Summary:
The Motley Crew
a.k.a. The World’s Most Notorious Adventuring Band
Did you hear the one about the insect, lizard, devil, giant, gnome, dwarf and nine-fingered mabden? No? Then grab a pint and prepare to be regaled, for here begins the story of the most eclectic band of adventurers ever assembled in the annals of Mearth!
Chapter 1 “A Monk Walks Into a Cave…”
A party of misfits comes together, with some having emerged from the underdark while a handful of others are surface dwellers; some are explorers, hired hands, or refugees fleeing a cruel and increasingly perilous sphere. What brings this unlikely group of individuals together remains unsaid; united nonetheless, the motley crew introduces themselves:
- Jinzik, a RoGnue who specializes in item recovery
- Tagore, a Mabden representing the Order of the Blinding Light
- K’Lr, an off worlder, almost unintelligible. We’ve decided to call him a Zzzsst
- Flint, a HiDwar priest
- Sarek, a starborn HissMar mystic warrior
- Tosc, the terrible, an interplanar Devok
- Kreesy, a large, battered ForGob wearing shredded robes of the Waywanderer
After introductions, we emerge from the caverns and find it is late in the day. Tetra is almost setting as we get a look at the hillside beyond. Sarek notices a metallic light, or perhaps a reflection, in the distance and we proceed up a low rise to investigate. As we top the small hill, we notice two things of interest:
- Further up a steep slope, we can see on the rocky side what looks like a 16’x14’ darkened doorway; and
- Way down the hillside, down a treacherous descent, there is a much larger metallic wall (doorshaped) that must be at least 60 feet across, but even at distance we can see the wall is tightly sealed.
Kreesy, using his twilight grim-vision, peers into the darkness of the doorway and spies several pairs of bloodshot red eyes patiently watching from within. K’lar attempts to hail the creatures in common, hoping they are none too bright, with a hearty “Hello!! Can you help us move all this treasure? We’ll give you a share if you help.” A promise which obviously had no basis in reality. In response, the eyes vanish instantly. JinZik tries a decidedly less-friendly greeting with an arrow, fired in the general direction of the eyes. Suddenly a cloud of thorns emerges from the blackness, striking both Sarek and Tagore. Some of us hear a high-pitched scream that sounds like it emanated from a mabden in distress. Perhaps a ruse to lure us in? The monk admonishes the overwhelmingly non-human group by warning, “A mabden would not cry out so.” Meanwhile, Flint is thwarted from using his divine magic – something is blocking it from within the darkness.
We discuss the merits of venturing inward, but there is an understandable concern over the lack of illumination. Jinzik, using his magic, obscures the opening with cloud cover. Kreesy summons the twilight aspect of the “Waywanderer,” and the entire party, minus Tosc, is outlined in a dark glow. Those affected can now see through the dissipating cloud, and into the darkness. The party advances; we see a narrow 20-ft. long ramp that gently descends into the darkness. With twilight vision, the party walks in, via the ramp. As they trudge along, Flint asks Kreesy, “What was that?!” Kreesy gobsplains the origins of their grim vision: “The Waywanderer guides us all through this darkness with his twilight divinity.”
Chapter 2 “Hammer Time”
[Reference map 1] We enter a hallway covered with trash and clutter. Immediately to the north, there is a 60’x60’ room with exits to the south (where we emerged), north, east and west. In the center, we see a large hole, with two enormous curved walls encircling it. There are also several odd-looking recessed doors scattered about. All the surfaces appear to be constructed of an unfamiliar metallic alloy, rather than stone. The large hole is revealed to be a cylindrical shaft that descends to a great depth. Above the hole, there is metallic covering shaped like an iris – perhaps an opening. Along the sides of the shaft, there appear to be handholds.
Flint, Kreesy and Tosc notice a sudden ringing in their ears accompanied by an uncomfortable pressure in their heads; Sarek feels it too, but is not bothered as much, while Tagore does not notice anything amiss – he seems immune to whatever is happening. Later, Kreesy considers what they have learned about divine casting within this odd place. This area of pressure seems to be blocking the priests’ ability to contact their deities. These metal caverns are most unsettling….
Meanwhile, the opening closes behind us, plunging us into darkness, after which the demi humans notice that their heat-based darkvision does not work. Sarek lights a torch to provide some illumination. K’Lr searches for and recovers his arrow. Kreesy tosses a random bit of trash into the pit, which falls for about 6 seconds before we hear it strike something in the blackness below; this indicates that the pit’s decline covers a great distance.
As we consider our options, K’Lr sees a pair of red eyes to the north. He stealthily draws his bow and quickly fires an arrow. We hear the arrow strike the unrevealed creature, which audibly runs away. Sarek and Tagore immediately set off in pursuit. As they head down the north corridor, they find dim light illuminating a “T” junction. Tagore determines the creature is heading east and continues, outpacing everyone with his Monk quickness, while Sarek follows in close pursuit.
