Session 34: Giant Wasps, an Intellect Devourer and a New Friend

The party continues to explore the manor, fighting giant wasps in a greenhouse and rescuing an enchanted crocodile from a tub and a Ki-rin from an intellect devourer.

This write up is based on our Sunday, October 1, 2023 session and was written by our scribe Carl with a few additions from myself. Thanks to Jimmy for the screen shots.  Since we are scattered around the country, we use Discord for voice communications and the Roll20 online virtual tabletop to connect with each other.

Continued from: Plant Goblins, a Hearse, and a Temple Full of Ghouls.

Location: Inside Tegel Manor

Late afternoon
The cat that had been following us since the garden grotto suddenly turned and backed away, hissing at something around the corner.

Natalie went into the room to see what the problem was. The cat had backed away from a Shadow, and Natalie walked right in on it. She did a quick disengage, and the fight was on.

Half the party either destroyed or drove off the shadow before the others in the Temple of Odin had time to respond.

While we were fighting, Reebo opened the one remaining door in the temple, but it only led to an empty closet.

Aefir pushed the next door in the hallway inward, and saw gaps in the ceiling. Plenty of light there, no Shadows allowed. The room contained gardening supplies, sacks, and a bed that had been turned into a work area. A coil of rope hung over the bed, the room was disheveled, burlap sacks, pots, and plants both dead and alive.

One of the sacks had a powder that, when an item was put into the powder, turned the item green. Arkelm checked that out and thought it was some kind of dye rather than a gardening item (unless you wanted fake grass).

Some boxes under the bed had dirt, but one had some petrified seeds and a piece of paper. The paper was a note saying the seeds were magical, and would grow trees that had gems instead of fruit. Shadow put the box in the bag of holding and Arkelm took some of the green dust and stored it in a tube sealed with wax.

Nattie replaced her worn, cut and knotted hemp rope with the one from the wall, since it looked to be in good condition.

Reebo opened a door to the north from the garden area, and we found a wooden table that could have been made from a Hill Giant shield. Runes were etched on it. Chairs were normal sized, and several mugs were on the table. A holy symbol to Odin hung over the bed, and a huge helmet that could be used as a cauldron was there as well.

We resolved to remember this room for that table in case if we ever get a place of our own.

There was a barrel of what smelled like ale and it was pretty full, and too heavy to take with us.

A chest in the room had man's clothing, in surprisingly good condition, but nothing to write home about.

A door to the west was locked from this side. Nice change for the rogue.  Late afternoon sunlight poured in from a greenhouse.  All the glass was gone, and everything was open to the sky.  Several wasps were in the greenhouse, and once again we were in combat.

Aefir moved to intercept the wasps as they came at other party members, and took one down quickly.  One wasp stung Reebo, and he replied with a Sleep spell. Mighty useful thing when you meet a group of low level stuff.

This was a ground wasp NEST, not just a couple of wanderers, and they came out in force.

Bennedar cast a blasting spell - SHATTER - WHAM to a bunch of stuff within 10'  He placed it very well, catching the wasps and none of us.  AOE's are awesome...

There were lots of smells, some good and some bad, in this room.  Searching found a door to the south, and one to the north, but no trap or hidden doors.

We eventually opened the door on the southern wall opened. It led to a smallish bedroom. A yellowish flying skull in a long flowing robe was there. Aefir attacked it, unnatural creature that it was. The skull said "No need for me, then" and vanished. It left no trace.

The room held a chest, a bed, a table with a book on it, and a door to the south. Nothing of note in this room.  The book was in good shape, very regular writing and neat. The text looked like poetry, but no one could read it, it was in an unknown language. The chest was empty.

Another south wall door, will this madness never end? We found another room. As we walked in, a feeling of dizziness came over us. Aefir and Bennedar both fell down. A tankard of liquid on the table, with a cane lying next to it.

Reebo was coordinated enough to walk in and check the room out. The cane was wooden, with a brass head. In the armoire were women's clothes, in fair condition. Shadow went in and fell down too. Tough room, so he crawled to the table with the open container. He estimated there was enough to fill two flasks of oil. Dumping out two flasks, he tried to pour the liquid and realized it was acid. The tankard felt to him like it was attracted to the cane. He left the acid flasks on the table.

Searching the rest of the room did not show anything more. Reebo took the cane and the tankard, keeping them apart and wrapped up. The cane felt like it was attracted to the tankard also.

Arkelm held his breath and walked across the room successfully. Smart mage.

The south part of the dizzy room dumped onto a hallway west to east. The first door showed another empty hall. Reebo went to check them out, and he could hear the sound of someone/thing hammering metal.  Perhaps a smith at work.

Regrouping, we continued eastward from the stinky dizzy room.

Reebo tried to unlock the next door and found that he could not open it. He heard a splash from the other side of the door.

Faced with the unpickable lock, Arkelm cast Knock and opened it.

Aefir went in and found a small, malformed crocodile in a tub of water. It was trying to get out of the water. We pretty much left it alone as we searched the room.

Aefir could detect GOOD on the crocodile, an oddity since most animals are NEUTRAL. 

South of the croc, we found a forge.  An automatic hammer was working away, and it attacked Aefir as he went in. The bellows were talking smack at us as the hammer attacked.  Surprising us all, it actually hit Aefir, and then fell to the floor.

Reebo took the hammer and stuffed it into his pack.

We found a storeroom, with animal skins all around.  Many kinds, all decayed and full of ticks. One was really really big... giant tick. and lots of little ones. OUTA THERE.

Beneddar got the croc out of the basin and led/pushed/teased it to a window and got it out. Whatever it was, now at least it will not starve to death.  It headed off to who knows where, but free at last.

He could see that the sun was going down through the window.

The room with the windows was a rumpus room of some kind, with animal heads and hangings on the walls. History books along a wall, plenty of windows. Trophies, suits of armor, paintings, and a HUGE tapestry. A box with wooden toys and stuff was under a table. The armor looked more decorative than useful, but were actual armor.  Benedar said one of the suits had thrown a gauntlet at him earlier when he was returning from letting the crocodile out.

In one of the books was a letter that read: “I have spent some time now thinking back to my time as a foolish little maid dancing in the taverns of Tegel Village. All of those nights blend together, but what I do remember is making for delightful writing. I am certain that Rodip would be scandalized if he were ever to read this. Lucky for me, my nephew is not much for reading.”

We heard a chime in the distance, up to the northwest of the manor.

The northward hallway, was in kinda bad shape. Some leakage from ceiling and moss and weeds growing on the floor. It held a door with what sounded like a horse behind it, but maybe not. Looking in, we saw a brain with teeth fighting a horse-like creature. Pretty easy to pick sides here.

After a short fight, Intellect Devourer DOWN, Ki-Rin ALIVE. It asked for an escort out of the manor, and we sure wanted to help it. It was creature rescue day for sure.



In the hallway, Para could see a shadow approaching from the south.  He came in where the battle with the Intellect Devourer had happened, closed the door and told us what was coming.

Continued in The Dearth Monster of Derfingel Marsh.