CHAPTER NINETEEN – UNDEAD IN
THE SEWERS
20 May 1003
At
3 in the morning, the ship sets sail. Ulmor is
promptly sick over the rails, and consequently a joke for the sailors. Takashi
spends some time gathering information about pirates, then seems to be found
below decks most of the time. Fritz tells Corin that
she has some fears she needs help with. Corin denies
everything and tells Fritz to keep out of her mind. Fritz tells her that he
merely taught her some techniques. Corin agrees that
thinking of a nice place in the forest is not messing with her head.
Takashi
agrees that Lili should be paid back from party funds
for creating healing potions, to the total of 500 Gold Marks. Each person takes
two potions of Cure Light Wounds.
Arrive
in Rauxes to a light fog. As the ship pulls into the
quay, we see a massive banner saying “ERROL: WORLD TOUR”. Corin
questions a cloaked Errol about what is going on, only to find the cloaked
figure appears to be Michelle, speaking in Errol’s voice. Lili
says to Errol with a chuckle, “You didn’t tell me you were on tour.” There are
many people excited by the world tour. More people have the plague here than
anywhere else the party has been.
Lili moves off into the crowd, listening to gossip. Fritz questions the Captain,
who tells him that it wasn’t like this last time he was near here. Takashi
points out a number of signs to show this is the plague, including the fact
that all the people who are dead are elderly, young, or beggars. Errol, Takashi
and Corin note the plague to be advanced in the city.
The party seeks out a healthier part of the town. Errol confirms the island to
be relatively large, a third the size of Murnau. The
party makes its way west, toward the castle.
Errol
insists that he did absolutely nothing cause this. Takashi believes him, while
the rest of the party just assume him to be denying it. A passer-by mentions
the Michelle song, and is directed toward Errol disguised as Michelle. Corin tells him rather loudly, aided by Fritz, and some
attention is paid to the Lady of Ma’at. This is
nothing compared to the excitement about the expected grand entrance of Errol.
Errol has been expected since the day officials announced his coming a couple
of weeks ago.
Fritz
takes the lead and assures people around him that the party has come from Murnau. Takashi and Ulmor press
on through the city, while Corin distances herself
from Fritz, who is establishing a reputation for his order. The tromping heard
a while away turns out to be the city “guard” marching under the city banner. A
squad of eight, armed with weapons and shields, passes the party by.
A
little way north of the castle, the party passes a tack shop and a tailor.
Takashi suggests Errol be named “honeybunny” to Ulmor as they travel. Corin
suggests “she” be called Michelle. Fritz informs Errol that the stories the
people know are very mangled and that the people do
not know him by face. Fritz argues that the party may be known, if Errol is
known. Takashi mentions he may be under threat of his life here. Errol points
out that many people from here have been offended by members of the party.
Errol
stops being Michelle as he enters the tailor and asks for something upmarket
for a musician to perform in. The clerk is confused and enquires as to whether
the gentleman would prefer to look like a gentleman or a layabout bard. Errol
objects to being a layabout bard; he asks for something fit for the nobility,
and is met with the idea of performing for Her Majesty. He is subsequently
warned the queen is rather ill. Meanwhile, Corin
walks off into the tack shop to enquire about horses.
Fritz
saunters in to the tailor and states that all he needs is a simple black robe.
The clerk says that the Minister for State has recently been executed for
informing Her Majesty that to clean the sewers would be the same cost as a full
Horse Regiment. When Errol mentions other places the plague has been, not much
registers until Murnau is mentioned, at which point
the clerk’s eyes light up and he proclaims it to be excellent.
A
conversation with the tackmaster reveals that Caroll the court wizard has been re-equipping the Black
Legion, taking the best horses. Everyone else speaks of Alnwick
pirates, whereas the denizens know they are at war with
Errol
asks for the location of a place of good repute and is given the option of the
Red Unicorn or the Dancing Fool. Naturally, Errol chooses the Dancing Fool as
the place to be going. Fritz offers to accompany the traveller to the Dancing
Fool.
