| Session Date | January 20, 2024 |
| Start Date | |
| End Date | |
| Starting Location | Eburnean Vaults |
| Ending Location | Eburnean Vaults |
| Player Characters | |
| Base XP Gained | Carry Over |
| Player Notes | ZZ's Notes |
The party continued to the south, re-exploring areas they’d visited well over a year past. In one room they encountered six heavily hooded and cloaked figures. One parleyed in a dry, raspy voice. Hans tried questioning them on the Giant King in order to ascertain if they had any connections to him, but they claimed to have never even heard of him. Rather, they claimed to be pilgrims bound for the temple of Lolitar on the level above. As for what was below, they told the party that many claimed to rule the lower levels of this dungeon and that they had traveled a very long way along the underground road to get here. But, when Hans began to ask about Lolitar’s cult, this seemed to enrage them as they suddenly attacked, calling the party infidels. It became instantly apparent that they were mummies. Mordecai, ZZ, and Harvey all tried to run them, but only managed to turn 3 of 6 between them! The faith of the mummies in Lolitar seemed to be stronger than that of the clerics! But the melee went well for the party, aside from a severe blow to Burt. The unturned ones were soon destroyed and then the party turned on those still held at bay by Mordecai, slaying one while Mordecai blasted one out of existence with his mace of disruption. A sack of treasure was recovered, including a very old signet ring depicting a comet, evidently offerings to the cult.
The party now reentered the area where they’d fought with wererats. A secret room previously discovered, with residue of a flame strike before the door, was found to still be empty except for the decaying corpse of an enormous rat. But at nearby door, Deaglan could hear quiet talking. The thief withdrew into the shadows and the rest of the party tried to create a trap by making a lot of noise and banging around the secret door. One man slipped out as Deaglan watched, noting that he morphed from ratman to human as he did so. The disguised wererat hailed the party in friendly terms. He and his friends were camped in the adjacent room and invited the party to join them for safety and for a good flask of ale. The party noted that if they were adventurers, they would be stepping on each other’s toes and both would find less loot. The man laughed and said they were content to explore and less interested in loot. They certainly did not want a fight and were happy to either camp together, or he offered to open the secret door for the party. Deaglan, meanwhile, was listening at the regular door and noted close breathing as if one of the rats was listening at it. As the ratman went to open the secret door, Deaglan slipped over and backstabbed him, creating a ruckus and getting the other ratmen to charge out and attack, albeit poorly as Hans hit them with a slow spell. The party made short work of them, though Hans bound the wounds of one that was down in order to interrogate him.
It turned out the ratmen had abandoned worship of “the Rat God” after the party rolled through the previous year, slew the high priest, and desecrated their temple. Now, they had come to worship Mezekai, god of murder, a vile god with a black name. The Ratmen had apparently become Deceivers, murdering travelers in the darkness for the glory of their foul god. Their leader remained Annina, and she had led them to the worship of Mezekai. When they’d extracted what they were likely to get form him, they removed his bandages and let him bleed out, sputtering curses as he died. Their room proved to be very camp-like and they did indeed have a good flask or two of ale. One ratman had a silver pendant depicting a dagger stuck in a skull, the evil device of Mezekai.
Another room proved to contain more ratmen, but these the party simply stormed into and slaughtered, finding another symbol of Mezekai among them. Moving on, the party encountered a pair of humans walking towards them. The party hailed them and they asked if the party sought the Dark Market, as they’d be happy to show the way and even buy them a drink. When asked, they claimed to not be involved in the torture cult of Lolitar. Presuming them to be more wererats, the party attacked, Deaglan firing his bow, causing them to scream about betrayal and murder, while Hans and Burt cut them down with magic missiles. When killed, they indeed turned into wererats. But the noise caused a stir and the sounds of numerous doors opening and footsteps came from all around. Hans cast minor globe of invulnerability and, when a bunch of wererats came into the corridor, he put a wall of fire along its length, cooking several and injuring the rest. This, some melee from HelgaVinka and Burt, and magic missiles from Deaglan’s wand wiped them out…