The Secret Lab, a Picture Gallery, and a Zombie Giant Octopus
The Adventurers continue their explorations of the southwest wing of Tegel Manor, find a secret laboratory and Reebo is nearly killed by a Giant Octopus Zombie.
This chapter was mostly written by Carl based on our 7 March 2021 session.
Continued from The Armory is Discovered.
In the armor room, or thereabouts, resting up for more glorious encounters.
When we detected magic earlier, we also detected the Goat Staff in Syndra's pack. We got that from the goblin shaman in our encounter on the way to the Manor.
Syndra checked it out - a quarterstaff with a goat skull on the top. We would have to use it, bind to it, or trip over something that tells us. It would take an effort to bind to it, so we know it is not an intelligent weapon.
Syndra bound to it when we did our long rest and discovered that it is a +1 staff.
During our sleep, the folks on watch heard some north-south movement on the floor above us. They thought it might be a giant rat pathway.
Friday, April 4th, 4433 8PM
We decided to roam around the manor for a while, and then head back into town in the morning. Travelling at night seemed unnecessary, especially since the town is buttoned up tightly at night.
Locking doors behind us, we carefully moved out.
Heading back to the frog room, and found some moss. Trying it out to see if it was useful for the Light cantrip, Natalie was disappointed.
There was a pretty opaque window to the south, and the debris of our fight yesterday. The adjacent room was as it had been. A storage type room to the north, with a holy emblem, scroll, and misc stuffs was to the north of it. Trophies, of a sort. Reebo checked out the chest in that area. An iron pot had a malachite in it. A handwritten label on a book said 'The Cursed Lexicon of Dreams'.
Syndra cast detect magic, and only the clerical symbol of Molna (god of travellers) appeared to be. Hmm, a scroll and a cursed book and no magic... There is a shrine to Molna in the town, and we would likely return it to them.
Arkelm checked out the book, and it turned out to be a spellbook. The scroll was a used one, now blank. It could be re-used if someone spent the time to make a scroll.
Looking around for secret doors, Reebo and Shadow Walker found a keyhole (eventually). Now we need to find a key, or Reebo pick the lock. Inital attempts met with no success, and the wall/door looked really solid. It almost certainly went to the courtyard. Shadow Walker put a piton in place to hold the door from opening inward.
Syndra spoke to the frog, asking about access in and out of the room. Frog said sometimes, in the corner of the room. Reebo rechecked the area, and found a secret door. Might be a one-way door, with no clear way to open it from this side. Frog said that people go both ways, but the door is always open when they leave this room.
The frog, when asked, said that none of the moss in the room actually glowed.
There was a bedpost and table in the room, and folks checked them to see if anything could be actuated to open the door. The bedpost was actually attached to the floor. Looks like a part of a bed that rotted away. Reebo messed with it some, and felt a catch of some sort. Actuating it got a door in the corner of the room to pop outward. YAHOO!!!
There was a corridor, with several frogs (many dead). A little slime on the floor, it went about 30 feet and ended in a wall. The big frog did not know about them.
Since this was the way people came and left the room, we figured there must be another door in it someplace. Those who could, searched for hidden or secret doors, but noone could find diddly squat. Knowing there must be a door just was not good enough.
Eventually Reebo found a door, and tried to open it. With some skill and some luck, Reebo opened the door slightly and Reebo peeked through. A REALLY LOUD SOUND happened, a klaxon of some sort. It came from above the doorway, and Reebo stepped through to investigate.
Well above his reach was a rune of some sort. Arkelm had no magic to stop it, and closing the door didn't work, but whacking it with Natalie's cursed sword did shut it up
A laboratory of some sort. Spell components out the ear, and Natalie got some phosphorecent moss to use for the Light cantrip. She instantly cast 4 on coins and passed them out to people. With a hole punch in the lab we made necklace things to have the light source available to us.
Dead frogs and a pile of notes made us think that someone was researching a Plague of Frogs spell.
Enough ground ruby for five continual light spells. Pearls for five identify spells. Everyone who needed components stocked up on what they could.
Reebo found a small greenish stone amulet, two serpents coiled around each other. Not glowing. Syndra cast detect magic, and it was magic for sure. Syndra took it along. He also found six gems that looked like they were worth picking up: a blue quartz, a red banded agate, a pink rhondochrosite, two moonstones and an onyx.
Backtracking some up the corridor, we looked west to see a room with some light. LOTS of spider webs, and a pile of bones in the hallway. There was a bulged out part of the wall with a door on the corner.
