Chapter 2 - Into the Darkness

Wednesday 10th September

After the encounter with the Skulks and the trapped door we decided to move out from the entrance hall, into the dark corridor. Jzadirune is already a very fore boarding place and I feel we will suffer more than the scrapes Owyn gained in just the first two rooms we tried.

The corridor ends in a t-junction with a corridor running South and North, Anari and I glance round the corners using the sight gained from our heritage to good effect trying to ensure that nothing would leap out at us the moment we stepped around the corner.

In front of us was a door and further North we could make out more doors’; the group edge up the corridor the torches providing the only light we had and the movement of the flames made our shadows dance ominously on the walls. In all there were five doors in the Northern section of the corridor that ended in a blank wall made out of the same rough hewn as the rest of Jzadirune we had so far encountered.

Each of the doors was marked with a different Gnomish rune, in turn they were:

N, D, E, I, Z

After already encountering doors marked with a “J” and an “A” it was fairly obvious to me that all the runs were likely to meet in this place would also spell its name, Jzadirune.

Owyn started working on the first door we came across, with the mark of a “Z” rune, he felt it was trapped but was unable to work out how to disable it. Eventually Khandalar let out an exasperated sigh and informed us all that the door wasn’t really trapped, it was a magical illusion to make you think the door was trapped. With that knowledge Owyn still looked slightly concerned as we attempted to pick the lock of the door.

I hadn’t realised we were all holding our breath until when the door gave a click and Owyn stood up smiling we all breathed out. The door rolled out of the way to all us access to the room. Inside we found a room full of smashed furniture and chain hanging from the ceiling, a lantern with a short section of the chain was in the corner; also smashed.

Owyn moved onto the next door marked with the “N” rune and again detected and this time disabled the trap, it appeared to him that the trap would have released a gas into the face of the person breaking in. Once the trap was dealt with Owyn spent little time unlocking the door. When the door was rolled open the room held nothing but wreckage. Searching it proved fruitless, anything of value had obviously been spirited away long ago.

The next door to get Owyn’s attention was marked with an “I”, again he checked for traps and again he detected one. After had disabled it he announced that it felt physical but with a different edge to it, conferring with Khandalar they came to the conclusion that this trap would have fired a ray of frost. With the trap no longer an issue Owyn opened the door to reveal what appeared to be a nursery.

There were pictures of little Gnomes on the wall, carrying cogs and playing in the sun. There little storage areas and cots for the infant Gnomes. This room silenced us all, it showed people had lived, worked and had families here. In the torch light the room felt sinister with the cots covered in webs and dust. This was no longer the happy room it should have been and I was glad to leave it.

Upon leaving the room Anari said she was bored of this and started walking down the corridor on her own, I went after her to bring her back to the rest of the group as splitting up here would not be a good idea. As we passed a door in the western wall of the corridor with a “J” rune marked on it, I was about to grab hold of her when the floor gave way.

I managed to jump back onto a solid section but Anari went down, her hair flying up like streamers as she plummeted. The floor then started to close up but I tried to keep it open with my torch but the doors closed smashing the torch to tinder, I could her Anari’s cry as she hit the floor of the pit below.

I shouted to the others for help as I started to pull the silk rope from my pack, glad that I had thought to bring it this morning. I hurriedly tied the rope around myself and tried to push the panic from my mind. My sister had vanished into the floor and was hurt, I had to help and I had to think clearly.

As the others ran down the corridor, I was shouting to them what had happened. As the approached a noise started from below my feet, the slow grinding of gears.

Khandalar arrived first; he and I managed to prise open the trap door. He then used himself as a brace to keep them open. Looking down we saw the edge of a wooden box moving away from us, as it leaned further over we heard Anari cry out in pain. The gears of the machine could be seen and there was enough room for me to get down there.

As the other arrived I told them to hold onto the rope and lower me down, I would attack the gears and they could pull the rope up after me. I would try to smash the machinery and then they could use the rope to get both of us out of the pit.

I dropped down in to the workings as the box started to right itself, I saw the rope escape just in time. The others were calling to Anari and she responded, she was still alive but the edges of the box were lined with spikes. Each time it went over she was going to be thrown against them, they tried to get her to climb out but there was not enough time for her to recover her wits, the rope lowered and pull he back out.

I started hacking at the gears with my rapier but I made very little impact on them before the box started moving again. Everyone in the corridor shouted to Anari to climb the spikes and brace herself between them to avoid being injured further.

Again I swung at the gears and a small piece of wood broke off, the infernal machine kept working. The box slammed over again, I heard Anari dry out and curse again; I am not sure our Mum realises that Anari knows words like that.

As the box lifted up I heard Kellen shouting to Anari to grab the rope and hold on, they were trying to pull her out, the machine made a clicking noise and stopped. I looked at it puzzled and prodded it with my rapier apart from the sliver of wood and slight gouge in a gear it appeared to be intact.

I heard the noise of stone being pulled apart and Owyn shouted down to me that they had got Anari out and she was alive. He believed that the trap reset itself after on full cycle; they had triggered it again to get me out, sure enough the machine clicked back into life. As the box started moving once more the rope dropped next to me. I grabbed it and started climbing as the others pulled me out.

