Module 1: What Lies Beyond – Ch.1

[DexterWard]

Day: Sept 9th
Time: 4:55 pm
Sunset/Sunrise: 6:17pm/6:13am
Weather: 81F; Broken Clouds; Wind: 13mph from SE
Turns Elapsed in Dungeon: 3.5

While Denny eyeballs the levers, Bigsby begins inspecting the cells...Each cell is very similar, in that they all have the same crumbled and decaying buckets, crates, and bedding. However, three of the cells have prone figures (cells with X’s). Each is human-like with slightly different features, all three of which seem to have seen better days. Their skin appears extremely desiccated, almost mummy-like in appearance, though not stretched across bone. The bodies still have muscles and other tissues associated with a live body, as well as tarnished brass bands around their wrists, ankles, waists, and necks. None of the bodies move, or appear to be breathing for that matter, regardless of the noise made by the party or the lights they carry. It’s as if they have been frozen in time…

…That is until Denny throws the first lever with the star/sun symbol to the UP position…The strange iron rods observed by Silky in the SW tunnel and that of the immediate tunnel of the cells blaze to life with white light, illuminating every recess of the two tunnels (the main room with the Dwarven elevator remains dark). Denny is only moderately surprised by the event, and even though he is partially blind, still manages to throw the second lever with the X on it into the DOWN position, which immediately closes all seven cell doors with a loud clang…

…Simultaneously, with the operation of the first lever, the prone figures in all three cells come to life and let out blood curdling screams of pain and begin to rise. They grimace with agony, and their bodies contort and writhe as their muscles come to life after decades of slumber. They soon begin to moan and cough, followed by gravely croaked words that can only be archaic in nature: ”dominus mortem nos obsecro”. Their eyes, cloudy and desiccated at first, begin to fill with what remaining fluids are left in their bodies, then focus on the members of the party. They fall silent a moment later and stare at the party. All three are of a different race: Dwarf, Human, Elf.

Denny’s initial Surprise Roll: Moderate Surprise
Denny's Surprise [1d6] = 4

@Bigsby: He has a 50% chance of understanding what they said (Class = Apothecary). Please roll % dice. Roll < or equal to 50% to succeed.

@Denny: Please make a Surprise Roll (1d6) to see if you have the wits to leave the levers in the new positions or get scared and flip one or more again.

(1) Flip the first lever back to its original position
(2) Flip the 2nd lever back to its original position
(3) Flip both levers back to their original positions
(4-6) Do nothing

Please let me know if you keep your light sources burning (that is if the light rods stay illuminated). I will update the map when everyone has a chance to post their next actions. I just kind of spread folks out, happy to put you guys wherever you like (post Denny turning the lights on), just add to your next post, (other than Bigsby and Denny who stated their intents).

Dungeon_Map_8.png (361.73 KiB) Viewed 1071 times

Actions!


Platform Info
Levers: The levers have symbols on each one,
When facing the platform and the west wall:

• Lever 1 (far left): Pushed toward the wall (Symbol: Star/Sun)
• Lever 2 (middle): Center position. Looks like it may go forward and backward (toward/away from the wall) (Symbol: Double Arrow – Up/Down)
• Lever 3 (far right): Pulled toward the room, away from the wall (Symbol: X)

Resources Actively Used

• Hooded Oil Lantern w/flask of Oil (22/24 Turns) (Bigsby)
• Hooded Lantern w/Candle (3/6 Turns) (Denny)
• Torch (4/6 Turns) (Tore)
• Torch (4/6 Turns) (Christian)

Resources

• Torch (5/6 Turns) (Bigsby, not used presently)
• (2) Flasks of Oil
• (3) Candles
• (2) torches
• (1) Hooded Candle Lanterns

Potential Future Options:

1. Search/inspect TheCrypt
2. Search TheKeep
3. Wait in The Salty Tusk to see what vermin appear, and deal with them accordingly (or run)
4. Set traps for any unsuspecting vermin that emerge from the hole
5. Find a place to hunker down for the night (Farmer John has offered)
6. Something else…

NOTES:

• Tunnels to the north, east, and west remain pitch black dark
• The soft purple glow from the south tunnel remains the same
• No other noises are heard at this time
• The village is quiet
• The Crypt most likely still contains the glowing purple flowers and giant slug-like creature.