Reebo checked it out, and when he listened, he heard what might be a neigh of a horse and some shouts. When Aefir opened the door he noticed three arrows stuck in it. They had been there some time, but still... Arrows on the floor too, it smelled a lot like a trap.
On the far side of the room was a painting of a battle scene with a company of archers. It was moving... Hence the arrows. A rug in the middle of the floor was the only other contents of the room. Syndra though about replenishing her quiver from the room, but changed her mind when an arrow came out of the painting and stuck in the wall near her. We closed the door behind us.
Looking through the spider webs we saw a painting straight down the hallway and another painting to the right. A male figure looking formidable. We decided to clear the sider webs by hand (or by sword) as we went through. Just keeping a GOOD EYE above us. We went back to the armory and got a spear to clear the webs.
Aefir went in, clearing the webbing and BEING CAREFUL !!! The hallway was lit by chandeliers with candles.
Most of the webbing was conventional spiders, but some might be from giant ones. We found that the hallway had many paintings, with brassish nameplates on each one.
A small spider fell onto Paraselene's shoulder. As it fell it made a shrill sound. She brushed it off. There were other small spiders around too.
Aefir opened a door on one side of the hall. A mixed room of bedroom and some trophies, some mounted by a taxedermist. A dire wolf head mounted on the wall had a nose ring.
Back in the hall, a painting labeled Raw Ribby asked Reebo a riddle, “A Lord who never leaves his palace, yet always travels across the land.”
Reebo said, "a river" and got zapped. -1 CON forever.
Another painting, Racy Rawley, asked Shadow Walker if he wanted to bet on a race and offered a substantial reward. Shadow declined.
Back in the trophy room. A huge metal shield and skeleton of (maybe) a giant snake. Petrified dwarf missing his head (her head? tough to tell) A shiny metal dagger was stuck in the dwarf's head. An iron holy symbol of Thor hung on his neck. There was a giant bowl with a preserved giant octopus in it in the center of the room.
Reebo approached to get the dagger, and the giant octopus zombie reached out of the bowl. It whacked him good and soundly with a couple of tenticles. Reebo was grappled, and though Aefir tried to free Reebo it did not happen. However, Lay On Hands got Reebo back to conscious.
Aefir was not grappled, but Reebo stayed the course. It bit Reebo shortly after the attempt to free him.
Aefir tried to pull Reebo free again, and this time was successful. As he backed off the octopus whacked him with one tentacle and missed with a second. Back into the hallway looked a little bit better. The octopus looked like it was trying to get out of the bowl. Shadow Walker closed the door and spikeed it shut.
We heard a splat against the door, some splashing and then quiet from the room.
Shadow looked at the nearest painting (Radif the Reprobate). He recognized the face as the shadow thingy he and others had fought earlier.
Lots more paintings, but we left them be when we could. Just looking, moving along....
Ronahar the Repellent looked back out at Aefir. Racktor the Rash, wearing judges robes, asked Shadow for his judgement. Shadow declined to offer an opinion.
The painting Racketeer Retok demanded protection money from Aefir. Aefir moved on.
Retok said, "OK, you asked for it". Then something came around the corner from behind us. A Wight... at least it was far away.
Shadow asked about a payoff but Retok said, "Sorry, too late."
Paraselene cast protection from evil on Aefir. The wight pulled out a battle axe and approached us. Arkelm put down a grease spell, the wight fell and could not get up before enough ranged combat made it fade away.
Shadow approached the area of the grease and wight slowly, but nothing came out. It was gone.
Just one more room, please moooooom..... Oh well, we continued a little further on, with Reebo hanging by a thread.
The room appeared recently occupied, with a partial meal and the appearance of a bedroom. Potions of “healing,” “invisibility,” “control undead,” “invulnerability,” “flying,” and “extra healing. A pile of papers on a table. This was the room we looked into earlier when we were outside... Ruang the Ripper must be out.
Reebo checked out the chest. No traps, just personal items. Nothing under the bed. Reebo took the potions, but drank nothing. The papers looked like a contract between the ripper and himself, with gold piece rewards for successful assassination. One was for Shadow Walker, for only 10 gold pieces. He didn't know if he should be relieved or insulted.
The others were: Ternelmor, 200 gp; Sir Runic Rump, 100 gp; Ridwik the Relic, 500 gp; Arnthora, the priestess of Thor, 1,000 gp; Sarthoggus, 5,000 gp; and at the end of the list in large, carefully penned letters, the Invincible Overlord, 1 gp.
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