Once clear of the pit doors Khandalar released them and the swung shut. I looked around there were smiles on everyone’s face. Anari was bleeding from several wounds but Cass was tending to her and making Anari drink on of the precious potions of healing.

Owyn was examining the trap working out how to disable it to make this corridor safe for us to travel along it. There were two more doors on either side of the corridor just beyond the Tilt A Pit Trap as Owyn had dubbed it.

As he worked, I moved over to Anari the tension pouring out of me as I saw her wounds closing up as a result of the potion. She smiled wanly and laughed that the potion tasted of mint, not at all like a normal medicine. Staring at her blankly for a moment a sudden deep laugh erupted from me, it proved to be infectious as everyone started laughing, even Khandalar’s guard slipped for that moment.

Owyn announced that the trap was now safe and we all agreed that we should stick together, with Owyn leading the way down the corridors to ensure that there were no more nasty surprises.

The two doors at the southern end of the corridor were found to have the rune “A” and “R” carved on them. As Owyn was checking the doors for traps, I leaned against the southern wall. My hand passed into the brick work. Pulling it back sharply I looked at it, it appeared undamaged and I had felt no pain. Walking up to the bricks, my eyes closed as I passed through them, the wall was actually an illusion; Jzadirune is certainly a dark and tricky place.

The room beyond the illusion is dark and square; there are is door in the east and west walls, one is marked with an “E” rune and the other has a “Z” written on it. On the south wall there is a glowing map of Jzadirune. It is of little importance to use as we have the leather map from Ghelve and they show the same level of detail.

Owyn insists on opening the two remaining doors at the North end of the corridor; he had already determined the nature of the traps and disabled them before Anari triggered the trap. The door marked with the “E” rune would produce jet of flame if triggered. The door with the “D” would trigger a bust of electrical energy, enough to kill the unwary.

None of were surprised when the doors rolled back to reveal more smashed furniture, the disappointment of not finding anything in this dank place was starting to wear everyone down.

Moving back down to the southern end of the corridor Owyn worked on the doors marked with the runes “A” and “R”. Again both were trapped, the door marked “A” would produce a cone of fire into the corridor that would hit not only the person trying to open the door but also stood near them. To my shame I did find myself moving back a little while Owyn was excitedly explaining all of this to use. The “R” door would, according to the joint efforts of Owyn and Khandalar, summon rats to attack us even possibly dire rats.

We sit back and look at the last three doors in the corridor; we decide to open the “J” door as we believe this is not trapped but like the other “J” door it only appears to be trapped.

The sweat beads on Owyn’s brow as he starts working o the lock, we all waited just down the corridor just in case our assumptions about the lock were incorrect. Even though it was Owyn’s suggestion that we all stepped away I could not help feel guilty for leaving him to the dangers of the door alone.

In the darkness came a click, Owyn turned his had to us all and smiled as his hand reached up and rolled the door back. His smile quickly faded as his foot hovered over the floor, just inside the door. His brows knitted together and he crouched down, finders tracing the tiles on the floor. He leaned back, rubbing his left check, grimacing he indicated the openings of another Tilt A Pit Trap. After a few minutes there were some ominous clicks and cracks from the floor and Owyn walked off down the corridor whistling a very off key but jaunty tune.

We advanced warily down the corridor into a large three tier room; in front of use there were a set of double stairs leading up to a small landing which then had stairs leading up to the main area of the room. As we climbed the stairs to the landing we noticed a small cherubic face when we advanced towards it spoke to us and said:

Note DM, could you supply the rhyme for the face.

Once the face stopped speaking, I reached into my pocket and put a Golden Pound in the mouth of face, in vanished as soon as it left my fingers and we climbed the second set of stairs.

In front of us a Gnomish King slumbered on a stone thrown, confusion played across our faces; there was a Skulk tunnel into this room so why would they have left a Gnome alive but then why when abandoning Jzadirune seventy-five years ago why would the King stay behind.

At the north and south of the room we say two more gear doors were identified with the runes “U” and “S”, still the King slumbered.

Owyn decided to approach the Kind so I moved into a position were I had clear line of sight and raised my crossbow aim directly at the King’s chest.

Owyn prodded the King with his finger; his finger passed straight through. The King was an illusion, which explained why he had slumbered for quite so long while his underground enclave was invaded by such vile creatures such as the Skulks.

Owyn then started searching the throne of the King while the illusion apparently spoke telling of the fall of Jzadirune.

Note DM, could you please put the King’s comments here

The smile on Owyn’s as there was a slight click from the throne, a panel slide to the side and a stone draw slide out, the draw contained:

A metal door rod with the rune N on it
A metal door rod with the rune E on it
76 Gold pounds

One of the pounds was returned to me as we realised this is where the tributes paid to have an audience for the King.

The group sat and looked at the doors, discussing the direction we should travel next. We decided on North so Owyn gets to work disabling and opening yet another door.

