Chapter 31: On the Trail of The Ripper

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome takes a few swigs from the wineskin and gives it up reluctantly. He joins the group in the sewer, scanning around for any signs of where the villains went.

[Inferno]

Blackchapel, Hookhill, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day One. Near midnight. Saturday, December 24th, 576 CY
Cold, overcast





Deep in the wretched warren of Blackchapel, a horrific discovery is made.



Close by, the doomed heroes hunt the nefarious serial killer that men call the Hookhill Ripper.

Telkis peers into the putrid black maw where they believe their vile quarry has disappeared.



Finding no warm-blooded creatures lurking in wait for them, the hunters of unspeakable evil descend into the heinous abyss.

Sewers, dungeons, tombs, and the ancient ruins of former cities are said to lie beneath Hookhill, and many lost rivers. The streams and brooks of Hookhill were long ago covered over and repurposed as sewers for the swelling population. These underground tributaries all lead to the Hookhill River, the city's primary water source for drinking, cooking and bathing.

Faron bares his glowing sword, and Long Bo and Urdur unveil the enchanted light given them by Ingrid.



They well-nigh wish they hadn't. They find themselves knee-deep in a subterranean river of human effluent; thigh-deep for the gnomes.

The rancid stench is beyond imagining and enduring. (Please make a CON check on 1d20 (you want low) and post your actions regardless of the outcome.)

The brick tunnel is six feet in diameter and runs north-south. Disgusting runoff from the dirty streets above leaks down from the walls and ceiling. The slow-moving current crawls southward. In the foul waterway, there can be no quiet movement, and invisible Urdur's position is apparent to all.

A sudden thunderstorm would flood this shaft. But now, in the teeth of winter, they should be safe from drowning in filth at least.

The gnomish conjurer's occultic sight finds nothing hidden and mercifully, the host of the city's forsaken dead do not haunt these abominable regions.

Jerome and Long Bo scan in every direction and, on a wet wall north of where they entered, they find another partial, bloody handprint. Again, the fingers seem unsettlingly long. Surely the print must be smeared.


Actions?! (And CON checks please)





PC Status:

Faron, Human Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 22/22
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 21/25, Spells: 4/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 4: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 15/23, Laying Hands: 1/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 38/38, Spells: 4/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 5: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 36/37
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 3/11, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl, 1/2 2nd lvl, Invisible

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)
Invisibility (Urdur): Target: self
Detect Invisibility (Urdur): Duration: 15 rounds

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[jemmus]

Faron doesn't want to retch and foul the water they're having to move through any further, but it's a serious challenge for him. He continues on, searching the walls for a next bloody hand print.

CON 12 [1d20]=17

[OGRE MAGE]

Long Bo

The tall druid has seen some pretty nasty evidence of how humanity has destroyed the nature around it, but this shit tunnel is beyond anything he has witnessed before.

He tries to keep up with the others, looking for the next sign of the fleeing culprit, but the stench, even through his limited face covering, is too much for him.

Con Save (10) [1d20]=19

[ravenn4544]

Mouser's strength has diminished over time from the soul destroying assault on his very being. The horror of that memory remains. A river of shit is a minor thing in comparison. He sloshes ahead - but not too far ahead - to scout out the next bend.

Con (11) [1d20]=5

[Urson]

Jerome

CON 12 [1d20]=16

Jerome has just enough time to regret that last gulp of wine before he doubles over, retching. After he's done, he points at the handprint. *cough* There- that way..

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur tries his best, but is unable to do anything but add to the filth of this disgusting place. He turns his head and vomits behind him, a visible detritus flowing from his invisible body.

CON check (12) [1d20]=14

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Retching from the horrific stench, Ingrid follows Telkis, holy symbol in hand.

Constitution Check (10): [1d20]=13

[jemmus]

Faron is a relative newcomer to the group, but all of the vomiting has somehow made him feel closer to everyone. It's hard to be a stranger to someone whose puke is stuck to your pants. He makes a mental note to burn them and get a new pair at the first opportunity. His socks too, and maybe his boots. He continues slowly waving his glowing sword left and right, looking for another bloody handprint.

[ChubbyPixie]

Save vs. CON (12): [1d20]=11

Barely holding it together, Telkis schlocks as quickly as he can through the muck in a northerly direction, dodging the vomit of the party as best he can, though he's not sure it matters - he could hardly smell any worse than he does already.

