Exploring the Dungeon

The Mirrored Hall: Day One

Entering the vine-choked ruins, with crumbling walls and buildings open to the elements, the exploring party immediately discover stairs leading down, and two stone doors choked by vines and partially blocked by rubble. One of the doors is cleared by Ungrid with his axe, and forced open by the mighty strength of Halmary. Inside there is a small room, with weeds creeping through cracks in the floor and walls; water trickles through the ceiling, and in the corner is a yellowed, brittle skeleton with centipedes and spiders (non-monstrous and non-hostile) living in the skull and ribcage; and in its hand is a shiny green emerald, shaped like a hexagon: most likely one of the ‘keys’ they believe they are looking for.

It seems all too easy.

The other door opens into a larger room, with ceramic urns on a stone shelf, holding desiccated hearts, a fresh heart, and some incense sticks; Halmary stabs the fresh heart, and they leave the rest. They also discover another staircase leading down, and follow it into a damp dungeon. Zarkov lights his lantern, staying at the back while Halmary and Ungrid (the party’s shield-wall) take point, with Corvin and Idni behind them, spears and bows at the ready. They find a room with nothing in it except a stone throne; which has a secret compartment holding a fur coat, urn and casket of silver; another room is full of ruined furniture and a swarm of spiders, green and as large as a man’s fist, which do not attack and are left alone; another room of ruined furniture, a former study, holds a giant spider, which promptly attacks: Ungrid steps up and with a swing of his new sword, Old Man Iron, slays the monster; and takes a funny turn as strands of his beard turn grey! He has aged a year!

But it is a nice sword, a pretty sword, and he has no desire to use any other, despite the possible consequences.

They continue exploring, looking for but finding no secret doors, and only empty rooms that once used to be a library, a torture room, an embalming room, and a crypt with the skeletons of lions entombed in old sarcophagi. Finding nothing of interest, they leave that part of the dungeon, cross the ruins to the other stairs, and head down again. Halmary casts a Find Traps spell, examining doors as they move along exploring the corridors, to get an idea of the layout. He detects nothing. They find a pair of beaten-copper doors, bearing the likeness of a lion. Inside the room are two fancy stone sarcophagi, with the likeness of lion-headed figures: inside are the desiccated copses of lion-headed men, which rise to attack when Idni prods them with his spear, and are quickly turned by Halmary, allowing the others to smash them to pieces and rob them of the amber-beaded necklaces around their necks. Another room holds rotten paintings, and another an empty bookcase that is revealed to a secret door: behind it is the camp of another party of adventurers, who warn them off. Mild insults and warnings are flung back and forth, but in the end there is no blood-shed and the rivals are left alone, and the adventurers head off deeper into dungeon.

One room holds an old lion-headed man, clutching a crystal ball, who offers to tell their fortune for a drop of blood. He is polite but doesn’t reveal anything useful, and no one wants to risk having their fortunes told. Another door is boarded-up by planks of wood, which Halmary tears down… and is surprised as another lion-headed man, this one alive and coated in an oily sheen, bursts open and the door and attacks: it falls to the Ungrid’s blade, Old Man Iron (and ages another year in the process, but he still likes his new sword), and Idni’s Werebane spear. They find a wrecked room, but find some treasure buried amongst the rubbish, including a masterly crafted scimitar.

Leaving that room behind, they continue on…

End of Session

Kills: a giant jungle spider; 2 lion-headed zombies; a lion-headed tainted creature.

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