We rested for spells, all the while coming up with a plan to strengthen and protect Gonchar and send him into the water to fight the kraken. We came up with the following plan for Gonchar:

Kyril cast barkskin and chill metal. Tim cast invisibility, quickening, haste, strength, water breathing. Menka cast aid, prayer and resist cold.

Kyril cast stone shape and tore down the wall blocking the entrance to the chamber. As soon as the wall came down, the tentacles attacked and Gonchar rushed through and jumped into the water.

• initiative win
• Cathal hit for 11 points
• Kyril missed
• Ulland hit with a natural 20 for 48 points - blood splattered everywhere, the tentacle dropped to the ground
• Tim cast a magic missile, doing 18 points of damage, and that tentacle withdrew

(The comment was made that we could and should use locate object to find the “blocks” that open the gate to the Hall of Seven Pillars. Up one level?)

Cathal walked to the edge of the tunnel and levitated out over the water. Enveloped in the mist from the waterfall, he couldn’t see much. He did see a lot of blood in the water.

Everything went quiet. Kyril heard a clicking in the wall of the chamber and the hidden door opened up. We rolled initiative.

• initiative tie
• Gonchar walked through the door
• kraken: Great Grasping Guardian, 75 hp (body), 35 hp per tentacle

The door slammed shut, hard, behind him. Locked again. He told us the thing was dead. He said he went down about 20’. He found no loot but didn’t have much time to look around in the dark, esp. while fighting the current.

The chamber we were in seemed secure so, as planned, we settled in for a second rest. First things first - time for Tim and Lycovyne to whip out some identify spells and see if we could get lucky. Tim would go first.

• Time for some identifies…
  • Staff from the treasure room: Staff of the Woodlands +2 (UE III.D pg. 95)
  • 8 flanged cloak: Cloak of the Arachnidia (UE pg. 98)
  • bracers: second try Bracers of Archery (UE III.E.6, pg. 98)
  • blue vial: Elixir of Life (UE III.A.2 pg. 90)
  • Luck Blade +1, 3 wishes left.
  • Lycovyne went next. His luck was not as good as Tim’s but he did get some more info on Cathal’s family sword - The Holy Sword of Diancecht.
  • Lycovyne had no luck identifying the stronger arrows or the other elixirs.

Menka took possession of the Elixir of Life. Tim adorned himself with the \magic{Cloak of the Arachnidia}. Ulland put on the Bracers of Archery and loaded his quiver. Kyril, of course, grabbed the Staff of the Woodlands.

We sorted out our spells and got ready to rest again so the magic users could regain their lost constitution points. First Lycovyne went out and retrieved Cathal with the carpet. Kyril ran around with a detect magic but found nothing of interest in or around the water where Gonchar killed the kraken.

We formed a watch order. Menka and Tim (first watch) heard a sound coming from way downstream. A horrible, gurgling, choaking roar. Echoing everywhere. It wasn’t getting louder and didn’t seem to be approaching, and it clearly issued from far away and downstream. Menka and Tim informed Ulland and Cathal of the situation and retired for the evening. The rest of the rests passed without incident until Flint and Gonchar went to the lounge. Flint and Gonchar woke up the elves and told them about the roar. The last watch goes off without incident.

  The healing powers will only work for a true Paladin of Diancecht.

We decided to head back to checkout the magic area Kyril found with detect magic, previously, in the area with the evil swords. Lycovyne, Menka and Ulland got on the carpet and traveled downstream, pulling Cathal along. We got attacked by a small spider when we debarked but it was hardly worth noticing. Flint, Tim and the rest of the party followed on the carpet. We made our way back to the statue room and then back up the rope to the room above.

Back to the area with the super evil sword. The thieves found nothing, but Menka found a loose stone that seemed to work as a lever, praise Thoth! Menka pushed the stone. The door opened. It opened into a vault. A pedestal in the middle of the room held a glowing globe. Cathal examined the globe and saw the outline of a right hand, similar to the ones we’ve seen elsewhere. The globe did not seem to be emanating any evil. We lined up and Cathal rested his hand on the orb in the hand outline. A shimmering door opened in the south wall. Through the door we saw another large room with a pedestal in the center. That room seemed to be filled (the floor) with greenish, perhaps shimmering, water. The pedestal rose above the green water. Upon the pedestal a bright silver chain rested. A large, long silver chain, rolled up. After the first round Cathal’s hand felt warm. He let go of the hand orb and the door closed.

