Session 0024: Into the Well

Cathlynn, Lilly, Dorian and Lev stayed in Lankhmar at Cathlynn's apartment in the Garden District. Cathlynn shared this apartment with her sister Cuuthalion. When they arrived, Cathlynn was hoping to run into her sister, but found the apartment devoid of life. The plants that normally flourished throughout the flat had all withered and died. This struck Cathlynn as extremely odd. She and her sister were druids, keepers of life and all that is nature. For Cuuthalion to have left the city without arranging for the care of her home was completely out of character for her.   The quartet decided to stay in Lankhmar to rest and recuperate, and to also allow for some time for the rest of the Heretic to arrive. After a month, none of the other members had arrived, save Benneth, who was wholeheartedly dedicated to the grand opening of his studio in the Market District. Throughout the month, Benneth stayed in touch with the rest of the gang, but assured them that at least for now, he was not interested in going on any further expeditions. He let Cathlynn know that should he change his mind, he would assuredly reach out.   The remaining Heretic, after recharging thoroughly and pursuing their individual endeavors (see Session 0023), decided that they must once again delve into the dungeons of the Temple, as there was sure to be more children left behind. Also, they were curious about the baby dragons... how far along were the hatchlings in their growth? Was it just a rumor or was it true that there were 4 dragons, or any dragons at all for that matter? These questions picked at their minds, driving their will to return. However, they knew that the deeper they delved into those dungeons underneath the Temple, and the closer they got to the dragons' lair, the more dangerous it would be.   Dorian suggested that everyone obtain better weapons and equipment for starters -- magical items if possible. Dorian spent the greater part of these last 4 weeks in search of such items, but found nothing. Magical items were a scarcity in Nehwon, and it seemed the city of Lankhmar was experiencing an especially dry period of such magics. That said, Dorian did run into the rumor of a place right there in the city that held potential, a tavern called "The Portal" in the Plaza District. It was said that this tavern was built around the ruins of an ancient wizard's tower, and that the subterranean levels of that tower still existed underneath the city, its only entrance being a deep well located within The Portal. The Heretic decided to explore this prospect since at the very worst outcome, if these basements proved to just be a tourist attraction and nothing more, they would still be within Lankhmar and could decide a plan B if so needed very easily.   The next morning, on 25 Schwarzhexe, the crew left to visit The Portal. The tavern itself was a pure novelty in that it had no ground level edifice; the entire tavern, which was also an inn, existed below ground underneath a plot of land that had the remnants of foundations, presumably the surface level of the ancient wizard's tower the Portal was famous for building itself around. Upon entering the Portal, they found themselves at the topmost level of the business. A large U-shaped area was open from this level all the way down two more levels where the main pub lied. They could see the few customers who milled about on the main floor, some already inebbriated at this early hour. But mostly, the place was quiet, as would be expected at 9 in the morning for such a business. The main feature of the place however jumped out immediately; the well that was shared with Dorian in the rumor of this place was very much there. It was a very wide base, nearly 60 feet across. From here, everyone could feel a cool updraft of air rising from its depths, an experience not unpleasant and soothing to their skin.   The Heretic made it to the main floor and spread apart, each taking a seat or interacting with different people. Lev and Lilly intereacted with the bartender, who to Lilly, seemed rather curt and unwelcoming. She believed he didn't like halflings, as he attempted to charge her twice the rate for an ale that he charge Lev, someone he seemed more keen about. Cathlynn noted how horrible the band played in the corner. Hopefully they were free of charge, she thought, as she winced at the discordant notes shrieking themselves from the band's stringed instruments.   Despite the bartender's surliness, Lilly was able to pull more information from him regarding the well in the middle of the room. It seemed that the rumors will true; that this was indeed the ruins of a wizard's tower and the rumors of magics left behind after the destruction of the tower were apparantly still true. The attraction to the tavern indeed centered around these ruins and how on occassion, some would willingly delve into its depths to try and come back with artifacts of any sort. That said, very few were physically, materially, or mentally equipped to do so. The tavern charged each person 1 gold rilk to delve down using the rig that sat at the well's edge, a contraption devised to raise and lower anyone or anything into and out of the well. Lilly found that anyone daring the challenge of the tower ruins only occurred about twice a year at best, and that any who have gone down in the past few years have not returned at all. Years prior to this, it was said that a few did return, but with only meager items, and having paid more blood than those items were certainly worth.     Lilly shared her findings with the rest of the Heretic, and they all agreed that they should at least explore this chance. The possibility of finding magical items would certainly help them in their quest to rescue the rest of the children from the Temple made exploring this place at least worth a shot. The crew finished their drinks, paid the bartender, and all boarded the platform to be lowered into its depths. Everyone in the bar gathered around the edge of the well, some wishing them good luck as they descended while others were clearly making wagers amongst each other about if they would return, or how they would return (missing limbs, lost sanity, etc).   Down into the Depths It tooks nearly fifteen minutes before the crew finally landed on some solid surface at the bottom of the well. Dorian noted that they desceneded approximately 150 - 175 feet by his estimation. The area they were in was completely pitch black. Above, they could see they could see the lights from the Portal glowing above, but scarcely any of this light made it down this far. Lev conjured four magical stones, each stone glowing brightly -- a magical torch of sorts, and handed one to everyone. Looking around at the now lighted room around them, the Heretic found themselves in a squarish room with what seemed to be dozens of shields on every wall. These shields varied in age, size and shape. Some had graffiti scrawled across their surfaces, mostly in Dwarvish but some in a few unknown languages. Dorian, upon inspecting a few shields, found them to be sold old that they literally crumbled into dust under his fingers. The Heretic spent about ten minutes getting their bearings and exploring the room. Of note, behind a shield on the southern wall, a poem or perhaps a warning of sorts, was written in what appears to be blood and in the elvish language directly on the wall, translated into Common as the following:    

