The Cellars
Chamber of Undeath
After a night's rest, they decided to head on down to the lower level, almost immediately being attacked by two zombie goblins, who proved little threat. This whole area was dimly illuminated by patches of iridescent white fungus that gave everything an unearthly and unhealthy-looking cast. Several passageway branched off and they took the eastward one, Half way along a set of double doors was set in the north wall. Opening the doors, they found this room was illuminated by the strange green crystal in one corner. Across from this several mutilated corpses, one of them a giant spider's lay on a large table. Thyrus entered the room cautiously and scanned the area for threats finding none. Tamarie and Yangrit moved in to investigate the gruesome table only to immediately step on a trap's trigger plate!
Immediately rectangular steel cage plummeted from the ceiling, slamming into them and encompassing them. Bizarrely, the cage also contained a skeleton suspended in a leather harness that protected it against damage from the cage’s fall! In the enclosed space the skeleton attacked, but a single force missile from Seawyr swiftly despatched it. With some help, Thyrus was able to lift the heavy cage enough to let the two crawl out, but their troubles were not quite over yet. As they examined the contents of the table a burst of energy from the green crystal seemingly allowed the skeleton to reanimate. Fortunately it was little real threat and quickly disposed of again, Tamarie channelling positive energy. This time, hopefully, destroying it for good!
Way of Webs
The Party left the room and tuned left towards the doors at the end of the corridor. As he led the way, Thyrus suddenly stopped, feeling the flagstone beneath his foot give way slightly. Cautioning the others he began to edge his way cautiously round, only for that flagstone too to give way and he fell down into a spiked pit trap. As they others rushed forward the trap door closed above him!
As Thyrus painfully dragged himself off the spike that penetrated his thigh, a moon spider suddenly dropped down from above an
bit him. Above, Yangrit managed to open the pit trap by leaning heavily
on it with her staff. Although initially there was a flurry of confused
and contradictory actions, the others, began to get things ordered and
try to help. Tamarie, channelled healing to the fallen Thyrus while
Seawyr began casting spells, while Juntrik tossed a knife at the
spider. Eventually, Yangrit began to lower herself down into the pit,
belayed by Tamarie, but as she did the pit began to fill with mist,
into which the spider seemed to merge.Eventually, extracting Thyrus from the Pit, the Party decided to go through the other door, but as Thyrus opened it they failed to see a patch of mist on the ceiling coalesce into the spider which immediately attacked them. This time they managed to kill the creature. A doorway from the passageway beyond led them to a web-shrouded room, guarded by two more moon spiders, who were swiftly slain. Godfrey managed to burn a way through the webs to a wide hole in the centre of the floor. A heavy, welded steel ladder descended straight down from the lip of the shaft.
Two other doors led from the webbed room, one led to a long corridor blocked by heavy gate with an extremely complex , and trapped, lock system that proved beyond Thyrus's ability to pick. The second door led to another passageway where unfortunately, Juntrik tripped one of the pit traps. Knowing what to expect this time the Party were somewhat better organised and managed to slay the moon spider within and extract the dwarf relatively unscathed
The Zombie Trap
The door in the corridor led to a large chamber covered in webs
through which thousands of tiny moon spiders crawled. After peering for a
while to see whether there were any exits from the room, they suddenly
realised that the spiders had noticed them and a swarm was forming a
moving towards them. The door was slammed shut, but the spiders were
small enough to make their way under, and they found themselves swarmed,
Yangrit slammed a bunch of spiders with her hammer and they retreated
up the corridor which eventually allowed Seawyr to finally disperse the
swarm with a burning hands spell.
They decided to investigate the door on the far side of the pit-trap
Thyrus had first fallen into, which they reached by the expedient of
Thyrus disabling the trap so they could stand safely on it. The room
beyond was another mass of webs this time containing a single moon
spider, as they fought it a second attacked the Party from behind.
Thyrus was badly injured, but Tamarie and Yangrit managed to rescue him.
After the spiders were killed, Tamarie methodically burned away the
webs, from which they recovered some rusty weapons and a purse
containing some coppers. While this happened Juntrik decided the time
had come to summon Sherm.
Thyrus searched the northern exit for traps and finding none, stepped
confidently into the room - only to immediately trip another pit trap.
After the Party, with some help from Sherm, managed to retrieve him
(again). There were two exits from the room, and a pile of rubble from
which a skeletal hand emerged. Above the rubble was a shaft in the
ceiling. They cleared the rubble to find a key under the shattered
skeleton.
Gorloth's Sanctum
That night, during her watch, Yangrit's stonecunning helped her discover a secret door in the southern wall of the room they were sheltering in, and after the morning's preparations were finally completed, they decided to investigate finding a passageway that led to a large room which was single five-foot-square block of stone, about two feet high. On the pedestal sat a metal-framed wooden chest, and to the side of the pedestal was a shallow hole in the floor housing what looked like a brass door handle set into the stone. A stone tile lay loose nearby.The Party approached cautiously into what was very obviously a trap, which caution was rewarded when, as Yangrit opened the chest, the whole ceiling slammed down till it met the plinth. Most of the party managed to throw themselves out of the room avoid damage - save Yangrit who was slammed to the floor, noting as she was that the chest itself retracted into a cleverly concealed hollow inside the stone plinth. Seawyr crawled into the gap and after dragging Yangrit out crawled over to the missing tile where he found a brass handle that reset the trap. As chest rose to the reset position they hurriedly opened it to find a note within that simple said - “Curiosity Kills: another ingenious demise, courtesy of Addington’s Fine Traps and Defences.”
The single door leading from this room was locked so they made their way back north where the found a tomb with four stone caskets. Yangrit opened one of the caskets as was immediately attacked by a skeleton within. As more skeletons pushed their way out of nearby caskets, battle was joined. The skeletons proved briefly problematic, but eventually Tamarie's channelling finally destroyed them all.
They moved on through the remaining unexplored area of the cellars, eventually finding themselves at a door near the black gates . Within this room in which shabby, mould-cov
ered tapestries hung from ceiling hooks, a plain wooden chair of massive construction stands centred before the tapestries, facing into the room. A large stone table stood against the eastern wall. Weapons and other items are neatly laid out on the table, as if displayed for sale in a shop. Sitting on the chair was an armour clad skeleton with glowing eyes - a Bone Priest.
Yangrit immediately felt fear clutch at her heart and the urge to flee overtook her. Seawyr and Tamarie charged into the room, where to skeletons moved to block their approach. Juntrik began a summoning for Sherm, only to abandon it, realising it would take to long and followed into the battle. The two skeletons were quickly dispatched, but the Bone Priest proved more formidable casting spells as well as attacking with it's bastard sword. Yangrit recovered her nerve and joined the assault and their combined efforts destroyed their opponent. Gathering up the spoils they retreated to the room they had previously rested in to rest up once more before braving the ladder that they had discovered previously that presumably led to a lower level of the dungeon.