Farmer Inventory

• (5) Torches
• (1) Hooded Oil Lantern (Bigsby)
• (3) Flasks of Oil (Bigsby)
• (2) Candles (Bigsby)
• (1) Hooded Candle Lanterns
• (2) Candles (Denny)
• (1) Hooded Candle Lanterns (Denny)
• (2) 30’ lengths of Hempen Rope (used to retrieve bodies)

• Hand Scythe
• 3-Tined Hay Fork (Bigsby)
• Shovel
• Spade
• Broad Axe
• Forest Axe
• Parang (Silky)
• 14” Butcher Knife (Silky)
• Long Handled 14” Pork Cleaver (Denny)

[SilverBen]

Tore jolts from the screaming and gasps in terror as the corpses rise. He flails his torch side to side and stutter steps backwards in fear.

[Bluetongue]

Denny

Denny fiddles while the roamers burn. [1d6] = 2

The dwarf grips the sun-moon lever in his left hand and the X in his right. So he pulls the left hand lever first and us immediately assaulted, but thankfully only by the brightest of light.

He pulls the next lever and as posted prior, moves it backwards and forwards on its gearstick pivot.

"Whoa. That's interesting." He seems to approve of the engineered light produced. He leaves that on with an idea to investigate the sources further. "There, just like the village above. All the lights on but no one at home." he says until the blood curdling awakening screams tell him otherwise.

[DexterWard]

Day: Sept 9th
Time: 4:55 pm
Sunset/Sunrise: 6:17pm/6:13am
Weather: 81F; Broken Clouds; Wind: 13mph from SE
Turns Elapsed in Dungeon: 3.5

Denny returns the second lever to its original position and the steel cage doors release with a mild clank and open a few inches. The three Not-So-Living men in the cages simply stand and stare at TheParty, seemingly awaiting some further instruction. The immediate tunnels are now well lit by the steel rods.

Actions!

Holding Cell Levers

• Lever 1 (far left): UP position - Rods emitting light (Symbol: Star/Sun)
• Lever 2 (far right): DOWN position - Cell doors open (Symbol: X)

[Monsieur Rose]

Silky

The odd rods itch at Silky, forcing him to mentally scratch at their meaning until they nearly blind him. He flinches at the light and doors banging. Then the screaming starts. Silky looks around at his companions: "Who's hurt? What happened?"

A few moments later he realizes who made the screams and pulls his weapons. "Get back! Back to the elevator!" Silky tries to herd everyone away from the things.

Silky stays put, weapons drawn and focusing on the thing in the cell south of him.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bigsby cringes once the levers are manipulated without warning, wondering who in their right mind would do such a thing.

His head spins in three directions at once at the events that immediately follow, especially when he hears a familiar but archaic tongue being spoken by the things in the cells. Percentile Roll [1d100] = 11 (I wouldn't mind receiving that info in private, if there are no objections.)

"What in the nine.....Will everyone just stop doing anything for a moment, please? We might receive all the answers we seek from these caged folks, if I can only make sense of what they are saying!"

Bigs will snuff his lantern once the light switches have been figured out.

[Paladin]

Christian cocks his head to one side and examines the trio, his brow furrowed. He remains rooted to the ground and simply listens.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bigsby wracks his brain trying to figure out what these ancient creatures are saying. He sighs heavily.

"I think they either want us dead, or they are asking us to kill them. I cant say I like either translation."

The elf thinks back to his studies, trying to figure out what words might make sense to them. He eventually speaks back very slowly.

"Quis ummmm es? Quid consilii?"

I think he just asked them who they are and what they do here.

[DexterWard]

Day: Sept 9th
Time: 4:56 pm
Sunset/Sunrise: 6:17pm/6:13am
Weather: 81F; Broken Clouds; Wind: 13mph from SE
Turns Elapsed in Dungeon: 3.5

The three Not-So-Living men turn to look at Bigsby as he attempts to communicate...All three stare at him for a moment, then simultaneously turn their heads slowly and stare at Denny as if he is in charge, and cannot speak without his permission. The Dwarven Not-So-Living man speaks directly to Denny, voluntatem tuam?

Translation: your will?

[Monsieur Rose]

Silky

He lowers his weapons when the creatures decline to attack. "Uh, Denny? They're looking at you. What's going on? I'm the one with the weapons. Pay attention to me!"

Silky waves his hand in front of one. "Hello? Voluntum uham?"

"Ugh. How did you even stay awake during those classes, Bigsby? The elders were so boring."

[Paladin]

"Quis? Quid? A few quid would be nice," Christian mutters. The attempts at communication fly far over his workaday head.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bigsby snickers at Silky's words and actions.

