Palace of the Vampire Queen, the 5e version (Inactive)

Game Master Terquem

You look like the kinds of folks who will appreciate my work he says with a cackle. All of the jars can be purchased, and they all have a different price. Simply tell me what you are looking for, and I will show you the best jar for your money. Most of them can be purchased for less than a gold piece, but the larger ones will cost more than that

Kayne follows the odd dwarf into his "shop" and peruses the wares with a curious and reserved eye. He taps one and looks to the man. "That's all well, but... what do they do, exactly? Do you have any tomes, foci of the arcane, that sort of thing?" He turns back to the jars. "As it is, I can't say I've seen anything like these--at least not anything worth several gold. I'd wager you were peddling junk if it weren't for the locale."

The fellow’s eyes go large, and he smiles, taps his cane against his head, and then says to Kayne, Ah, shrewd, yes, shrewd you are, a fine customer. It’s a sample you need, hehe. Hmm, let me see.

He moves to one of the walls and begins shifting jars about, pushing one this way, and another that way, going from shelf to shelf, until he comes to a clear jar, about a pint in size, and then he turns to you and licks his lips.

hehe, yes, yes, this one is easy to replace. He cradles the jar in the crook of his arm, the arm that leans upon the cane, and with the other hand he slowly removes the lid

And suddenly the room is filled with noise. It sounds like a busy tavern, with the thumping of mugs on tables, the clatter of plates and platters, and the murmur of dozens of voices speaking in various levels of excitement, but if you listen closely to the words being spoken they only sounds like gibberish

*rhubarb, rhubarb, mash potato, rutabagas, rhubarb…*

The old dwarf laughs out loud, his voice mingling with the tavern sounds.

He then carries the jar toward Kayne, and has to raise his voice as he says

Once the sound is let out of the jar, it won’t be stopped, except by magic, or when the length of the enchantment is run out. For this one, it should be only a moment or two longer. Eh, what do you think?

He sets the jar on the floor, and then waves his good arm all around pointing at all the jars

Each jar has a different sound, and a different duration. The darker the glass here he pauses and places his finger beside his nose and then goes on, the darker the sound. Why I’ve got one here that is the sound of a troll’s roar. It’ll scare the boots off any goblin you run in to, hehe, hahahahaha

Myna looks at the dwarf, then the jar, then back to the dwarf.
"That is...incredible! How..how do you capture the sounds?"

What?

"The sounds. How do you get them into the bottles?"

The dwarf looks at Myna like a dog looks at a sound it doesn't understand, and then suddenly he has a flash of insight, and he shouts

It is a simple spell. All I have to do is think of the sound I want to duplicate, cast the spell, and then drop some...

at this point the sounds of the tavern cease, and the dwarf is still shouting when finishes saying

...Diamond Dust into the jar. Seal it, and viola. Canned sounds galore.

Flint looks around, shocked, when the tavern sounds fill the area. His hand twitches toward his weapons before he realize it is just a harmless spell.

"Blisters! That is strange." he says, regaining control. "What sounds do you HAVE?! That troll one might actually be useful. Got any sea sounds? Do they work just the once?"

Upon hearing Flint’s question, the old dwarf scurries around the room pointing as he talks

Oh, yes, sea sounds, ship sounds, all sounds, almost any sound you can think of. I even have a jar with the soft distant sound of the Horn of Arangulsprok*

He stops for a moment, his eyes looking past Morgrym, and seem to take on a dreamy gaze, then he comes around and says, Yes, that is the nature of the enchantment on the glass. Once the seal is opened, the lid removed or the jar broken open, the sound is released. The sound, depending on the quality of the work I put into it, will last only a few moments, in most cases, but a few of them will continue to make sounds for some time.

*The Horn of Arangulsprok, is a great Sea Horn, on the peninsula of Arangul, at the Light House of Saint Frieda, of Our Mother Wyuddenllwyn Iron Eyes, Patient Mother of all who are lost at sea. The Horn is blown, every few moments, from the light house when the fog on the south coast is thickest, in mid Dawudunum

Morgrym looks angry that he has to listen to this idiot droll on.

