"I don't see any magic in this place, I guess all that we found was on that exploding mirror creature," said Ciprian. "I'll go make sure it can't regenerate by destroying or picking up some of the shards that remain."
Armania identified the amulet of Natural Armor +1. When Ciprian returned he identified the two short swords as +1 each.
"Seems like we have pretty much cleared out this floor," Erevel interjected, "Of course some creatures could have gone upstairs."
"There are some areas we haven't investigated here yet," Ciprian stated.
Gathering themselves the group headed to the dining room and the one door they hadn't opened there. Erevel listened at the door and heard no sound, but the door was locked. She called Armania forward, who used one of the keys from the key ring to unlock the door.
Erevel then flung the door open revealing a hallway with door other doors, north and south, an arrow loop and stairs going down. Two crates sat in separate corners. Paullus noted that there were dirty webbed footprints leading to and from the stairs to the door the party entered through. Armania suggested that the door to the south opened into the courtyard and the hounds. Erevel immediately moved to the north door, again listening. Hearing no sounds she again called Armania over. She again found a key that opened this lock. Paullus was standing watch at the top of the stairs.
Erevel flung the door open to reveal another barracks room. A door led most likely to the courtyard and an arrow loop faced outward. At the far north of the room was a spiral stair heading up to the last tower and a door to the west. There were bunk beds and chests in the room. Erevel entered and felt that the north door connected to a previously explored area. Ciprian flung open chests which were empty.
Meanwhile, Armania was looking down into the dark of the staircase in the hallway. Using a light rock she found that the stairs went down for 10-15 feet to a landing, maybe there were more steps going down from there.
The party decided the next best action was to go to the basement. Erevel led the party with Paullus watching from the rear. The stairs turned at the landing and headed back down to a door. Hearing no noises beyond the door Erevel opened it revealing a cool and surprisingly dry subterranean room lined with sturdy shelves laden with chopped wood. A couple of axes sat propped in the corner, and a small hatchet was driven into a stump. Doors led to the east and south and the webbed footprints were all over the chamber.
Erevel headed to the door to the east as the rest of the party filed into the room. Again the door was locked and Armania again found a key to unlock it. Erevel flung the door open to reveal three skum in a room with four other doors. Three on the north had closed grates on the outside, while the fourth door led to the south.
Armania cast fireball into the room engulfing the skum. Emerging singed two skum threw their tridents at Erevel in the doorway while the other moved up to attack. Ursina blessed the party and Ciprian began a Bardic Performance against skum. Paullus fired arrows beyond Erevel to a skum in the rear. Gavril then rushed in taking damage as he passed the creature at the door. The skum attacked with full force on Erevel and Gavril as they were the only enemies with in reach. Arrows still flew from Paullus while Ciprian cast Contagious Zeal.
Suddenly the southern door opened directly on Paullus, and three more skum began to attack him. Beset on two fronts the party began to whittle away at the skum. Paullus moved back to fire arrows at the new enemies, Ciprian moved up to block the door, but took the brunt of the attacks from the skum. Erevel and Gavril were busy with the other three skum. Ursina used her mace to attack and Armania was firing magic missiles into the fray. The skum began to fall, first the skum that had taken fire damage. The heroes continued to rearrange themselves to attack the remaining enemies. Erevel could finally enter the new room and at last all the skum were dead.
Catching their breath and applying healing the group looked around. The newly opened room had many wooden shelves stacked with wooden crates, paper-wrapped packets, and small clay jars sealed with wax. Smoked trout and other dried fish hung from metal hooks fixed to the ceiling. A number of boxes and containers had been emptied and smashed, and now lay in pieces on the floor, along with discarded fish bones and other refuse. A hallway into the dark headed west from the pantry. Again nothing showed up as magic.
Ciprian headed back to the possible jail cells and moved to the first door on the north which was slightly ajar. Hearing no noise he opened the grate and saw a filthy cell with a cot and water bucket. The smell of waste and rotting flesh filled the air. Opening the door merely let out the fetid smell.
Erevel moved down the hallway and saw a musty cellar containing a dozen wooden kegs, several
demijohns, and dozens of empty bottles standing on shelves along the wall. To the north was a door and the floor had some puddles of standing water. Erevel and Ursina moved further into the chamber noting that the kegs probably held water at one time or another.
