Well now, pull up a stool, dearies, and let old Vilma spin you a yarn about our brave adventurers! Seems they were at it again in that dusty old barrel maze. It was day 17 of Apache Wall, and the clock had just struck 4:10 in the afternoon.
They were in the midst of that barrel maze, you see, having just tangled with some rattling bones and a spooky ghost that vanished right before their very eyes. Quite a start, wouldn’t you say? They had a bit of a chinwag about which way to go next. It seemed they were mostly keen on heading east.
Now, young Feno was their caller for the day, poor Los was running a tad late. They were looking at their maps, and young Quinn, bless her heart, wasn't quite sure if the eastern path connected the way they thought it did. Even their expert mapper was a bit stumped! That room they were in was a mess, all melted bones and rubble, and darkness stretching eastward. Mighty quiet, it was, save for the odd drip and a strange sound now and then, just to keep them on their toes.
Young Aron, or was it Air-in? Anyway, one of them had updated their picture to look more muscly. And they were talking about how the little tokens don't always look quite right. You know, with this newfangled AI, anyone can make a new token if they like.
Then they got to talking about what happened with those bones. Seems young Los – spelled L. S., like that place with the big bombs, Los Alamos – had doused them in oil and set them ablaze after something wiggled in 'em. And then that apparition popped up asking "Why? Why?". Well, because it was creepy, of course!.
Torches were getting low, you see. Norsha – I think that's N. O. R. C. I. A. – had a torch, and Los had a candle, though not right with them at that moment. Cairo, same as that place in Egypt, needed more oil for their lantern. Feno, they lit their last torch. And Aron, well, Air-in was carrying a ten-foot pole.
They got their marching order sorted: Feno and Air-in up front, then Callack – C. A. L. L. A. C. K. – then Norsha and Nikki, and Cairo and Los bringing up the rear. Speaking of Los, seems Vilma here – that’s me! – has been telling their stories in my own little way. Hope I haven't mangled too many names!. Oh, and apparently, I break the fourth wall all the time, talking about Roll20 and Discord and whatnot. More than meets the eye, this old storyteller!.
Feno was back to being the caller, which everyone seemed happy about. That Nora, she gets called Nora with an “a” at the end, not just Nor-ah. Young Los eventually showed up, and they all agreed to head east. Air-in started moving, and someone else took control of the token since Feno didn't have the full map. They went east six squares at a time.
They moved past the smoldering bones and charred metal. There was an open door, but some thought they should explore south first. Air-in kept tapping their pole. The floor was solid, though a bit rocky, and the walls were crumbled in places, dry here but swampy in other parts. Standard limestone rubble, looked like it fell from the ceiling. Hard to say if it was just decay or something more dramatic, like a siege. Didn't look new or wet.
Then it was eastward ho! Los lit a candle. They went back around the bones – nothing moving in them anymore, just a bitter smell. Cairo could only hear the clanking of their boots and armor; not a quiet bunch, these adventurers!. They passed that open door with the metal embossing of a book. "Oh, I remember this room!" someone exclaimed. It was some kind of apothecary or alchemist's room, but in a terrible state – broken shelves and smashed glass everywhere. Couldn't see a single thing intact. They had a quick look around, their boots crunching on the debris. Lots of footprints already in there. Then, back to heading east.
That eastern blackness wasn't a wall; more to explore there, and to the north and south too, off the map even. Most wanted to go east. They got their bearings on the map. Someone recognized the area, said it was the second entrance to a stairwell. They went up the stairs and popped out near the barrel marsh. Just wanted to connect the map, you see, all those unconnected blobs!. Splish splash through the marsh, a bit of exploring, just wet boots as the only trouble. Then back inside.
It was late afternoon, getting a bit cool. Back in the barrel maze, they were in a room with an altar and some skeletal remains. Flavor, they called it. They considered going northeast on a diagonal path, but someone blamed the deck of cards. South and then northeast seemed the preferred route. Couldn't find a picture someone was looking for. They decided against a north door; Cairo remembered a nasty smell.
So, south it was, or southwest, or back to a door they'd found before. Closed, it was. Someone checked it for anything suspicious. Normal Barome door, with a pull ring. "I'm gonna open it!" someone declared. Oh, a memory! Something golden inside, like a... a sarcophagus. Last time they did that, it didn't go so well. Inside was a fearsome gargoyle statue and a sarcophagus with the lid off. Seems something nasty came out of that before, gave someone the "money touch". Someone nearly died. Dank smell in there. "Somebody should have a staring contest with the gargoyle!". That was before the font of law escapade. "Let's move out!". Seems young Aratzi got a mummy curse in there once. "I must not have been on that session," someone said, it being before their time.