Corin finds that there are well-looked-after, reasonably well-fed horses.
They just do not seem to be of the quality the tackmaster
would like. Errol is told his outfit will be ready by the end of the week, and
to come back tomorrow for recommendations as to where to find an instrument.
The
party makes its way past the shops, including a weapons shop, to the Dancing
Fool. Corin checks the gates, but finds nothing that
seems to be more abnormal than the humans passing through. The innkeeper tells
Fritz people have been leaving, even before the plague, and lays the blame
fairly firmly at the feet of the court wizard. Zane, the previous wizard to the
throne, is mentioned to have been insane, mad and unpredictable. Caroll is revealed to be brutally efficient. The Grey
Wizard is just outside the citadel, nearer the docks. The island is apparently
famous for its wizards. Fritz suggests a little of “the best beer in the
world”, and lunch to go with it. Lili finds no
herbalists or alchemists recommended. The mention of wizards has also raised
mention of the Sages Guild, which is a collection (or argument) of wizards.
Fritz argues that the party should check out the Sages Guild through the back
door.
The
party decides to go sightseeing around the town. We find:
-
a temple to Felix
- a shop with silks and fine ladies’ apparel
- Jack’s anything shop
Here,
Lili finds out about Narlond,
the most famous alchemist in Rauxes. Narlond is a wizard, called the White Alchemist (the person
our last clue leads us to).
-
The Prancing Dryad, a music hall (like an upmarket inn).
Errol
walks in and asks whether Errol is expected here. Apparently, he IS expected.
-
a red building, a few stories tall, serving sailors (“Zenara”)
- “Five Torches Inn”, “Goblin Tooth Inn”, “The Blue Dog” and “The Two Fister” (both taverns)
- Naat’s Merchant Company
- Narlond’s tower (3 stories) – “Narlond’s Alchemy and Herbalist”
At Narlond’s tower, there are a number of ragamuffins camped
outside, who obviously have the plague. We knock on the front door. One of the
ragamuffins tells us, “He won’t answer, mister. We’ve been here two days.” The
door opens and a man in white robes is at the door. An armed guard points a
spear at the ragamuffins, while we are ushered in. Errol tosses a couple of
gold coins to the ragamuffins.
Narlond says that the plague is the curse of Zane, and that he must be
destroyed before the plague can be cured. Zane is apparently in the sewers, and
anyone entering the sewers incurs a death sentence. This death sentence was at
the decree of the queen, but the queen is effectively the puppet of Caroll.
Narlond directs us to the Blue Dagger tavern to contact a sewerman
Barley, who knows the sewers reasonably well. He tells us to pay Barley well.
We
go shopping for underground gear and equipment. The local currency is guineas.
We decide to label potions – when labels are near the top, the potion is a
healing potion. All other important potions are labelled.
Heading
to the Blus Dagger tavern, we pass:
-
a grey stone tower
-
Pi’s money changer
- “plump Hen” restaurant
- “Hibbern’s Store”
- “Calor’s Roost”
We
go past the Blue Dagger and see the “Gilded Goat” tavern (“best inn and food in
Rauxes”).
We
return to the appropriate back alley and see three guys digging through refuse.
After speaking obtusely about ‘barley soup’ and a ‘wandering guide’, we give
Barley 11 Gold Marks and he leads us to a trapdoor in the floor (a flagstone
with an iron ring). We descend into the stinky murk. After traipsing around, we
get pointed to a hole in the wall near the ceiling. We ask Barley to check on
us every half day.
In
the hole, there is a much worse stink. We all climb up.
Party
order: Ulmor
Takashi Errol
Lili
(& Gustav) Fritz
Corin
(& Wiley)
As
we advance in, we get attacked by a band of undead.
