Campaign Log: B4 - The Lost City

By Jason Cone, originally found on http://www.philotomy.com

Background

General Information

Inspired by a discussion on the Dragonsfoot forums, I decided to try running a D&D game using an expanded version of the Holmes Basic rules. The Holmes Basic boxed set was my introduction to D&D back in 1979, but I almost immediately started playing a chaotic mixture of Holmes and AD&D that gradually evolved into something close to by-the-book AD&D over a period of years. Because my previous experience with them was colored by that AD&D influence, the Holmes rules were both familiar and strange. They included many things I'd overlooked or cast aside for AD&D versions (e.g. ability modifiers, variable weapon damage, et cetera). I knew I'd be house-ruling a bit, but I wanted to try out the game mostly on it's own terms, in a real "old school" manner, and see how it stood up.

That demanded a dungeon, of course, and I decided to go with B4: The Lost City. I'm a fan of Tom Moldvay's adventures, which often draw on fiction for inspiration (e.g. Castle Amber/Clark Ashton Smith, Lost City/Robert E. Howard, Isle of Dread/King Kong); they also tend to offer the DM plenty of room for expansion. Moldvay's adventures are sometimes campaign settings in disguise, and it's amazing how much inspirational material and framework he could pack into a small page count. I'd never run Lost City, and I'd been re-reading the Conan stories, so decided B4 would be the perfect choice.

As the campaign progressed, so did my understanding and appreciation of the OD&D rules. My house-ruled Holmes rules slowly evolved, incorporating bits and pieces from OD&D and its supplements. Eventually, I realized I was not really playing Holmes, anymore; I'd removed almost all the Holmes-specific elements (although I retained the Holmes rules on scroll creation and the movement rate variant) — my game had become OD&D.

Changes to the Module

B4 is written for the B/X edition of the D&D rules (i.e. the 1981 Basic and Expert sets edited by Moldvay/Cook/Marsh). Obviously, there were a few changes required when running it under a different D&D rules-set, but most of those are so minor that I just handle them on the fly; they're not worth discussing, here. More significant are a few stylistic changes, and a brief description of how I fleshed out the lower levels of the dungeon. This information contains spoilers about the module, and especially about my version of it. If you're playing in my game, you should avoid the marked spoilers, or you'll ruin your fun.

Pyramid Construction

I've added numerous air shafts and vents built into the upper levels of the pyramid. In addition to air-flow, these also allow sound to travel and mutate over great distances, and allow for the passage of vermin like snakes, rats, insects, lizards, et cetera. They are omnipresent in the upper pyramid. They're usually near the ceilings, and are sometimes incorporated into designs and carvings. Much of the upper pyramid is decorated with stylized carvings in "borders" that run along the ceiling or floor. Usually these are purely decorative, but they sometimes have actual meaning that can offer clues about the location, or they can conceal traps, hidden switches, et cetera.

Session One

Inspired by Meepo's "expanded Holmes" (see here), I ran the first session of B4 with Holmes this evening. This is the edition I started with all those years ago, but back then we played a unholy mix of versions, pulling rules freely from all over the place; my Holmes games back then were as much Moldvay/Cook and OAD&D as they were Holmes. So this is kinda like my first time running anything close to by-the-book Holmes (although I'm house-ruling some stuff).

My players are my two eldest children. They rolled up a PC each, going 3d6 in order and seeing what came up. What they got was:

• Fighting Man: Str 10 Int 12 Wis 11 Con 14 Dex 8 Cha 16
• Cleric: Str 7 Int 8 Wis 10 Con 9 Dex 8 Cha 8

I also gave them three "desert nomad" NPCs (normal men) that were survivors from the caravan.

My house rules (mostly Meepo's, but a few differences):

1. Max hit points for level 1
2. PCs unconscous at 0 hp, can survive to -(level + 1)
3. Magic missle auto-hits. Multiple missles at higher levels.
4. 2-H weapons or two 1-H weapons roll 2 dice of damage, keeping the high roll.
5. All PCs roll 1 melee attack per round, regardless of weapon(s).
6. Natural 20s that hit do maximum damage (i.e. 6)
7. Natural 1s that miss give one enemy one free attack.

Some things I've noticed, already:

1. I like the way stat modifiers are done. This is a surprise, as I've always preferred the B/X modifiers. However, I think the Holmes (and OD&D) modifiers are deemphasizing the numbers in a good way — it seems to be putting more emphasis on how the PC is played, rather than what his stats are.
2. I like 1d6 damage for all weapons. This is also a surprise. Nevertheless, I can see the reasoning for having all weapons do 1d6 (which is enough to kill an average normal man): a dagger thrust can kill you just as readily as a big chop from a 2-H sword. Nevertheless, I do think there should be a "game" reason to give up a shield and use a 2-H weapon, so I like the house rule on this I listed, earlier.
3. I like not having a thief in the party. This was chance, rather than Holmes rules, but not having a thief to roll for finding traps and such has really emphasized descriptive searches, etc. And I like it. I suspected that I've been over-using "perception checks," and now I'm certain of it. Also, in Holmes, thieves don't have any special ability to find traps, anyway. They have the "remove trap" ability, and it only applies to small traps like poisoned needles, etc. Presumably, they find traps just like anyone else: describing how and where they search. I like it!
4. No initiative. I'm not doing this exactly by-the-book, though. I'm using Dex as a general guide, but just ruling the "who goes next" order based on the overall situation (Dex, weapons, circumstances, etc). A roll decides things if there's some question in my mind. This is the way I've been running my C&C games, too, so it's nothing new, for me. I like this approach a lot.

Everyone had a blast. My son has played C&C, BFRP, and BECMI, before (and I gave him a copy of the Mentzer Basic set, so he's familiar with that), but this was his first time playing Holmes. He noticed some differences (stat bonuses, everything doing 1d6 damage), but didn't seem to worry about them. Usually when he plays, there are adults playing, too, so he rarely "takes the lead" in the game. This time, he was the leader, making all the decisions, etc. I think it improved the game for him; he really got into it. I even saw him closing his eyes as I described what his character could see. This was my daughter's first time running a PC, although she's often seen others playing, so she already knew how it worked. I enjoyed seeing how excited she got.

The party entered the ziggurat and made their way to the entrance/statue room with the three bronze cylinders. The door shut on them, which caused some concern until they tried re-opening it and had no problem. However, after assuring themselves they weren't locked in, they let it close, again.

They immediately started examining the bronze cylinders. During their examination, I mentioned that they were beginning to feel light-headed. That sped things up, and the Fighter moved up to the rightmost cylinder and opened its door, triggering the trapdoor. He fell into the darkness, below, luckily only taking 1 point of damage. I ruled that he had managed to slow his fall by bumping the ladder, but he still landed on his back with a crash.

He couldn't see much, since he didn't have the torch (the cleric, above, still carried it), so the only light was filtering down from the open trapdoor, above. However, almost immediately pale red lights illuminated in the dark corner of the room, and began moving towards him. I said the lights appeared to be coming from some 3 foot long beetles with huge pincer-like mandibles. The fighter got his feet and drew his sword just as the beetles reached him. The rest of the party had taken a point of damage from the gas, above, and was heading down the ladder.

I ruled that the Fighter, with his longsword, had the first attack on the beetles. He rolled a 19 for his initial roll, and a 6 for damage, slicing one beetle in half, immediately [This was a great way to start off the first combat of the game]. The others attacked, him, and one got a grip on his leg, drawing blood through his greave. He continued to hack at the monsters, and was soon joined by the rest of the group. The fight ended with the beetles dead and both the Fighter and Cleric slighty wounded.

After the fight, the PCs briefly considered the beetles as a possible food source, but decided to keep looking — they weren't that desperate, yet, and this place looked cluttered with pottery jars and wooden crates or boxes. They made a thourough exploration of the room, and found some oil, but nothing to eat or drink. They were preparing to leave the room when they heard a noise from one of the doors on the west end, and the portal opened.

Several humanoid figures were about to come through the door, but they stopped as soon as they saw the PCs and their light. The figures were on the ragged edge of the torchlight, so the PCs could only make out shadowy forms with animal-like heads: a bird-man, a wolf or dog-like man, and several others. The beast-men seemed to be carrying a pallet or stretcher of some sort.

The PCs drew weapons and held their ground, but did not speak or move to attack. They just waited. The beast-men put down their burden and moved into the room, hands on weapons. The bird man said something in a strangely familiar, but incomprehensible tongue. [I'm ruling that the Cyndiceans speak an ancient and mutated form of Common. The PCs can understand it if they listen very carefully, and can learn the dialect if they're exposed to it for a while. I described it to my players as trying to understand spoken archaic English, heavily accented. I gave them a demonstration by saying "Wha b'yee, un Wham djyah serf?" (i.e. who are you and whom do you serve?). After several repetions accompanied by gestures, my daughter cried out "He wants to know who we are!" I immediatey awarded her some XP points, to her delight. From there, conversation was handled by rolling 3d6 against Int to see if accurate communication was achieved.]

A parlay was achieved, and weapons sheathed. When the PCs got closer, they saw that the beast-men weren't beast-men at all, but rather pale-skinned humanoids wearing elaborate masks and costumes. After communication was established, the PCs came to understand that the masked men wanted them to come help with a wounded comrade. The agreed, and followed the masked strangers through the east door, into a dark hallway where the crumpled form of another masked man (this one with a hound mask) lay in a pool of blood that leaked from his mangled leg.

The masked hawk-man pointed to the wound and directed a stream of words at the PCs. He waited expectantly, but couldn't make himself understood. He began to get visibly frustrated, and even angry. The PCs got the idea that he expected something of them, and that he thought they were refusing. Again, my daughter caught the message, saying "he wants us to heal his friend!" The PCs washed and bandaged the wound, but couldn't do anything else. This obviously didn't satisfy the hawk-man, who made more angry comments. The Fighter (who has a decent Cha), finally managed to convince the hawk-man that the PCs were unable to do anything else.