So, they left that spooky room. Long dark passageway to the northeast, rubble along the sides. "The last time we were in this hallway, I think Nanor mocked us!". "Watch out for Nanor faces!". Eyeballs in the walls, you see. They moved diagonally, six squares at a time. And there it was! An eyeball in the wall, reptilian-looking. Slit pupil. Not blinking, just staring. Norsha – bless her impetuous heart – jumped at it with her dagger. Stabbed at it she did. Scratched it, and a puff of green gas spewed out. Choking and coughing, they all had to make saving throws against poison. Some succeeded, covering their faces. But Air-in didn't, even though they're strong against poison. Pyro succeeded. Nikki, the druid, made it too. But poor Los failed as well. Seems everyone needs to make sure their character sheets are configured properly.
Los and Air-in, their lungs felt like they were burning, took some damage. Nasty acid poison, but not immediately deadly. Spent some time hacking and spitting. Los, Feno, and Norsha with their lights. Air-in's watch said 5:10 PM. About an hour of exploring done. Cairo lit their lantern, second hour of oil. "Keep going," they said, "and not stab eyeballs!". Nora wasn't planning on stabbing anything for a bit.
Then they started smelling something unpleasant, different from the gas. "Probably a trash pit," someone guessed. And indeed it was! A pit with all sorts of vermin – cockroaches, worms, centipedes – consuming something at the bottom, ten feet down. Stinky, stinky!. They thought they'd cleaned it out before with green slime, but no sign of that now. Some of the bugs were quite large, foot or two long. "Can we burn them, please?" someone asked. But if they threw fire down, all those insects would come pouring out. Best to leave them to their grim work. They didn't seem to notice the adventurers anyway, too busy gobbling goodies. Doors to the east and west, and another one they'd found before, open it looked like. They wanted to go through the open door to the east.
"Not a goblin there, is there? Little red hat?". No goblin. They moved through and found a brick wall. Not busted down, interesting. Seems it just went to the room with the mud pool. Remember that pool? Made someone super feed out!. Or was that the one Zra splashed in?. No, this was the one where holy water mixed in increased your stats if you weren't chaos-leaning. But after they drank from it, it was no more.
They carried on east, past a passageway to the north and what looked like a broken door. Just looking at the walls, not stabbing or licking. Just Air-in tapping. Poor Air-in got poisoned by an eyeball, you know. They moved forward and found a pit they'd uncovered before. Looked like a crossroads – north, southeast, and west, with a door in the distance. "Keep moving east!". They went past the north-south entrances and into a new room. Empty, it was. North wall bashed down, east wall ajar. "A jar?" someone scoffed. "Can we open the jar?". You could move north, east, explore around, or go back. Had the group gone through that broken door before? Maybe to another map. "East calls to me!" someone declared.
They came into a small cubicle, looked like a closet. Los started feeling along the walls for hidden switches. Others helped. West wall, north wall, northeast, southeast, and south. Nikki found something up north, and Nora on the southeast – some kind of catch. They pointed it out to the group. Nora didn't want to touch it, just check for traps. Pretty sure the east one wasn't trapped. They decided to investigate the other one too.
While they were at it, Callack heard a faint dragging noise coming from the west. "Oh no!". Weapons out, ready for a fight. Shortsword and shield. "Hey, I think there's something down the hallway! Be careful!". Everyone heard it then. Somewhere vaguely from the west. Closer and closer. Ten meters, skin crawling. Nora popped that catch she said she wouldn't. The east one. Callback's senses told them something was right in front of them, but they couldn't see it. Started swinging their sword wildly, hitting nothing but air. "Come on, let's move!".
They all retreated back into the room Nora had just opened. "I think we need to send Air-in first because he has the ten-foot pole," someone said. Cautiously they went. The sound moved closer to Callack, inches away. Callack felt goosebumps, hair standing on end. The others saw an aura about Callack, their hair all electrified. Callack was almost paralyzed. "Somebody grab him!". Los did, and felt a tingle up their arm. Their hair stood on end too, but they didn't tense up like Callack, seemed immune to the paralysis.