The Mad Mage awaits from beyond the pillar forest; casting spells from behind the Magic Gates

  Dorian found a small stream of air coming from a small hole in the westernmost part of the northern wall. He and Lev investigated this source further, during which, they heard what sounded like someone running down a hallway away from them. Surmising that this hole was some sort of peep hole, the two continued to look for the outline to a door, finding it after a few minutes. Cautiously, the Heretic opened the door, finding a secret passageway just beyond. Following it for a short distance, they turned westward, encountering a few different hallways. Ultimately they chose the middle hallway, a short passage that led to a closed door.   Beyond the door, the party found themselves in a large, somewhat rectangular room that held 3 life-size statues of what appeared to be noblemen. All three statues faced towards the east. Lying at the base of the central statue were the bones of a long-dead hobgoblin and a white wooden staff broken in half. At the base of each statue, a name was chiseled into the stone. Each of these chiseled names were crossed out with chalk, with a new "name" written over each. These chalked in names were written in a language none of the Heretic knew. Starting from the northernmost statue, the chiseled names were, Onthalass, Ruathyndar, and Elyndraun.   After spending a few minutes searching the room, the party suddenly realized they weren't alone. Approaching them from all directions emerged eight humans dressed in dark fabrics. The apparant leader of this group introduced himself as Uktarl . Cathlynn soon recognized these humans as vampires, and realized that the Heretic were in danger, being surrounded by so many. Surprisingly, Uktarl negotatied safe passage with the Heretic in exchange for 40 gold rilks total, which the party was able to scrape together and pay. True to their word, the vampires left the Heretic, presumably free to explore the rest of the area unaccosted.   The party then went down a passage found in the southeastern part of the room. The passage soon led them to an area which appeared to be a dorm of some sort as it was littered with bedrolls and other such makings of a sleeping chamber. A door at the opposite end of this sleeping chamber led them down a twisting passageway that ultimately dead-ended into an area that was, by the smell of it, being used as a latrine.   Retracing their steps, the party went back out into the corrider just outside the sleeping chambers and into a door lying diagonally to the northwest. They entered this area, which ultimately led them to what looked like a large private chambers of someone in charge, based on the contents of the room. In the center of the room was a wooden table that contained a set of playing cards. The entire northern wall of the room was one large stone fresco depicting a rugged mountain, hollowed out with caverns containing tiny sculpted figures of dwarves. Behind the mountain, carved rays of brilliant sunlight fanned out to the edges of the wall. At the base of this fresco was a large, recessed stone tub 8 feet long, 4 feet wide and 2 feet deep.   [Session ended just after they entered this room]