Flints eyes go wide and the dwarf talks on, his dwarfish temperament fading once again with a halfling's wonder. He recovers and his features drop back into a furrow-browed near glare.

"I'll take all of those." he says without emotion, his arms crossed over his chest as if he just purchased grim tools for killing, speaking of the sea sound bottles.

The gnome's curiosity is piqued for a moment. "Forest sounds? Animals?"

Placing a finger beside his nose again, the dwarf says,

Ah yes, yes, sounds of the deep dark woods, the click of the cricket, the chirp of the black-headed penduline tit, yes, yes, many forest sounds, but, ahh, yes, but this one.

He rummages through the shelves again and pulls off a short, fat, black glass jar

this one is one of my favorites. It starts harmless, a forest glenn in the night, faint sounds, whistles, the rustle of the dried leaves on the forest floor, and then a hoot, but it goes on and on, and the sounds become more and more ominous, a low growl, the sound of a tree branch cracking and snapping, and then the faintest of faint leaves rustling in the wind. Yes, leave this one in a dark room and you will terrify those trying to sleep. This one, this one will cost you two gold pieces.

He then finds a basket and begins filling it with jars. When he is finished, there are nine jars in the basket, and he hands the basket to Flint

That will be, um, let’s see, three gold pieces and four silver pieces for the lot

Flint gives him 4, uninterested with counting out the silvers. He takes the basket without a word, with his gruff gaze fixed to the bottles.

bluff: 1d20 ⇒ 10

If you purchase a bottle, or more than one, please include it in your inventory as "Magic Sound Jar" and if you ever want to use it in the game, include the roll of a d6 with your post telling us you are opening it

Very kind, very kind. Now, let me just add that the jars are of the finest quality, and if you use them, and they are not broken, return them to me and I will give you eight copper pieces for them

"We should be moving on." Flint says after the others are done looking at/buying bottles. He shifts his basket from one hand to the other, then eyes the mule as a possible carrier for his small army of jarred sounds.

"Hey you. You see any dwarf soldiers down here? Maintenance crew? Anything else you can tell us 'bout this place?"

The donkey looks blankly at Flint, as if to say, "I've been down here no longer than you have been, when would I have seen any such people?" And then the animal turns its head toward Mylandur, wiggles its ears and thinks, oh, you were talking to him, right.

The old dwarf watches Flint ask the donkey a strange question, then realizes that the question was actually directed toward him and answers

Eh, well there were some slaves being traded back and forth by the goblin tribes on this level a few weeks back, yes they were dwarves, but I don't know if they were soldiers or not. I avoid the goblins, when I can, and they, if they know what's good for them, avoid me, unless they come to see me unarmed and with money in their hand. Take the secret door, there at the north end of the passageway outside of the shop, and go right, then keep going past the big passageway, and then turn south, I think there were some goblins from that area who acquired some new captives and haven't eaten them yet.

Myna pokes about the jars and other sundry items while the halfling chats with the odd dwarf.

I'm bored now, time to go. thinks the pig-faced dwarf noble before stating loudly, I'm bored now, time to go.

Kayne examines a few of the jars after the dwarf's display, intrigued by their purpose and interested in the methods used. He picks one up and turns it carefully in his free hand, examining it from various angles and wondering what spells might have been used in its fabrication. He's about to ask when he senses his mule tugging at its reins. Setting the jar back down, he turns. "Alighieri, what's--ah."

The warlock catches Flint's eye and stares at him for a few moments, his eyes boring holes into Flint's. Finally, he sniffs and turns back to the jars. "If you must use Alighieri for carrying equipment, you have my permission to do so. Just don't cry to me if anything breaks. And if you die, I keep what you've burdened him with."

After the dwarven noble bluntly states his mind, Kayne shakes his head and pinches his nose. Why must I be burdened with fools? At least they're competent as protection, but even so... He sighs and looks to the dwarf who keeps this shop, reaches into his purse, and withdraws a pair of gold coins. "Anything you have that's intimidating, dangerous, loud, that sort of thing, for this much. And if you could label them, I would be greatly obliged."

