Due to my being behind and the fact that I haven’t painted anything (my MS tremors have prevented me from doing so), I’m going to catch up from last Tuesday’s session! This is especially essential considering tomorrow’s post is the continuation.
When we last met, our party found themselves in a rather off kitchen, with a large dragon-headed oven.
The party opened the western door, finding…a pinkish red tunnel with a foul sludge on the bottom. The person opening the door was unable to enter the tunnel, and others who poked around inside, gave the person who opened the door a little indigestion. Realizing what was likely going
Seeing a dumb waiter, the party sent the smallest member, Iul (the gnomish wizard) up inside to the next floor (or, at least, another floor) finding a smallish room with glasses and a decanter and other serving objects.
Coming back down, the party debated on how/if they would be trying to shrink themselves into the dumb waiter, and after looking into the oven, saw a door on the opposite side.
After trying various methods to dim or stop the fire, the party realized that they could use the oven pots and the pole hooks to push people towards the door, and that, for a short time, allows that person to ignore all fire damage; long enough to open the door, even.
Taking that measure, the party pushed a hook through, and allowed the person on the far end to pull people though.
On the far side, they found a room shrouded in darkness so thick that not even their darkvision was working! An agonizingly large yell emanated from somewhere inside the unknown room, with crashes and bangs sounding all around. The party sorceress let loose with a light spell, dispelling the darkness just enough to see a ghostly black rider on a black horse, who, after being ineffectively attacked by what the party realized was a cyclops, ran away.
Seeing the party, the cyclops roared, and the party attacked!
After defeating the cyclops, the party found a bonfire burning in the far corner, the cyclops’ magical club of smashing (like a sword of dancing, but a club) and found several strange sets of markings, all in sets. Making a note of it, but not knowing what to make of it, they exited out of the only other door they could find, which was a silver door opposite of their current location.
Entering that door, they found themselves in a section of a large greenhouse that seemed to be on a different and alien world with two suns and three moons in the skies.
To make matters even more creepy, the large black sunflowers in the room constantly turned their “faces” towards the party, wherever they moved.
They found that the opposite of the silver door they entered was some sort of glass on the other side.
In addition to the various plants and herbs around the room, the party found three stacks of flowerpots (bottom up), each with the letter Q printed on the top, and each of the stacks had a differing number.
To make things more bizarre, the party found two other exits from the room, one gold, to the northeast, and one glass, going south.
The gold door opened to a room filled with trees and other rooms, and the sound of a large…cat. Closing that door, the party entered the south door, which now faces…East?
The door opened into a 10′ wide hallway in a “+” configuration. Upon entering, the party artificer noticed (read: passive perception) a secret door immediately to his left. Entering the door, the party found a lavish bedchamber. Searching it they found a curious note:
“Silver polish is made from
four parts baking soda, three parts salt, and
five quarts of water. Questrix.”
At last, the party seemed to find the name of the mysterious “Q.”
Unfortunately, this didn’t finish the task of finding who Questrix was, if they could find him at all.
Continuing onward, the party wondered why there were secret doors next to the actual doors, and the dragonborn walked through, disappearing!
The party was more than a little panicked.
The dragonborn found herself trapped in a cramped compartment…somewhere.
After some searching, the party found a series of glass containers set in the middle of the intersection, covered by a large rug. They found their sorceress in one, an empty one, one with a young woman, and one with a basilisk in it. Covering the basilisk one, the party freed the young woman who told the group about how and why young girls are held “captive” within the infamous hut. Setting her free, she left, knocking on the silver door to the previous area in a familiar pattern, one of the pattern of the clues from Questrix.
The party tried the knocks and found a room with some sort of art gallery inside. Closing the door and reopening it, they found themselves looking back at the greenhouse. The party crossed to the door opposite of the one they had been investigating (the “normal” looking door opposite the silver door leading to the gallery/greenhouse), and found themselves in some sort of laboratory.
Exploring the laboratory, they found another clue from Questrix (in the underside of the sugar bowl), leading them to be able to open the cupboard. They were amazed at the sheer number of spell components and potion ingredients. As they reached inside, they heard a creak, as if squeaky shoes, and a haggard “Ahem…just what do you think you are doing in my cupboard?” Turning around, they saw her: Baba Yaga.
Quickly explaining that they “were just looking” and looking for her, she teleported them all to her throne room, where she asked them what they wanted. After asking a series of questions, the party saw that the dwarf (i.e. the spicy cleric) was beginning to age with each question asked. When she noted the party’s confusion, she simply said “People who know too much grow old before their time…” The party also noted how Baba Yaga (who requested that she be referred to as “Grandmother”) was growing younger.
Baba Yaga agreed to answer their question regarding the next location of a chapter of the Nether Scrolls on the condition that they find another girl to serve her in exchange for her usual deal, a magical item of some considerable power.
Will they find some poor girl to work for Baba Yaga? Where will the next cache be located?
Find out tomorrow!
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