(
The
undead are defeated, though Corin
and Wiley take some damage. Fritz suggests Invisibility
to Undead, an area effect spell that “does not
target, but surrounds the party”. Ulmor believes
Fritz and allows the spell to be cast. Fritz is not resisted by any of the
party except Ulmor. This leads to Fritz casting the
spell by touching Ulmor twice. This makes Ulmor rather strange. Fritz suggests not touching undead and reminds Corin not to
strike anything with a bow.
Ulmor heads about 30 feet down the passage, only to be surrounded by fog, so
thick that he can’t see five feet in front of him. Errol walks in and pulls Ulmor away from where he has stopped. Fritz announces an
Abjuration in the hallway and that it may be there to keep things in. A stone
pillar stands 20 feet down the corridor. Ulmor
suggests this to be the source of the fog. Lili
suggests walking through; Errol volunteers and goes in quietly with a rope tied
around him. He appears hazy at the pillar and the party seems distant. Errol
disappears from sight behind the pillar. Fifty feet in, Errol has found nothing
and reports back.
The
party goes in with ropes and holds the wall. 100 feet in, the party hears the
wind coming in as the corridor takes a sudden turn. Fritz casts Darkvision on
himself. The party goes away from the wind (left) for about fifty feet, and Ulmor informs them that the fog has lifted. Takashi casts Fire Eyes and two red beams illuminate
the corridor from his eyes. Just after this, Lili
casts Dancing Lights, causing Ulmor to see a party of bats fly away.
The
corridor bends right at the limit of the lights after Lili
sends them down the corridor, at a four-way intersection. No tracks, but a
great deal of guano on the floor. The party turns down the corridor, left, then
left again to the corridor that turns left a third time. Takashi lights the
torch with his eyes and the spell dies.
The
party enters a cavern with a rock filling the doorway, only to find that the
room contains several undead. Fritz turns them, forcing
them to flee, only to find that there are more coming, and are
ambushed by several more. Wiley is struck during the fracas, as is Ulmor.
The
party returns down the corridor, having defeated all the undead.
Fritz recasts Invisibility to Undead, while Errol distracts Ulmor
with a song about things interfering with his body.
The
party returns to an intersection, turns left, and finds fog part way down the
corridor. Some distance into the fog, the party hears a shuffling sound, as of
something staggering and crawling. A zombie-like figure wanders past. Two more
follow, then half a dozen. The party passes through a cavern containing about
20 zombies.
Continuing
down the corridor as it turns right, an open chamber reveals itself to the
left, containing a large pile of bones. The party picks their way through the
bones, having been informed by Errol that there is no magic. Following the
corridor, the party walks into a cavern containing a ten-foot tall creature
with lots of teeth and spikes. The creature is eventually disposed of. The room
contains a coffer with magical seeds, and a barrel with a conjuration and
necromantic effect, which contains unholy water. The fight brings undead; two of the fourteen remain after Takashi’s fireball
and Burning Hands. One drops to Corin’s bow, and the
party takes care of the final spectre.
The
party tries to destroy the barrel. Takashi takes a swing at it with the
battleaxe and scratches it. Takashi calls out “It’s taunting me”, and keeps
trying. He eventually knocks a hole in the side of the barrel.
Heading
back down the corridor and left, the party finds a massive tapestry depicting
scenes of death. Fritz suggests that the tapestry should be destroyed. Corin tries to follow the tapestry to the other end of the
corridor; she is promptly tackled by the rest of the party. Retreating from the
corridor, the party moves into a large room.
In
the room, they find a group of skeletons, easily downed by turning, then a bodac appears. Another
group of skeletons and another bodac appear before
the party is hit with a Flame Strike
from above. The unknown source remains invisible until a few more skeletons are
dusted, when Ulmor finally spots it. Takashi casts Grease to force it to ungrip the ceiling, only to find that it goes gaseous and
summons a cloud of insects on the party. Fritz tries to fly out, up to the
roof, but can not escape, while others struggle on the ground.
(
The
party escapes the insects, but Takashi runs back in to challenge the vampire.
