Stonehell: Finding the Wizards School

Session 38b was played on 5/7
Eiric, wizard 3 (Kat)
- torch bearers (JJ Swats)
- men at arms (C, D)
- Namish (dog)
AARon, Thief 1 (Henchman)
Orpheus, Human Fighter 3 (Yann)
Matthias, Dwarf 4 (Julia)
- men at arms (M&M, Nnnn, Ood, P.P.)
- Herrick (dog)
Borumar Half Orc Fighter 1 (Josh)
Menchi, Human Cleric 1 (Laurel)
Daryll (NPC Cleric 2)

Hanging out in the Korners, the party does a bit of shopping, rumor gathering, and of course drinking. Matthias feels himself keenly wishing for something even more potent than dwarven steel, and asks around about getting it enchanted. He hears tell of a Plated Mage who is believed to enchant items, and is known to be seeking something called “Protomatter”

Deciding that they need more info than they can get in the Korners, everyone heads off to visit Rocky. After the usual pleasantries, including a gift of quartz for Rocky to chew on, they ask their questions.

What level of the dungeon is the wizards school?
-Seclusion is magic’s watchword. Seek the pit. (6)

Where exactly in the dungeon is the protomatter?
-Where baboons bathe and small men are washed clean. (6)

What map coordinates is the room with the pit to the wizards school located in?
1d44 (4)

The party then heads into the Quiet Halls, and runs into Mal Nul. He’s busy cleaning up one of the crypts, but asks if they could maybe bring him some strawberries next time they come by?

Returning to the Korners, the party finds a quiet corner in the tavern and looks over the map again. Eiric sends for Trustee Sniv and begins to negotiate for access to the rest of the Korners, if only to finish filling in the map. Sniv isn’t thrilled with the idea, but agrees to take Eiric and Matthias around for a look. The rest of the party has to stay put.

Sniv takes them around, showing the back areas of the Korners where non-kobolds are never otherwise allowed. He hustles them along, keeps them moving, and successfully avoids having them loot anything along the way.

Back in the tavern, Eiric adds what she saw to the map, but… And then it clicks. The pit, the wizards school!

Eiiric gets everyone together, tosses a couple of coins to the barkeep and heads out. They reclaim their weapons, and head down toward the slavers office. They helpfully show the slaves off, but Eiric’s eyes slide past them to look at the room. With barely a thank you she heads further down the hall to the stairs heading down into the Hobgoblin lair. They search the chamber, but don’t find anything.

Back up the hall, Eiric leads them to the midden. The pit of shit stinks, and the smell just rolls out into the hallway. None of the hirlings are thrilled, but Eiric orders everyone in and to start searching. Thankfully, at least at first, she doesn’t order anyone into the pit. And finally, they find a secret door, and the trigger!

The door opens, releasing some stale air into the stinky room. The dust and cobwebbed choked hall, twists away into darkness. The wizard’s school? At first nothing particularly magical seemed to stand out. In face the first doom was decidedly non-magical, containing only rotted furniture. The first sign of magic was when they reached a chamber containing an inlaid summoning circle. The brass circle shined as if just polished. The iron bookstand and silver mirror also were remarkably corrosion free. The three oozes that lurched at the party had barely begun to move before being chopped apart.

The next chamber was even weirder, with a pulsating lavender orb floating in the middle of the room, and a ruined workbench off in the corner, folded in on itself. Leaving well enough alone, they move on. Next they come upon 4 zombies in robes who are turned and destroyed.

A floating table dominated the next chamber, with a sideboard taking up one of the walls. The party (mostly Matthias and Borumar) played around with the table but couldn’t see any way to get it out of the room. The trophy room beyond the dining room was full of odd stuffed heads, strange bits of artwork, but no furniture.

Deeper into the school, they finally found a classroom, but no students. Giant rats had taken it over! When the vermin were disposed of, their nest was found to contain some gems and a potion! The next door opened into the teachers storage cabinet, which had another ooze, and a strange metal flask. The janitor’s closet across the hall was infested with slugs. After pouring salt on the bodies, a secret door into a shrine to Maths, a god of magic, and a pair of zombies. As usual, they’re turned and destroyed with no effort.

Behind the shrine is a secret passage leading to a fancy bedchamber, and under the rotted bed an invisible coffer that jingles wonderfully is found! Returning back to the janitors closet, they check the last door in that hallway, revealing the resting place of…. Someone. A sarcophagus with an old dusty mummy takes up most of the chamber. Among the rotted offerings was a vial of glowing liquid. The party makes sure to close the sarcophagus before they back out of the chamber.

Working their way back around, they return to the dining room, then off into the kitchen.

“Does anybody smell-“

BOOM!

The gas explosion, set off by JJ’s torch blasts most of the party. C, D, and JJ all drop, but are mostly found to be concussed. On the upside, the old cook’s stash of coins was discovered…

Not far from the kitchen the party finds the library! And 4 weird skeletons that ignore Darryl’s turning attempt. That doesn’t save them from being killed pretty quickly. Most of the books are water damaged, moldy, and in danger of disintegrating, but a set of slim spell books mostly seemed to have survived.

Continuing along, a long hall with mirrors seems to rip open everyone’s injuries. Orpheus slams into one burnished metal mirror, warping it, and tearing at everyone’s injuries even further. All of the hirelings drop from their wounds. The party drags out the bodies, and takes the back way back around to Kobold Korners.

Trustee Sniv and a troop of bodyguards catch them coming out of the midden, and demand to know how to access the school. Eiric tells him, and they limp off with their treasures back to town.

Gains: Complete map to Kobold Korners, Wizard School Quest complete, Various treasures worth 1,430gp, 3 potions, magic beaker, invisible box, spell book set w/ 10 spells
Kills: Topi (weird skeletons), Giant Slugs, Giant Rats, Zombies
Losses: