Session 47 | “Secret Passage”

• Players in attendance:
  • Boaz (Derek)
  • Katar (Seth)
  • Schroeder (AnthonyR)
• Start [@Boaz @Cepheus @Katar @Linus @Schroeder] are outside the Keep, Linus and Schroeder have returned from “Griffon Bombing” the Yoder army and return with a lone survivor, a young (Zoe Yoder) flagbearer boy. Cepheus Linus and Sir Rowan discuss the “great show of conquest” and Rowan follows agrees to still send over 50 of his guard to serve the Keep in whatever capacity the Party sees fit.
• Schroeder returns to his lab, reminiscent on what had just occurred and contemplative about all the people they just killed
• Boaz approaches and consoles the young boy, congratulates him on the adventure and then takes him the the shrine/infirmary area to clean him up and tend to his wounds. The boy is concerned about being killed or taken prisoner. Boaz continues to console Zoe and keep him by his side.
• Katar goes to Frog’s tavern and orders his usual drink (1/2 wine, 1/2 apple juice, stick of cinnamon). He sees the Marauder runaway in the corner pacing back and fourth over the card table counting and mumbling to himself and occasionally pulling a turkey leg from his pocket to have a bite to eat. Katar keeps an eye on him and scouts out if he has any weapons or seems dangerous and noticed that he occasionally reaches for something on his right side on his belt, though it’s not obvious what it is. Katar asks Frog to keep an eye on him and Frog let’s lets him know that he already is.
• Boaz continues to grow rapport with Zoe and takes him to the tavern to have a chocolate milk and settle in a little bit.
• Schroeder, in his lab with the scout dog (Kazee), expresses frustration with all of the death that he and his brother caused and begin throwing vials and experiments across the room and crashing against the wall. A panel on his western wall opens and Schroeder briefly catches a glimpse of a small opening peaking in to his room. After investigating the area he is unable to find any way to rediscover the location or any way to open in. He instructs Kazee to watch the area and alert if anything happens.
• Schroeder leaves his room and goes out into the entry hall (the apparent opposite side of his wall) to see if he can discover what was on the other side. He see two commoner guards further down the hall keeping post at the main entry. He asks one of the guards if he saw anything but the guards mention that the hall has been empty except for themselves all morning. He asks the one guard to keep an eye on the wall, not stop watching the main entry, but let him know if he sees anything happen and that he can find Schroeder either in his study, at Talbot’s or in the Tavern. The guard agrees. Schroder thinks to himself that the Keep needs some smarter guards. Then makes his way to the tavern.
• @Schroeder @Boaz @Katar meet up in the tavern. Schroeder mentions the incident to Frog. Frog seems dismissive of the occurrence and says that it is just the spy slots from the secret passages nd only Ruta and Killer currently have access.
• @Schroeder. Frog the invites Schroeder back behind the bar, where he takes him into the door behind the bar, leading the a hallway with supplies and miscellaneous ingredients, the into Frog personal quarters. Frog has a large bed on the floor and many trinkets, trophies, and memorabilia along the walls (sword, shield, feathered helmet) and a large painting of the Barrows with a river running across the grassland on his western wall. Frog mentions that it is covering the spy slot so that no-one can look into to his room. Frog says that only Ruta and Killer currently have access to the secret tunnels, so there is little to be concerned about, but Schroeder should perhaps speak with one of them to find out if they know what happened in his room. They both them return to the Tavern.
• Schroeder debriefs Boaz and Katar about everything and they realize they don’t know where to find Killer, but Ruta is in the corner of the Tavern arranging bets for “Blades”, and occasionally manipulating peoples throws to cheat the game.
• @Boaz, @Schroeder, @Katar, and Zoe approach Ruta and ask about the tunnels. Ruta is willing to trade a favor to reveal the entrance to the secret passage. They agree and Ruta reveals that in the dark corner on the left side of the fireplace that there is a small alcove that can be walked into. It is completely obscured by darkness and easily overlooked. Ruta requests that if they enter, not to let anyone see them or accidentally reveal where the entrance is. The party asks Ruta to create a distraction so that they may go in. Ruta goes to the opposite side of the tavern, stands on a table, and begins to play his pan flute. All of the patrons begin laughing, singing and dancing as the party stealthily enters the small crevice into the secret tunnels.
• @Boaz, Zoe, @Katar and @Schroeder enter the crevice beside the fireplace, feeling the warmth of the cobble wall on their back and are greeted with an extremely dark and narrow hallway. Matted dirt floors muffle the sounds of their footsteps, and roughly hewn stonework makes up the walls and low curved ceiling. @Boaz and @Katar light torches to gain some semblance of vision.
• The passage descends slightly and after about 20 feet forks in two directions. @Schroeder tries to figure which direction they should take to reach his room but is unable to completely orient himself relative to the rest of the Keep. They decide to turn Right.
• The right passage begins to ascend slightly, @Boaz spots a rope, which has been painted a black color, stretch about 3 inches from the ground. It is tied on the left side to a small hook in the wall, and on the right side travels through a hoop in the wall and loops straight up into a small hole in the ceiling. The party carefully maneuvers over the rope one at a time and continue down the passage until Katar spots a sign high on the right wall, then points it out to the party. Schroeder notes that there are several lines of text, each crossed out save for the last line. The handwriting and language seem to change every few entries on this list. Boaz points out another sign on the right wall, in a similar position but a bit further down the passageway.
• [@Boaz] The passage takes a gradual curve towards the left, Zoe’s curiosity gets the best of him and he continues walking, trying to maintain a close distance to the light from Boaz’s torch. @Boaz follows to keep an eye.
• [@Schroeder @Katar] Investigates the area around the signs and notices a scratching on the right sides of some of the stonework, he moves the stones aside and reveals a small slot in the wall which he is able to look through and see his own laboratory/bedroom. The scout dog Kazee begins to bark from the laboratory and Schroeder offers his pleasure to the dogs obedience. He finds a similar viewing slot underneath the sign to the right, however from this one can only see the back of a painting canvas, on which a crudely drawn scene of Frog’s bedroom can be seen. @Katar takes one of Shroeder’s writing instruments and places it through the slot in the lab and scribbles markings through the slot on the opposite side wall, in an attempt to mark the location when viewed from within the laboratory.
• [@Boaz] Zoe continues around the bend in the passage when he stops suddenly when a corridor is revealed leading off of the curved path and off to the right. Zoe appears to be mesmerized by a deep darkness which seems to consume the light from the torches. @Boaz makes his way behind Zoe and tries to elevate his torch to see further down the dark corridor but the light seems unable to penetrate the darkness in this direction.
• [@Katar @Schroeder] After making their marks around the viewing slots, @Katar and @Schroeder continue around the bend. Katar sees Zoe and Boaz standing in front of an offshoot to the bend in the passage and a dark shadow emanating from the corridor overhead the two seeming to engulf them as they get closer to the edge of the darkness.
• @Boaz suggests to Zoe that perhaps that way is too dangerous, but Zoe says it might be exciting, even if he was a little scared of it. @Boaz, not to be outdone for a found adventure reluctantly agrees and makes his way into the dark corridor. The light from his torch being completely lost to everyone still in the bending path. Zoe looks back at @Katar and @Schroeder, then back to the corridor, and for a moment considers his commitment, then runs after @Boaz into the same darkness.