Flint happily loads the jars onto the mule, completely ignorant to its thoughts about him, accepting Kayne's terms.
"Well, we know what way to go now. I say we follow his directions and kick some teeth in once we bump into those goblins."

Hahahahaha! I knew I should have targeted someone specific with my comment about the missing soldiers. Well played, GM. Well played.

Day 5, Tuesday morning, approximately 8:10 am (turn 50, turn 3 of 6) It is morning, the eighteenth day of Mergunum, the last month of the twelve calendar year. Location – inside the Palace of the Vampire Queen. The Dungeon is in Darkness and there is Heavy Fog but Namfoodle carries a Torch (turn 48/1). Current location – room 19, the “shop”

Hmmm, the dwarf takes the money and goes to the shelf. He comes back with three bottles. He stops, looks at Kayne for a moment and then his face brightens, Label them, yes, good idea, but no I don’t have a way to do that. But if you could bring me some paper, colored chalk and adhesive I could begin to label all of them I’ll pay for your trobles, if you could remember to bring me these supplies next time you are passing this way. Now, this one, he hands Kayne a dark blue jar powerful but brief, a thunder clap, will make people poop in their shorts I promise. This one he hands Kayne a light green jarA forest fire, not loud, but persists for some time, and finally he hands Kayne a small red jarThe sound of a fire ball going off. Now that one, hmm, hit or miss, sometimes scares them, sometimes doesn’t, not a lot of people know what it is and so it weakens the impact of the sound. But, if you’ve hit your enemy with a fireball, then throw this at them, it can shake them up for a moment or two.

I think everyone, Morgrym, is ready to leave the shop, are we done here?

I'm set!

Yep. Done.

ready to go!

Been ready since we meet this guy.

Day 5, Tuesday morning, approximately 8:20 am (turn 51, turn 4 of 6) It is morning, the eighteenth day of Mergunum, the last month of the twelve calendar year. Location – inside the Palace of the Vampire Queen. The Dungeon is in Darkness and there is Heavy Fog but Namfoodle carries a Torch (turn 48/4). Current location – northern east/west Passageway

Once all is taken care of, the group exits the old dwarf’s shop via a pair of closely placed secret doors, one leading to another that exit into a wide Passageway going east and west. To the west the passageway ends just twenty feet away, while to the North there is a pair of double stone doors, and to the east the passageway runs off into darkness. The fog seems less thick her.

With Jade and Myna once again leading the way, the group sets off slowly toward the east, soon they come to the central twenty foot wide passageway that runs north from the entrance, and at this location there is something new. On the north wall at the apex of the tee intersection made by the central passageway and this east/west running passageway is an enormous set of double stone doors. Each door is nearly ten feet wide just by itself and almost eighteen feet high. This area of the dungeon has a vaulted ceiling supported by large solid blocks of stone.

It might be interesting to stop and examine these doors on the north wall, but the party is determined to keep to their plan and they continue eastward, until, they see, ahead on the left, a narrower passageway opening going north off the east/west passageway and just a short distance beyond this another narrow passageway on the right going south.

Now, which one was the one the old dwarf said to take?

Oh, GM! Just to make sure, Flint would like the Horn sound the old dwarf mentioned pointed out to him specifically, so he could find it from the others.

"Pssst! Knife ears!" Flint whispers loudly ahead of him. "We want the passage on the right! Keep an eye out for gobbos!"

Myna looks down on the halfling, then shakes his head.

"Ok Shrimpy! To the right we go", Myna says with a chuckle.

Day 5, Tuesday morning, approximately 8:30 am (turn 52, turn 5 of 6) It is morning, the eighteenth day of Mergunum, the last month of the twelve calendar year. Location – inside the Palace of the Vampire Queen. The Dungeon is in Darkness and there is Heavy Fog but Namfoodle carries a Torch (turn 48/4). Current location – northern east/west Passageway

As Myna and Jade carefully approach the intersection, they listen for the possibility of an ambush. The fog has grown thicker, and the floor seems rougher here, when suddenly

Without warning, at the exact intersection of the southern passageway with the east/west passageway, the floor beneath Myna's and Jade's feet gives way. It is a cleverly concealed Pit trap

Your Passive Perception is not high enough to notice the Pit trap before you step onto the danger zone, BUT there is still a chance you avoid falling into the pit as the fake floor gives way. Roll a Dexterity Saving Throw, the DC is 14 - Good luck. If you fail the save, you fall 10 feet down and take d6 damage.