Kyril joined us with a spell{resist fire} held in check. Menka put his hand in the handprint and Cathal readied to jump into hyperspace to the pedestal in the green room. Gonchar and Flint watched the entry way door just in case.

The door opened, Cathal jumped to the pedestal. There wasn’t a lot of room. He was on top of what seemed to be a fairly large chain. Made of silver, carved with symbols on the links. Possibly 20-30 feet long. We were surprised, and the entire shimmering floor turned out to be an entity. It rose above the level of the pedestal and attacked Cathal. Two large fists that seemed to have mouths all over them attacked him. He noticed that all the evil he had been detecting nearby was coming from this room.

• surprised
• one fist missed him, the other hit him for 22 points
• Menka’s hand started getting warm
• initiative loss
• Lycovyne hit it with a magic missile pre-emptively for 25 points
• it missed Cathal with a huge hammer, and then barely missed Lycovyne with a bunch of teeth
• Cathal hit it for 17 points
• Ulland hit the “room full of creature” for 30 points (regular arrow), then hit again for 24 points (with a non-magical arrow), did not seem to be injuring it but it was hard to tell
• Tim cast Ray of Enfeeblement on it, trying to reduce its strength and attacks by 33%
• initiative win
• Lycovyne hit it with magic missiles for 15 and 11 - both missiles dissipated
• Tim however did hit it with a magic missile for 15 points
• Cathal missed
• Ulland is using the new quiver, he thinks he needs +1 arrows and one just appeared in his hands - he hit the creature with a +1 arrow for 30 points of damage - these seem to have a more pronounced effect - he hit it again with a +1 and then again with a +1 and a natural 20 for a total of 56 points of damage killing the thing and drenching everyone in green guts
• shoggoth, 120 hp

Magical binding runes in elvish adorn the chain. They were ancient enough that neither of the elves in the party could read them, beyond realizing they described some sort of binding rune. The chain looked large enough to use on the gate. Cathal was able to pick it up and put it in the new backpack. It filled one of the compartments. We got the distinct impression it was time to head back to the gate and lock it.

Cathal walked around the area checking on the evil swords. The sword was still present in the southern room. The sword in the northern room was not present, however. Not good. We formed a marching order and set to healing Cathal. He healed a point for himself then got 15 points from a cure serious wounds from his sword (51).

Back in the corridor heading south the cavern. Blood spots now littered the floor leading to Otessa' s room. Kyril peaked into her room. The blood ended there and Otessa was there, as usual.

“You may show yourself, you are under my protection here.” Pippen suddenly blinked into existence. All the blood is from him. Tired, flagging, pale, bloody.

“I was afraid I wouldn’t find you.” He said the vampiress had not fed on him again, he had not seen her. He had not revealed to his son that he was here. He did not want his son to get unduly excited and alert his fishy friends.

Pippen would still love to leave this place and take Grastic with him. But the surface is overrun with an angry ogre tribe. They blame Duneen and his allies for the deaths of their fellows. It would be too dangerous for him to exit that way to the surface.

Pippen did not want to return the surface anyway. He wanted to journey to the Underdark, to the Hall of the Seven Pillars. He has family there and his son would be welcome among neither humans nor surface halflings. There are 2 exits beneath the undertemple across the river from Grastic’s hut - one leads to the Underdark (and the Hall of Seven Pilllars), the other leads to a secret entrance by the river. He asked for help, Menka hit him with a cure light wounds and Cathal did as well. Pippen certainly looked better. Cathal cast cure disease on him as well. It seems to have helped.

Cathal and Kyril wanted to bring Pippen along, not trusting him. Menka demurred. Otessa, laughing, said Pippen would be safe with her as she likes him and his son as they are free of caprice. Otessa said, simply, that he is under her protection.

Pippen told us that across the river is the undertemple, converted by the fish-folk to their foul gods, and below the undertemple there is an exit to both below and above. See note in the image below.

We headed back to the gate. Flint recalled that it opened outward, with the flow. Cathal jumped ( levitated) out to the center of the gate with the chain to see if anything happened. He wrapped the chains around the gate but nothing seemed to happen. The elves joined him (via carpet) to see if they could discern anything happening. While they were out there Grastic appeared.

“Woah there I haven’t seen you in a long time. M-O-O-N etc.” Loudly talking as he walked towards us. Kyril intercepted him and kept him busy with small talk while Lycovyne and Cathal faffed around with the chain in the middle of the river.