[Inferno]

Beneath Blackchapel, Hookhill, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day One. Near midnight. Saturday, December 24th, 576 CY
Cold, overcast







Deep in the horrific bowels of the sprawling city, Faron, Ingrid, Jerome, Long Bo and Urdur are overcome by a sickening nausea. (cannot attack, cannot use spells, -2 to all saves and checks, + 2 to AC)

Nonetheless determined to stop the Hookhill Ripper, the resolute heroes stagger on, wading upstream through the loathsome river of human waste.

After the last bloody handprint, there are none for some time. But there are no branching shafts to this revolting channel, and the putrid slime crust on the sewer grates above is undisturbed. Their quarry had one path.

All of a sudden, a few sewer rats swim out of the shadows ahead!



It quickly becomes a vast teeming horde! Some hundred of the diseased rodents frantically swim past the heroes in terror! Did something ahead send them fleeing?

Soon, the flesh-crawling swarm of frightened vermin is gone. When nothing follows in their wake, the queasy heroes trudge on. After a long, interminable time in this hellish environ, Urdur suddenly collapses without a word! His illumination stone falls beneath the heinous mire.

Long Bo and Faron are nearest the unconscious gnome! By Bo's light, they see Urdur is still invisible but from the void his form makes in the effluent, only his head is above the nauseating waterline... and it's slowly slipping under.


Actions?!





PC Status:

Faron, Human Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 22/22, Nauseous
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 21/25, Spells: 4/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, Nauseous
Jerome, Human Paladin 4: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 15/23, Laying Hands: 1/1, Nauseous
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 38/38, Spells: 4/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, Light stone, Nauseous
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 5: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 36/37
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 3/11, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl, 1/2 2nd lvl, Invisible, Nauseous

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)
Invisibility (Urdur): Target: self

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo reaches under the schmutz to grab the collar of their companion before he slips under completely. He lifts him up, glad for any help, despite the horrific coating covering the gnome.

“Something’s happened to Urdur! We must try to revive him! How far have we gone? Are we even on the right trail anymore? What’s going on up front? Gods it reeks in here!!!”

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Keeping an eye to the front to make sure they don't get attacked while distracted, the cleric calls back to Bo, What happened to Urdur? I didn't see anything up here...there seems to only be one way, so it must be the right way...

[ravenn4544]

Mouser freezes when he hears the commotion behind. It seems like talking and not combat so he stays put. He takes the opportunity to scan the walls and ceilings for traces of a trail to follow.

[Urson]

Jerome
*cough-gag* Is he awake? I can carry him.

[jemmus]

Faron's stomach, completely overwhelmed by the smell of the city-sized latrine, convulses in dry heaves. He looks back and sees the situation with Urdur and that it seems to be at hand. Rats, he coughs out. There's something up there they don't like. He continues sloshing forward, slowly waving his glowing sword back and forth for illumination.

He'll scout a little ahead of the group, but not get too far ahead.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis finds he has more or less gotten used to the smell, it being only a little worse than the barracks at times in his adopted dwarven home.

When the rats pass he asks a straggler, "What is it, sir? Why do you flee?"

When Urdur collapses, though he is concerned, as one of the few members of the party not incapacitated by the smell, he remains in front and vigilant, letting the others look after him. "Is it the fumes, do you think? Is Urdur our canary?"

[Inferno]

Beneath Blackchapel, Hookhill, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day One. Near midnight. Saturday, December 24th, 576 CY
Cold, overcast







"Run for your bloody lives! The Almost Men!" a rat squeals at Telkis as the ghastly vermin swarm swims past in abject terror.

Later, further up the atrocious subterranean river, Urdur suddenly collapses without a word!

The adventurers remain alert, scanning in all directions as Faron advances toward Mouser's scout position.

Long Bo gets a hand on the unseen gnome before he disappears forever beneath the sickening excrement!

Jerome helps pull their friend up and the pair are shocked to find two gigantic, bloated leeches attached to Urdur's invisible legs, insidiously draining away his life essence!




Actions?!





PC Status:

Faron, Human Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 22/22, Nauseous
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 21/25, Spells: 4/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, Nauseous
Jerome, Human Paladin 4: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 15/23, Laying Hands: 1/1, Nauseous
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 38/38, Spells: 4/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, Light stone, Nauseous
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 5: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 36/37
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: -5/11, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl, 1/2 2nd lvl, Invisible, Nauseous

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)
Invisibility (Urdur): Target: self

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[Urson]

Jerome
Salt! We need salt to get these off! Jerome calls to the others.

[ChubbyPixie]

"Can't we just smack 'em?" says Telkis raising his morningstar...