The Chronicler's page

Carlotta drags Kenny from the dark room into the dark hallway by pure instinct. The monkey shrieks once as she steps on its tail, an earsplitting shriek, but nowhere near as unnerving as the sound of skittering feet that seem to be filling the room on the other side of the now closed door.

As Kenny and Carlotta head towards the door, a guttural voice intones from somewhere in the depths of the cave. The words sound impossible to pronounce and the voice sounds horrible and deep, almost felt as much as heard.

"Ignthz dj QKLURLU!"

The lightbulb above explodes and the monkey outside in the hall shrieks in horror as the room is once more plunged into darkness. The sound of many skittering feet once more can be heard rushing towards the carpeted room.

Damn, this is easily the most disturbing campaign I have ever been in. Years ago my game group tried some Ravenloft adventures but I found them to be boring cliches rather than moving in any way. Ugh, now I want to wash my hands on Kenny's behalf.

I confess I was personally hoping you would look for the key before cutting in. Poor Kenny.

There is a sound from deep in the caverns, as of something very large moving and again comes the skittering sound as of many insectoid feet. But nothing ventures into the light.

Carlotta, in her confused and befuddled state does not notice the key in time. She instead finds hereself looking at the rather strange looking book with a red leather cover that is on the edge of the desk. The cover reads in golden arabic script, "nigerlibrinex." The leather cover has swirls stamped along its edge and there is a large black ribbon inserted into the pages.

It is only after Kenny is up to his hands in gore that she realizes a key was sitting in the desk drawer in plain sight. The key is a rather large key that lookes suitable for manacles and the like.

Kenny meanwhile finds nothing unexpected nor anything desireable.

The kobold tribe - Round 1
Bowen: Initiative - 13
Arla: Initiative - 8
Ash: Initiative - 8
Rall: Initiative - 5
Chloe: Initiative - 4
Kobolds: Initiative - 4

The light in the center of the room's cieling, flickers for a moment and then comes on. There is a sound of skittering again, but this time it seems to be moving away from the back of the room, as if fleeing from the light.

The light does show that the back of the room ends and a cavernous floor begins, though the cavern's floor looks like it descends rather quickly away from the rear of the carpeted floor. On the left wall there is a small table with papers and books and a small bookcase. The table has a small drawer sit into the front of it. On the right wall there are a couple of sitting chairs, and a cabinet with a sound system. The woman sprawls on the floor, at the foot of her wooden rocker, her hair cascading around her and her blood seeping into the carpet.

Carlotta:

As kenny finishes his little speech, there is the sound of skittering that echoes up from the back of the room. It sounds like thousands of little legs. Accompanying it is another sound, the sound of air moving, like some great beast exhaling.

Carlotta recalls seeing a light switch on the wall near the door.

Sanity can be regained. There are different ways. Successfully living through an adventure tends to give you some. Psychiatric doctors and institutions can also help you regain some, if your character doesn't mind entering into therapy. Of course there is always your maximum sanity (which as you may remember starts at 99). As you gain in Mythos knowledge this goes down permenantly in direct correspondance to how much you know.

The room is filled with large rocks, some of which are suitable as tables or small seats. They will hinder movement but they can be climbed on.

I'm not sure whether it was Carlotta or Kenny who got the short end of the stick here...

Kenny made his sanity check or it would have gone worse with him. Some things bring insanity regardless of whether you succeed or fail, its just that failure generally causes it to come faster.

I won't make you roll. The poor 'helpless' old woman isn't resisting after all. Carlotta takes 2 points of damage (1d2) to her sanity (Bringing her Sanity Score to 45). Kenny, for doing the actual cutting, earns 1 (Bringing his score to 60 I believe). This represents a coarsening of the heart for Kenny and a softening of the mind for Carlotta.

Kenny steps forward and his knife, extremely sharp as it is, slices easily into the woman's throat. The blood sprays out at first and then seeps, flowing black in the candlelight.

"It is done," the old blind woman whispers and Carlotta is shocked to see the woman's toothsome grin. She does not die right away, as if in some movie but instead remains in her seat, willing herself to stay upright as her life drains out. Then finally, her head slumps.

Almost as soon as her head drops, a warm air blows suddenly from the cave. The candles go out and the room is plunged into blackness. A shrill shrieking sound fills the whole room, as if the dead woman herself were screaming. Then all is quiet, except for some sort of sound in the depths of the blackness that is the cavern at the back of the room.

The monkey continues to remain in the dark hall, well away from the crazy blind woman and the creepy cavern in the back of her room.

Action points can be used to add 1d6 to a d20 roll after the initial roll is made but before the DM tells you whether the roll succeeded or not. They can also be used to gain one extra action in a round or to recall one spell just cast.