Round 1 “Pursuitus Interruptus”
[Reference map 2] As Tagore and Sarek continue, they find the floor of the hallway around them glowing with red cracks of intense heat, and then notice it begin to rise towards them. Sarek is only slightly injured by the searing heat from the floor with a minor burn, as he is still protected by the blessing of the Waywanderer. Without a moment to lose, both party members attempt to evade the heat by jumping out of the way.
Round 2 “The Fist is Mightier than the Sword”
The floor moves away from Sarek as the “lava thing” gathers itself and attempts to envelope the monk. Tagore disengages and moves past into the adjacent room to the northeast; Sarek follows Tagore as K’Lr arrives, slashing the creature by striking it with his short sword. Regrettably, the blade of the sword is consumed by the intense heat. Flint uses his Spiritual Hammer, but the divine weapon sticks fast to the creature’s molten skin. Kreesy attempts to move past into the adjacent room using his giant-sized stride. Tosc draws forth his two swords and hits the creature with his secondary weapon, a short sword; his blade is also consumed by the intense heat of the lava.
Round 3 “Hammer Time”
Tagore turns and attacks with his hands, rending the lava creature with great effect, but suffers minor burns from punching it. The HissMar casts Absorb Elements and the redness of the lava begins to fade. Everyone in the corridor feels the heat begin to dissipate. K’Lr casts a cold Chromatic Orb at the rapidly cooling creature. We hear a cracking sound followed by a visible, violent electrical discharge. Bands of electricity bathe the deadly creature’s form, while jets of steam erupt from the creature as it cools and freezes in place. Flint uses his freed Spiritual Hammer to strike the immobilized creature, shattering it like glass; shards of the former creature scatter across the floor.
The party searches the northeast room which is filled with ripped-up furniture, damaged artwork, broken glass, and some strange boxes. We find:
- Two pieces of exotic jewelry (JinZik holding):
- anklet/wristlet, worth 5,000 GP
- collar/choker, worth 5,000 GP
- Three small colored “tide pods” (Sarek holding)
- Parchment written in an indecipherable foreign language (Kreesy holding)
- A brown bracelet (Tagore wearing)
Chapter 3 “They’re Not All Delicious”
[Reference map 3] There are several directions and doors to choose from. Jinzek notices that none of the doors seems to have hinges. The magical strangeness of this place is overwhelming. JinZik and Sarek succeed in opening the door to the southwest by manipulating the adjacent panel; oddly, the door vanishes into the door frame itself. Beyond, we see a room where dazzling light seems to be coming from the ceiling, but its exact source of brilliancy is unclear. Within the 30’x50’ room we see more offal and filth on the ground, where strange containers lie scattered. Some of the containers, or maybe trays, have what appears to be fungus growing within. We see eight gleaming silver handles on the far wall. After entering the room, Tagore pulls outward on one of the silver handles on the far wall; we hear a humming sound, when a 2’ box is revealed, recessed within the wall. After a brief delay, the bottom of the recessed box disappears, and two trays appear – they are like the trays strewn about the floor. Tagore removes one of the blue-lined trays’ it contains a variety of prepared food covered by a thin, silver lining. When the lining is removed, the pleasing aroma of food wafts across the room. Tagore does not recognize the food, but says it tastes good. The second tray also contains the same food stuff. Tagore and Sarek consume the trays of food in short order. Next, Sarek opens another handle and discovers possibly-spoiled food. He tries a bite and immediately retches up the comestible. Tagore pulls another handle which reveals three red-lined trays containing hot food. Kreesy, who is literally starving, gratefully consumes all three trays, sucking down their contents like the meat from a chicken drumstick.
We move forward to the door in the southeast corner of the room, which also has an adjacent panel, outlined in brown. Tagore looks down at his newly-acquired bracelet that has the same brown color. He holds the brown bracelet up against the panel, and the panel glows in acknowledgment. He presses the panel and the door immediately opens, revealing a 20’x20’ room with six larger handles, two on each wall. Tagore, using both hands, pulls one of the handles. With surprising speed, a vomitus mass of yellow curd comes hurtling out of the space beyond; he manages to avoid the poisonous mass as it splatters against the wall behind him. Tagore, glancing back at mass which is audibly hissing as it oozes down the wall, says, “Guys, they’re not all delicious.”
We proceed to the door opposite the one we entered through, which also has a brown outlined access panel. This door also opens using the brown bracelet, and reveals a smaller room with two tables and four of the strange silver handles. Flint walks into the revealed room, bypassing the yellow sludge; he pulls one of the silver handles, and a single tray appears. In addition to food, this one has what appears to be a holder for liquid. Flint enjoys a nice meal and chases it with the strange, tasty drink.
