25 Eleasis 2993
Tippletoe, Nubbins, and Uffda left Gosterwick on a sunny and clear morning, on the latter two’s first foray to the plateau of Arden Vul after finding a discarded copy of the Gosterwick Gazette from the 21st of Highsun.
This party of the R3C made their way to the base of the Tears of Arden, past the Tower of Madness, and up the Long Stair. When they reached the old gates to the city at the terminus of the Long Stair, they headed west, determined to explore the destroyed city’s western precincts. Working their way through fire-scarred and demolished foundations, now overtaken with grass and brush, the party found a large foundation and, trailing into the foundations, an old doorway covered in fresh blood. Following this ominous path they came upon a patch of dirt accumulated in the center of what was a larger room in this old building and saw the marks of booted feet and, associated with them, bear prints. Had someone been attacked by a bear and was fleeing with the bear following, hoping to satiate its hunger? Searching the foundations carefully, the party came upon an old stone stairway leading down which clearly showed the direction the wounded humanoid had gone.
Heading down and with Uffda lighting a torch, the party found themselves in a long room with caved in walls at the far northern end. The trail of blood led to the only door, which had a used path leading to it and freshly oiled hinges. As they approached the door, the party heard a deep growl behind it. Then a muffled voice spoke, and the growling stopped. Ever polite, Tippletoe, Nubbins, and Uffda knocked on the door and called out, “Is anyone in there?” After a pause, a pained but laughing voice said, “No!” but then bade them enter. The party met Davor and Sasha, a ranger and black bear, respectively, wounded and dying. Davor spelled his name and party spelled theirs back before he continued after inquiry into how his and Sasha’s injuries were made. In obvious pain Davor started, “They were not of this world. Lord Burdock, he…” as two tadpole-like creatures burst from his chest, killing him instantly.
Horrified, the party attacked the tadpoles and wounded one before Sasha clawed the other to death. Sasha immediately groaned in pain as two more tadpoles burst from her chest. Uffda, in her rage, took damage sufficient to kill a lesser woman as she, Tippletoe, and Nubbins use their greataxe, sacred flame, and poison spray to great effect and overwhelm the remaining tadpoles. They notice that the wounds sustained by Davor and Sasha prior to the tadpoles bursting from their chests were made by something very large. Examining the wounds, they discovered that many of the large wounds looked like they included the embedding of an egg, likely that of the tadpole that would burst from their chests.
Searching Davor’s pockets, the party found 12 gp and a hexagonal coin featuring a head looking intensely at the holder of the coin with a cloth gag running across its mouth, the well known symbol of the Drome, the secret Archontean police formally known as the House of Sight.
Continuing their exploration, the party spotted two rotting and intact but obviously unsafe iron bridges south of the lake, where water coming out of the lake passes over a dam with a closed spillway. The closure of the spillway has clearly led to the expansion of the lake and overflow of its shores to the southwest, creating the marshland the abuts the tower that Craastonistorex uses as her lair. Discussing how to cross the river, which clearly would carry one to their death over the falls if one were to fall in south of the spillway, the party abandoned thoughts of swimming in the lake to the north of the spillway when they saw a reptilian figure in the lake breach the surface and dive back down beneath. As they walked around the eastern edge of the lake, they noticed that many of the breaches occurred in a certain area of the lake to the northeast.
Continuing along the shore to the north and east, the party found an iron bridge between docks to the north and lake to the south that appeared sound. Crossing it, the party entered a small, ruined plaza. After clearing away some rubble, the party found 15’ horizontal double doors in the plaza but no way to open them. Searching the rubble for two hours for a way to open the doors, the party found a broken stele inscribed with the following words, “The Ritual of Enhancement. Face our Lord Vul and chant the incantation.” Noting this artifact but thwarted with respect to the horizontal doors, the party continued north to a larger plaza before the ruined palace and tried to enter a large, strangely intact set of ebony doors. When touched, a magic mouth appeared and said, “Stand aside, citizen. This is not your home!” Ignoring this, Tippletoe attempted to pick the lock and broke her picks while learning that the door had been wizard locked. Uffda attempted to break down the door but could not seem to damage the doors with her greataxe. The party, lacking a grappling hook, attempted to to throw Tippletoe up over the second story wall that remained intact on the western end of the building, but she failed to grasp the wall and was caught on her way back to the ground. Vowing to purchase a grappling hook next time they are in Gosterwick, they crossed the western bridge leading from the plaza before the palace.