Hero Points can be used to avoid any single attack from dropping you below 1 hp or for an automatic critical for any one attack.

I'll calculate the sanity loss shortly, basing it more or less on your next few actions. What are you both going to do?

The woman does not move and Kenny sticks the knife in her back rather weakly.

"Aaargh!" she yells, in obvious pain.

Carlotta, standing in front of her gets a dreadful view of the face of a maniac. The woman grips the arms of her rocking chair and shouts out, "Deeper! Deeper!" Her tone is imperious.

Coup de Gras is an option. Also, I think a sanity check is appropriate at this juncture. Its wierding me out as a storyteller. I can only imagine what the scene would do for the fragile psyches of those there.

A Battle Map for you to use if needed.

The kobold leaders are at J13 and K13.

The other kobolds are at I10, I11, J9, J10, J11, J12, K10, K14, L12, L12, L14, and M11.

"I swallowed the key!"

The woman cackles, obviously insane. She once more closes her sightless eyes and sits back, relaxing.

Then a moment later her demeanor is much different.

"If you prefer not to kill old blind woman, is much fine with me. No one lives forever but why hasten the inevitable. I can wait my turn to dance with Stylthogop in the courtyards of the heavens. Ki minakosa Stylthogop na jihu sha necrus. Yes?"

"Perhaps you would rather talk? No?"

The child you are looking for is not in here that you can see. There is another entrance into the room, just out of sight to the east, and one to the party's left going north-west. There are no kobolds between the group and the north-west exit.

I'll try and get a map up by tomorrow.

The tunnel continues another fifteen feet before opening up into a wide cavern. It is filled with kobolds. All of them on the alert, ready to attack. Fortunately, the party is not surprised to see a welcoming committee and with both sides prepared for battle, there is no surprise round.

There are fourteen kobolds in here. Two of them, towards the back of the group, are better armed and as soon as the party is in sight, they begin yelling, their high voices making loud yipping noises. One gets the feeling they are calling for reinforcments.

Kobold's initiative: (1d20+1=4)

If you beat a 4 initiative you can go first. The closest kobolds are fifteen feet away.

The screaming fungi continue their wailing as the party hesitates in indecision.

"Certainly, eating those girls we've been doing, yes," cackles the old woman, "Men aren't as tender. And the customers like tender meat. Heehee." She twists her head toward Carlotta, her white, sightless eyes staring unblinkingly. Her voice is suddenly serious, "Of course you're going to kill me girl. Because otherwise you won't be leaving here alive. So kill me and free the darkness. Stop this talking. I think I hear my son and his wives coming. The key is inside me and cut it out you must if you wish to free them."

In the yawning cavernous chamber beyond the edge of the room, it feels as if there is suddenly something there, watching, waiting. The candles flicker as if a wind is blowing from the darkness but neither of the reporters can feel any breeze.

The woman smiles suddenly and Carlotta sees that she has a full mouth of teeth, each of them filed to a nasty looking point.

Bumping this to keep it off the second page

AS the group turns and takes the right tunnel northwardly, they pass by the tall fungus.

Suddenly to the right and to the left comes a keening wail. Two of the tall mushrooms are emitting a horrible shrieking noise. A noise that must surely be audible to every kobold in the tunnels.

So is that the plan? I didn't want to presume based on only one PC.

Nothing happens as Kenny enters the room except the old woman laughs dryly at his discomfort. "Not scared of wicked old woman, no? Too old to fight you. Kill me you will or die maybe? No? Yes?"

The monkey chitters angrily from the hall.

The western passage twists and winds a for maybe forty or fifty feet before coming to a "T" with one cavernous tunnel heading south and a wider tunnel heading north. The tunnel northward can be seen to have various large fungi growing in it.

The room is sparsely decorated and lit with candles. The floor is carpeted, it looks to be red plush in the candlelight. On the left wall there is a small table with papers and books and a small bookcase. On the right wall there are a couple of sitting chairs, and a cabinet with a sound system. In the middle of the room, an old oriental lady in a simple dress sits rocking slowly, her gray hair falling down over her shoulders. As the door opens she turns her head at an angle as if to better hear the investigators. She keeps her eyes closed and barely moves her lips as she talks.

"Come, come. Don't be squeamish. Take your knifes. Slit my throat. Take the keys. Hehehe."

Strangely, the back wall of the room isn't there. The room ends and immediatelly becomes a cavernous maw of darkness, as if the room is attached to a cave.

The monkey does not want to go into the room.

Bowen easily determines that most of the traffic here runs north and west, with north being the clear path of choice.

Rall hears noise to the north. It sounds suspiciously like a large number of kobolds preparing themselves for battle.

Carlotta kicks the door and it flies open, suggesting, among other things, that it had not been locked.