Chapter 4 “Beware Lancinating Women”
We exit the smaller room and move back down the hallway, heading west. We see several more brown doors near the “T” junction we came from. Tagore opens a door and finds a small room filled with refuse. Tagore passes by the “T” junction, opens the next brown door, and finds a similar trash-filled room. We head further west, finding three more brown doors, a gray door and an unmarked door:
Brown – Flat panel – Brown – Brown – Brown – Gray
Tagore opens the door with the flat panel and finds another same-sized room, but this one is dark and completely empty. Jiznik notices an indentation by the wall with the panel. He pokes the indentation, and the small room is suddenly ablaze with light. Tagore attempts to open the gray door with the brown bracelet, but the panel does not glow in recognition and the door remains closed. All the brown doors lead to 10’x20’ closet areas; other than occasional bits of trash, they are empty. Searching reveals nothing of interest, but the last brown door reveals something else….
The door opens with the usual hissing sound as Tagore takes a step back, shaking his head at the darkness beyond. He finds and presses the indentation of illumination and the room is bathed in light, revealing a beautiful mabden woman lying motionless on the floor; she is dressed in strange form-fitting, shiny clothing. Concerned, Tagore walks over to the woman and bends down to see if she is okay.
Round 1 “No, woman, no cry”
We watch in horror as the woman, moving with unimaginable speed, begins stabbing Tagore in the stomach with a vicious-looking glass dagger. Strangely, Tagore remains motionless while she repeatedly slams the blade into his abdomen. Her speed defies all experience! Thankfully, none of the initial wounds prove mortal. Sarek pulls forth his trident and attempts to throw it at the woman. With astounding quickness, the woman drops the blood-covered glass shard, reaches out and catches the speeding trident. Jinzek, using his magic, attempts to charm the woman, to no effect. Flint similarly calls forth divine power and attempts to hold the woman in place, but this action is also futile. K’Lr enters the room and maneuvers behind the woman, and Tosc moves forward and attacks the woman with his long sword and dagger; incongruously, there is an audible sound of metal-on-metal as he solidly strikes her twice. Kreesy, still standing guard, hears the commotion and stumps toward the room.
Round 2 “Freeze Frame”
Using her offhand, the metal woman adjusts and points a bizarre sparkling glass bulb at the party. Jinzek and Tosc are immediately held in place, immobilized like Tagore by some unseen force. K’Lr draws his bow and shoots the metal woman from behind, catching her unaware; as the arrow strikes true, we see electricity arcing across the metal woman’s form emerging from her teeth. She immediately stops moving, drops the glass bulb and topples over.
Chapter 5 “Aftermath”
K’Lr pulls his arrow from the inert form, and sees a strange gel coating the weapon and oozing from the wound. Sarek picks up the sparkling glass thing and notices it has dials and switches on it. While Sarek puzzles over the object, Flint heals Tagore through divine aid. Kreesy calls on the Waywanderer to remove the paralysis from Tagore, and it becomes so. Sarek thinks he knows how to activate the strangely-shaped magic bulb – in fact, he also knows how to narrow or widen the beam. K’Lr picks up a 2’-long metallic blue bar. The bar seems to have a grip at one end. Tagore removes the metal woman’s odd outerwear, which is silvery-white with two blue epaulets, one on each shoulder. Tagore dons the form fitting garment.
Objects recovered from the metal woman:
- Form fitting silvery-white clothes/armor (Tagore)
- 2’-long metallic blue bar, has a pale glow (Tosc)
- Sparkling glass magic bulb of paralysis (Sarek)
- Wicked looking crystal knife (K’Lr)
Hastily penned – Kreesy Eoghan Mic Tailtiu FirBolg for TARP 2021
Things we have learned or surmised:
- Doors of Concealed Opening. All the doors encountered so far can only be opened (if not locked) using the adjacent magic panels. The panels outlined in brown can be unlocked with the brown bracelet (see “door panel colors” below). None of the doors have hinges; instead, they slide back into the door frame when opened.
- Indentations of Illumination. The small indentations on the interior walls adjacent to the exterior panels can be used to magically illuminate the associated room.
- Divine Magic Suppression. We do not think divine spells higher than 2nd circle can be recovered after casting in this area of high pressure.
- Metal Caverns. This complex is created from what appears to be metal instead of stone or wood. The metal also suppresses heat based darkvision (infravision).
- Metal Mabden. The “mabden” we encountered moved and attacked with inhuman speed. It appeared to be some sort of magical metal construct.
- Glass Wand of Paralysis. Sarek discovers how to activate and operate the strange glass wand that was used by the metal woman to paralyze several party members.
- Trapped. We may be trapped within the complex, as the doorway we entered through closed behind us.
Door panel colors:
- Flat panel (no color) – can be opened by depressing the adjacent panel – not locked
- Brown panel – requires a brown bracelet to unlock
- Gray panel – will not unlock with a brown bracelet
- Yellow panel – (untried)
Mysteries and unanswered questions:
- What is the nature and origin of this metal complex?
- What are the “tide pods?”
- What is the strange language recorded on the parchment?
- What are the creatures that have been observing us?
- What is the nature of the metal woman?
- Why and how is divine magic being blocked?