| Session Date | February 17, 2024 |
| Start Date | 21 Reaping, 1273 |
| End Date | 21 Reaping, 1273 |
| Starting Location | Inn of the Welcoming Darkness |
| Ending Location | Level 3 - near painted room |
| Player Characters | |
| Base XP Gained | Carry over |
| Player Notes | ZZ's Notes |
The party left the Inn of the Welcoming Darkness and the Dark Market, proceeding west once more. They passed through one hall with a number of pillars all covered with graffiti, advertisements for vendors in the Dark Market. Further west, they came to two previously unopened doors. The first led them into a damp, natural cave filled with huge fungal growths and a pool of water. It appeared to be a farm of sorts. After they entered, they were attacked by a Violet Fungus while a Shrieker began to blare its loud alarm. They quickly killed the Violet Fungus and the Shrieker. Noting a second pair nearby, ZZ killed it with his dwarven throwing hammer. A quick dredging of the pool brought up an old potion bottle.
About this time a group of weird mushroom men came into the room, clearly hopping mad at the intrusion and destruction. The party opted to not attack and did as they were bidden, departing the room. From the door across the party could see a similar sort of room with more of the mushroom folk, which they decided not to enter.
They now burst in on the Specter they’d seen before. Mordecai turned it while the wizards pelted it with magic missiles and ZZ rushed it under a negative plane protection spell and with Mordecai’s mace of disruption, quickly dispatching it. A nice treasure was recovered. Content, the party now returned to Astraharsis for a final check-in before going down to the next level.
The Hadashim sorceress was happy to see them, as always. They questioned her about the dreams that some of them had been having of late and the hints of Yrimith and the Apsis, whatever that was. Sh explained that Yrimith was the Black Planet. Once about every 87 years it would reach its closest approach to this world, the Apsis. Around that time, the evil denizens of that planet would come to this one to conduct business of their own. None knew what they were really about, but many people would die and many others would disappear during this time. These incidents would happen all over the world without seeming pattern. The occurrence of the dreams might mean this was one of those places, and she let drop that was at least part of her reason for being here. The people of Yrimith were known as the Ashen Magi. Physically, they looked like somewhat like pale elves with unusually elongated features and limbs, but eyes that were dead black. They are uniformly evil and deadly, powerful spellcasters and possessing many strange arts. They are often seen with dog-headed foot soldiers who fight with the greatest viciousness for their masters.
In response to a question from Sirius, she said that they do not have a glow or other appearance like to Menezar, nor to the observer or anyone else they’d thus far encountered. She did not know of the precise time of Apsis. While astronomers and stargazers were familiar with the Black Planet, they could not see it, only where it lay when it blacked out stars behind it. She would be very interested to hear anything the party learned further on the subject.
As for the level below, she’d never been herself but knew that it was called the Moaning Caves. Through it passed a road or path that traversed a portion of it and led to the level below that, the realm of the Serpentine Lord, self-proclaimed master of the entire dungeon. Below that lay a realm of the Duergar, the evil Dwarves some of the party had encountered before. Eventually, this dungeon linked into that vast, endless network of caves and passages known simply as The Underworld. She did admit to having been in The Underworld at some point in the past and claimed it was not for the faint of heart.
After finishing their talk and tea, the party made their farewells and headed back west, taking the stairway closest to the Dark Market down. This one, they felt, was the most traversed way and thus would generate the least interest in their movements. The stairs descended 80 feet and ended at an east-west passageway. They headed east, finding another stairway apparently heading back to the second level but likely ending a good distance from this one as it headed up the opposite direction.
Nearby they entered a room and found a bronze door leading south out of it, signs of picking and other attempts to force it open. On it was written in Common, “To open the door you see, This room you must fill, Let no space remain empty, Let no corner be still.” Hans cast minor globe of invulnerability and then Burt used a wand to fireball the room. That worked, as the bronze door opened to let out an intense light. Beyond was a very white room of shiny marble with a huge golden disk in the opposite wall, form which the intense light shone. As the party walked in, they were overcome by a feeling of peace and wellness (those hurt were partially healed). Then, a vision of a beatific female face appeared in the midst of the glowing golden disk, her eyes piercing blue and her hair the brightest gold. A feeling of mingled awe and peace engulfed the party. The face then spoke in the minds of those present, “Welcome, travelers to this fell place. I have long awaited you. Know that your deeds are pleasing to She of the Healing Hand, violent and distasteful though they may be. Let the blessing of Larana cover you and fortify you for what is to come.” She then breathed a literal breath of fresh air that engulfed the entire room, after which the glow will and golden disk faded away leaving bare stone walls no different than the rest of the dungeon. However, everyone present was granted a boon from the goddess (MIA players see below).
The party continued to explore to the east. In one corridor they hit a pit trap, with Helga falling and Hans levitating free. At the end of the hallway was a door that turned out to be false and merely a trap which Deaglan set off. It released a gas that caused him to become confused and attack the party, but ZZ quickly hit him with a hold person successfully. When recovered, they continued on and eventually came to a large room with 20 10’x10’ sections enclosed in glass. Each depicted a scene from some place and seemed to open out after ten feet to the place depicted in the display. Many were outside with bright light while others included dark forests, caves, tunnels, and a hellscape even in one. They opted to leave this for later and continued exploring.
A short time later they encountered a pair of adventurers, probably a fighter and a magic-user with some bugbears. There was a short moment of tension but finally the party answered their question and pointed the way to the Dark Market. They did not get a good look but there were more human-sized adventurers and what looked like some Ogres. They had spoken common but with a strong accent, which the party took to be Tyrolian, from the far western lands of the Ilmorian Continent, a place rumored to be haunted by vampires, werewolves, and the sinister citadel of Vladikavkaz.
The party now turned north, coming to a round room with a floor of solid ice. The party wanted nothing to do with this and continued north, coming finally to a small hall with pillars that was painted with a bewildering array of colors in no discernible pattern and which hurt the eyes. ZZ, in his powerful jester suit of chaos, could sense a faint hint of Chaos here, but not strong or close…