At this, the hawk-man nodded his understanding and shrugged. He drew his short-sword, causing immediate concern (especially among the NPC followers, who drew weapons). However, the PCs didn't draw their weapons. After a brief glance and sneer at the NPC followers, the hawk-man knelt by the hound-man and plunged his sword into the unfortunate fellow's heart, again causing cried of alarm and horror.

Wide-eyed, the Fighter stood and watched as the hawk-man wiped his blade and stood. The hawk man pointed to the wound on the fighter's leg, said something, and nodded resignedly. He clapped him on the shoulder, looked him in the eye, and drew back his sword-arm for a thrust. The Fighter gave a cry of "No!", grabbing the sword arm and punching the hawk-man. [He had set his shield down while treating the hound-man, and his sword was sheathed.] His blow didn't strike true, but knocked the man's mask askew. Immediately weapons came out all around and a frenzied melee erupted in the hall.

The Cleric (my daughter) held a shield and a torch. Rather than drop the torch, she used it as a weapon. She didn't try to club them, but just to set their robes/feathers/etc on fire. She suceeded with the bird-man, and he was soon wreathed in flame. [Rather gruesome, but effective tactics for a young girl to think of.] Anyway, the fight was quickly over, ending in a PC victory with no loss of life, but a few more lost HPs.

That's where we stopped. (It was a school night.) Hopefully we'll have a longer session this evening.

Session Two

My wife, after hearing all about the first session from my son, decided to join in this time (I introduced her to RPGs when she was in high school, so she's an old hand). Despite a twinge of regret that she might take the leader role away from my son, I welcomed her and had her roll up a PC.

...And the bitching started. She didn't want 3d6 in order, and she thought her rolls were hopeless. And she wanted a "real" character sheet, not the notebook paper we were using [I printed off a copy of a B/X character sheet for her.] She had rolled:

Str 11 Int 12 Wis 17 Con 8 Dex 12 Cha 13

I told her those weren't hopeless at all, and that she had a great Wis. She complained that she didn't want to be a cleric. I told her she didn't have to be a cleric, even with those stats. I suggested an Elf, which she accepted, to my surprise (she ALWAYS plays single-classed humans — usually a beautiful sorceress, but sometimes a fighter or paladin). She was relieved to discover that I gave max hp at first level, and surprised that her low Con didn't give a negative modifier. She bought equipment and I started play with her Elf finding the tracks of the other survivors in the desert. She followed them to the Lost City and the ziggurat, and proceeded inside. [At this point I discovered that she had purchased a 10' pole. Amused, I ruled that she wasn't lugging a 10' pole around the desert, but rather found a suitable wooden beam or shaft amidst the ruins when she happened on the Lost City.]

The Elf left her pole at the entrance and entered the statue room with the bronze cylinders. Unlike the other PCs, the Elf spiked the door open. She also heard the gas hissing into the room, so she located and plugged the small holes with more iron spikes, tapped home. Carefully stepping around the open trap-door, she first went up the ladder and found herself inside one of the bronze statues. Noting the levers, gears, speaking tube, etc., she realized the purpose of the place, but didn't try manipulating anything. She went back down the ladder and into the storage room that used to be the fire beetle lair. She saw the signs of a recent combat (blood drops, dead beetles) and evidence the room had been carefully searched (open containers, disturbed dust, etc). Listening at all the doors, she heard voices to the east, so she opened the door and came upon the other PCs and followers, resting and cleaning up after their combat with the masked men.

After a brief reunion and recap, the united PCs set off. They took two masks that weren't ruined in the melee (a cat and a fox), and the Elf retrieved her 10' pole. One of the desert nomads ended up carrying it. [My wife did take on a lot of "leader" role, however, I played up the Fighter's superior Cha by having the NPCs always deferring to him; he ended up directing their actions and using his Cha to good effect. Noting that Holmes rules don't really reward a high Wis (unless you're a Cleric), I also played up the Elf's Wis by giving her some "common sense" ideas/advice as they explored.]

The PCs went through the southernmost door on the west wall of the beetle/ladder room (this was the door the masked men had first come through). They decided the Elf should explore the corridor using her infravision, so she crept down the passage, alone, while the Fighter kept the door cracked and an ear cocked. She noted the presence of a secret door on the north wall of the passage, but continued to look around the corner where the corridor made a turn to the south. Seeing more corridor and a door, she returned to the party and reported what she had seen. The PCs decided to check out the secret door, and moved into the passage.

[I decided that this secret door couldn't be opened by a die roll, but rather by twisting an (empty) torch sconce in the center of that section of wall.] The Elf started trying to open the secret door. I asked her "what do you do?" That took her by surprise — she's used to handling such things with die rolls. She said she started pressing the stones, running her hands along the cracks, et cetera. I drew a sketch of the wall section (including the torch sconce) and indicated fault lines where she thought the door was. I told her she was sure the door was there, but nothing she did caused it to open. My son said "pull the torch thing." She said "I was going to do that..." and tried it. It didn't work. Finally, she tried twisting it, and I described a grating noise as the section of wall pivoted and started to swing open, giving the PCs a look at the chamber beyond.

The room beyond was about twenty by twenty or so, and almost as tall as it was broad, with a domed ceiling. A shaft of light shone down from a hole in the ceiling, giving some illumination that showed dust, sand, and rubbish of some sort on the floor. Something shiny glinted there as well, but the PCs attention went immediately to multiple large birds or bats that made high shrieking noises and launched themselves towards the opening door.

A deadly struggle took place as the stirges dove on the PCs. Several were cut down as they attacked, but two of the monsters struck home, thrusting their long proboscises into necks and latching on with tiny talons. Both the Fighter and the Elf suffered this misfortune. The Fighter responded by drawing and using his dagger. The Elf grabbed the nasty creature with her hands, trying to rip it free. The rest of the PCs swung weapons (and a torch) at the other stirges. Both the Fighter and Elf succeeded in their attacks. The stirge previously attached to the Fighter was wounded and flew off. The Elf grabbed "her" stirge with a natural 20, so I ruled that she not only pulled it off, but also could throw it to the floor, doing damage, if she wished. She did, but the creature still lived, and took to the air again, like some horrid mosquito coming back for another pass. A desert nomad had a stirge attach to him and begin to feed; the cleric pulled the beast off and thrust it into the torch flame, but the nomad passed out from pain, fatigue, and loss of blood [he went to exactly zero hp]. The party triumphed, however, killing all but one of the monsters; the last of them flew off, escaping through the hole in room's ceiling.

The PCs all entered the chamber and shut the secret door. They made a search of the room, finding dried husks of desert mice, serpents, and scorpions amidst sand and dust that had blown or drifted in through the hole. Half buried in the foul nest-like lair of the stirges, they found several valuable gemstones, including a beautiful star sapphire with a "floating" star. The elf also found a second secret door in the north wall of the chamber, but no other entrances or exits. The PCs decided to "hole up" here to rest, despite their thirst [they were hurt]. I told them that they could probably go one more day without water, but that they would soon start suffering badly. They used iron spikes to wedge both secret doors, and kept watch for the stirge. [The stirge did return, but it was shot and killed by the elf, who had a bow at hand for just that purpose.]

After resting, the unconscious NPC woke, begging for water. Feeling better, but the first signs of extreme thirst causing a sense of desperation, the PCs decided to split the party. The three PCs would go through the north secret door and look for water. The three NPCs would remain here, and spike the doors shut, again. A special knock to signal their return was decided upon, and the PCs set off on the do-or-die attempt to find water.

They explored the corridor beyond to its end, noting, but not opening, any doors. At the end of the corridor, they discovered three large pottery urns. The first had a lid marked with three circles. The other two had lids marked with three water drops. Excited, the Fighter opened the water pots, only to discover empty containers with metal dippers resting on their bottoms. The pot marked with circles was filled to the brim with sand. Disgusted, the Elf said she was going to each door in the passage and listening. In the meantime, the Fighter wanted to search the sand-filled pot, transferring sand to an empty water urn.

The Elf heard nothing from all the doors except one, behind which she heard high pitched, laughing voices. She returned to report just as the Fighter discovered a small leather pouch buried about a foot into the sand. [This was a treasure not in the module, but I wanted to reward my son's idea about searching the sand to encourage him. I decided that a Cynidicean thief had stolen a small piece of jewelry and been forced to hide it here, long ago, to avoid being caught with it. He never got a chance to retrieve it.]

The PCs went to the door where the Elf heard voices and burst in, expecting more masked men, and hoping they had water. Instead, to their great shock, they interrupted a group of a dozen sprites having what appeared to be a party atop some wooden crates in the middle of the room. This surreal sight took the PCs by surprise, which seemed to greatly amuse the faeries. The Fighter then asked them who they were using his poorly accented "ancient Common," which caused even greater mirth from the fey people, who seemed to be drinking wine from tiny cups. The sprites poked fun at the PCs, which they took with good grace, and a conversation (in normal common) sprang up. It seems the sprites were on "an excursion" or "on holiday!" from the "enchanted gardens" far below the ziggurat. [The sprites were referring to the Orpheus garden and mushroom fields — I decided to have them living there, amongst the dream and drug addled Cynidiceans that are perfect targets for fey pranks.] The sprites gave the PCs each a tiny cup of potent faerie wine, but that did little to slake their thirst. The sprites also advised them that water could be found in the chambers of "the Brotherhood," and told them generally where those chambers were. They advised them to watch out for bees and for anything that looked like snot (the PCs thought this rather odd advice, but the entire conversation was odd). They also told them the mask-wearers all tended to be a little "crazy and touched."