Across the bridge they saw a ruined colossal statue of Vul and realized the broken stele was formerly attached to the base of this statue, indicating that chanting some incantation while facing this statue might produce some result. They got the sense that the statue would need to be repaired before whatever would happen could occur.
Continuing north, the party spied a low bungalow that escaped all the damage that leveled the rest of this section of Arden Vul. Knocking on the door, it swung creakily open. They felt a cold breeze from inside and saw a small antechamber with a set of double doors set 90 degrees into the northern wall leading further into the building. Realizing that Uffda was bloodied, the party took the better part of valor and retreated back over the bridge facing the statue of Vul, across the palace plaza to the eastern bridge. As they crossed and began to head north towards the Sign of the Broken Head, they noticed a plinth with only the feet and grieved calves of a colossal statute that looked suspiciously like Arden facing the eastern bridge. They recall that another party found a leg of this statue they arrive at the Sign of the Broken Head and note that the likely head of that statue is attached to Kronos and Estelle’s establishment. The party intends to take a short rest and head back out to Arden Vul.
While Axle, Fenpenny, Fernweh, Grexes, and Huzzah! rest at the Sign of the Broken Head, they listen to Tippletoe Tarkelby, Uffda, and Nubbins tell about their morning. Grexes lends his grappling hook to save them a trip to Gosterwick, and in return our heroes take the tadpole creature’s body and the Drome identification badge.
The group returns to the Plaza of the Priests of Thoth and heads into the basement, aiming for the treasure room described by Lankios, but decides to explore several other rooms first. The first room contains trash and debris, and the next room has a zombie that imprints on Grexes and becomes his servant. They consult Lankios about the zombie but learn nothing new, and then they name the zombie Marqck.
They move to the next unexplored room, where Grexes uses Axle to force open a stuck door, revealing debris and a chest. Fenpenny notices cracks in the ceiling, indicating structural weakness. Marqck retrieves the chest but is injured by the collapsing ceiling. The party pulls him out just in time. The chest contains 10 gold pieces worth of ancient copper coins and magic chalk, which is currently in Axle’s possession.
The group decides to head to the room just off of the stirge nest room, referred to by Lankios as the Vat Room. The room contains four vats with various contents: one with salty water, one with lamp oil containing enough for 20 flasks, one empty that had contained wine, and the fourth with a viscous yellow liquid that seems to be rancid olive oil.
The group returns to the stirge nest room. As Lankios promised, the group finds a secret door. It reveals a study with plaster flaking off the walls, rotten and collapsed bookshelves, and wooden chairs on the east wall. The study also contains a skeletal figure and four skeletal baboons. Fenpenny casts Faerie Fire on the creatures, and the glow they subsequently emit proves to be advantageous for the party. Grexes grapples a baboon and blocks the doorway and subsequently does the same with the skeletal figure itself. Fernweh is nearly killed but saved by Fenpenny’s healing word. Axle’s swarm of squirrels and the party’s efforts eventually destroy the baboons and the skeletal figure, which reconstitutes itself but is ultimately defeated.
Beyond, they discover another room that contains golden altarware, including two candelabras worth a total of 200 gold pieces, three chalices worth 100 gold pieces each, two plates worth 100 gold pieces each, a censer, an ebony and ivory statuette of an ibis-headed Thoth, and 552 silver pieces in a coffer. Suitably loaded down with loot, they decide to return to the inn to rest and recuperate, where Fenpenny also warns the inn’s employees and merchants about the tadpole creatures, but none have seen them before.