The room beyond seems to be lit by candles along the wall. The most immediate feature is a figure in a rocking chair in the middle of the dim room.

How many hp did Rall get back?

All of them I believe.

The northern tunnel contains roughly carved shallow steps that descend down about ten feet. At the bottom of the steps there is a four way crossroads, with tunnels going north east and west. Each of these tunnels is about four or five feet wide.

So who is throwing open the door?

So is everyone ready to go north then?

"Take your time.... hehehehe.... The coming darkness can wait just a little longer."

The unseen elderly woman on the other side of the door begins singing. Or chanting. Its hard to be sure as its in another language.

"Hehehehe," comes the cackle through the door, "You would be making a poor old woman leave the comforts of her chair. Dayo no slumijjiko. Hehehe. Nono. Death must come to me. Or else you must wait out there for your death to find you. Hai slitjikko Canny! Hehehe..."

Bowen smiles at Rall and checks what the Kobold's had equipment wise.

The kobold had a masterwork handaxe, studded leather armor, and a light crossbow with 8 bolts left.

All of it is of course sized for a small creature.

The monkey seems highly suspicious of the door on the right, though less so of the door on the left.

As Carlotta puts her ear to the door, she too hears a squeaking sound.

Then, as she starts to pull her ear back, a voice on the other side says loudly, "Coming in? Or staying out. Either way is fine for me. Death can take its time. Jinxum nababa somo doyo no Canny! Hehehehe..."

The voice seems to clearly belong to an elderly woman possessing an oriental accent.

Kenny hears a faint squeaking sound coming from the other side of the door. There is also the suggestion of light coming from the bottom of the door. But its not a lot of light.

Carlotta hears nothing and notices nothing unusual about the door she puts her ear to.

Sorry for not posting since Friday - been a little busy.

Rall feels immediatelly better (though still poisoned), after drinking the potion.

Back in the hallway, it is again, very dark, though as the light was left on in the carpeted room, perhaps not as dark as it was.

After some more slow walking, Kenny and Carlotta come to two more doors, one on the left and one on the right.

So where to?

The body is in the closet and jars of powdery looking substances are taken. They jars have labels but they are not in english or even using Latin letters.

The monkey allows itself to be carried, once it calms down.

Curiously enough, the carved door does lead to a large walk in closet. Shelves line each wall and each shelf is full of various items like black candles esoteric hjars and dried herbs. There is a pungent odor in the room, likely from the drying plants. One back shelf holds several knives in velvet display boxes. The knives have oddly shaped blades and with curves and serated edges. The floor is cement and there is more than enough space to stow the body.

The little... whatever it is,... looks less threatening as it lies bleeding into the carpet, but no less freakish. A black tongue lolls from between its pointed teeth and its large ears twitch spasmodically. Its fingernails are a bit like black claws but its hand is almost human in shape.

Kenny valiantly tries to defend his partner. His knife draws blood, much to the dismay of the little freak. It screams in pain and its eyes dart towards the door. Carlotta brings her massive cleaver around and down, connecting solidly with its chest. It is impaled and it opens its mouth but no sound comes out. Slowly it sags to the ground.

Good attack and nice ninja post - you beat mine by three seconds. :)

The cavernous room has three exits. There is the tunnel that the party entered through on the east wall. There is a ten foot wide tunnel that heads deeper down to the north and there is another tunnel on the southwest corner of the room.

You were flanking it.

The thing steps to the side, trying to get to where it can see both Kenny and Carlotta (5' step - diagonal to Carlotta's right).

Meanwhile it is still trying to slash open Carlotta's legs. It shrieks and cackles and waves its knife madly back and forth, but Carlotta manages to keep well away from the shiny steel blade.

Knife attack: (1d20+2=9)

Kenny nicks the thing from behind and it screams in pain, a high, piercing shriek filled with anger and fury. The scream terrifies the monkey who flees , chittering in terror, scratching at the unopened door on the far end of the strange room.

End of round 1

Carlotta gets to act.

If you took a meat cleaver its 1d6. If you took a chef's knife its 1d4. If you took anything smaller go with 1d3. There was only one meat cleaver in the cutting room.

Carlotta's knife misses the little creature as it lunges at her.

Knife attack: (1d20+2=20)
Damage: (1d3-1=0)

It apparently has no qualms about stabbing her. The little freaks knife slices across her leg, bringing more pain than actual hurt.

Carlotta takes 1 point of non-lethal damage.

I'll assume Bowen gave Arla a flank.

The goblin, suddenly overwhelmed by foes, misjudges his defense. Arla's blade slices him from behind and then Ash grabs him and pulls him down. The hardy kobold is not dead but he is out of the fight, and unconscious.