He fools it into believing it has overpowered his will and made him its slave,
then spoils the effect by trying to kill it. They fight.
Meanwhile,
a giant frog arrives behind where Fritz is sheltering. He hypnotises it and
then leads it into the insects, where it begins happily feeding.
Corin spots something big moving
around down one of the corridors behind her, Errol, and Lili,
who are sheltering together.
Running
away from the frog through the insects, Fritz emerges into a cavern full of
wolves, which attack him. He flies away from them, back through the insects,
and manages to find Corin, Lili,
and Errol. At about the same time, Takashi joins them, having fled the vampire
when he could not even break its weapon. He lights a fire and sets off some
pyrotechnics, culminating in a cloud of smoke directed into the insects.
Takashi
asks if we have any stakes. Corin pulls out a
(wooden-headed) arrow, and notes that she has about fifty more. The party
discusses luring the vampire out of the insects, but Ulmor
is still elsewhere and has refused to come through the insects and join us.
Then we hear howls and yells – Ulmor has blundered
into the wolves. Takashi, Lili and Corin go to rescue him.
Meanwhile,
the vampire visits Errol and Fritz. It overpowers Errol’s will and makes him stay
still and silent. Fritz tries to turn it into a sardine, but fails. It summons
three giant wasps, which attack Fritz. As he retreats, it starts sucking on
Errol. It also lets out an evil laugh, which can be heard throughout the
cavern. This alerts Corin and co., who head back to
help (with Ulmor).
Meanwhile,
Fritz feels magic, and sees Errol go limp in the vampire’s arms – the vampire
screams with surprised rage. Takashi arrives and attacks it. The smoke is
starting to be a problem to visibility and breathing,
hiding Takashi and the vampire, and forcing Fritz to retreat (although it also
scares the wasps away). Corin arrives and disappears
into the smoke surrounding the fight. The smoke dissipates. So does the
vampire, turning to smoke and retreating.
Fritz
emerges from the corridor down which he had retreated. He is followed by a
shambling betentacled thing, which he and Corin dispatch in short order. Lili
looks at Errol and diagnoses him as dead. Takashi immediately says “We have to
go”. After a short argument, we go, taking Errol with us. On the way through
the cavern, the two remaining wolves attack us, but Corin
kills them.
As
we start to continue out, a voice booms out “FLEE!” Lili,
Corin, and Ulmor run. Fritz
runs after Lili to bring her back. Takashi does the
same for Corin and Ulmor,
who run in the same general direction. An unseen force holds Fritz immobile.
Fritz yells out, and Takashi looks around in time to see the vampire drop from
the ceiling onto Fritz. Then Fritz vanishes altogether. Takashi
fireballs the vampire. It holds Takashi and goes to drain him, but
Takashi vanishes as well. Lili is next to be held
(the passage she ran away down looped around and brought her back to the big
cavern), but as the vampire tries to drain her, she is turned to stone.
Corin and Ulmor finally get back and can only see
the statue of Lili. After a hurried discussion, they
decide to run for it, Ulmor first. The vampire
attacks them, but Corin is turned into a doll, and Ulmor is trapped in a stone cell.
Takashi
reappears in the cavern some time later, to find the vampire gone, and
everything else as it is, plus scrolls containing the spells to rescue/recreate
all the other party members. He does so.
(
The
party rummages through some chests in a niche as they travel forward, having
dispatched the giant frog that attacked the party. This leads to the discovery
of some treasure.
Taking
a path onward, the party finds a rubbish tip. Ulmor
searches it and finds a suit of leather armour, which Fritz notes to be
magical. The party goes right from the crossroads into an alcove. They come
across what appears to be an undead knight holding a
pickaxe. Errol motions to the party to come and attack; Takashi peers around
the corner, and is promptly attacked. One of the undead
takes a swipe at Gustav, who goes down in the battle. After a short scuffle,
the party dispatches the undead and continues on.