Bidding the sprites farewell, the PCs checked several other doors. They discovered a room with a floor completely covered in greenish, snot-like slime. They quickly shut the door as the foul stuff rippled and started to ooze towards them. They also found a storage room full of rotting cloth, spoiled grain, and other ruined (and ancient-looking) foodstuffs. After wasting a great deal of time searching this last chamber, they decided to return to the secret room to tell the NPCs they knew where water was, and to maximize their strength before encountering the "brotherhood." The Fighter gave his shield to the wounded nomad, further cementing his good standing with them.

The reunited group proceeded south, out through the secret door and down the corridor. The discovered some stairs that descended to the next tier, but bypassed these, coming upon a dusty room that appeared to be an ancient bedroom/study. The body of a bestial-looking humanoid [hobgoblin] sprawled on the floor, here, one arm bloated and discolored. A search of the room turned up little: an empty (looted) chest, a carved wooden lightning bolt pendant [holy symbol of Gorm], and the body. The Elf heard a low humming or buzzing from the east door. When the PC's searched the body, they found a puncture wound in the arm, and guessed that the hobgoblin had perished from a giant bee sting. They also found a purse with some gold and silver coin, and a flask of water! The water was shared amongst all, with the greatest portion going to the wounded nomad. The PCs also carefully searched the furniture for hidden compartments, etc. They discovered a hidden drawer in the desk which held three clerical scrolls. [This is another treasure not in the module. Again, I wanted to reward and encourage the kind of descriptive searching and play they were engaging in. I also wanted to give them cleric a boost. I won't always be throwing treasure at them just because they search, but for now it suits a dual purpose of reinforcing this manner of play and helping them with some extra XP or resources. I like to move to 2nd level pretty quickly, and then slow things down once they aren't quite so fragile.]

[At this point I had to take a few minutes to review the Holmes rules on scrolls. I was a bit surprised to find that the magic item section only talked about magic-user scrolls, as if there were no cleric scrolls. I looked at the cleric spell section, where I found a statement saying that 2nd level cleric spells had been included for NPCs and scrolls, so that indicated that such scrolls were intended. I decided to fall back on OD&D for this, and looked it up, there. However, I found that a similar situation exists in the OD&D rules — cleric scrolls are mentioned as existing (i.e. "25% chance..."), but not really described. I went with the B/X description, where cleric scrolls are written in common speech, needing no special skill or spell to read, but can only be cast by clerics. I also ruled that such scrolls took the form of special prayers, and are usually tied to a specific deity. This wouldn't technically prevent the use of such a scroll by the cleric of a different deity, but it might cause reluctance or a problem in certain circumstances. Since these were ancient scrolls, they were written in ancient common, and were addressed to the deity, Gorm.]

The cleric took a look at the scrolls and gleaned a few tidbits from them. They were prayers/miracles/spells of curing, light, and protection from evil. The content of the prayers indicated that Gorm was a generally good deity of war, justice, and storms or strength. The cleric decided not to attempt casting any spells from the scrolls until he had a chance to carefully review them.

Before opening the door and facing what they were pretty certain were giant bees, the PCs came up with an excellent plan. They knew the oil from the beetle/storage room was old and burned with a great deal of smoke. The Elf suggested hurling burning oil into the space, beyond, hopefully filling it with smoke and driving off or slowing down/stupifying the bees. The plan was quickly put into action.

The PCs opened the door, seeing a chamber containing a large cage with a hive inside and treasure all over the cage floor. Potted and flowering plants lined the walls [I added these], and a hole in the ceiling let in some light and air. Several large bees flew around, but didn't immediately attack. The PCs threw in their oil and set it aflame, causing great clouds of nasty smoke. The smoke quickly filled the room, although it was also being drawn off through the ceiling hole. The PCs waited for the smoke to clear some, then entered the chamber. A couple of bees crawled on the floor, and were dispatched. The remainder seemed to have flown out through the hole [there were still some in the hive].

The PCs scooped up the treasure and put in the previously empty chest from the bedchamber. While the others did this, the elf used her 10' pole to wedge some old cushions and cloth into the hole, lest the bees try to return. Once the treasure was secured, the group also discovered a water urn amongst the potted plants. This one was not empty, and they gave glad cries and began to drink.

All this commotion (and smoke smell) finally brought attention down on them, unfortunately. The door to the east flung open, and five men in chainmail, blue tunics, and identical golden masks stepped into the chamber. Giving angry shouts, they drew swords and charged the PCs. In the brutal melee that followed, the Fighter distinguished himself [rolling exceptionally well], dispatching his foes with a longsword in one hand and a shortsword in the other. Several in the party were wounded, but no one fell, and after a few rounds of combat only one masked attacker still stood. However, to their horror, the masked men were reinforced by another five, one of which was clearly a leader: he shouted orders and wore a fancier mask. Swords continued to flicker and thrust, and more blood flowed. A nomad went down to multiple thrusts. The cleric was felled by a sword pommel against the temple. But masked warriors fell as well, and the Fighter continued to shine. He killed two more enemies in as many rounds, hacking his way to the leader, who he engaged with a furious battle cry and a storm of flashing steel. Even the leader couldn't hold him off [he rolled a natural 20]; the Fighter knocked the man's guard aside with his longsword and sent a wicked thrust from his short blade straight at the leader's breast. Only the masked man's speed and skill saved him from death; he managed to twist so the blade gave him a heavy wound, but didn't pierce his heart. Seeing so few of his brothers remaining, and fearing his own end and the end of his brotherhood, the leader shouted out "Yield! Yield!" For a tense moment, the combatants paused, and then the surrender was accepted. The two living masked warriors and the leader all dropped their weapons.

A long period of excellent role-playing followed. At first, the masked men were angry, bitter, and hostile, accusing the PCs of murder and thievery. However, the PCs managed to convey their side of the story, and they noted the noble bearing and demeanor of the masked men. The Cha of the Fighter, his prowess, and the sincerity of the PCs were likewise noted by the masked leader [his helm of telepathy helped, too]. When the PCs denied being thieves and returned the treasure of Gorm, the tide turned. While still saddened and bitter over the loss of so many brothers, Kanadius, the leader, acknowledged that the whole situation was an unfortunate mistake and misunderstanding. However, he said the PCs may well have slain the best hope for the "salvation of Cynidicea," and that they owed him and the brotherhood for so many brave men slain. The PCs asked more about the brotherhood and Cynidicea, and Kanadius told them of the city far below, it's deluded and drugged people (his people!) who followed the dark god, and of his Brotherhood that rejected the dark ways and sought to bring a revival of the old ways, and of the worship of Gorm.

At this, the Elf asked if one of the three statues on the top of the pyramid was Gorm. Kanadius confirmed this. The Elf then asked about the other two statues. Was one of them the dark god? Or were they old gods, too? Kanadius told of the other two old Gods, and a little of the organizations that followed them. However, he explained that not all the old ways were the best way. The strength of Gorm was needed to cast off the yoke of the dark one, Zargon. The PCs apologized (again) for killing so many brothers. Kanadius, seeing their sincerity, and knowing how badly the brotherhood needed more members, offered to accept their apology, but asked that the Fighter and the nomads become Brothers of Gorm. He didn't ask this of the cleric, understanding he was already sworn to his own deity, and he didn't ask it of the Elf, who was, of course, a woman [this annoyed my wife]. He did offer to make them "Friends of Gorm," though. He reminded them that they owed him, and asked their aid in casting off the yoke of Zargon.

To make a long story short (too late), the PCs accepted and were taken through the initiation ritual. They were given food, water, new clothes, masks or pendants, and the nomads were given chainmail and helms.

We ended, there, and I awarded XP. I gave them full XP for the treasure they gave back, and also XP for finding water and good role-playing. It was a really fun session.

Session Three

[A short session — another weeknight "after dinner & homework" game]

After the initiation and friendship ceremonies, the Brotherhood of Gorm moved the PCs into one of the abandoned clerics' chambers. While they recuperated, they learned more about Cynidicea and its people. They also came up with a plan of action. The long-term goal was to be the elimination of Zargon. In the short-term, they needed to replenish the ranks of the Brotherhood, and proposed a somewhat controversial plan to do so. The elf proposed capturing normal Cynidiceans that were "lukewarm" followers of Zargon (i.e. not priests or zealots) and "drying them out:" that is, forcing them to stop taking the mind-altering drugs that kept them in their dream-like state. Kanandius was uncomfortable with a plan that forced people against their will, but the PCs convinced him that they would be freeing his people from bondage, and giving them the opportunity to think clearly. Once their minds were clear, they could be given a choice, and hopefully they would choose to join the Brotherhood and follow the old ways. Kanandius cautiously agreed to this plan, but warned that his resources were few, at the moment, so the Brotherhood could not take care of more than a few people at a time. The PCs agreed that this was fine.

Once they were fully recovered, the PCs set out deeper into the pyramid, using the stairs. Kanandius warned them that the Magi and the Warrior Maidens have stongholds within the pyramid, as well, and to beware of them: especially of the Maidens, who are prone to violent action.

The PCs, wearing their Gorm masks (and pendant) descended to the third tier and began following the hallway. As they carefully moved along the passage, the elf noticed an irregularity in the northern wall, and the group stopped to examine the stones. No sconces were in evidence, here, so the elf started moving and pressing stone blocks. She found one stone that could be pulled out; once it was removed, a lever was revealed. Pulling the lever caused a clunking noise, and the wall "unlocked" and could swing open. The PCs pushed the door open, revealing a large storage chamber of some sort.

Crates and barrels were stacked in neat rows throughout the chamber, and the place was relatively free of dust. The secret door seemed to have opened in the southwest corner of the room. From the opposite corner, the PCs could hear scuttling and crunching noises, but the rows of containers obscured their view. They split into two groups — one led by the elf and one lead by the fighter — and made a flanking or pincer-like movement to investigate the source of the noise.