The party decides to head to Gosterwick to seek an audience with the Green Lady, to inform her of her half-brother’s activities. On their way across Arden Vul, they encounter Roger the Rapier and the Five Fingers of Destiny atop the Pyramid of Thoth. The groups introduce themselves, and Fenpenny warns Roger about the tadpole creatures. Roger asks for advice on entering the halls, not realizing that the party knows he is being deceitful. Huzzah! suggests a dangerous method involving the statue of Thoth, and Fenpenny nearly bursts out laughing. Roger’s group feigns thankfulness but refuses to enter via this method when pressed. Eventually Fenpenny reveals that they are aware of Roger’s deception, though the knave seems to think his dishonesty justified, but Huzzah!’s and Fenpenny’s prank in response somehow indicative of moral shortcomings. Roger tells the party that the Five Fingers of Destiny are going to seek out the Temple of Set, which he says is due west of the debouchment room on level three.
The parties part ways, and our heroes descend the Long Stair and travel back to Gosterwick.
In the afternoon, after a short rest and equipped with a grappling hook, Uffda, Tippletoe, and Nubbins leave the Sign of the Broken Head, heading south to the bridge that starts at the shortened statue of Arden the Defender across the Plaza Mayor to the bridge before the statue of Vul the Sorcerer and northwest to the low bungalow. On the way the party runs into Wooshhh, air genasi member of R3C on his first trip up to the plateau of Arden Vul after receiving Fenpenny’s letter and finding that other members were already in the ruined city.
Arriving at the low bungalow, the party notices that the door is still slightly ajar after they knocked politely on it earlier in the day. They also notice the cool breeze coming out of the building from the antechamber. They, so polite as they are, call out, “Is anyone there?” Hearing no response, the party enters the antechamber and approaches the door and for the first time detects a fetid stench of rotting flesh and death on the cold breeze coming from under the ornate double doors heading into the building. Undaunted through an ignorance of all the things out there in the wide world that could kill them, they grasp the freezing cold metal handles of the door and throw them open. Uffda’s torch, lit upon entering the dark antechamber, illuminates only the first 40 feet of a very long room, but they are able to just make out the hints of a stone throne with a pair of lower legs. Then they notice the reflection of all the eyes. Like cats in the night facing a fire in the distance, the party counts at least fifteen pairs of eyes illuminated by Uffda’s torch. Tippletoe grasps her holy symbol of Nicetorean and focuses her Eyes of the Grave on the room and counts eighteen undead creatures behind the figure on the throne, who is also undead. The figure on throne whispers in a voice soft as silk and cold as death, “Welcome to my home. Enter, and come closer.” The party parleys and learns that the figure on the throne is named Galeth Ironhands and that the eighteen pairs of eyes belong to his children. The party notices that these children are slowly creeping up both sides of the room on either side of the throne and realizes with horror that all eighteen are ghouls as they come into Uffda’s torchlight. Now realizing the extreme danger, the party closes the doors to the throne room and flees the bungalow for the high sun of the plateau of Arden Vul. The party does not stop running until reaching the Plaza Mayor in front of the Palace of the Archon. Whether due to the time of day, previous satiety on other adventurers, or for another reason, Galeth’s children do not pursue.
After catching their breath, the party affixes the grappling hook to a length of hempen rope, and Uffda throws it over a section of extant wall on the facade of the Palace of the Archon. Once set, she climbs over. She notices an opening in the rubble that would allow a small creature to access the room behind the ebony doors that they found earlier in the day. The party clears away more rubble, crawls through the opening, and encounters a bizarrely domestic scene within: a carpeted antechamber with two wooden settees and three doors leading to the separate wings of the palace. On one of the settees and seated propped against the same settee, they see two desiccated bodies of servants who look to have starved to death here. Nubbins notices that the two bodies are wearing livery with patches denoting that they served House Basileon, further confirming that this building is the Palace of the Archon since the last Archon of Arden Vul was Uriel Basileon. Nubbin cuts off one of the patches and pockets it.