Errol
volunteers to check the next alcove, and Takashi goes first. Takashi goes in to
kill the undead knights. Errol and Takashi get
attacked, then manage to kill the knights (although
Takashi does most of the work). The party returns to the crossroads and carries
on to the T-intersection, where they turn left and continue down the corridor.
They find themselves in a chamber with a pool of water to the right. Ulmor tells the party of a 7-foot tall barbarian-style
knight that gives him a very uneasy feeling. Takashi volunteers to take it out,
while the party takes care of ‘other nuisances’. Takashi casts defensive spells
on himself, then charges. Fritz dispels the magic on the figure’s armour,
cloak, and shield, after which Takashi finishes beating it down, with the help
of a couple of arrows from Corin. The party is,
however, consumed by a blast of abyssal fire.
Ulmor is healed. Gustav is healed slightly, but is still too weak to move. Ulmor tries the Full Plate armour, and decides to take it
out with him.
Corin finds a longbow with a large strength bonus. Takashi creates a
floating disc, and Ulmor places the armour that
doesn’t fit him on it. The rest of the party uses it for their excess baggage.
Takashi
turns into mist and floats out over the water, only to be thrown back to the
side. Corin is sent out on the disc, but is also
thrown back. Fritz casts Dispel Magic
on the pool and nothing happens. Ulmor checks the
bottom, and sees a pile of treasure, but his extendable pole passes straight
through it. Errol feels a brief urge to join in the fishing.
Takashi
takes on a Zen mindset, and attempts to disbelieve the illusion that there are
no illusions. This does not seem to work. The party remains beside the pool,
deep in discussion.
(
Lili studies the far side of the pool. Takashi tries to spider climb around
the wall and fails. Fritz casts Invisibility
to Undead, but this doesn’t help. Takashi casts Protection from Evil on Errol, but this
is useless too. Then Errol drinks some Holy Water, suggested by Lili, and crosses the water successfully. Takashi then
drinks some Holy Water and attempts to cross, but is grabbed. He casts Prot. Evil on himself, and crosses
safely. After this, the rest of the party cross over successfully.
We
head on down the corridor, Ulmor in the lead. Ulmor, Errol and Wiley suddenly start acting strangely.
Errol wanders off, Ulmor stops where he is, the wolf
stops and then attacks Corin. Ulmor
hits Takashi, who breaks Ulmor’s whip dagger. Errol
starts singing, which makes Ulmor weep. Finally,
Fritz puts them all to sleep, and they are loaded onto the disc.
A
discussion ensues. We decide to retreat back aboveground to get help for our
insane companions. We discover that the Prot.
Evil is no longer working, but go onward nonetheless. We go around a column
and find a large cross intersection. There are no enemies in sight. Suddenly a betentacled rock creature drops down from the roof and
grabs at everyone. The sleepers awaken. The roper tries to flee with its
dinner, but is stopped by Corin, and lets go of her. Takashi drops the roper and the party heads
into the next room, to find Errol swimming naked in a pile of gold. We have
found the treasury.
We
leave Ulmor and Errol swimming in gold, under
Gustav’s watchful eye. The rest of the party goes off to check out the rest of
the dungeon. We go straight across the intersection to find a room where a
strange maniacally laughing man appears out of the bookcase. Corin attacks, as does Takashi, while Fritz casts Dispel Magic and Lili
fires her magical crossbow. Takashi then casts a few spells, only to find that
they fail, and resorts to physical force. Part of the way through the battle,
the creature disappears, and an ice storm appears in its place. Fritz, with Detect Magic up, yells for Corin to look behind her. Corin,
who had been waiting to fire, shoots both arrows straight into the lich. Takashi charges it and slows down, while Corin, in a blurring display of speed, fires three arrows
in succession. The first strikes the lich in the
shoulder, the second narrowly misses between ear and shoulder. The third, with
a magnificent display of force, punches a hole through the space where the lich’s heart was.