The fighter's group got into position first, and could see several large (3' long) beetles chewing and breaking into the crates. One of the beetles saw them, as well, and scuttled forward, mandibles working excitedly. The fighter drew steel and held his ground, but the beetles stopped a few paces from him and squirted an oily, foul-smelling discharge towards him. With an oath, he leapt aside, raising his shield. None of the oil struck him, though, and he stepped forward and attacked. His blow caught the beetle solid, hewing it nearly in two. Its legs twitched feebly as it died. [He rolled a natural 20 and did max damage — this is exactly how he opened the first combat of the adventure, too!]

In the meantime, the elf had moved into position and could see the remaining three beetles, which were just now turning from their feast to investigate the disturbance. The elf gestured in the air and spoke a rush of arcane syllables, and the beetles all fell asleep, even as they moved forward. Working quickly, the PCs dispatched the insects and made a search of the chamber. The fighter expressed some disgust that the elf had "wasted her sleep spell" on vermin like this, especially when it could have been used on potential "recruits for the Brotherhood!" [My son took my wife to task, on this one. She seemed unapologetic, though: "you don't know what that oil could do if it got on you — maybe it's like acid or something...]

They soon discovered that there seemed to be only two obvious entrances to the place: the secret door they had come through, and a normal door in the center of the north wall. This last portal was shut, however, so it seemed that the beetles couldn't have come in that way. After some additional searching, the PCs discovered a crevasse high in the east wall: perhaps an air-shaft. It was far too small for men, but a low-slung beetle could probably squeeze through it. [This is a feature that wasn't described in the module. I added it because they looked for a logical way that the beetles could've entered the room — now that I've established the presence of "air shafts" in the pyramid, I plan on making use of such features in future descriptions, too.]

Finding wine and fresh food in the containers, the PCs considered returning and reporting their discovery to Kanandius, but decided to see if they could find out who was stockpiling the supplies, here. They listened for noises at the northern portal, heard nothing, and opened it. Their torchlight revealed another passage that continued north into darkness. A the ragged edge of the light, it seemed to reach an intersection. Proceeding cautiously, the PCs found this to be the case, with the passage making a 'T.' To the west, it dead-ended in a stone wall with a bronze statue in front of it: a cherub holding a wand in one hand and coins in the other [the players recognized the statue as Usamigaras]. To the east, the passage ended in a strangely curved wall and a door. Beside the door was a stone panel with a row of strange runes carved into it.

Examining the west passage first, the PCs noted traces of powdered stone on the floor, near the statue. They also discovered that the statue's wand could move: it appeared that one could pull it left or right, like a lever. The PCs pulled it left, and both wall and statue began to move away from them with a loud grating noise. The elf retained her grip on the wand, moving along with the statue, and the rest of the PCs followed. The statue and wall moved back dozens of feet before finally coming to rest. Nervously, the elf released the wand, which snapped back into place with a click, but nothing else happened. The moving wall had revealed a much longer corridor, and also another door: this one in the north wall. The PCs listened, but heard nothing. They opened the door, ready for action.

The door slammed open to reveal a large, vaulted chamber. A few candles threw dim light around a star-shaped altar, and tapestries hung on the walls, depicting starry night skies and constellations. At least a dozen Cynidiceans in silver masks and rainbow-colored robes stood around the altar: all of them faced the door. No weapons were in evidence, but the silver-masked men all seemed to be prepared for a fight. At the sight of the Gorm-masks and bared steel, a fat, silver-crowned Cynidicean gave an outraged cry, and called for their surrender!

The PCs were surprised by this: clearly these were not Zargon worshippers, and they didn't want to fight them. Deciding the Fighter's Gorm mask was a liability, the Elf stepped forward, showing her unmasked visage, and called out that the PCs meant no harm.

A lengthy conversation took place. Once a parlay was achieved, the Fighter's high Cha helped the negotiations. [Also, the PCs are beginning to speak the ancient dialect better, although they still have accents and stumble over complicated concepts.]

The Magi of Usamigaras learned that Kanandius and the Brotherhood were taking a more active approach to opposing Zargon, but one that included less antagonism towards the Magi. [Actually, Kanandius never said this at all. The PCs are acting of their own initiative, here...] The PCs also said that the Brotherhood's new initiative was because Kanandius had found new resources, including "outland assistance" (they didn't lie, but they certainly implied that there were more "outlanders" swelling the Brotherhood's ranks).

Auriga, the Chief Mage of Usamigaras and the leader of the Magi, played things cautiously. He expressed amazement at the elf's arcane talents combined with her fighting skill, and hinted at a prophecy [made this up on the fly — don't know if Auriga's telling the truth, or lying, at this point...]. Auriga is not sure what to make of the PCs or the Brotherhood's new attitude, but he senses an opportunity. He warned the PCs against the Warrior Maidens, characterizing them as opinionated and violent, and fixated on death. He said he could see potential for the Brotherhood and the Magi coming to some arrangement, but that he saw no chance that the Maidens could compromise or see reason. [This is Auriga working his angles more than anything else — he wants to make an alliance that would let him use the Brotherhood as a foil against the Maidens.] He also said that it is unprecedented that anyone should be a Friend of Gorm and a Friend of Usamigaras, but it wasn't strictly forbidden, either. And with the prophecy...well, perhaps something could come of it. Time would tell.

The PCs seemed to accept everything Auriga said at face value. We'll see.

We had to end, here, as negotiations ended. Not much action, this time — just lots of talking. My children seemed a bit bored, at times, and my wife dominated the negotiations. However, I'm not sure what else I could've done, short of starting a fight with the Magi. Still, I like the way the "politics" are heading. Auriga will do his best to aim the PCs (and the Brotherhood) at the Maidens. Kanandius may not be pleased with the liberties PCs are taking in establishing Brotherhood "policy." Things could get very interesting...

Session Four

[My wife sat out for this session, which put my son back in the leader role. We also had a new PC join: Reagan, a female thief. Since the PCs have a "home base" in the chambers of the brotherhood, having different group composition between sessions doesn't seem to be a problem. In this case, I ruled the elf (my wife) stayed at the "base camp" this time. So for this session, we have:

• 1 Fighting Man PC (my son)
• 1 Cleric PC (my nephew — this was previously my daughter's PC)
• 1 Thief PC (my daughter's new PC — she wanted to play a woman)
• 2 Normal Man NPCs (desert nomads)

Lastly, the Cleric had thoroughly reviewed the clerical scrolls of Gorm, and found nothing in their ethos which was objectionable, so I ruled there would be no problems casting them.]

The PCs descended to the third tier of the pyramid, again. This time they ignored the secret door they found, previously, and continued down the main passage. [I described a long, dusty hall of ancient masonry, with air shafts and decorative carvings near the ceiling. Footsteps and jingling gear echo loudly, and pitch darkness holds sway beyond the circle of torchlight. The torches flicker and smoke, occasionally, as air currents move through the passagway.]

The PCs followed the passage around a bend; since it seemed to continue past their light, and sounded long from the echoes, they stopped for a minute, standing still and listening. [The thief made her hear noise check, and I decided on-the-spot to kick things off with a wandering monster for her to hear. I rolled a spitting cobra.] The thief heard a faint thump, like something soft falling to the floor (this was the cobra coming out of an air shaft and falling to the floor) in the darkness, ahead. No one else heard anything, and the party cautiously moved ahead.

Their torchlight revealed a large, greenish purple snake coiling near one wall. As they approached, the cobra raised its head and expanded its hood, swaying slightly and appearing to follow the torchlight with its movements. The PCs stopped as the thief (who rolled a 16 Dex) nocked and arrow and let fly. [The roll was a natural 20 — maximum damage.] With a single shot, she took out the snake before it could spit, attack, or flee.

Continuing on, the PCs found that the passage ended in a curved wall with a thick stone door. No handle or lock was seen, but a panel on the wall held a single, unmarked button. After some discussion, the thief pressed the button. With a faint grating noise, the stone door slid open to reveal...more hallway. However, just on the other side of the door, the PCs spied a second panel with eight buttons, each marked with one of the strange symbols they'd seen before. They chose not to press any of these buttons, but continued down the hallway. They also noted that the stone door had a handle on this side.

At the far (i.e. north) end of the hall, the PCs found another stone door with handle, and another panel of marked buttons. They ignored the buttons, again, and tried to open the door with the handle. It opened easily, apparently manipulated by a system of counterweights once it was put in motion. Beyond, the PCs' light revealed a stretch of passage ending in a T-intersection. The party proceeded north, and then east. They stopped to listen, again.

No one heard anything, this time, but while standing quietly, they noticed that the decorative carvings near the ceiling had changed in this stretch of passage, becoming more than mere abstract designs. They included symbols the cleric recognized as being associated with Gorm, and also other symbols which may have been associated with the other ancient gods of Cyndicea. I told them they hadn't really noticed when the carvings had changed, and they chose not to go back to look [they changed at the T-intersection, with only the eastern passage having the religious markings].

Continuing, the PCs found that the passage turned back to the south and ended in a stout-looking wooden door, studded with dark iron and set with a bronze pull-ring. The door was set in a fancy archway, and need to be pushed open. The thief listened, and hearing nothing, tried to push the door open a crack to see inside. Unfortunately, she was unable to budge it, so the fighter tried; he felt the door give a bit, but it was apparently ill-fitting and stuck. He had to strike and shove it several times to force it open, revealing a large, vaulted chamber, beyond.

This room had clearly once had religious significance, and appeared to be a chapel of some sort. It had also clearly been looted and vandalized. Broken pews and religious artifacts littered the floor. The name "Zargon" was scrawled in huge letters on one wall. Near the far end of the chamber, a smashed altar stood before a low wooden rail that separated the last ten feet of the room from the rest of the chamber. After searching and finding nothing of value, the PCs examined the railing, which was about two or three feet high, and noted a gate allowing passage through it. The thief, accompanied by a desert nomad, hopped over the railing and began examining the area beyond it. She quickly discovered that her weight set the floor in motion, turning it into a smoothly-descending ramp leading into cool darkness. The pair proceeded to investigate.