"Yes, well, I believe they think that Denny is their new master. Since he was the one who pulled the lever. I wonder what would happen if we each threw the lever up and down. Would they follow the commands of all of us?"

Surprised to hear that any of the others know the old language, he looks to Denny next to see if he has any more surprises in store for them.

If not, he will attempt to speak with them once more before searching the broken cart, as he initially intended.

[Bluetongue]

Denny


"So strange?" It is a bit of an understatement. Then he thinks, "Still even their brain dead cells might know more of what is happening here.

Let us take one along with us. The elf one as you seem to have a .... bond between you." he says to Bigsby and gestures for the elf-dead to come out the cage.

"Ask him to show you his works?"

[DexterWard]

Day: Sept 9th
Time: 4:58 pm
Sunset/Sunrise: 6:17pm/6:13am
Weather: 81F; Broken Clouds; Wind: 13mph from SE
Turns Elapsed in Dungeon: 3.5

The Not-So-Living Dwarf, Elf, and Human exits their cells as gestured by Denny. The Dwarf looks to Bigsby, cups his hands and brings them to his mouth with a drinking gesture and says aqua? The other two Not-So-Living men perform the same gesture without words.

Translation: Water?

[SilverBen]

Still trembling and visibly frightened by this unique encounter, Tore unhinges the strap of his waterskin from his backpack and uncorks it. He strides to Denny's side, offering the sloshing waterskin out to the the undead trio with an extended arm. He holds the torch with his other hand cocked behind him, ready to bring it down at a moment's notice as a improvised flaming club on an attacker. "Maybe these poor souls are just thirsty?"

[Bluetongue]

Denny

"Give them some water then tell them to get back to work. It will be interesting to see what they have been doing and where? Did they mine these tunnels or serve another purpose?"

He is clearly intrigued as his previous knowledge of undead is only of mindless shambling zombies intent on 'brainz'. So these have some remnant of intelligence abd cognitive behaviour.

But they are cadavers?

As he gets closer to them he inspects the dwarf, looking at his clothing, footwear, length and age of beard. Any identification. Could they be villagers?

[Monsieur Rose]

Silky

When the desiccated creatures ask for water, he almost pisses himself with laughter. "Men after my own heart. Wake up after a crappy night, first thing I want is a drink too!" He moves to investigate the cells while still chuckling.

He's looking in both the previously occupied, and the empty. Trying to determine if they lived there, or were stored there.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bigsby

Only slightly stunned when the creatures leave their cells at the wave of Denny's hand, the curious elf cant help but try out his own theory.

Without saying another word, he moves back to the light switch lever and throws it closed, then open again.

[DexterWard]

Day: Sept 9th
Time: 5:00 pm
Sunset/Sunrise: 6:17pm/6:13am
Weather: 81F; Broken Clouds; Wind: 13mph from SE
Turns Elapsed in Dungeon: 3.5

Tore, still unsure of the Not-So-Living men, shakily offers water as they have requested while Denny gets a closer look at them. Their clothing, if that’s in fact what it was at one time, is rotted and falling off in large pieces as the three men slowly move about. They are nearly naked now. The Dwarf has the longest beard of all three men, his nearly touching his knees – the other two having big shaggy beards—none of which have been kept clean in what seems to be ages. Their hair is of the same – long, wiry, and filled with filth. Their feet are bare, their teeth grimy. All three stink mildly of sewer, but surprisingly not of the dead. They have all lost a great deal of weight, as evidenced by their loose-fitting skin; muscles can still be seen beneath, though atrophied a great deal. The Dwarf man begins to reach for the water…

Meanwhile, Silky inspects the cells while Tore and Denny tend to the three strange men. There is nothing of use in any of the cells. Every cell contains the same articles: rotten buckets, moldy thread-bare bedding, rotten empty crates, and centuries of filth. Every cell appears to have held a slave/captive/prisoner for a great length of time. The cells the three men were in appear to be in the same shape as the rest. It is readily apparent that these three men, and many others have been living in the cells. To what end you cannot be sure.

Bigsby, undeterred in the slightest by the presence of the three Not-So-Living men, tests a theory about the three men and the light switch…He quietly strolls to the lever and throws it closed and open without pause. The light rods immediately go dark then flash to brilliant life again. The three Not-So-Living men fall to their knees and slowly stand back up. They appear unphased by the act, as if they have done this hundreds of times or more over the years. The Human looks toward Bigsby but says nothing, his face unchanged from its unemotional stare.