The doors on the northern and western walls lead to areas of the palace that have collapsed, and their frames are filled with rubble. A passageway to the east is undamaged, and the party proceeds thereto, finding a sitting room with crumbling silk and linen finery and a Thothian Teleportation Ring but, alas, with no glass activation squares present. To the north of the sitting room, the party finds a cleaning supplies storage closet. To the west of the room, a door leads to an old study, bereft of all books, showing that the destruction of Arden Vul must have been long enough in coming to allow for the removal of precious tomes. The party searches the room anyway and finds in a small table with a hidden drawer containing two scrolls, one of identify and one of Frigg’s Flatulence. Searching the bookshelves, they find a codex bound in black dragon leather entitled, “The Book of Night Maneuvers.” Perusing it quickly, they notice that one of the eight famously described heists in the back of the book refers to the final resting place of something of value now thought to reside in Arden Vul. Further investigation is warranted.
Continuing eastward from the sitting room, the party finds an ornate set of bronze double doors with a detailed engraving of what looks like a solarium with a central fountain and three levels of balconies above. A throne is depicted in a balcony on the second level. Intrigued, the party uses a piece of charcoal to make a rubbing of the main detail on the back of the scroll of Frigg’s Flatulence. Opening the door, the party sees the room in the rubbing but overgrown with plant life. Vines and creepers cover the openings of the balconies, and the central fountain, misting water high into the air of solarium, creates a film of water on the floor. Open to the possibility of danger, the party takes time to perceive the solarium but sees nothing dangerous. Uffda, excited by the vines and creepers falling from the balconies to the floor, tests their strength, climbs up to the first floor of balconies, and searches some planters there by throwing them off the balcony and onto the floor below. She notices a door leading away from the balcony, but–remembering the throne on the second floor of balconies opposite the door in the rubbing–she climbs up to the second floor, uses a creeper vine to swing over the fountain, tumbles through a screen of vines, and comes face to face with Uriel Basileon.
The corpse of the last Archon of Arden Vul is seated in her throne, signet ring of House Basileon upon her finger and clutching a bare short sword, and in the other hand is an ornate rod covered in symbols of imperial power and Mithric writing. On her head rests a platinum coronet worth 1,500 gp, and in her lap is a 2-pound chunk of a bright orange ore. Before Uffda can do anything, vines on a large plant in the balcony start to move, and one renders her bloodied with a single hit. At the same time, a section of the dense plant life on the ground level reveals itself to be a shambling mound, moving in to crush Tippletoe.
Whooshhh relegates the vine that slammed Uffda to uncontrollable laughter, allowing her to take the short sword, signet ring, coronet, chunk of orange rock, and scepter but not perform a thorough search of the corpse and to beat a hasty retreat to the floor. The shambling mound reaches Tippletoe and with one slam renders her unconscious, nearly killing her, while Nubbins disengages from the mound and drags Tippletoe to safety past the double doors through which they entered. Nubbins casts healing word and revives Tippletoe. Whooshhh and Uffda retreat out of a northern door and find themselves in a walled courtyard that contains a 10-foot section of obelisk with motifs of moons starting just under the broken top. The plant creatures do not pursue the party, and the two groups work their way back to the Plaza Mayor.
The party uses the scroll of identify on the short sword and learns that its name is Jellicose. The sword then speaks inside Wooshhh’s head and reveals itself to be an intelligent but unempathetic entity. Bored from 1,200 years of quiescence, the sword babbles on about Uriel Basileon killing herself as the city of Arden Vul fell to Sortian forces on dragons at the end of the civil war, how the orange chunk is Arcanum and what that does, and how the scepter was a Rod of the Imperium and all the powers it contained. The party, briefly frightened by the power they hold in their hands, debates returning the Rod to the solarium but instead disguises it as a baby in swaddling with Wooshhh’s disguise kit.
They decide to return to Gosterwick and arrive as twilight is falling, first stopping to speak with Astableon about his bookstore, about stories regarding Uriel Basileon and any powerful items she used, and about the location of any books that used to be hers prior to the fall of Arden Vul. Astableon kochi-kooed the rod-baby but did not seem to notice that it was not a baby but in fact an incredibly powerful ancient artifact. The party will sleep in Gosterwick and begin training and downtime for 2nd level.