The ramp led to a thirty-by-thirty vault below the chapel. Paintings on the walls showed scenes of a royal throneroom where a king and queen were entertained by a dwarvish jester. A lidless brass urn stood in each of the four corners of the room, and a niche in the wall held a short stone sarcophagus. A stout door, similar, but smaller than the door that led into the chapel, pierced the center of the north wall. The thief approached the sarcophagus, handing her torch to the nomad as she examined it. She blew dust from its surface, revealing a network of delicate, decorative carvings. She reached out to trace one of these with her finger, and as soon as she touched the stone, the lid sprang open with a booming crash. A great wooden head with a leering grin and belled cap sprang up out of the coffin, and the two explorers fell back with shouts of alarm that brought the rest of the party at a run. However, no danger manifested; the head seemed no more than a macabre joke. Peering into the urns showed they were empty. The PCs decided not to continue their explorations in this area; they returned to the looted chapel, above, organized themselves, and set off to explore the western branch of the T-intersection.

As they walked west, making their way back to the intersection, arrows buzzed out of the darkness ahead of them. One was too high, and missed, and the other struck the fighter's shield and broke. The thief flung her torch down the passage as the fighter charged (he also held a torch), and the threat was revealed: a small group of animal-masked Cyndiceans stood in the intersection, arrayed for combat! [This was an NPC party — a very tough encounter...]

A long combat took place [lots of rolls, lots of misses — little room to maneuver. I'm writing this up quite a bit after-the-fact, and to be honest, I don't remember all the details], with the tide turning when the PCs finally took down one of the Cynidicean fighters, causing some of their enemies to lose heart. In the end, two were incapacitated, one was slain, and two escaped. [Frankly, I thought this encounter might be the death of at least some of the party, since the NPC party outclassed them, but they were aided by some awesome rolls by one of the NPC nomads, and by morale checks. The cleric had to use a healing scroll to keep one nomad going, but my son's fighter did well because of his heavy armor. His high AC helped him hold-the-line against the higher level, but poorly equipped Cynidiceans. The NPC nomad who rolled so well distinguished himself enough that I decided to make him a 1st level Fighting Man from this point on, and I increased him to 8 hp.]

Taking their two wounded captives with them, the PCs retraced their steps and returned to their home base in the chambers of the Brotherhood. [They also took the small amount of treasure the fallen Cyndiceans had, but I don't remember what it was — a trivial amount. By this point in their adventures, the cleric had advanced to 2nd level, and the Fighting Man was very close. The Elf is dividing XP between Fighting Man and MU, so she's not quite halfway to 2nd level fighter. The Thief just started. The two "normal men" nomads haven't received an XP, up until this point. Now that one of them has been made a 1st level Fighting Man, he started receving XP at 1/2 the reward level.]

Session Five

This session's roster:

• 1 Fighting Man PC
• 1 Cleric PC
• 1 Thief PC
• 1 Fighting Man/Magic User (Elf) PC
• 1 Fighting Man NPC (desert nomad - I named him Fuad)
• 1 Normal Man NPC (desert nomad)

After healing their wounds, the PCs again descended to the third tier. During the last excursion, the PCs didn't map (the elf usually does this, but she had sat that session out), so they decided to retrace their steps and update their map, first.

The group proceeded down the increasingly familiar cooridor and through the revolving hallway. They came to the intersection where they had the fight with the Cynidicean group; there were bloodstains and footprints, but no bodies. [Surprisingly, they did not perform a thorough search or try to figure out where the bodies went, they just shrugged and moved on.] Returning to the ransacked chapel, they found the door slightly ajar (less than inch). The party sent the thief forward to listen; she detected several voices engaged in conversation; from the sound of it, they were at the far-end of the chapel (i.e. near the railing/ramp). After quietly moving up, the Fighting Man forced the door open and the group spilled into the room. One of the nomads flung a torch towards the far-end of the chamber, where it landed in a shower of sparks. At least a half-dozen figures crouched amongst the shattered pews and behind the railing. Torchlight glinted off golden masks and bared steel, but the PCs recognized the strangers as fellow brothers of Gorm.

Standing up straight, the Fighting Man hailed the brothers, and they responded in kind, cautiously emerging from behind cover and scabbarding weapons. The meeting which followed revealed that the strangers were a group of eight brothers of Gorm coming up from the city, below, in response to a summons from Kanandius. (They were investigating the blood trails and evidence of activity they noted in these areas.) This group from the city recognized the PCs as the "outland brothers" that they had heard rumors of. They seemed excited by the prospect, and asked how many outlanders were coming to swell the ranks of the Brotherhood. They seemed disappointed by the response that the PCs were all that had come so far, so the Fighting Man said that more might come, which seemed to reassure them. The brothers declined an invitation to join in the explorations, saying they had to report to Kanadius, but they did warn the PCs to be very careful in the crypts, which can be dangerous, and to try and avoid the Warrior Maidens, who are prone to violence.

After the two groups split up, the PCs decided to return to the "battle intersection" and explore the passage to the west. This hallway seemed far dustier and less-travelled than the eastern way, but it, too ended at a closed door (although this door seemed plainer than the door to the ransacked chapel). Listening produced no clues, so the Fighting Man forced the portal open and the PCs shone their torches into the room, beyond. The first thing that struck the PCs was a heavy fungal odor wafting out, and a hint of moisture. The room, itself, appeared to be yet another storage chamber of some sort. It was about half the size of the ransacked chapel, and had large stone shelves covering the walls. Upon these shelves, and placed randomly around the floor, were large square crates or blocks of some sort, but it was impossible to tell exactly what they were, as they were completely covered with a sickly orange [I altered this from yellow, since some of my players have encountered yellow mold, before] growth: some sort of mold or fungus. It grew thick over all the crates or blocks, and also hung in ragged sheets from the shelves. Puddles of water dotted the floor; a slow drip fell from a crack in the ceiling about once every thirty seconds.

While the others huddled in the doorway, the elf entered the room, torch in one hand and sword in another. Avoiding the puddled water, she approached the nearest of the mold-shrouded cubes and held her torch close to it. As the heat drew near, a small patch of the mold turned brown and gave off a terrible burning odor, so she pulled the flame back, and carefully prodded with her sword. The object beneath the mold felt like wood. She tried scraping some of the mold off.

Poof! In a rapid chain-reaction, the mold-covered crate exploded in a cloud of yellowish spores, and the elf felt a searing pain in her eyes and throat. She staggered back to the hallway, holding her breath, and the fighting man slammed the door shut. Although soreness and a painful cough lingered, the elf suffered no lasting effects from the noxious fungus. [I rolled 1 point of damage, and the elf made her saving throw. The others were out of the cloud, so they were unaffected.] The PCs decided to leave the mold-room unexplored, for now. They returned to the revolving passage.

After some debate, the PCs decided to push the button marked with the symbol Kanandius had indicated meant "east." They felt the passage rotate for about thirty seconds, and then discovered that the door now opened on a short hallway ending in a stout-looking door. Very little dust was in evidence. The PCs cautiously approached the door, and the thief listened. She reported hearing fairly high pitched voices, beyond, conversing and laughing, but she couldn't make out the words. Readying for action, the PCs gathered and the Fighting Man attempted to force the door. His first attempt failed, so he immediately tried again, making a prodigious effort. Normally, even a stuck door would have opened after been struck so, but this one held fast, and I informed the fighting man that he thought it might be barred from the other side. [This was the case. I decided that the Warrior Maidens, beyond, would have this portal barred (and have a covered peep-hole).] The PCs listened again, but everything had gone very quiet. They decided to wait for a bit, to see what transpired... [the Warrior Maidens peeped out, saw an armed and ready-for-action band of Gorm Brothers trying to bash down the door, and reacted as might be expected!]

Perhaps only a minute passed before they heard the soft grating noise that meant the revolving passage was in use. It went on for about 15 seconds, paused, and then started up, again. The elf, realizing the group could be hit from both directions at once, yelled out for the party to get ready for a threat from both ends of the hall. The group had barely got into position in the center of the hallway when the western door (to the revolving passage) opened and a group of five amazon warriors charged. The women all appeared to be Cynidiceans, armored in mail over green tunics and wearing bronze masks of Madaura. The elf threw a pinch of sand into the air and her lips opened to release a torrent of fey syllables. Even as they charged, the amazons collapsed into enchanted sleep.

However, any relief was short-lived, as the eastern portal also crashed open and five more amazons charged from that direction. Fuad [the desert nomad NPC who did so well in the last battle and was elevated to 1st level fighting man] set his spear. The thief, who was also on the threatened flank, fell back to the center, readying an arrow. The elf drew her sword to receive the charge.