The Dwarf stands and accepts the waterskin from Tore. He drinks about a third and hands it the Elf who does the same and passes it to the human. Within seconds of drinking each man cringes, eyes close, their bodies curl slightly. A moment later each man appears visibly hydrated. Their faces have filled out, their chests stronger, their eyes clearer, and their lips fuller. The Dwarf looks up at Tore and smiles, showing emotion for the first time. He parts his lips, and common, with a deep gravelly Dwarven accent, common of the Hill Dwarves, begins to usher forth. I am Windover, Windover Marshwind. I…we, owe you a great debt. Windover bows his head in thanks and respect. Once I could see, and knew you were not Windhammer or his evil wizard Ograxius, hope filled my heart. Ograxius captured us with his magic, entombed us here in this dungeon hell, where we were forced to mine their secret citadel to store their plundered gold and treasures. There were seven of us once. We do not know where they went. We were under Ograxius’ spell, and these horrid cuffs He points to the brass bands around their wrists, ankles, waists, and necks. Windhammer and Ograxius have some kind of spell or curse, they don’t seem to age. As do we. We were living over 300 years when last the lights went out. We had broken through to a natural cave system down on the 4th level. I tell you this as I know you cannot be with them. We were never allowed water or food, yet death never came to us. We felt only rage but could do nothing about it. We will serve you if you help us find Windhammer and Ograxius and exact our revenge if we can. Or die trying. Otherwise turn off the light once again and leave us to rot a thousand more years, or kill us now. The choice is yours. We cannot bear to live. Marshwind kneels down and bares his neck, and the other two follow suit.

You know from legends of Ferros Windhammer that he was a Tinker Dwarf: ”Ferros, as it is told, single handedly led the Commoners in a mining effort that gave Ockenfel and all Commoners access to the salty seas. His engineering prowess was renowned and unmet. Also known for his thirst for adventure, he was always out in search of secrets and treasures and would not be seen for weeks or months at a time. Many suspected he was hoarding treasures in his keep, mining deep into the earth creating passages and bunkers to store his treasure hoard. No one knows for sure what he was doing, then one day he never returned.”

What this Dwarf has told you goes against everything you know about Ferros Windhammer; from the tales and rumors anyway. Whether or not you believe him is up to you.

Actions!

Resources Actively Used

• Hooded Lantern w/Candle (2/6 Turns) (Denny)
• Torch (3/6 Turns) (Tore)
• Torch (3/6 Turns) (Christian)

Potential Options:

1. Gather scattered Coins
2. Search remaining mine tunnels
3. Test the Dwarven elevator
4. Take the Not-So-Living men up on one of their offers
5. Return to the surface before the giant bugs re-appear
6. Something else…

Platform Info
Levers: The levers have symbols on each one,
When facing the platform and the west wall:

• Lever 1 (far left): Pushed toward the wall (Symbol: Star/Sun)
• Lever 2 (middle): Center position. Looks like it may go forward and backward (toward/away from the wall) (Symbol: Double Arrow – Up/Down)
• Lever 3 (far right): Pulled toward the room, away from the wall (Symbol: X)

Resources

• Hooded Oil Lantern w/flask of Oil (21/24 Turns) (Bigsby)
• Torch (5/6 Turns) (Bigsby, not used presently)
• (2) Flasks of Oil
• (3) Candles
• (2) torches
• (1) Hooded Candle Lanterns

NOTES:

• Tunnels to the north, east, and west remain pitch black dark
• The soft purple glow from the south tunnel remains the same
• No other noises are heard at this time
• The village is quiet
• The Crypt most likely still contains the glowing purple flowers and giant slug-like creature.

Farmer Inventory

• (5) Torches
• (1) Hooded Oil Lantern (Bigsby)
• (3) Flasks of Oil (Bigsby)
• (2) Candles (Bigsby)
• (1) Hooded Candle Lanterns
• (2) Candles (Denny)
• (1) Hooded Candle Lanterns (Denny)
• (2) 30’ lengths of Hempen Rope (used to retrieve bodies)

• Hand Scythe
• 3-Tined Hay Fork (Bigsby)
• Shovel
• Spade
• Broad Axe
• Forest Axe
• Parang (Silky)
• 14” Butcher Knife (Silky)
• Long Handled 14” Pork Cleaver (Denny)

[Bluetongue]

Denny

"I have a mind to believe these three though it is hard to accept."

He tries moves the cart off the elevator platform.

"When we ate finished here, shall we descend?"