6: A King Disposed

[ragnorakk]

Verklud: "Ah! Móric! Yes - let us restore him to his tower. I will keep an eye behind us on our way back."

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

"Lets get him to his bed and see if there is some medicine in the tower we might put to use"

"A tincture of willow bark is most effective in these cases"

[Porkbelly]

"Indeed, back to the tower for rest, and more wine."

"Where shall we find willow bark at this hour of the evening?"

[burke]

You reach the tower safely and take the usual precautions. After this you place Móric in his bed and clean his wounds as best you can. It takes two days for his fever to peak and on the third day he is strong enough to invoke the Rejuvinating Touch of the Swan. A few hours later, a whole new man stands before you:

"Thank you friends! I had given up all hope of rescue."

"Of course I knew about the tunnels beneath this tower when I moved in. But after putting a lock and spell on the trapdoor, I simple forgot about it. Then a few weeks ago these gill-men stormed in here, countering my spells with that infernal sword."

"The leader, Atatruk he called itself, had plans to restore this temple to its former glory and to once again make his residence upon this land. From what I gather, these gill-men once had many temples, where they worshiped their abominal gods. But with time, the cult grew too strong and the elves made war upon them and banished the gill-men into the sea."

"I was unconscious much of the time, but I know there is a secret passage under the stairs at the bottom of the stairwell that goes to the room Atatruk occupied. To the north of that room is a room guarded by some fell magic. Atatruk hoped to lure you there."

"This is all I know. I am but a humble conjuror and my interests lie more to birds and bees, than to the foul slime that slithers in the dark seas. I would reward you in some way, but the gill-men seem to have made away with all my gold, among other things. They even slew my beloved pelgrane, which I had nurtured from the egg."

"Still, I know a spell or two that I might teach you and I invite you to stay with me for as long as you please. I will also give you free reign to that cursed temple below and anything you find there you may keep."

OOC: All your wounds are healed.

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

While aiding he weakened enchanter Drugan will ask about the room with the large statue now toppled and ask if he has any idea how to unseal the locked magically protected doors.

"Well friends we have weakened the hold of these catfish on the tunnels, but treasure and danger aplenty still await us below"

"What should our next move be?"

"The meteoric sword might be protection room the fell rooms evil enchantments, but I don't know if sending a single person in is a good idea"

OOC: While we are waiting for the wizard to recover Drugan ( with a little help hopefully ;D ) will use the tools around the tower to install a heavy double-bolt on the cavern trapdoor to insure that even if the meteoric sword falls into the enemies hands the wizard will be immune to surprise from below.

[danhem]

Charles shakes his head sadly when Moric mentions the loss of his gold. "A real shame," he says while trying to minimize the sound of jingling coins in his backpack.

"There are still other tunnels we have not investigated below," he says to his companions. "We may wish to leave a known trap for later."

"Moric, do you know how we open the secret door under the stairs? Is there a bump or notch we should be looking for?"

Charles takes some time while they are resting to examine the gilded plates he took from the evil kitchen. He tries to determine what they are made of and what they might be worth. He also helps Drugan construct the new bolt for the trapdoor.

OOC: Is it possible for us to stash loot in the tower now?

[salass00]

Melanthios: "I agree with Charles that we should begin by looking for this secret passage from the stairwell and that we should avoid the forbidden room for now, at least until we know more about it like what kind of enchantments are placed there."

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

Drugan nods his head and cricks his newly healed neck.

"Well that sounds like a good plan to me"

"I'm looking forward to desecrating the catfishes obscene little temple myself"

"Of course if they have some sacred loot laying around all the better for us!"

OOC: Is there anything else anyone wants to do before we head back town to the caverns.

[ragnorakk]

ooc - naw, I'm good to go!

[burke]

Móric: "Ah, this must be the guardian Atatruk mentioned. If it is destroyed as you say, the doors might never open. According to Atatruk, only gill-men and true servants (whatever they may be) of the temple may pass under its watchful gaze."

"I do not know how to operate the secret door, only that it is there."

"Make yourselves comfortable on the first floor of my tower, you are welcome to stay as long as you want. If you are hurt in your adventures, I will try to mend your wounds as best I can. And before you leave I will teach the more learned among you some of my arcane arts."

(OOC: I'd allow you to level up in the tower, but so far your purely monetary treasures don't amount to much. All the goblets, plates, necklaces and other stuff that you have collected need to be sold, before you can gain any EP from them.

The gilded plates are probably cast in tin and they carry some very odd and evil looking engravings, so they might not be everybody's cup of tea. They weigh 15 wu each.)

You enter the stairwell once more and descend to the bottom. Charles examines the wall under the stairs and quickly finds the contours of the door. It takes a few minutes of further prodding and deducing to find the small crack that conceals a small metal bar that is the handle for the door. Charles pulls it and the door grates open.

The door is in the middle of the east wall and opens into a cramped corridor that runs eastward as far as you can see. The air inside is dank and musky.

(OOC: Please specify your light source and who is carrying it. The marching order will be Charles, followed by whoever carries the light, if you do not object.)

[Porkbelly]

Poncho: "I've still got a free hand for the lantern, and I think there's some oil left in it. I'll volunteer to go second."

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

Drugan steps up and leans on his trident.

"I'll follow behind in case a little magic is needed and I still have a firebomb, if we run into something unexpected I can lob it and we can beat a hasty"

"Maybe one of the warriors should take the rear in case we get flanked"

[danhem]

Charles' nostrils are filled with dank air.

"Well, it smells like a gill man that's for sure."

Lifting his shield in front of him Charles cautiously enters the corridor.

"Here fishy, fishy."

[Hogscape]

Quinlan: "I need a new feather for my hat but I'll settle for a fin... Lets go get some!"

[burke]

The corridor is 100' in length and ends in a similarly disguised door. Charles doesn't hear anything suspicious and opens the door to a crack. The room beyond is spacious, dark and abandoned.

Your entry is in the south corner of the west wall. The room is 50' wide and 60' deep. The only other exit is a corridor in the north wall, 20' from the east. There are a few pieces of moldy furniture and a stinking heap of seaweed in the corner. A grimy wooden table holds three gilded plates, two gilded goblets and a large, gilded tankard, all of familiar gill-man make.

The plates still hold scraps of whatever was served on them. One piece of rotten meat is obviously a half-chewed human ear.