First blood went to the Brothers of Gorm, as Fuad's spear impaled the tallest amazon (who wielded a reddish-glowing mace). The strike would have skewered a wild boar, but the amazon managed to turn at the last instant, so she was only seriously wounded, rather than slain instantly. [This was Pandora, the leader of the Warrior Maidens. She was a 3rd level Fighter, but Fuad rolled a 19 to hit and a 6 for damage, doubled because his spear was set to receive a charge. Pandora's sword +1 has been replaced with a mace +1 — I had a cool lead figure for her.] Because the thief had moved back, there was an opening on the right, and the amazons rushed through to engage the party's other fighting men (PC and the other nomad NPC). This melee was swift and vicious (unlike the previous combat, which went on for some time before someone fell). Warrior maidens fell almost immediately, but they also dealt out several wounds (to Fuad and to the elf). Grasping Fuad's spear, Pandora jerked him forward and sent her mace smashing into his helm. He dropped to the floor, either dead or grievously hurt. [He was at exactly zero, so he was unconscious, per my house rule.] However, Fuad's fall opened up a clean shot for the the thief, who sent an arrow humming into Pandora's right eye, killing her instantly. [The 1st level thief rolled a natural 20, and Pandora didn't have much left after spitting herself on Fuad's spear.] After several rounds of furious melee, only two amazons still stood. One of them gave a command to flee, and both attempted it. One fleeing amazon was cut down by the elf; the last warrior maiden rushed back to the door and slammed it shut, hotly pursed by the fighting man (who was slowed by his heavy armor). He flung himself against the door, felt it give for a moment, but then it was shoved closed, again. He tried again, but failed to force his way in before hearing the bar fall back into place. [I gave him two chances to burst through while the warrior maiden tried to hold the portal and get the bar back into place. He rolled poorly and didn't manage it, so one wounded warrior maiden got away to tell the tale of the Brotherhood of Gorm attacking their chambers and slaying Pandora. That should stir up some trouble.]

The cleric prayed over Fuad and brought him back from the brink of death. He was still hurt, but well enough to travel. Keeping a watch on both ends of the hall, the PCs searched the amazons, finding a key on Pandora. They took her mace (which was no longer glowing red) as well. They also attempted to take the five sleeping amazons, but I ruled against this, saying the armored and magically sleeping warriors were far too heavy a burden, especially considered how laden they already were with armor, weapons, torches, and adventuring gear. The PCs responded by killing three of the sleeping amazons [vicious!] and carrying two back to the headquarters of the Brotherhood of Gorm, to the somewhat horrified amazement of Kanandius. He was also shocked to hear they had slain Pandora (the tall, mace-wielding amazon).

The session ended, here, with the triumphant return of the PCs to their headquarters. The fighting man is now second level.

Session Six

This session's roster:

• 1 Fighting Man PC
• 1 Cleric PC
• 1 Thief PC
• 1 Fighting Man/Magic User (Elf) PC
• 1 Normal Man NPC (desert nomad - I named him Aziz)
• 4 Fighting Men (Brothers of Gorm) NPCs

Seeking counsel with Kanandius and the other Brothers of Gorm, the PCs decided to make a quick return to the headquarters of the Warrior Maidens, hoping to find and secure their treasury. Some of the Brothers (led by an NPC Brother named Draco) proposed seizing control of the Warrior Maiden chambers. Kanandius argued against this. He felt that conflict was probably inevitable, but that seizing temple of Madaura was too aggressive, and might even swing the Magi against the Brotherhood. While he obviously disagreed, Draco submitted to the authority of Kanandius. Draco (who was the leader of the eight brothers who just came up from the city) offered to go with the PCs, and brought three brothers with him. Fuad, still wounded, stayed behind.

The band set off to the third tier. Draco informed them that the door they had assaulted, earlier, led to the living quarters of the Warrior Maidens. To get to the temple entrance, one used the rotating passage to travel to the NE. However, he said that no Brothers have ever passed the Temple Guardians, two statues that flanked an arched doorway, so he wasn't sure what lay beyond. Knowing the door to the living quarters to be barred, the PCs decide to explore the temple area. They used the rotating corridor to travel to the NE.

The door slid open to reveal an antechamber, about 10' x 10'. It was clean and tastefully decorated; the usual carvings had been carefully painted. As Draco had said, an arched doorway led to a passage leading NE, and two statues of warrior maidens flanked the doorway. Each life-sized statue stood on a pedestal. The statues appeared to be made of stone, but they were also painted, looking very lifelike. They were garbed like warrior maidens, and had real Masks of Madaura covering their faces. Each statue held a spear so that the weapons were crossed over the arched doorway. Passage through the doorway required single-file movement between the statues and underneath the spears.

Suspecting a trap, the Elf and the Thief moved forward with torches, carefully examining the statue and the archway. Their search of the floor turned up something odd: just beyond the statues was a paving stone with seams that appeared to be unmortared. The party moved through the archway and down the passage, avoiding the suspicious paving stone. The passage ended in a locked wooden door. Looking through the keyhole revealed nothing, so the thief attempted to pick the lock. Unfortunately, it was beyond her skill, so the party decided to simply bash down the door. This took about ten minutes, as it was a stout portal, but finally the wood splintered and gave, falling inward, half-off its hinges. It ripped down a section of heavy white drapery that had been hanging in front of the door; similar drapes hung along the walls of the large chamber, which was faintly lit by some altar candles on the far side of the room. Like the antechamber, the temple's nave was clean and tastefully decorated. The place smelled of burning incense, and was free of dust and grime. Plush green carpets covered the floor. Everything seemed oriented towards the altar, upon which sat the thick white candles, a brazier, and a statue of Madaura.

The PCs decided against disturbing the altar, but they immediately set to searching the walls behind the curtains. It wasn't long before the Elf discovered some suspicious holes amidst the usual decorative carvings. These went very deep into the wall, which seemed to have a hollow area behind it, at this point. Twisting and pushing the carvings (while standing well-clear of the holes), the PCs discovered a concealed button that opened a secret door, revealing a hidden chamber.

This new room, a long, hall-like space some twenty feet wide, was mostly bare. Racks of weapons hung on the walls, and there were a few rolled-up carpets. The most interesting feature was a large stone vault positioned in the center of the east wall. It appeared much like a stone wardrobe, decoratively carved, massive, and heavy. There was a keyhole in its front panel.

The thief edged close with her torch and searched the keyhole, looking for traps. She detected a thin wire set deep within the lock. [I explained that it would be difficult, but not impossible, to pick the lock without disturbing the wire. My wife then asked if the key would break the wire.] Examining her key, the thief noticed a line inscribed part-way up the barrel; it looked like the key would not break the wire if inserted up to the line. Taking a deep breath, the thief inserted the key up to the line an turned it. The vault unlocked with a click, but nothing else happened. Breathing a sigh of relief, the thief opened the vault, revealing a dozen small, bulging sacks. A quick search confirmed that the sacks contained coins: gold, electrum, and even platinum. Draco told them these were coins minted during the reign of King Alexander.

Although they had secured the treasure, the PCs knew they hadn't found everything, because they hadn't found the other entrance to the warrior maidens' chambers (i.e. the door they had assaulted). The Elf searched the south wall for secret doors; knowing generally where to search and how the doors were commonly hidden, it wasn't long before she found one and had it open, revealing the living quarters of the Warrior Maidens.

This room was large and square, and dominated by a round table with ten chairs. Like the other rooms, everything was clean, tidy, and pleasant. Ten beds stood against the walls, each with a small chest containing clothing and personal effects. Some guttering candles dripped wax on the table, which was laid with a meal that appeared to have been interrupted. The west wall was pierced by a stout portal, securely barred with a wooden beam (here was the door they had assaulted). The Elf suggested a thorough search of the place, including the chests, walls, and floor. Seeing that this would take at least an hour, the PCs decided to split up. The Fighting Man, Aziz, Draco, and one Brother would take the treasure back to the headquarters of the Brotherhood. The Elf, the Cleric, the Thief, and two Brothers would stay and search the room. [I'd been rolling for wandering monsters all along and turning up nothing. However, my final roll turned up an encounter while the party was split. A check on the table turned up six Baboons hunting food which automatically became six Subhuman Slaves in my version (q.v. Slave Castes of Cynidicea in the background spoilers). I also rolled d6 to see how many encounter rounds would pass before the Fighting Man, et al., would return: the roll came up three rounds.

The PCs searching the room were surprised [they rolled a 1; I rolled a 3. I rolled 2d6 to see how aggressive the subhumans were, and came up with a 3, making them hostile and very aggressive. I decided they must be feral slaves.], and the subhumans rushed forward with hooting cries, brandishing bones and crude clubs. [I decided the initial charge would have two purposes: first, to try and drive off the male PCs, and second, to grab the females.] The subhumans were mostly on the PCs before they could react. Blows rained down on the men, while leering subhumans with arms stretched wide moved towards the women. Of course, the PCs were having none of this. The thief flung a dagger, which buried itself in a hairy, muscular torso, but failed to bring the subhuman down; it snarled and moved forward, and a second dagger missed. The elf drew two blades and slid into a fighting crouch, and the cleric and Brothers drew weapons and started defending themselves, rather than running. Unfortunately, subhumans are strong and capable in melee [2HD monsters], and one of the brothers fell before he could strike a blow [exactly zero hit points]. The cleric was wounded, but stood his ground and fought.

The melee didn't go well. With their superior numbers, the subhumans moved into flanking positions around the men, hooting and flailing with their clubs. The defenders wounded several of the brutes, but none mortally, and the subhumans continued to inflict punishment with bone-jarring blows [Six 2HD monsters was really too much for the group, but I knew that the rest of the party would come in within a few rounds — I figured they would just have to pay the price for splitting the party and spending so much time searching]. The thief ran around the chamber, hotly pursued, and the elf engaged in melee, but couldn't bring her enemies down, even with her blades flicking subhuman blood across the floor. The wounded creatures howled and hooted angrily. [At some point during this, I gave a more detailed description of the subhumans: man-sized, with long arms and powerful muscles. Ape-like faces with heavy brows and large deep-set eyes. Very pale skin covered with fine white hair. Some wore tattered loincloths. Some had leather harnesses crisscrossing their chests. Their hooting and growling seemed something half-way between animal noises and speech.] The subhuman the thief had wounded with her dagger finally dropped as a Gorm Brother buried his shortsword in the creatures belly. Unfortunately, the Cleric was felled by a brutal strike to the side of his head at about the same moment. [A subhuman rolled a natural 20, which means maximum damage. The already wounded Cleric dropped to -3 hit points. The players were aghast; I reminded them that critical hits work for them, but also against them, and pointed out that I get to roll more often than they do.]

