Forest of Wyrd Session #57 - Around and Up

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Jonesomon (Specialist 5)

Ranza (Changeling 4)

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 5)
Hobbs (Hedgefey 6) 

Thrax (Fighter 5)

[Slugs MacKenzie (Hedgefey 1)]

While the rest of the party searched around the animal heads for more rings and things, Hobbs waded through the water towards the font at the far end of the room. Glancing in, he saw a strange scene of Faerie; a band of hideous hobs chasing a weird creature, half ram and half spider. As he watched, the creature turned to face him and moments latter it started to squeeze it's bulk out of the tiny font. Once fully emerged, it climbed up a wall and was followed from the font by the pursing hobs. As the party hesitated, it spoke "Whom do you serve?" After some attempt at evasion, in the end the party said they served the Prince Who Would Be. Which was not the answer the beast wanted to hear, and it and the hobs prepared to attack. But Ranza moved first, using her fear spell to drive it and and hobs back through the font. But not before two of the wicked faeries were slain. 

That done, the party pushed on into the next room, finding another set of stairs going up and two polished slabs of stone (one black and one white) standing on end just out of the water. Gnarl approached the black stone, and as he looked a face and pair of hands appeared inside it. And it once more asked the question "Whom Do You Serve?" Answering truthfully again, the hands moved within the stone and within moments had torn the slab in two from the inside. Leaving in the gap a key, similar in style to the two they already possessed. 

Deciding to once more ignore the stairs for now, they plucked up the key and headed towards the next door. This opened into a room with signs of fire and explosion; a layer of ash and bits of burnt wood floated on top of the now 3' of water. Before looking too closely though, the party headed for the opposite door, assuming beyond it they would finish the circle of the tomb  and be back to the entrance again. And they did indeed find one more room that seemed to connect to the entrance. And by judicious closing of other doors, they were able to drop the water level enough in both rooms to make it easier to explore. In the fire blackened room, they discovered four chests along the back wall, now just poking above the water level. One was open, and all signs pointed to the blast having emerged from it. And in fact, when Thrax looked closer he found the charred bones of whomever set off the trap in the first place. So while Ranza, Gnarl and Slugs huddled in a convenient alcove, Jonesomon, Thrax and Hobbs carefully examined and opened the remaining three chests. In the process, they unfortunately triggered a freezing trap that turned the water surface to ice, as well as a strange pair of hands that tried to drag them under water. But luckily all avoided harm and recovered a hoard of silver pennies from the time of the Half Blood King, a trio of begemmed necklaces, and the strange magical item Munzario's Mask of Moods. 

Moving on to the next room, they discovered a large dual bronze brazier and an overwhelming smell of perfume. They discovered a small workbench in one cover, with multiple broken vials and jars that seemed to once contain scented oils. Finding  nothing further of interest, the party decided to have one more thorough look around this watery level before going up the stairs. In particular, they wanted to know what lay in the centre of this ring of rooms they'd been exploring. So Gnarl sparked up the Greenstone of Earthseeing to have a look. And he observed that in the middle there was a garden of sorts. With a pool of water, trees and grass, all lit by a faint glow. But he could see no way in from their vantage point. The party thus assumed this was their goal (it looked like a suitable resting place for a king) and that the only way in was to go up the stairs. Though going up proved difficult; each time they tried, the stairs would dump them back in the room from which they started. It was only after further investigation and some trial and error that they discovered the way up; one set of stairs required climbing on your hands, whereas the other required walking up backwards. 

Choosing to go up the backwards stairs, the party found themselves in a narrow hall. The ceiling was well beyond their lantern light, and it showed signs of being partly damaged and unfinished, with undressed stones lying about. At both ends were doors, one locked and one not. Next to the locked door was another font, which Hobbs once more could not resists staring into. It glowed from within with a strange green light, and even the curious hedgefey knew better then to disturb this one. Through the other door they found a small chamber. A small door lay opposite the one they'd entered, and a pair of large double doors lay to the right. Through the smaller one lay another unfinished/damaged room similar to the one they had just left.   The other doors were of verdigris covered bronze, covered in a motif of leaves nad stars. And based on the location, they guessed it led into the central garden Gnarl had observed. There was also another small font, this one of clear cool water. Hobbs once more had a look, and also decided to also quench his thirst. Which miraculously healed him of some of his hurts! So everyone else crowded around for a drink, and then started hauling out whatever containers they could find to fill with the wonderous liquid. Which caused Gnarl to uncover his vial of true water from the resting place of the Gloaming Lord. Which he remembered had anti-magic properties. Which he then, when the specialists back was turned, poured over Jonesomon's evil new sword, releasing him from it's grip.  

With all that done, the party decided to search a little further before passing the bronze doors and into the garden. Going back though the first hall, they discovered the door next to the green fountain was locked (they found a similar locked door at the end of the other long hall) . Luckily, the key they'd recovered from the false tomb fit the lock, and the door open easily. Into another lengthy, narrow room. But just beyond the doors were three bodies lying in repose on stone briers. When the party moved in to look closer, the three rose up, and the party found themselves facing three fey warriors, armed and ready ....

TOTAL XP 

6342

GAINS

546sp

Munzario's Mask of Moods [1000xp]

3x necklace and pendant (3x 700sp)

KILLS/VICTORIES

2 Hobs

LOSSES

none