"This wand is of Searing Light," stated Armania as she looked at the remains of one of the Denizens of Leng.
"It can really hurt the target! I felt it," added Gavril.
The party started to heal the members who took damage in the battle and Restoration was performed on Gavril and Erevel to restore Dexterity and Health.
"Should we go up to see the frog like creature or look for another way in?" queried Ciprian. "I believe that the creature could be a Moon Beast, but I am not sure."
"The wands that Gavril found are wands of Scorching Ray, but they have limited charges left," Armania related.
"I guess that had some intruders before, so they had to use the wands. Or maybe they just use them on each other!" Ursina added.
"The other two wands are also Searing Light, but I can't figure out this gem!" Armania continued.
"Here is a key-ring that one of these Denizens of Leng had," Ciprian interjected.
The group searched all of the interior walls for secrets and Armania even used her gem of True Seeing but no other doorways or openings were found. It was either go see the Moon Beast or try the other outside door. After all the healing was done the discussion of next moves continued. There was no agreement at first Erevel was itching to attack the frog creature, the others not so much.
"We should check the other door," Gavril volunteered.
Amidst a long discussion, Armania's flying spell wore off and the group was leary of teleporting or using Dimension Steps to pass the walls since they had no idea what was on the other side. Finally decided to try the outside door.
The trek was made to the smaller metal door set in an alcove of the north wall. Gavril approached and studied the door, noting a keyhole.
"How many keys are on that key-ring?" Gavril queried.
"Six or so," responded Ciprian.
Gavril got the key-ring, but before trying any keys he searched for traps but did not find anything. He found a key that opened the door and peeked slowly inside. It was dark inside and Gavril could not make out much of anything. Ciprian produced one of his random stones and asked Ursina to cast light on it. Ciprian and Gavril then entered the room with Ciprian's Mage Hand carrying the light stone. The walls of the room contained several shelves stacked with bags and barrels. The western wall featured a 4-foot-square grillwork of close-set iron bars anchored into the stone. A metal funnel was jammed into the grillwork, its wide end facing Gavril.
Ciprian moved to the grillwork to look through the grating. He send the mage hand into the room so that some light was available. The view was limited as the bars were closely set together. In the next room he saw a stone slab table with thick metal pots, and cooking tools. To the southwest he could barely make out what seemed to be the edge of a large open oven. The room was certainly larger but no more of it could be seen.
Gavril was examining the bags and barrels on the shelves. They bags contained flour and other food preparation items, while the barrels had water and beer. Ciprian noted that some residue was left in the large end of the funnel but could not make out what it might be.
The discussion turned to Armania's ability to get them into the next room but here Teleport did not allow her to take everyone. The Dimensional Steps would get them into the room, but was there an exit out of it into the prison? Eventually Gavril volunteered to invisibly sneak up the stairs to look at the Moon Beast.
The party moved back to the bottom of the stairs and Gavril was turned invisible and he crept up the stairs. He carried the light stone as the upper area was dark. At the top of the stairs he felt his Sanity start to drain away seeing the obtuseness of the scene.
Armania prepared to cast summon monster and just as she began everyone heard "speech" in their minds. To all but Ciprian it was incomprehensible. Ciprian heard, “Has that upstart piper above the cell blocks attacked yet?” in Aklo.
"Stop the spell!" Ciprian shouted. "I will go up to talk with this creature."
In his mind Ciprian replied "No sir, no one has attacked yet. I will come up and report."
"What purpose does this satisfy?" came the response.
Ciprian moved to the top of the stairs and felt his sanity begin to leak away just like Gavril and he heard "You are not my guards!!" He then felt a foul aura pass over him as the Moon Beast moved his clawed hands in the form of a spell.
Ciprian, undeterred, related that the group was after a man dressed in yellow robes. They needed to interview him. "Do you know of this man?" Ciprian related in Common.
The answer came back, to the whole party in Common, "Are you not Arkh-Nar's minions?"
"That is true. Who is this Arkh-Nar?" Ciprian asked.
