D&D II Act One Scene II(b) - The Dread City

Fourier

Karinth laughs.

"No indeed not. We would need an army for that, or demigods....no, we need only pass through four floors of the dungeon to claim the sword."

sKeith

"Well that doesn't sound too bad. Do you need to do anything else in Mystara first or shall we get to it."

Fourier

"I think it is best if we get started right away. The castle inhabitants can equip us."

Karinth walks to the main door and knocks.

sKeith

OOC: choosing monastic tradition, Way of the Open Hand.
Whenever you hit a creature with one of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, you can impose one of the following effects on that target:

• It must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
• It must make a Strength saving throw. If it fails, you can push it up to 15 feet away from you
• It can't take reactions until the end of your next turn

Fourier

The gate opens. A wizard of very advanced years gazes at Karinth and then Sarric.

"Food, to speak to the king, or the dungeon?"

"The dungeon" Karinth replies.

"Then you wish to die like so many fools, fine, to the King, fast."

He opens the door.

Inside Sarric sees a feast hall with wizards, tatooed with multiple charms and with trinkets around their necks. All are either men or elves. Several fighting-men abound throughout the hall as well, of all races and religous men, gathered from many faiths tend to a set of fifteen shrines to various gods. There are only three exits. The door they came in and a set of stairs going up. These are normal looking.

The third exit is a gigantic set of iron double doors, with various seals and wards placed on it. Next to this set and elf of a subspecies not to be found in Sarric's world sits reading a tome.

"I'll be talking to the King, see you soon" Karinth says before heading up the set of stairs.

sKeith

Sarric looks at the assembled collection of men and elves and says, "We are going into the dungeon, we are on a mission to retrieve one item, so that will not be split, but all other treasure is game, anybody want to accompany us?"

Fourier

A dwarf with an itchy axe finger perks up.

"Sounds good lass, iffin ye get permission, I've had me eye on something on the third level fer two years. Three parties I've been with went down, we nary made it passed the second. I was the only survivor each time."

sKeith

"Well, the other lad has gone to speak to the king about that, if permission granted, then we will be heading down to the fourth level, an experience dwarf like yourself would be great."

Sarric turns to the rest, "Is only one dwarf brave enough to join us down to the fourth level? What have you done with your sense of adventuring? The more we have, the safer if'll be for us, it'll be the dungeons turn to be afraid!"

Fourier

A man in knightly armour steps forth.

"I'll come too, seeing as you are so confident. I have to slay a beast of great power and bring its head to the keep of my uncle, so that he sees I am a man of vigour and strength and names me as heir."

Karinth returns and holds the King's seal up high.

"We have permission!"

sKeith

Fourier wrote: »

"We have permission!"

Sarric cheers! "We have two to accompaniy us, do you think we should recruit a few more or will the 4 of us be enough?"

Fourier

Karinth places a heavy bag of coin on the table.

"Two more and you get half each"

A young women in leather armour steps forth, as does an Elven man with a bow.

"I've always been uncertain to enter, but the coin swings it" the young woman says, the elf does not speak.

Karinth nods and approached the elf by the double doors.

"The seal" he places it in front of him.

The elf places his hand on it and the seal glows green.

"It is valid, the gates shall be opened, prepare."

He walks to the gates and places a small cube of metal in a receptacle in the door.

Twenty mages surround them and the door. Some fighters move forward as well.

"No idea what will try to escape when we open this. Ready?"

sKeith

Sarric says "Ready as i'll ever be!"

Fourier

The gate opens and several skulls pour out, from a stack a couple of hundred skulls high. In this central corridor there are twelve such stacks. The elf with the key cube speaks.

"The dungeon beasts gather the skulls of adventurers here. They've a truce, they don't fight each other in this corridor and the first room down the stairs. That's where the rain pours through the castles bricks and pools as drinking water. They probably won't attack you either.

Let's get something clear. When you come back, knock fast thrice, slow thrice and very fast thrice. Then stand in the blue circle a few feet down that corridor and hold up the seal. Then we will activate the spell contained in that circle, an incredibly powerful and focused form of the Clerical ability to turn the dead. Only if no beasts then remain will we open the gate for you to come back out.

Understood?"

sKeith

"Its not exactly clear yet, so, I knock 9 time in total, thrice at a normal pace, then thrice slower than first, then thrice faster than first?"

Fourier

"Exactly, anything else and we don't open. You must all be aware of this, for many groups have only one survivor"

sKeith

Fourier wrote: »

"Exactly, anything else and we don't open. You must all be aware of this, for many groups have only one survivor"

"Understood!"

Fourier

"Then enter...and may your gods have mercy on you all"

sKeith

Sarric proceeds throught the gates.

Fourier

As Sarric and the group enter, the gates close behind him with an echoing clang. The elf takes out a staff and a blue light appears from it. The corridor ahead of them has the skulls they saw before, as well as the blue circle containing the powerful anti-necromantic spell.

Beyond that, the set of stairs leading to the first level.

sKeith

Sarric carefully uses the stairs (ooc:up down, dunno)

Fourier

The stairs descend down into the dark. The group enter a enormous domed room, seventeen miles long, constructed from grey brick and supported by large columns with runes inscribed on them in the kobold, orc and goblin languages.

A large pool of water, collected from rain dripping from the castle above, lies in the middle of the floor, from which two massive spiders and a group of five kobolds currently drink.

Exits lie to the North, Northwest, West and Southwest. The latter three are blocked with collapsed masonry.

The bodies of hundreds of adventurers lie on the ground.

sKeith

Sarric attemps to read the runes and if unable will ask Karinth if he could read and translate for him.

Fourier

Karinth takes a look.

"Cursing spells on any who do harm in this chamber. Severe enough truth told"

sKeith

Sarric smiles, "a safe zone, nice to know where we can fall back to", he heads towards the north exit, the on free of rubble.

Fourier

It is an eight mile hike to the north exit. When they arrive, it can be seen that it leads to a tunnel that extends for several miles. Karinth turns to Sarric.

"I can see something, roughly six miles ahead of us, shall we continue?"

Sarric can see it as well, a branch in the tunnel and something green in colour.

sKeith

Sarric turns to Karinth, "we need to get the sword from the 4th level of this dungeon, if you know the way or any other plans, i'm all ears," Sarric turns to the dwarf, "you've been to the 2nd level, do you want to plot our course for level 1?"

Fourier

"Aye, I do...but it was South we went, which is now caved in"

Fourier

Karinth turns.

"We might excavate the southern tunnel then?"

sKeith

"The route we know is better than a new and dangerous route, Lets do that, lead on dwarf, we have your back"

Fourier

They cross the large chamber, seventeen miles in total, and reach the caved in Southern tunnel.

"I tire" the dwarf says "she's a massive place, shall we excavate in the morning?"