Were they safe in the room now? No, Callack was still out there, and Los with them. Los tried to pull them in, but couldn't hold the weight. As soon as Los stepped aside, the tingling disappeared. "Can I close the door?". Roll of the dice determined Callack was blocking the way. Door couldn't be closed. Callack was still paralyzed. They could see Callack and Cairo’s lips quivering, muttering something. They needed to find the source of the magic.
Then Mr. Lo – that’s Los, remember – said they both let out a loud hiss, and a bunch of... well, let's just say "fleg" came flying out. And just like that, they could move again, aura gone. Slimed they were. Green slime, kind of yellowish-green. "Gross! You feel better, boys?". They did, but didn't remember much. Found themselves on the ground covered in their own... you know. Callack was back to normal. "Now, can we close the door?". Yes, they could.
They tapped their pole, exploring the small room. Solid walls, a bit messy to the west. "Is this a wall here? Cuz I can see beyond it". Elven vision, you see. Revealed a secret door! Magical, this one. Young La – that’s Los, who was late earlier – recognized the runes and tapped them in the right order, opening the door. "My gosh, it's like it was made for me!".
Opened into a strange quadrilateral room. "Let's go tap it!" someone said, confused about their previous quadrilateral room. Separate map now. Door to the north and east, and six horizontal burial alcoves in two columns on the southwestern and southeastern walls. Cairo corrected the geometry – house-shaped, inverted house. "Let's investigate the burial alcoves for glory and money and treasure!". Nora offered to check the doors for traps while they did that.
So, they all got to work. Some rummaging through alcoves. Callback guarding. Nora checking the north door – wedged shut from moisture. West door looked normal. As Los began plundering the alcoves, ghostly figures appeared, wielding swords, looking like armored knights. "Whoa!". "They're knights of the round table!" someone joked. Not so friendly, these ones.
Surprise attack! They all got to hit first. One attacked Callback, missed but felt a chill. One attacked Feno, missed badly. One attacked Air-in, missed again, another chill. Two attacked Nikki, one missed, the other hit for ten damage and a big chill. One attacked Los, and missed too.
Then our brave adventurers retaliated! Callack attacked with their magical shortsword, a natural 20! Nine points of damage. Feno attacked the one that hit them with Icing Death. They seemed cold creatures. Hit for ten damage. Cairo attacked the same one, missed. Air-in attacked with Wither Brand, hit for fifteen damage. Nikki attacked with Mr. Paws, missed. Los attacked with Gary, missed. Norsha backstabbed the one attacking Callack, triple damage! Eighteen points, but still up!.
The creature Norsha hit pressed on Callack, hit for eight damage. One pressed on Feno, missed. One pressed on Air-in, hit for ten freezing damage. Two attacked Nikki, both missed. One attacked Los, hit for nine damage.
Round two! Norsha, quick as a whip, attacked the one on Los, connected, four plus twelve damage, still up!. Feno attacked the same one, hit for seventeen, vanquishing it!. Second attack went for the one on Callack, missed. Callack attacked a ghosty, missed their first attack but hit the second, killing it!. Air-in attacked, missed. Cairo moved for a backstab, missed. Nikki attacked with Mr. Paw, missed. Los, with one hit point left, stabbed out with Gary, missed.
Another attack on Callack, missed. One attacked Air-in, missed. Two attacked Nikki, both missed. One attacked Los, missed.
Round three! Nora missed. Feno went for the one on Callack, got a backstab, hit for eighteen!. Callack hit and killed another one!. Air-in missed. Cairo got a backstab, hit for eight, plus four bonus damage, enough to slay the creature. Air-in got a backstab on the last one, hit for nine damage. Nikki missed. Los attacked with Gary, hit for two damage.
The creature attacked Air-in, missed. Two attacked Nikki, one hit for seven cold damage. One attacked Los, hit, and she went down, freezing creep going over her. Two hit points lost per round!. Nora attacked the one that took out Los, and defeated it!. Feno rushed to Los with a healing potion, four points, back to zero, unconscious but the freezing receded. One more action, Feno attacked one by Nikki, got a flank, hit for twelve, still up. Callack moved for a backstab on the one attacking Nikki, hit and defeated it!. Cairo got a backstab on another, twelve damage, slain. Air-in got a backstab on the last one, nine damage. Nikki missed. The last creature pressed on Nikki and missed. Then armed, Cairo, Callack, and Nikki all attacked, and Air-in destroyed the creature! Blast of cold sealed the room.
