ogres. Also the wet ogres were speaking in some dialect of ogrish which Gonchar (who, fittingly, speaks ogrish) could only partially understand. Emerging from the battle stinking of sweat and stained with blood, none of the party recalled any the words spoken.

Menka cast cure light wounds on himself and Kyril cast one on Flint. The party then continued on to (7) to seek out the concealed door with Hobgoblin inscribed upon it. Upon returning to (7) the party found that the room had been fastidiously cleaned. Not a sign remained of any of the recent battles fought in that room.

The party tried to once again locate the concealed Hobgoblin door in the hallway leading to (9) but was unsuccessful and, instead, was assailed by a hail of arrows from down the stairs at the end of the hallway. At the same time Menka heard the woman’s voice again, saying “Why did you come back? I have cleared the way for you…” meaning, presumably, that she had pulled all her beasties out of our way. Based on this information (and the group failure to find the concealed door) the party decided to schlep all the way back to the well under Guldar Heel’s tower and ascend the ladder.

A Well Beneath The Tower#

Climbing the ladder in the well at (12) the party found themselves in a well room (13) with a path leading up to a storage room (14). A ladder in the middle of the room lead to a trap door in the ceiling. A strip of some sort of material provide continual light to the storage room. Scattered around the room were several barrels of oil and ink and crates of dry food and cheap wine. There was a door in the western wall. Noises emanated from beyond it.

As a precautionary measure, Menka suggested an augury to see if the party would kick the bucket en masse by opening the door. Menka rested for 2 hours to prepare the spell and Arkadios provided a 100 gp gem as the material component. The spell cast, the result was weal and the party decided to open the door and continue on. The door opened into a long, narrow room with 4 cell doors in the south wall (15). Examining the cells without opening the doors, the party saw:

• bones of something long dead – winged and humanoid
• messed up, malformed clay golem
• a pool of phosphorescent liquid with stuff floating in it
• heavy breathing emanating from a badly wounded bugbear

Lycovyne spoke with the bugbear:

• “the gnome threw me in here”
• “she told us to open all the doors – one exploded in my face”

The last is probably a reference to one of the doors between the ladder at (8) and the Tower basement. She had her beasties clear the way, indeed, including setting off all the traps. Other than the 4 cells the room seems empty. Back to the ladder and trap door in (14).

Guldar Heel’s Tower#

The party discovered a magic mouth residing on the underside of the trap door. Fearing that it’s function may be one of alarm Lycovyne cast dispel magic upon the door and the magic mouth was removed. Flint found no traps on the door. The trap door opened into a kitchen (16). The kitchen was illuminated by artificial, phosphorescent light which bordered the ceiling. Indeed, every room on the ground floor of the tower except the library is illuminated in this manner. There was an arched opening in the western wall which lead into a large, ornate dining room (17).

The dining room’s centerpiece was an oblong table which seats 9. The northern wall is covered in a mural that displays nine robed figures, each apparently paired with an animal: bear, eagle, panther, lion, rat, snake, buffalo, pike and wolf. A sequin-bedecked, hairless dizbuster was also represented. The southern wall was covered completely by a huge wine rack, holding 100s of bottles, built around a door. The western wall held an elaborate set of service for nine. A fireplace on the eastern wall held 9 miniature towers.

The party exited the dining room via the door in the south wall to find themselves in a 10’ wide hallway (18) with 3 additional doors. A large humanoid statue, dressed in animal hides and brandishing huge fists, stood by the western wall at the end of the hallway. Lycovyne was convinced by the party not to fondle or touch the statue in any manner.

One door in the southern wall lead to a circular staircase going up (19). The other door in the southern wall lead to what is apparently an office. The office contained 5 chairs around a table with one large chair against the curved wall. 2 cloaks hang in the room – a red cloak and a red cloak with yellow piping. There was a large oak door in the southern wall, locked from the inside.

Unlocking the door the party found that it opened onto a bridge over a moat filled with phosphorescent liquid, probably the same liquid provided by the well in cell (C) in the basement. The party was now quite sure this is Guldar Heel’s walled-in tower, the same one that could not be entered from the other side of the wall previously.

