Under new Management
(Arden Vul’s ticketmaster outlet changes hands in a hostile takeover)
Day: 27, Mo/Yr: 4/12, 2993[AEP] irl: April 5th, 2025 Session 10
Scribe: Shadowfax
GM: EvilTables
| Players | Broken Head | Acquaintances, Friends new & departed |
| Agoston [Scholar 3] dcterraGrim [Dwarf 3] Big_PunAlexos [Cleric 3] SaracorMeric [Thief 4] Shadowfax NPC:Brunwolf* [Torchbearer] | Belaros [Fighter 2] DeViateMikeleos [Druid 2] SaracorFeathers [Thief 3] jdsullSalvatore [Cleric 2] jdsullFeathers [Thief 3] jdsullGemistos [Scholar 1] Luminance Herakleon [Scolar 1]Syagria [Fighter 2] NPC’s:Lankios [Retired paladin]Khronos and Estelle [Keepers] | Count Sceleros [Beastmen] rescued leader, returned to Dino]Klisco [Illusionist] rescued brought to Gosterwick Dalton’s DarlingsDalton & Jason [fighters]☠ Helga [thief] Isidor (halfling) [thief] – the stinky stealer☠ Yvette (cleric)Heliagabulus (Magic User) ☠ Dead:Hektor [Fighter] Saracor |
We don’t need no stink’n Passes!
The party sets out back to the now well familiar ruins west of the great mesoamerican style pyramid only to come across a retreating group of Dalton’s Daralings. They are carrying Helga the Thief. She is dead, killed by poison darts from a run in with the Halflings. We learn that they headed out the same way as we are going to. So that entrance is no secret to the Daltons.
We make our way north on the first level back past the door with the chalk sketched warning: “Under construction”. The words are now underlined. We go through and find on the other side, sitting on a chair, a small halfling woman eating and she asks us for our pass. We don’t have one but learn the going rate for a pass is 25GP plus 20% of the haul. Flobotomus the leader of the Halflings has established this rate.
Agoston preps and casts sleep on the wench. She falls over asleep and we immediately search her belongings, finding: a 50GP gems, sling and dagger. We proceed down to the lower level. Then we put her in the skeleton room and lock the door with our key.
Moving to the south we notice a few bloody footprints that head west into the 4 statue room and then go North. Meric follows the footprints north into the floating feather room to find a familiar Zombie that was turned by Alexos a day previously laying face down on the floor.
Architectural Insights
Continuing on to the Thoth Statue and around the connected hall that slopes down to a dead end,
we find at the end of the west corridor a small black square that can be pressed in (1). Grim uses the 10ft pole and upon pressing we hear a mechanism moving something that sounds to be coming from the southwest. We move back around the hall to the Thoth (3) statue and discover in the alcove west of the statue a panel has lifted (2).
Meric examines the second panel behind the first that has now been revealed. We notice now for the first time that this entire section we’re in (ca. 60ft radius) seems that it could rotate. Heading now to the south west hall section down the sloped passage we encounter giant rats and decide it is best to head south.
Pyramid Room
We check out the pyramid room on our next stop. The walls are 50’ tall to the ceiling with many frescos on the walls. Frescos of creatures cutting off beards and cutting off robes and chains throwing everything into a pile. Green mist is rising from the floor currently about 3’ high. The mist seems to be coming from the floor. The pyramid is nearly to the sealing at 40’ tall. We climb it using the recess steps. At the top is a platform of lafalezulie (Gemstone) the rest of the pyramid is granite. A single steel bar is sticking out vertically from the platform. It is grey with an obsidian knob at the top.A switch? We notice from here that the mist is coming from underneath the pyramid. We leave the pyramid and head back to the beastmen.
Back at the Beastmen Headquarter
Giving the pass: “REX” at the entrance to the beastmen quarters, we get back to count Sceleros and he sets us up with an elite squad longrange cave patrol consisting of 4 ratmen and 1 goatman beastman.
Attack!
Traveling through the mushroom forest we meet 6 bluish fungal looking creatures with strange mushroom heads. They give off a cloud which wafs in our direction (Fungal Foresters). Both our party and the beastmen escort are surprised and we engage in attacking them.
Alexos is stunned. After two rounds of fighting and no fallen fungi we decide it best to run.
We exit the cave and make it all the way back to the basement area again at midday and return to the locked skeleton room where we left the sleeping halfling.
We decide it best to leave the halfling with the beastmen so they can take her back to their base for questioning.
Showdown at the A.V. corral
We go back to the Broken Head Inn and find Dalton’s Darlings preparing a revenge attack on the halflings. They warn us about the poison darts. In conversation we learn that Phlebotomos, the leader of the halflings, has turned out to be a real jerk and doubled his pass rates. They ask us to join but we decline.
Agoston cast esp on Dalton and Heliagabulus: Dalton Seems more disappointed than he’s letting on about our declining his offer to join. Heliagabulus’s head is filled with thoughts of burning halflings.
We decide to make a wide berth of the Daltons, departing the Brokenhead a few hours after them. Two dead halflings are found along the way as we head back where we left off at the statue of Thoth. Three more halfling dead before we get there…
Moving the left hand of the Thoth reveals a secret spiral staircase and two more dead halflings.
Descending to the next level we find Yvette the cleric slumped over on the ground – dead
There is a pile of rocks up to the ceiling against one side.
We see Dalton shouting at the pile – “We know you’re in there, don’t try to sneak away!”
Dalton tells us they have a dozen halflings cornered, apparently the remainder of the opposition.