Session 3

Fact sheet: from the beartrap into the death pit

Date: wed 20-07-22

Date in game: unspecified

Players present: Ecchima, Meinhart, Tuur and Vinnie. Dins was our DM.

Major developments:

Hali is the MVP of any battle

Notes

Having freed Eldrin's hand from the beartrap, we see through the illusion (Storm with a NATURAL TWENTY). This is a smugglers' hideout: a pit with beartraps around the edge and a trapdoor in the middle. Given the sand swept over the trapdoor and the mummified lizards and snakes in the beartraps, we don't figure it's been used recently.

Ezra decides to take the 2 freshest animals (little lizards) for provisions. Storm tries to set the beartraps anew, in the hope his carnivorous friends might catch a fresh kill, but to no avail.

We check out the wooden hatch. Its hinges are hidden in the sand & it doesn't appear to be locked. Frei, Ezra & Storm open it while Fyllion keeps an eye on Simeon.

there's a ladder leading down into the room below, the light filtering down
the hatch was installed in a thick layer of stone, possibly by magic or by tools.

Fyllion and Hali join Eldrin, Ezra and Storm in the hideout, while Simeon, Frei and Enza stay above ground in the pit. Fyllion glares at Simeon to not try anything!

Eldrin realises this room used to be a temple of Lunaire, due to several carvings and a painting representing Lunaire (an icon of an angel of the void, since Lunaire doesn't have a physical form) and their disciples (with moth-like wings) and followers.

A lot of decoration has crumbled, but we see the room has been repurposed:

various crates are stored here with high-value and shelf-stable goods: tobacco, silks, lamp oil, pots and earthenware, ...
there are cages and manacles with bits of fur and feathers from dead animals
a padlocked cage with a gilded chest
back-up supplies for a caravan like ropes, axles, a spare wheel, canvas for the covering, ...
a door leading to somewhere else

We decide to look into the chest in the cage.

With Fyllion's inspiration, Storm kicks the cage and bends one of the bars with a bone shuddering kick. Eldrin thinks this is a great trick, perhaps the circus could be a career option if Storm wants to give up ballet.

Ezra wriggles into the cage. Based on their experiences as a pirate, they check the chest for traps or spells or arcane locks. Just when they try to flip open the lid, the mimic activates and snaps its teeth at Ezra! Ezra manages to yank back their hands (with a DIRTY TWENTY) but still takes damage.

Hali uses healing word on Ezra & uses an acid spell but the mimic just absorbs the acid
Simeon (upstairs) doesn't do anything
Fyllion creates the illusion of a juicy rat, hoping to distract the mimic and then takes cover
Frei comes down to help us & hits the mimic
Eldrin touches Ezra on the shoulder, asks Ezra's consent and casts mage armour on them! Eldrin readies his dagger
the mimic ignores the rat & creates a pseudopod to try and grab Ezra, but misses
Ezra hits the chest with short-sword, cutting off a tentacle & wriggles out of the cage The mimic gets an attack of opportunity & grabs Ezra around the ankle, but Ezra manages to kick free & runs away from the cage
Storm wonders if enchanting the chest would be possible, causing a panic in the tiny luggage who doesn't want to get replaced & outrage among the party Storm hits it with his whip, but misses
Hali wonders about the shape-shifting abilities of the mimic, wondering if it'll manage to follow Ezra through the bars of the cage...? Hali wild-shapes into her starry form & attacks with an arrow, hitting with NATURAL EIGHT radiant damage
Fyllion climbs on top of the cage with the exclamation "well I can be a hero" & stabs down with his rapier. Fyllion can't get down anymore, so Ezra warns him about the tentacles
Frei disengages & backs off
Eldrin moves closer to stab it with their dagger for NATURAL SIX damage
the mimic appears to be melting from the shape of the chest into an amorphous blob, causing Fyllion to call out "come on team, we're doing great", while it fully moves back into its goop form & joins Fyllion on top of the cage
Ezra gets out their longbow and hits the mimic with a NATURAL TWENTY. The mimic looks distressed about this attack & quivers a little
uncertain how the mimic is holding up & how Fyllion will escape, Storm lashes his whip around Fyllion and yanks him down Fyllion grumbles about the hard landing
Hali rips the mimic apart with a radiant arrow & globs of goop fly everywhere

For next time, we agree we'll prod any other chests with an arrow before trying to open it. Frei quips we should add to our code that we first look for a key before we start hurting ourselves trying to bend cage bars or wriggle through them.

Fyllion demands a massage to make up for being yanked off the cage... so Storm agrees to take the lamp oil and make it up to him.

We move on to the second room, just pushing open the door without any checks & without any problems. We find a sort of shabby magic shop:

several cases filled with low-cost common materials for magic casting, like minerals, twigs, insects, fluids, ...
2 desks with correspondence
- between Ghorann and a certain Marduk looking to buy 2 hell hounds (as well as a draft letter in which Ghorann flat-out refuses the sale) Marduk included a PS mentioning a peculiar circle... would that be the teleportation circle where Ghorann found us?
- from a certain Roman reporting on the rewards on Simeon's head

The correspondence confirms this was Ghorann's hideout.

Frei recognises the name Marduk as an important man from her hometown Kohshar. She figures he's involved in her exile and wants the letters as vindication. Frei gives the relevant letters to Fyllion to store in the tiny luggage!

While Ezra, Hali, Frei and Storm look for food in the hideout, Fyllion and Eldrin go check on Simeon and Enza, as well as on the tiny luggage.

As soon as his head clears the hatch, Fyllion sees a pair of manacles and a sewing needle... and behind him, he hears "say one word and she dies". Eldrin is still on the ladder. Fyllion turns around & sees Simeon threatening Enza with a stolen dagger, as well as a cloud of dust coming nearer, like someone is whipping up sand.

Simeon wants Fyllion to close the hatch and behave. Eldrin doesn't notice what's going on due to NATURAL ONE. Fyllion tries the spell "command" & forces Simeon to his knees, letting Enza go.

Fyllion shouts "Simeon is trying to escape" while Simeon retorts he's already escaped, look at the company coming our way! It'll go better if Simeon is still alive when the sand skiff gets here. Fyllion notices it's more of a warning, even Simeon is a little wary of the people drawing nearer.

Simeon tries to grapple Fyllion but fails due to NATURAL ONE. While on the ladder, Eldrin makes a noose out of the rope, tying up Simeon's legs (thanks to NATURAL EIGHT from inspiration) & jumps back down! They fall 30 ft down, knocking Frei off the ladder. From the impact 30 ft lower, Eldrin is now at one HP.

Fyllion shifts into Simeon's form, orders us to hide & keep Simeon quiet. Enza hides at the edge of the pit. Storm beguiles Simeon with the courtier move (ten minutes) so Ezra can tie him up & gag him without problems. Eldrin sent Fyllion a message to confirm we're hidden.

Simeon warns us that the people upstairs are slavers & killers, so we should hide.

Fyllion closes the hatch so we're in the dark with only Hali's starry light for the next hour.