Dex Save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

As he feels the floor begin to drop out from beneath him, Myna quickly steps back and out of harms way.

Day 5, Tuesday morning, approximately 8:10 am (turn 52, turn 5 of 6) It is morning, the eighteenth day of Mergunum, the last month of the twelve calendar year. Location – inside the Palace of the Vampire Queen. The Dungeon is in Darkness and there is Heavy Fog but Namfoodle carries a Torch (turn 48/1). Current location – Northern Most East/West Passageway

As the floor drops away from beneath Myna’s feet he throws his weight backward and tucks his legs up. Using his shoulders as a spring he bounces off the floor behind the Pit trap, and lands on his feet.

But what happened to Jade…

Dexterity Save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

For a moment it seems as if Jade disappears into the fog, but a moment later she springs up from the floor

What side is she on? 1-3 is Bad: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Luckily she is on the same side of the Pit trap as the rest of the party.

There is now a ten foot by ten foot hole, ten feet deep, in the passageway right where the southern passageway connects. You could probably get around it, by trying to step over the corner of the pit at the corner of the walls to the south. There is nothing but a smooth stone wall to try to hold onto as you try this way, and there is a little danger involved

A Dexterity Check, DC 10, or a Strength Check (A running jump to clear the corner of the pit) DC 10 is required to access the southern passageway.

Morgrym backs up and then yells, Coming through. as he hurls himself in what could be described as a running jump.

1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

Surprisingly, by the look on his face, he lands as soft as a mouse, warhammer at the ready to defend the rest of the party.

"You two okay?" Flint says, approaching the pit after Morgrym's leap and taking a look down into it.

perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Not seeing anything of interest (probably), Flint follows suit with his own running leap.

athletics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

"Wow! That was close! You Ok Jade? What the....Morgrym you crazy dwarf what are you....good gods! he cleared it! Did you see that Flint...Flint? Geez! Almost missed the edge there little fella! Well guess it's our turn. Here goes nothing!"

Myna edges along the side of the pit, not trusting a jump into the fog.

Dex: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Apparently, most of the group has forgotten that there is a Donkey among them...

That is not nice to call the dwarf...lol

Your right...completely forgot about it....

Once over on the other side, Myna gets down on his stomach and takes a look at the mechanism that opens the trap door to see if he can figure a way to jam it and allow normal passage....for their donkey Odie.

not sure what you want for a roll to do this...if it is even possible!

"Ahem." Kayne clears his throat and gestures to his mule as Myna begins looking for the mechanism. "While I'm sure it would be no trouble for myself, this pit does present a rather difficult obstacle for Alighieri. Unless some of you would like to toss him over..." He pats the mule's hindquarters with his gauntleted hand and leans against the wall.

"Mules are not known for their agility. You should have a panther as a mount." Namfoodle says stoically.

He looks over the pit and sighs while Myna searches for something inside it.

"Another architectural curiosity, a defense measure of some type. But why....?" He shrugs.

As Myna gets down close to the floor he sees immediately that the Pit trap is crude, does not have a way to be rest at all, but was simply a fake floor made of light weight materials placed over a hole in the floor.

Intelligence: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

"Yes, well, remind me to purchase such a fine creature to serve as my beast of burden the next time I'm down at the local market with a few spare silvers." The man's amber eyes narrow and crinkle--and you get the sense that it isn't from a hidden grin.

After a moment, he gestures to the trap. "In case the simple concept of a hole has baffled you, it seems we need to find something to allow my mule to pass over it. A pair of sturdy boards should do the trick, or perhaps you could find a small, portable bridge along with your panther. Then we wouldn't have to face obstacles such as these in the future, mm?" One eye widens as though the eyebrow above it is raised--although given the torch held by Namfoodle, it isn't too difficult for most of the party to see that Kayne's eyebrows have long since been burnt away, only scars in their place. "I'll remain here with Alighieri, if you lot would care to acquire the necessary materials."