Ciprian moved to the next door and just as he was about the open the grate, he heard Erevel exclaim loudly that she was about to go down.
Erevel had moved to the door in the water room and just as she reached it a puddle of water attacked with a terrible pseudopod inflicting major damage. As the party was spread out it took time for the rest of the group to make it near to the room. Ursina felt her mind fail to comprehend the grayish water puddle transforming and attacking with a slam. Nevertheless she moved up to attack the creature, which responded in kind. Erevel retreated swiftly out to the pantry as Gavril moved in to attack. Paullus moved up to fire arrows at the ooze, and Armania helped Erevel recover some vigor. Ciprian in the meanwhile finally made it into the room to attack. The ooze continued to attack but was taking damage from multiple party members. The party missed Erevel's contribution but eventually they wore the creature down and destroyed it. Armania even managed to overcome the attack to her sanity as she saw the monstrosity.
Again the party set out to start healing the damage taken. Armania was getting low on spells and Ursina was concerned about all the uses of the wand of healing but Ciprian still pressed on. In the middle cell of the jail he looked in the grate and saw two bodies lying on the cot. There was a stain of blood all over the walls, floor and cot as it appeared that the two had been butchered. Moving on the the last cell, which was locked, Ciprian saw a young person sitting curled up in the corner of the room. Armania came over with the keys and opened the door.
"Are you Sholn?" she asked.
"Don't hurt me. Are you going to hurt me? The screams, the screams. They were terrible. Are those people dead?" the young man asked in a quivering voice.
"We are here to help you," answered Armania as she moved into the cell trying to reassure and calm the young man.
"Please get me out of here. The monsters are so terrible." he haltingly said.
"How did you get here?" asked Ciprian.
"I was walking to get some food for my family when two men stepped out of a wall mural and attacked me with something that felt like sand or stones in a sock. I woke up in this cell." he replied. "Oh the screams, what did they do to that young lady. No, no I don't want to know."
"Come on out and stay with me by the stairs up. We have some more cleaning up to do before we can leave," Armania said as she helped him leave the cell.
Ciprian moved to the south door, while Erevel and Ursina were still at the door in the water room. Ciprian called for everyone to join him in the jail most everyone came, Armania was still protecting Sholn near the stairs. Again the door was locked so frustrated, Ciprian asked for the key ring from Armania and opened the door.
Motes of dust hung heavy in this room’s stale air. Crates and barrels stood along the damp stone walls. A plastered portion of the wall in the southwest corner of the room had begun to crack. The crates and barrels were covered with a heavy layer of dust which jumped into the air as Ciprian walked by to inspect the cracked wall. Ciprian started to carefully inspect the southwestern part of the wall. He noted that this portion of the wall used to be a area that was sealed up with stone blocks and plastered over long ago. The dampness in the room and the hasty stonework had caused the plaster to crack. Ciprian chipped at the plaster revealing gaps in the stones that were put up without mortar.
looking fiercely at Ciprian and Erevel in the room. Ursina moved into the chamber readying a spell and Erevel left the chamber.
"Let it come to us out here, if it can leave the room at all." she implored.
One of the large crates lifted off the floor and flew toward Ciprian, where it hit and inflicted damage. Ciprian noted that the creature was a ghost and started Bardic Performance. Ursina cast Ghostbane Dirge on the ghost. Gavril moved into the room to attack, trying to get flanking at some point. Ciprian ran right up to the creature to attack and then regretted it as the ghost touch him doing heavy damage.
Paullus moved in using his War Razor, at least all the damage was now inflicted on the ghost. With a harrumph, Erevel rushed back into the room still swinging her non magical sword. A few more exchanges of attacks dissipated the ghost with some damage to the heroes.
No magic was detected in the room and clearly it had been undisturbed for years. A heavy coat of dust lay on sealed crates full of old clothing, out-of-fashion furniture, outdated militia uniforms, disassembled weapon racks, broken furniture that someone had planned to repair at some point, tapestries in need of patching, extra bedclothes and chamber pots, and older files that may have been moved from the archives to make room for more relevant records.
DM's Notes: The party earned 1467 XP for the night and are now 303 XP short of reaching 6th level. Maybe the Fort is cleaned out at this point, although there is one door still unopened.
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