Takashi
and Fritz both ask about the box containing the life force of the lich, and search the room. Corin
searches the body and finds a backpack that is much bigger on the inside. She
carefully turns it upside down and a number of items fall out, including the
box, which she shows to Fritz and Takashi. Takashi promptly destroys it. The
party then checks the other path, which goes for a long distance.
They
return to Errol and Ulmor, fill up some illusory
horses and discs, and head out. After travelling a couple of miles, the party
emerges into a swamp, about a mile to the south of the city. Remembering that
the inn they are staying at is in the north-west of the city, they head in that
direction, disguising their treasure on the way. Corin
camouflages herself to hide better, and says a few
nasty things to the Gate Guards, then waits while Takashi sorts things out.
After cleaning up at the Dancing Fool, the party goes to see the White
Alchemist, where they find an armoured man, claiming that his master has been
away for weeks. Takashi points out that he saw the Alchemist yesterday, and
asks nicely to leave a message. The man responds that he can only pass on a
message, nothing else. Takashi sits outside and writes a letter, then walks in
and asks for it to be delivered.
Returning
to the tavern, Corin finds that there are some guards
following the party. They lead the guards around the city, then
hide from pursuit. Takashi reveals himself after a citizen is mistreated, and Corin fails to hide well enough
from people in the alley. Both Takashi and Corin have
small encounters that result in them running away. They go see the Commander of
the Guard, who demands to know why they hit his guards. Corin
draws a staff, which is confiscated (as well as a second), and Takashi sorts
out the ransom of 2000 GP each.
They
go back to the inn and produce the gold to a stunned troop of guards, then take
it back to the Commander. The Commander releases them, and asks that Corin’s staves be taken to “the darkie, and see that he
doesn’t pull any funny business this time.”
Takashi
and Corin go back to the inn and arrange things,
especially with regard to disguises.
The
party relocates to Fritz’s order’s Chapterhouse. The
doorkeeper asks a token of the party, and Takashi offers him the Rod of Wonder,
securing our entry and assistance. We discover that the Order can’t help the
insane members of the party, but they offer several possible sources of
assistance, including the sages, Narlond when he
returns, and a trinket shop known to sell artefacts of power.
Lili decides to consult the Sages’ Guild, taking Takashi with her. They
tell her that Narlond could help. Marioc
might also be able to help, but it wouldn’t be wise to deal with him. He’s a
dark wizard of an elven branch who wish
to remain obscure. The sages offer to seek information on Narlond
in return for a small fee. Lili barters them down to
310 GP for the divination. However, it fails to return an answer.
Lili and Takashi go to the ‘everything shop’. The shopkeeper is a little
coy about admitting to possessing items of the nature Lili
requires. He eventually concedes that he may be able to get something in, although he can’t be sure it exists. He gets back and
tells them he can’t get it, but can provide something to protect from similar
attacks in future.
The
party eventually decides to wait for Narlond to get
back.
Full
moon arrives, and inside the Chapterhouse, a werewolf appears where the dwarf
has been. Both Ulmor and Errol had been manacled to
their beds, and neither the wolf nor Errol can now escape their bonds. Lili hears Errols screams and the
wolf’s growls, and comes to investigate. She removes Errol from danger and ties
him up in her room, locking the door. She then goes to find Takashi. When she
gets back, she finds Errol trying to shoot the lock off the door. She decides
to leave him there for a while (after removing the crossbow from the room).
A
senior member of the Chapterhouse is summoned, and casts Remove Curse on the wolf. Ulmor returns
to his normal form.
Narlond returns. He heals Ulmor, Errol and Wiley (in
return for a lot of money).
Takashi
identifies all of the magical items, and party members begin training.
After
a few weeks, Lili notices Takashi coughing a lot. She
diagnoses a fatal lung disease, which she cures with a Potion of Cure Disease.
Corin leaves the city alone and heads into the swamp, pursued by arrows and
guards. Lili tells the rest of the party that she
knows where Corin is. They sit out with a white shirt
and an extendable pole, find Corin, and continue.