The conversation continued in Common, with party only hearing the Moon Beast's side of the exchange. The moon beast introduced himself as Yath-Kheph, it realized now they are not agents of Ahrkh-Nar. Yath-Kheph explained that its junior warden, Ahrkh-Nar had rebelled and now controlled
the prison’s western half. He demanded that the party find a way into the other side of the prison and kill Ahrkh-Nar. If they succeed he would let the party talk with The Yellow King.
Ciprian asked about the layout of the prison as they had trouble finding a way into past the entrance hall. Yath-Kheph replied that he should go into the southern room to find more information.
Gavril joined Ciprian at the top of the stairs and Armania came up after some time, she also felt her sanity draining away. Inside the small room the group found rows of stone lockers of various sizes—hundreds in all—lined the walls of the room from floor to ceiling, each with a small
metal door covered with script. In the center of the room was a low table with a model of a building on it. Ciprian moved to the building model and found a replica of the prison, including tiny cranks to raise the replica’s portcullis. Additionally a lever slid a shifting hall in the replica. This hall opened up the main hallway in the lower level when slid south. The mechanism was in the western half the prison on the second floor.
Ciprian then looked for magic and two of the stone lockers showed up with magical items in them. he first had the label Kelvetta Brix on it. Gavril recalled that this was the Big-Game hunter that Nestor Bindlay was searching for in the Enchanted forest. Opening the cubby hole Ciprian found a magic composite longbow. Also a fine looking chain shirt and buckler. There was also a dagger with a handle wrapped in Cheetah hide and a sack. Opening the sack Ciprian found some gruesome treasures, a zoog snout, a voonith fin, and several large but unidentifiable fangs. The second locker with magic was labeled "male elvin wizard". It contained a magic quiver and 8 magic arrows whose heads look like solidified flames.
Most of the lockers were not labeled and everyone opened by Ciprian contained a jawbone, cleaned of any viscera. Only 13 lockers had names or description scripted on them. One indicated "The Yellow King" which held a yellow robe.
Ciprian, Armania and Gavril headed back out to negotiate with Yath-Kheph. They who else he knew was in the western side of the prison. The indication was there was a red headed human and the twins. No additional information was related. Armania requested that Yath-Kheph help the group fight Ahrkh-Nar after the sliding wall was open. He agreed to that request, just let him known when the way was clear.
The party then headed outside the prison, to the south wall near the edge of the second floor room that held the sliding wall mechanism. Using levitation and a rope Ciprian scaled the greasy wall to the first floor roof, followed by the rest of the party. Armania then used Dimensional Steps to move the party into the room.
The room contained an enormous mechanism of gears and pulleys descending into the floor. A large metal lever protruded from the device. Double doors stood in an alcove to the north. The lever was in the north position as they knew from the model. Ciprian moved the lever to the south. The lever moved easily, but was accompanied by a cacophony of grinding stone and metal as the hall beneath the room shifted position.
No immediate alarm was heard and Erevel opened the double doors leaving the room. Torture devices filled the large chamber, from racks and iron maidens to spiked chairs and vises. Most of the implements were stained with fresh blood, and a coppery tang filled the air. A wide staircase in the northeast corner led down. Double doors stood in the south and west walls. The western wall of the room was dominated by a large apparatus with conical brass horns, fluted pipes pierced the ceiling, and oily tubes snaked from the apparatus to each of the torture devices. An odd, low wailing emanated from the machine like a faraway scream.
In front of the apparatus stood a dark skinned human woman with short reddish hair and dark eyes holding some sort of tool. She was looking toward the stairs and the double doors. When she spied the party entering the chamber she called out, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Gavril and Erevel were advancing, while Ciprian was the only party member to stay in the mechanical room. He caste haste and Ursina cast Bless on the party. The woman was becoming annoyed that no answer coming back and she suddenly polymorphed into a large ebony dragon with red frills. The figure appeared terribly contorted.
DM's Notes: No XP were awarded for the evening. Of course the dragon is a major obstacle.
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