Even as the PCs started to despair [players, too: my wife was sure they were going to die, and was getting upset — she really gets into the characters], the Fighting Man's group returned, charging into melee and hitting several subhumans from behind. The tide of the battle turned quickly, with previously wounded subhumans falling under blows from the fresh warriors. The creatures' morale broke, and they began shrieking and trying to flee. That didn't work well, with vengeful enemies standing in front of the doorway (the secret door was closed). They also exposed their backs to the outraged thief, who made good use of her backstab ability. A few more rounds of combat brought down the last of them. [My son enjoyed being able to lead the charge and save the day.]

Everyone except the Fighting Man was wounded. The Cleric was the most seriously hurt (I'm using Gary's OD&D house rule on hit points, so a 2nd level PC can survive to -3, and that's exactly what he was taken down to), and will require at least a week of bed-rest, even if he uses spells to heal himself. I'm also ruling that the blow to his head has caused some permanent damage: he'll have some scarring around his cheek and his left pupil is permanently dilated.] One Gorm Brother had been knocked unconscious, but would recover. No one had died (although it was a near thing). The party immediately returned to Gorm headquarters to recuperate. The PCs questioned the Brothers about the subhumans, learning that they are a slave caste from the city, and that sometimes they "go feral" and become very dangerous.

[The good news is that the XP from using the magic mace, using a magic scroll, the big treasure haul, and the combats (not to mention his near-death experience) was enough to push the cleric to level 3! He'll now get two spells per day. The Fighting Man is advancing rapidly, too, but hasn't had any magic items to boost him along, and his level advancement chart is slightly slower than the Cleric's, anyway. The Elf is advancing slowly (splitting XP between two classes does that), and the Thief is still a new PC, but her fast level advancement chart and bonus to XP is bringing her along nicely, too.]

Session Seven

This session's roster:

• 1 Fighting Man PC - now named Jason.
• 1 Fighting Man/Magic User (Elf) PC
• 1 Thief PC
• 6 Fighting Men (Brothers of Gorm) NPCs

[This was an interesting session. There wasn't much action, but there was quite a bit of plot-development. Also, I've realized that I need to start keeping records of time and who is wounded, because this has become a full-blown campaign, and developments continue even during PC downtime (Gary talks about exactly that subject in the 1E Dungeon Masters Guide section, "Time in the Campaign"). There's also the issue of resources: since there is now conflict between the old-god factions, I need to know things like "how big are the factions, where are the members, and what state are they in?" That last part (i.e. their state) is especially important since I've decided the only healing magic in the Lost City (currently) comes from the PC Cleric and the Clerics of Zargon.]

[At the start of this session, the Cleric PC is in "downtime," recovering from his wounds. For a week, he will be incapable of strenuous activity (including spellcasting). The Elf has decided to make use of this time by creating a scroll of sleep (q.v. my musing on scrolls). I ruled that the mundane parchment and ink she's been using for mapping is unsuitable, and she needs some materials that are probably only available in the Lost City, itself, or from the Magi of Usamigaras. Thus, the Elf was quite keen to accompany Grand Master Kanandius to a parlay/meeting with the Magi.]

The first day after the battle with the subhuman slaves, Kanandius, the Elf, and an entourage of three Brothers descended to the third tier to meet with the Magi. Despite the best efforts of Kanandius and the Elf, no firm alliance was formed; the Magi maintain a cautious neutrality. They did agree to provide the Elf with the materials she needs, but at a heavy price (twice the normal cost of such materials). The Magi are secretly delighted with the recent developments. They hoped to play the Brotherhood against the Warrior Maidens, and this has come to pass. Maintaining neutrality while watching the two warlike factions destroy eachother seems like a brilliant plan. Assisting the Elf seems harmless enough, at this point, and lets the Magi leech resources (i.e. treasure) from the Brotherhood while making the Elf dependent. The Magi like the idea of making one of the Brotherhood's new "champions" heavily dependent on them.

The second day after the battle, the Elf started the process of creating her new scroll. Jason [my son named the Fighting Man] had been discussing matters with the Brothers (particularly Draco), and learned more about the times of King Alexander. Especially interesting to him were tales of Pyrsoglos, the Kings enchanted sword (q.v. spoilers in the Background section). He suggested that perhaps the King's storied blade could serve the cause of Cynidicea, again, if it were recovered. Surely King Alexander and the old gods would approve! Draco seemed to like this idea (in fact, Draco hoped to get exactly this reaction; he sees the Fighting Man as a means of spurring the Brotherhood to action), but informed him that the blade had been interred with the King, and that the royal crypts (located on the tier, below) were desecrated and despoiled by the Temple of Zargon. They had become infested with fearsome undead creatures, and were very dangerous.

His imagination fired with thoughts of the King's magic sword, Jason decided to lead a "scouting party" to take a look around the catacombs. Kanandius argued against this, saying it wasn't wise to take Brothers into danger needlessly, especially when their strength might be needed if the Warrior Maidens made any retaliatory strikes. However, the Fighting Man's enthusiam and charisma (not to mention previous successes) won over many Brothers. Six brothers and the Thief decided to accompany him. [Note that the current strength of the Brotherhood in the upper tier is: Kanandius, the PCs, 10 healthy Brothers, and 1 wounded brother. So just over half of the Brothers, including Draco, went with Jason.] To soften this blow to Kanandius, Jason assured him that he would lead with utmost caution, and avoid pitched battle; this was to be a scounting expedition, only. When she heard of the expedition, the Elf argued against it as well, but when she saw which way the wind was blowing, she suggested that perhaps Jason could finish mapping out the unexplored section of Tier 3 (mainly the NW section) before descending to the tombs. Jason agreed.

Thus, the expedition set out. The Fighting Man assigned a Brother to guard the Thief (who was not fully recovered from the battle with the subhumans), and made good time through the previously explored section of Tier 3. The group used the revolving cooridor to gain access to the unexplored NW section of the Tier. They moved into the unexplored section, turned a corner, and found themselves face-to-face with another armed party. [A wandering monster check had turned up a group of six hobgoblins in service to the Temple of Zargon. The PCs were surprised, and the hobgoblins were not (especially since the PCs had two torches). Encounter distance was 10 feet. Rolling 2d6 to help gauge the hobgoblins reaction, I decided they would launch missiles and wait for a PC charge, being somewhat cautious of the large group of Gorm Brothers.] The hobgoblins were arrayed for battle, fearsome-looking with blue-painted faces and savage red eyes. Their front rank threw javelins immediately, wounding Jason and one of the Brothers. They then drew wicked, stabbing swords and presented their shields. [I should mention that I asked the players about critical hits at the beginning of the session. In the previous session, the players saw the damage critical hits can do to them, so I offered to drop the critical hit rule and just use rolled damage, if they wanted (this is my preference, anyway). The players agreed we should just use rolled damage, which was fortunate, because I rolled two natural twenties during this battle, and they rolled one.]

Jason was taken aback by his wound, and by the obvious skill and discipline the hobgoblins showed. However, he was unwilling to retreat without offering battle, so he led a charge, smashing into the enemy line and cleaving the skull of one hobgoblin, immediately. Unfortunately, the Brothers fared poorly, failing to budge the other hobgoblins. In fact, one Brother took a sword thrust to his side and was then bashed to the floor by a hobgoblin shield. He lay still in a spreading pool of crimson [He was at -1, so barely alive, for a 1st level Fighter.] In response to a snarled command, the hobgoblins pulled back a bit, closing ranks, again. Another javelin was cast at the PCs, but Jason deflected it with his shield. Remembering his promise to Kanadius, Jason gave the command to fall back. The PCs retreated in good order, pulling their fallen Brother to safety. Two more javelins were cast, but the hobgoblins were content to break off the fight, as well. The two parties were too evenly matched, so any melee would be a meat-grinder. [I was proud of the way my son led this fight. When he charged, I thought he was making a mistake, but it worked out fine. Actually, I think this little conflict would be typical of the way fights in the Lost City must go, given the situation before the PC's arrived: that is, small skirmishes that are broken off fairly quickly.]

The PCs returned to the Brotherhood HQ on the tier, above.

Session Eight

After the encounter with the hobgoblins, the PCs decided to play it safe and finish their recuperation and downtime activities before setting out, again. Counting the day the PCs raided the Warrior Maiden headquarters as "Day 1," the elf completed her scroll on "Day 10," and the cleric was completely healed and ready for action the morning of "Day 14."

The PCs assembled a group consisting of Jason (the Fighting Man), Jacob (the Cleric), the Elf, Fuad, Aziz, Draco, and three Brothers of Gorm. This force descended to Tier 3 and returned to the site of the battle with the hobgoblins. No humanoids were in evidence, so the party explored and mapped the NW section of the tier. They found another abandoned chapel, and surprised a giant lizard, there. They were unable to kill the creature before it escaped into an air shaft. (Draco informed the outlanders that this was his namesake: a draco lizard.)

No one was hurt in the encounter with the lizard, so the PCs sought out the chapel with the ramp that descends to the catacombs. [Remember that the catacombs are a "wild" area of the ziggurat; that is, it is considered a dangerous area where the Cynidiceans fear to tread.] After a cursory search of the (previously explored) jester's tomb, they opened the door to the north and entered the passage, beyond. While there was a great deal of dust on the floor, it was much disturbed, showing recent and not infrequent passage of multiple creatures. The party cautiously proceeded west, until they reached an intersection with a passage going north. Shining their lights down this tunnel, the PCs could make out another intersection and a door. After some whispered conversation, they chose to continue going west, leaving the northern tunnel unexplored. Jason instructed the Gorm brothers (who were bringing up the rear), to be watchful once they passed it. The group proceeded west, stopping to tap the walls, looking for hidden portals or chambers. They discovered that the south wall sounded like there might be a space beyond, but they couldn't locate any hidden portals. Continuing farther, they came upon another intersection; this time the intersection tunnel led south, and they could make out a door at its end, at the limit of their light.