The party re-entered the tower and closed the door, leaving it unlocked as Flint said it would be difficult “if not impossible” to pick from the outside. We may need to get back in this way in the very near future. The party then moved back into the hallway to try the door at the eastern end. This door was unlocked and opened into a living room filled with portraits (21) and also a water closet at (22). Interestingly, one of the portraits contains this inscription:

Kelmiore is (was) a Patriarch in Menka’s faith over 150 years ago. A very famous man, indeed, and Menka is very familiar with his life and writings. Menka would very much like to meet Guldar Heel at this point.

There were two other doors in this living room – one each in the eastern and northern walls. The northern door returned to the kitchen with the trap door (16). The door in the eastern wall opened into a dimly lit library (23). Illumination was provided by an unusual lamp on the table in the middle of the room.

The shelves in the library were lined with a great many books of all descriptions and there was a large book open on the table, next to the lamp. The book, written in the common tongue, described in detail a new magic that may only be wrought by 9 spell casters working in unison. The 9 mages were listed by name, all staggeringly powerful magic users from the South. Menka and Lycovyne recognized 5 of the names including, of course, Guldar Heel.

Menka was enthralled, beyond wonder, with the collection of books in the library. While he walked around and fondled the shelves Kyril cast detect magic and wandered around for a bit. The only item in the library that radiated magic was the lantern on the table (probably a continual light). The statue in the hallway at (18) radiated magic, of course. Also something was radiating magic in an unexplored chamber just north of the library.

The party dragged Menka bodily out of the library and passed through the northern door in the living room and back into the kitchen to seek out the source of magic. In the eastern wall of the kitchen was a door leading to a pantry. A chest in the pantry contained an item with magical properties as scribed by Kyril’s detect magic. Flint successfully picked the lock. Among other things the chest contained a decanter filled what appeared to be cool, clean water; this decanter radiated magic. Arkadios insisted on stealing the decanter though the rest of the party disagreed. Do-om! Do-om!

Having successfully explored the ground floor without waking the statue the party decided to explore the second floor. As the party stepped on the stairs at (19) they lit up with the same phosphorescence seen elsewhere in the tower. Flint checked the door at the top of the stairs for traps and found none.

Climbing the stairs the party emerged into a room (25) painted and setup to make one feel as though he were suspended in the night sky. Very well done, indeed. There was a large window in the northern wall that looked out over the Vinewood north of Farthis. The eastern wall contains a door locked by no mechanism Flint had ever seen. The lock was also, apparently, magical. The door in the western wall was unlocked and untrapped.

Null Keys#

The door in the western wall opened into what appeared to be a trophy room of sorts (26). Lots of hunting trophies line the walls but otherwise the room is empty. While searching the trophy room the party heard a lone voice in (27) begin speaking and the lights went out.

• Looking through the large arch between the rooms Lycovyne saw a gnome cast mirror image.
• In response, he cast magic missile and hit 2 of the mirror images, taking them out.
• To keep the gnome alive and get some information Menka cast silence 15’ radius, drew Lycovyne out of the room, cast sanctuary and then stood in the archway.
• The gnome, who was presently brandishing weapons while simultaneously saying the same phrase/name over and over, was forced to fall silent.

  A tense standoff held sway for a few moments while the party and the gnome waited for each other to

make the first move. Seeing that the party were not going to press the attack the gnome sheathed his weapons and raised his hands, palms out, apparently ready to parley. Menka discontinued the silence spell.

• The gnome claimed to be Guldar Heel. When pressed with that fact that Guldar Heel was well-known to be a human, he confessed to be one Null Keyz, apprentice of Guldar Heel.
• The name/phrase he had been repeating over and over was the activation phrase for the statue guardian at (18). He could shut it down and send it back (it could be heard ponderously lumbering up the stairs) but only if we left immediately.
• Questioning continued. Melios had indeed been in the tower of Guldar Heel. A “barbarian drunk”, he had tossed a few back with Guldar Heel. He had bragged repeatedly about having shagged Alu Alethra, that being the real name of the beautiful, winged demon deep under the tower.
• Melios drank with Guldar Heel in conference for a little while and then got up and left. Hard on his heels Guldar Heel left the tower on some quest of his own.
• Apparently Alu Alethra has been locked and imprisoned underground for hundreds of years guarding, in fact, the treasure of one “Hraelock”.

Convinced of our intention to leave the tower, Null Keyz called off the statue which presently lumbered back to its rightful place on the ground floor. The party walked past it on its way to the front door. Null Keyz escorted us to the front door to make sure we left. The party told him we would be coming back but he was non-committal and, indeed, just trying to get us out of the tower.