No loot left behind, just cold. Everyone shivering, feeling hungry. Torches and lantern went out, but not Feno's. Air-in's watch said 6:10 PM. They needed to get out of there, and take care of poor Los. Cairo lit a spare torch. Los was still unconscious. Nikki, the druid, used a second-level spell, cure light wounds, on Los, gained back six hit points, breathing easier, opened her eyes. But she had a nasty chill in her right arm, 20% spell failure and minus two to hit. Not curable by cure light wounds.
They searched the six alcoves and found a grand total of 64 platinum pieces!. Divided up, that's nine each and one for the bag.
They decided to head back to Orlane. Made their way back through the barrel maze, past the stinky insect pit. Up the stairs and out into the barrel marsh. Dark and dusky. Hurried back to Orlane, the marsh incredibly stinky and difficult to navigate until they reached the path. Glad to leave the barrel maze and marsh behind. Climbed up the trail into the dim forest, clothes sticking to them. Callack especially uncomfortable, shivering. Los's arm aching, cold, and stiff. They moved rapidly through the gym forest – that’s what I think they meant, not a forest full of exercise equipment!. Used more candles and torches to keep the way lit.
Stumbled back into Orlane, mighty happy to see the Foamy Mug, even though it's not as lively as it used to be. Fewer customers, many folks gone back to their farms. Still, they had food: plain dinner, dried bore with gravy, or the rebirth of Orlain feast. Our adventurers chose their suppers. Paid up through day nine of Ready Rate. One of them, bless their generous heart, gave the half-orc cook an extra electrum piece. Los did too, just wanting a sweet treat – got an apple crisp.
Then, exhausted, they all went to bed. Callack and Cairo headed to the river for a wash, chilly it was. Feno cleaned their armor. Day 18 of Patchwall dawned. Should they go back to the barrel maze or head to a big town to sell their treasures?. No shops recovered in Orlane yet, and the merchant train wasn't due. That meant a trip to HCO, or Hookill – though nobody seemed keen on Hookill. HCO was about a three-day trip, maybe five with travel back. They had horses, though.
They remembered some displacer beast hides they had. Heavy, about ten pounds each. Three by three sections, good for what they needed. They had breakfast in Orlane – thin porridge, griddle cakes, or a proper feast. Decided to travel to HCO for the rest of the session, stopping at waypoints along the road. Cost seven silver each per night at those hosts, plus their own rations. HCO was bustling, lots of folks camped outside the gates, looking haggard. The guards said finding a place to stay would be lucky. They paid the search charges to enter the city and would need to renew their adventuring badge – now seven gold pieces.
Young Randon was bringing Cheeky to HCO. They got their experience points for those spectral dead – 129 each!. Then it was time for Cheeky to sort out their spells as a level two illusionist. Five first-level spells and some cantrips.
Seems most of them needed to level up, which would take a week in town with a mentor and a thousand gold pieces. Someone reminded them of a quest they had. But our game master, Q, is off on holiday soon. So, they'll have some downtime to work on leveling up and other things in town through messages until they play again on the 17th of April.
They needed to sell their valuable items in HCO. But word was it's a buyer's market, so not so good for sellers. They started appraising things – a 1,000 gold piece oriental emerald and a 1,200 gold piece oriental amethyst, but the best offer was only 70%. A Jade Monkey idol appraised at 300, but they'd only get 200. A golden crown worth a thousand, offered 650, then only 50!. Two jeweled bracers worth 1,400 each, offered 910 each – barely 65%. Ouch!
They sold three bunches of staffire shards for 210 gold. Used 100 of that for appraisal collateral. Poor Air-in only had 280 gold towards their leveling up costs. Selling was proving painful. They decided to pick it up next time. They got some experience points for bringing the treasures back – 683 each.
Young Norsha needed to find some nomish-sized leather armor. Uncommon, so more pricey. Standard leather gives an armor class of eight. Seemed a bit confusing, all that armor talk.
And before they called it a night, they had a quick chat about the one-shot coming up in May, just checking if anything was off-limits – no devil worshiping or murdering children, apparently!. Just the usual standards. Nothing with spiders, or possession. Just being mindful of any touchy subjects. Seemed everyone was on the same page.
Then young R had a question about Cheeky’s hit points, all sorted out in the end. And that was that for their latest adventure! What will they sell? Will they find enough coin to level up? And what awaits them next in the world? You'll have to stay tuned for the next tale from Orlane!
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