On April 25th, with Gillican and Pathos having returned from recruiting new henchmen in Endsdell, the Dragon Hall party decide to go to nearby Greenleaf to follow up on news that there is a worked cavern there where elven scouts from Greenleaf were chased out by flaming skulls:
- Gillican (MaC): Level 8 Elf Mage
- Halen Ricter, Level 6 Human Man-at-arms
- Altlan, Level 5 Human Cleric of Rusk
- Sparrow, Level 1 Human Thief
- Garret Hasstrin, Level 1 Human Ranger
- Kyra, Human Handmaid
- Mel’on Juse (MaD): Level 7 Human Cleric of Sky Light
- Omac “Sir Pathos” (MaC): Level 5/5/6 Elf Fighter/Mage/Thief
- Derrick Lefter, Level 2 Half-orc Courtier
- Askellion, Level 2 Gnomish Religious Brother of Guffrey
- Heath Mistral, Level 1 Human Cleric of Harven
- Blake Ritter, Level 1 Human Ranger
- Simon Duffy, Human Longbowman
- Bristol, Human Squire
- Pepperin Lightheart (MaD): Level 7 Halfling Scout
- Zaum (JoF): Level 6 Half-orc Fighter
Pep has been scouting the lands surrounding Dragon Hall and knows the way to Greenleaf well. In an hour they have arrived and Gillican and Pathos approach the elves to learn what they can about the cavern. They say it had words engraved in Kelrian above it: Hall of Anturous.
They proceed to the dungeon, just another hour north, while Heath tells them all he has heard about Anturous, namely that he was a Kelrian chieftain centuries ago that legends speak of as a warning of the madness that comes with power.
When they arrive, they find a 40′ wide and 40′ tall archway with hinges still bolted into it. The space inside, a continuation of the arch, is blackened with ash from floor to ceiling and the ground is littered with blackened bones, scattered in no particular way.
They gather at the steps up to the archway and Pathos casts invisibility on himself and enters, moving deeper into the chamber and peeking into alcoves to find two doors. As he proceeds, a dozen or more flames wink to life in the darkness and flaming skulls rise from the ground in response to a misplaced step. He throws a bone, drawing them all toward the far corner of the throne room, but as he creeps back toward the entrance, three notice him and start to pursue. He runs.
Bowshots manage to miss their invisible ally and Garret destroys one. The lower-level clerics fail to turn any of them, but Mel holds forth his holy symbol and invoking the name of Sky Light blows the remaining skulls to dust.
With the hall cleared of any apparent threat, the whole party enters and searches the alcoves for secrets beyond the two known doors while Pathos examines the wide throne and Altlan scans the hall for magic. Blake, searching alone in the back right alcove, does turn up a secret door and the party gathers there, sending the still invisible Pathos through into the room beyond.
Inside, he sees a large man, apparently on fire, kneeling with his back to him before a large statue. The statue’s eyes glow and he hears a voice: “you dare enter here.” He withdraws as he sees the burning man stand and turn toward him. They position themselves to receive the burning man in the great hall but as they wait, flames appear in the next alcove down and those waiting to flank down there step away as the flames continue to spread.
They all rush to exit, Pathos casting affect normal fires to delay the growth of the flames long enough for them to escape the hall before the fire catches them. The flames fill the whole space, burning it floor to ceiling for a few minutes before subsiding.
They wait a little while for the chamber to cool and re-enter it. They find the secret door closed and dare not intrude on the burning man again. Instead, they take the first door on the right to a long passageway. Pep, Pathos, and Sparrow scout ahead in stealth and find a door.
The door leads them to a small room with just two pillars and on the far end an arcane rune for fire. An inscription beside the entrance reads in old Kelrian “Each pane broken but each pane only once to reach the fire’s rest.” They proceed, Pathos in front, into the room itself. Pep, coming second, is met with a curtain of flames that burns him and vanishes as he steps in with Pathos. They tell Sparrow to wait and watch the door and each proceed a different way around the sides of the room, left and right.
Having found no secrets on their way, they rejoin in the middle beyond the two pillars and Pathos leads the way toward the sigil, being met with a curtain of flames he leaps back from. They decide to withdraw and Pep, going straight back through the pillars is damaged only a little by a curtain of flame before the exit hall. Pathos exits back tracking on his own path into the room and is struck by four curtains of flame, nearly dropping him.
They return to the great hall and others where Askellion, Altlan, and Heath expend all of the healing they have available to restore him to health. Deciding they came prepared for dangers other than fire (fear in particular), they withdraw to Greenlead and thence to Dragon Hall to study and prepare, believing the statue to be of Ziff and Pathos’ translation of the archaic Kelrian an unclear interpretation.
I’m excited for this dungeon. Their introduction to it was much more dramatic than I had envisioned it, particularly due to the finding of the secret door. Gotta love player agency.
Mind Weave Role-Playing Platform 