The next room we moved into was an odd shape with a mechanical structure in the middle of the room; there were also two Skulk tunnels on the eastern side of the room going north and south. There was also a door in the northern wall with a “Z” room marked on in.

The construct in the room had four legs and what appeared to have an arm which ended in a sharp point.

As we started to explore the room a Skulk attacked from under the construct; hidden in the shadows behind one of the legs. As it approached Owyn, I shouted there was something wrong with this Skulk as it was wrapped in, what appeared to be, bandages. My initial thought was that it was a mummy from stories I have heard from other bards and adventurers but under the cloth you could see the odd skin of the Skulk.

What was odd though was the Skulk wearing anything at all as the would negate their natural ability to hide, all the Skulks we had encountered thus far had been naked and able to vanish while you looked at them.

A fight ensues, with the Skulk making fairly ineffectual attacks against Owyn, we can only assume as the first person in the room he was the chosen target, Cass on the other hand proved that a sickle is a rather vicious weapon when used correctly scoring several vicious attacks against the Skulk. Kellen then ended the Skulks existence with a blow that cleaved through its body from shoulder to groin.

As the Skulk slid of Kellen’s blade onto the floor and into a rapidly increasing pool of its own blood the rags started to flutter as if caught in a strong wind; we stare at the rags for a moment as their movement starts to intensify. We all start taking steps away from the rags as we sense something bag is about to happen, all but Owyn who seems fascinated beyond reason by the rags.

Suddenly they rise up, a swirling maelstrom of rags and move towards Owyn. The rags try to envelop Owyn but he fights them off getting buffeted as if he were standing in a storm. The rest of the group do their best to fight the rags and get Owyn away from them but it is hard to combat lots of rapidly flying strips of cloth.

Again the rags attacked Owyn, cuts and scrapes were showing on his exposed flesh as the rags tore against his skin. Cass lowered her eyes and for a moment their appeared to be serenity as the rags looked more poetic and the noise and clamour of the struggle died away. When Cass looked up again her normally green eyes were scarlet, she raised her hands a fountain of flame poured out on to the rags.

They burned, smoked and fell. Ashes and glowing embers were caught up in the whirling mass around Owyn. Owyn himself had been slightly singed in Cass’ attack but the speed and proximity of the rags. The rags were now greatly reduced in number and a flurry of attacks from Kellen brought the remaining few to the ground torn a sunder.

Owyn collapses to the floor, freely bleeding from several wounds. He has to drink two healing potions before he feels his full strength and vitality return to him.

After this encounter we are quite shaken and realise that one more such attack would most likely exhaust our healing potions; as a result we decide to leave Jzadirune and try to procure more healing potions so that we may continue our quest to rescue the missing Missing Children of Lantern Street Orphanage.

As we enter the corridor heading north and south Owyn persuades the group that e should open the two doors at the southern end of the corridor. Without much apparently difficulty Owyn disables the traps on each door and opens them, a confident smile playing on his lips while he tackled the tasks.

The first room he opened was on the western wall of the corridor, entering cautiously we discovered the room itself was empty apart from the rubble generated from two Skulk tunnels in the west and north walls. There was also lever in the east wall, close to the door, after examining the lever Owyn determined that it was to activate or disable the tilting pit trap that had nearly claimed Anari earlier. If the lever was in the down position then the trap was active, it was in the up position then it was disabled. While this information might prove useful in the future; for this trap it was not a concern as Owyn had already disabled it.

Looking up the northern skulk tunnel Kellen pointed out that it connected to the tunnel we travelled through before having an audience with the illusionary monarch; again the Skulks were digging around the gear doors rather than attempting to open them.

In the room opposite we find yet more rubble from another skulk tunnel that is in the eastern wall of the room. Searching the room we discovered a chest that contained:

2 tattered dark robes
3 sun rods
1 thunderstone
2 flasks of oil
2 tinder twigs
ceramic mask; sad gnome with rabbit ears
silver ring; shaped like a serpent with gems for eyes
silver pitcher with moss agates

Finding some bounty within Jzadirune lifted everyone’s spirits, especially Owyn’s.

As we entered the entrance hall with the giggling masks and bird song, Owyn stopped and looked at the unlocked “J” door. He walked forward with grim determination and set about disabling the trap and unlocking the door; with the door that had caused him pain before now open and impotent Owyn strode in purposefully.

Inside there were more cots and chests all covered in dust; some of the cots had started to decay with the fabric and leather portions showing the most advanced sign of the seventy-five years without attention. Owyn went about unlocking and opening the chests discovering nothing but Gnome sized Jzadirune guard uniforms. He threw uniforms back in the chests in disgust sending plumes of dust into the air and stormed up the stairs the Ghelve’s Locks.

As we approached the top of the stairs we were met by four towns guard all holding weapons in our direction and looking very nervous. When they realised who we were they relaxed and lowered their weapons. They then assaulted us about questions regarding Jzadirune and whether he had found the children. When we explained that exploring Jzadirune was taking longer than we expected to give up its secrets and the Missing Children still alluded us they looked disappointed.

We left them and with their sad looks weighing heavily upon us we left to regain our strength before sallying forth into the darkness.

Bran Journal Session3