As the Elf updated their map with this information, everyone braced at a hissed whisper of warning from the Gorm brothers: something was coming up the passage behind them. The group readied for action as two hunched, rag-draped humanoids loped into view, eyes burning with a hellish light. The creatures didn't even pause, but raced straight at the party, growling and snarling. "Eaters!" shouted one of the brothers, who now stood in formation, three-abreast, with shields and short swords ready. The Elf bent her bow, but didn't have a shot. The Fighting Man and Cleric, at the front, were also blocked from the action, and the undead moved with an unnatural, disturbing speed. In a flash they had closed the distance and were assaulting the shield wall, claws and fangs straining for flesh. [My OD&D ghouls get a single attack roll representing their claws and fangs; a hit does 1d6 damage and requires a saving throw to stave off paralysis.] The initial exchange went poorly for the Gorm brothers. Only Fuad, thrusting his spear from the second rank, managed to deal an effective blow, and one Gorm brother was overcome and paralyzed. A second brother fell soon after, blood running from a grevious neck wound. However, his fall cleared the way for a shot from the Elf, which took one of the undead in the eye and dropped it to the floor. The second Eater turned an evil glare on the Elf and leapt onto her, claws ripping. [Fortunately, the Elf is immune to ghoul paralysis.] By this time, Jason had pushed his way to the fighting, and pulled the Eater loose, holding its loathsome, thrashing form away from his friend. The Elf stood, drawing her short sword, and buried it in the undead creature's torso. Its struggles ceased and it slumped: dead weight in Jason's arms.

The Cleric tended to the fallen Gorm brother, healing him. No one else was seriously hurt, except for the paralyzed brother. Fortunately, the paralysis soon wore off, and the party proceeded down the southern passage to the door at its terminus, where they listened. They heard a noise from within, like sticks of wood cracking or being broken. The party readied a plan: Jason and Draco would force the door and step inside, on either side of the door. The Elf would stand in front of the doorway with an arrow ready, and Jacob would back her up. The plan was immediately put into action, and the PCs surprised three more ghouls who were apparently in the process of eating the corpse in this large tomb. The party didn't get much of an impression of the place (other than it was quite large and well-appointed) before the three undead leapt to attack. The Elf fired arrows with cool precision, dropping one of the creatures in its tracks, but the other two made it to the doorway, where they came under assault by Jason and Draco. In the brief flurry of melee, the Eaters paralyzed both Fighting Men, so the Elf and Jacob stepped forward to defend their vulnerable comrades. Jacob attempted to turn the creatures, but their lust for flesh was too potent, and they ignored his holy command. Fortunately, Jacob's mace proved more effective, as did the Elf's slender and deadly blade. Even though both undead assaulted her, they were unable to paralyze her, and this proved their undoing, especially as Fuad and Aziz reached the melee. Ringed with foes, stabbed and broken, both Eaters soon lay stretched upon the stones.

This time no one was seriously hurt, other than the paralysis, so the group all entered the large tomb and shut the door. Exploration began while Jason and Draco recovered. The chamber proved to be about 50' x 40', with a raised dais in the center, upon which lay an open sarcophagus. The corpse within, richly robed, had been pulled half out of its coffin, and its fine clothing and burial artifacts ripped and cast heedlessly to the floor. Everyone gasped as the party's lights revealed sparkling jewelry: a gem-studded pectoral and two jewelled bracers. The jewelry bore symbols of the old gods. After some discussion, the party decided to secure these artifacts, rather than leave them in this violated tomb. They returned the corpse to the sarcophagus, and the cleric intoned a prayer over it while the rest of the group searched the room. Murals adorned the walls, showing religious scenes with a prominent high-priest in most of them. There were also burial goods and artifacts that might be expected in the tomb of a prominent priest. The Cynidiceans with the group suggested this must be the burial chamber of Corban, a high priest during the reign of King Alexander. Despite lengthy searching, the party found nothing else of consequence, and decided to press on.

[The Session ended here, without a return to Gorm territory...]

Session Nine

[We ended session eight without a return to Gorm territory, but when we started session nine the players decided it would be better if they had returned after all (i.e. they wanted to have their spells, et cetera). Being a softie, I said sure...]

The party returned to the catacombs and decided to investigate the northern tunnel they had passed on their former exploration. The tunnel went about twenty or thirty feet north before opening into a 'T' intersection, with tunnels continuing both east and west, and a stout door on the north wall. The dust on the floor showed evidence of much movement through this area, but it didn't look like the door had been opened in some time. Judging this to be a promising place to explore, the group forced open the portal and shone their lights into the vaulted chamber, beyond.

A thick carpet of dust covered everything, and the air smelled stale. The party's light's barely reached into the shadowy corners of the place, but it was enough to immediately reveal that this was a long undisturbed crypt. The accoutrements of a burial chamber sat in orderly arrangement around the walls, but all attention immediately riveted upon the figures near the west wall. Centered there, before a ancient banner, stood the mummified figure of a tall man, still wearing ancient panoply and bearing a baroque pole arm. Arrayed before this ominous figure stood a skeletal honor guard, holding swords in an eternal salute. Nothing stirred.

After a whispered consultation in the hall, the Cleric moved forward and entered the room at the head of the party, the holy symbol of Gorm displayed before him. As soon as the PCs entered, the skeletal guards began to move, eyeless sockets swivelling to stare at the intruders and swords moving into threatening positions. However, most of the undead were unable to stand before the Cleric, and their assault dissolved into confusion as they retreated before him; only two of the nine continued to advance.

Wielding the Cleric's mace instead of his slender blade, the Elf leapt forward to intercept the skeletons, Jason at his left side. The two made short work of the undead warriors, which collapsed into piles of broken bone. Their confidence bolstered from this success, the pair advanced against the other undead cowering in the corner. This proved to be more dangerous than they anticipated: the skeletons there were staying as far from the cleric as they could, but immediately attacked the heroes when they came within reach. Swords flashed and blood began to flow, even as skeletal warriors dropped. Seeing their comrades outnumbered and in danger, the rest of the party surged forward as well, and the chaos of a general melee swirled about the chamber. Draco suffered a heavy wound, but no one fell, and bones knit together with sorcery proved no match for cold steel powered by flesh and blood.

Other than Draco, the other wounds amounted to little more than cuts and bruises, so the Cleric prayed over the grimacing warrior as the rest of the group made a thorough examination of the chamber. The mummy holding the pole-arm (a halberd of ancient and ornate workmanship) remained unmoving, even when relieved of his weapon, so the PCs felt confident he was not dangerous. The many grave goods proved to be mundane, but informative, as they revealed this to be the burial chamber of Prokoros, Captain of King Alexander's royal guard. The group recovered [shamelessly stole] the panoply of Prokoros for use in their fight against Zargon. The armor proved a fair fit for Draco. Jason considered the halberd, but decided against it. That weapon, too, went to Draco, who now cut an imposing figure. [The players are laying it on thick with this concept of securing artifacts to aid in the fight against Zargon. I suggested the idea to begin with, so I have only myself to blame. It's pretty amusing, in any case. Draco is pleased with his armor and halberd, and the status that it confers upon him. He's already growing into Jason's "right hand man" in the eyes of the Brothes.] After praying and offering blessings over the body of Prokoros and the the fallen guards (hopefully now at quiet rest), the group resumed their exploration of the catacombs.

Examining the east and west branches of the passage, the PCs decided to go east. Not far down the east tunnel, a northern passage pierced the wall. The passage also continued east from the point. The north passage showed evidence of light or infrequent foot traffic, while the dust to the east showed traffic close to the walls, which the PCs took to be evidence of animals or scavengers. The group chose to go north. After six or seven paces (using the Roman-style two step pace of around five feet) this tunnel also turned to the east, and continued as far as light would reach. The group crept down the tunnel, which stretched on for a good distance before turning south. Eventually, this south-running tunnel ended in another stout-looking door, very similar to the one that opened on the crypt of Prokoros. However, this door also bore an inscription in ancient Cynidicean. Draco read it aloud: "Lady Iole, My Love For Her Burns Forever." The door proved impossible to open, despite repeated attempts by multiple strong men, leading the Elf to suspect some magical ward or seal upon it. The group decided to explore elsewhere until the Elf could prepare some sorcery that might gain them passage.

Retracing their steps, the party returned to the intersection and cautiously went east, examining and following the "animal trail" in the dust. The trail led them directly to a door which pierced the south wall of the passage. Beyond the door, the tunnel continued for a few paces before turning south, but the PCs' attention was immediately drawn to the hole that appeared to have been chewed in the door, near the floor. It was half a cubit in diameter and worn smooth around the edges. No sound came from within, but a foul smell wafted out. Readying themselves, the group forced the door.

The chamber this revealed was smaller than most of the rooms in the catacombs: perhaps half the size. Its original purpose was unclear, but it was clearly now serving as an animal lair of some sort. The place was a mess, and smelled revolting. From a great mound of refuse in the corner came some skittering and rustling noises, and torchlight reflected off the beady eyes of the creatures hiding within it. "Fah! Nasty vermin!" exclaimed the Elf in disgust. Taking a spear from Fuad, Jason advanced with Draco at his side and began probing and pulling apart the mound. This provoked an attack by the giant rats which nested within, but the group was ready for that, and the rats offered little danger to the heavily armored fighters in the front. After several of their number had been hacked, impaled, or crushed, the remaining rats fled in a squeaking stream through some concealed hole in the west wall. Beady eyes continued to watch from the relative safety of this small hole while the players dismantled the mound and killed the infant rats within. Amidst the clutter and refuse, the players discovered several gems and numerous ancient coins collected by the rats. Pleased with this discovery, but befouled and tired after their efforts, the group decided to return to Gorm headquarters.