When Kayne suggests tossing over Alighierie: "What?! No! My bottles will break!" he says, panicked.

intelligence: 1d20 ⇒ 8

"hmmm, fine fine, just don't get ambushed and killed while we go on, eh? There are goblins about, you know! Maybe we could just give that old nut a gold to watch your ass for you?"

Day 5, Tuesday morning, approximately 8:10 am (turn 52, turn 5 of 6) It is morning, the eighteenth day of Mergunum, the last month of the twelve calendar year. Location – inside the Palace of the Vampire Queen. The Dungeon is in Darkness and there is Heavy Fog but Namfoodle carries a Torch (turn 48/1). Current location – Northern Most East/West Passageway

Myna, Flint, and Morgrym have crossed safely over the Pit trap and are standing in a ten foot wide Passageway that goes south, the fog is a bit thinner her, and the floor feels muddy

Namfoodle, and Kayne are on the other side of the pit

Looking south, with the dim light provided by Namfoodle’s torch, just twenty feet away (to the south) on their right, Flint, Morgrym, and Myna all see a set of double doors indented as they normally are. Perhaps there are some boards in that room

There has been no word from Jade and I really don’t know what to do but just drag her along a little bit more, send one more message, and if she does not respond we will have to drop her. Meanwhile, will Namfoodle remain with Kayne?

I've already crossed the damn pit. I ain't going back. No move your asses and leave the ass.

Morgrym will impatiently start making his way to the double doors, dragging Flint with him. You be the closest thing to another real dwarf in this company. I trust you more than the lot of them.

Kayne rolls his eyes. "Puns, how devastatingly charming. Really, the intellectual stimulation from these conversations alone makes the whole journey worthwhile." He sighs in exasperation and folds his arms. "Say what you want, o straightforward, bearded one, but you'll not make it far into this dungeon without an experienced practicer of the arcane arts, not to mention someone with more than stones between their ears, and I'll not make it farther without my mule. He is dear to me, not to mention that he carries the majority of my equipment and tools to catalog my findings."

After a moment, the human flicks his fingers in annoyance. "You don't have to come back across the pit, just see if there are boards nearby and use them. Break down a door and bring it back if you have to, I don't care. But I'd rather not leave Alighieri behind, nor would I leave him unattended."

Myna move forward to examine the passage before them. He checks the muddy passage and then the double doors.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

"Ack!" Flint yelps as Morgrym suddenly pulls him with. "Letgo, I'm coming! Let me get a torch, I don't think the gnome is too short to make the jump." he says about his taller companion.

He'll undo his shield so he can hold a newly lit torch, providing light for the group on this side of the pit. He'll advance with Myna and give the doors a once over, trying to see if it would be possible to break one down to use a pit-bridge.

Note sure what to roll here, GM. I'll do a base d20 and let you add whichever of my modifiers you think appropriate.

Breaky down door for pit-bridge knowledge check: 1d20 ⇒ 2

Woops! Editing typo. That should be read as: "I THINK the gnome is too short...". I accidentally kept a "don't" in there, which makes it actually sound somewhat reasonable. Flint is not reasonable.

Day 5, Tuesday morning, approximately 8:10 am (turn 52, turn 5 of 6) It is morning, the eighteenth day of Mergunum, the last month of the twelve calendar year. Location – inside the Palace of the Vampire Queen. The Dungeon is in Darkness and there is Heavy Fog but Namfoodle carries a Torch (turn 48/5, A second torch is lit on turn 52/1). Current location – Northern Most East/West Passageway

I’ll assume Namfoodle is willing to toss a lit torch over the pit, to Flint

The double doors are exactly as the ones you seen here before, made of large single stone slabs perfectly balanced in a very sophisticated jamb.

Flint and Myna examine the doors and cannot find anything dangerous, with a simple shove the doors open, revealing a large empty chamber, with what appears to be several “nests,” and many long wooden planks that appear thin, but strong. The chamber looks as if it has been abandoned for a while, there aren’t even any detectable odors.

"Well it looks like we have found our wooden planks!"

Myna moves to help drag some of the lumber back to the pit.