Still need to clean up notes after this point

• katar/schroeder debate their options and safety about following boaz after what they saw
• boaz/zoe fall down pit
• katar follows after boaz, then his light goes out
• Schroeder meets Killer in bending passage
• Killer describes the area and his viewing within the lab to make sure Schroder was okay, and the danger of the poisonous snakes within the darkness/pit corridor, the different handwritings and that the last two entries were his own, they discuss that frog may be able to read the older writings from the signs
• Boaz finds his way out of the pit room
• Katar avoids falling down pit, and descends himself safely, relights torch and sees dead obsidian order guard at bottom of pit along with his mace. he picks up the mace and finds the staircase up.
• Boaz, Katar, Zoe find their way up staircase and into Jura’s shrine room
• Killer and Schroeder travel back out through the passage and into the exit in the shrine
• Katar gives boaz the mace and notices it seems to react to the shrine room
• boaz asks jura/undalak about it, undalak mentions some of the enchanting properties of obsidian and that the dwarves stopped using it long ago
• killer gives everyone vials of the ashlayan antidote
• everyone makes their way back to the tavern, Schroeder asks frog about the writings he copied
• frog mentions the first is high elven, then an older version of common, then ashlayan. he notes that it says it was smeemba’s room, and the ancient text is a name he does not wish to pronounce out of superstition, but agrees to write it down in common, athalox. schroeder gets burning sensation in back of head when he reads the name, then he burns the paper with the name in a nearby candle.
• boaz, katar, shcroeder order the new lotus drink to test it out
• boaz and katar pass out, schroeder gives his drink to frog who also passes out, though not as long
• frog comes too and Schroeder asks him if he knows of anyone who could help him find some items outside of the keep. boaz and katar wake up as frog is describing “bear hug” over in the corner, strong man winning all the arm wrestling matches (except against the cheating ruta). Shroeder approaches and watches as bear hug (narrowly) wins a match
• End [@boaz, @katar, @schroeder, @bearhug]

Important Notes:

• • NPCs introduced
    1. Smeemba, red gnome who used to live in Schroeder’s current room
  • Items given
    1. Ashlayan Antidotes (slim vial, filled with blue liquid), 1 each to @Boaz, @Katar, @Schroeder
    2. Obsidian Mace @Boaz