The ghouls have nothing useful. Most ghouls are wise enough to know that possessions only encumber our unlives.
After Tragershen finger-snaps away the Webbing, you push on down the dark hallway into the river cave. Memories of wererats, dung monsters, and ghouls come flooding back, but the river's not flooding at the moment. If anything, it looks a little low.
You see the stairs where you were ambushed so many long weeks ago. It's actually kind of pretty when it's not swarming with bats and combats. And there are no beating drums in the distance.
You take the stairs.
As you descend, the rough-hewn stairs grow increasingly regular. You've entered a more finished area of the dungeon. At the foot of the stairs is a room that is really more of a hallway--20 ft wide, 120 ft long. Across from the stairs to the East are two doors, separated by 40 feet. The far north and far south of the room end in doors, too.
The air here is foul and eight giant rat corpses lay about, apparently torn apart by some wild animal. Blood spatterings cover the entire area. The north door has been scratched and hacked with a handaxe that is still embedded in it.
But after the Pooze level, Anz breathes in the healthy stench of rot and blood and feels her Shakenness departing.
Bedlam patiently prepares another batch of sandwiches, as the people in Front stop and stare....
Feeling her nerves settle, Anzath looks about for signs of peril.
Anzath finds a secret panel in the floor, the kind you'd expect to cover a pit trap. This one is noticeably stinky.
The doors to the east and south are locked, but not trapped.
The door to the north has a key in it.
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Aurora swats away the sandwich offered by Bedlam, muttering, "I have my own food, which hasn't been handled by your disgusting hands."
She brings her fingers up to gently rub at Nico's head as they descend the stair into the hallway, cooing softly. Her eyes narrow at the eviscerated rat corpses strewn about the floor.
Anzath points out the pit trap, as well as hatchet and key lodged in the northern door, "Somebody tried to make hasty eskape, yez? Did not make it. Iz probably ghoul by now."
Bedlam's voice changes.
Talathel gives a nod of gratitude at Bedlam's offerings then gulps down the infusion before he tackles the sandwich.
**********
Talathel eye the carnage and racks his brain...
Talathel knows that dire rats often form important proportions of dungeon-dwellers' diets (just look at Bedlam). On inspecting the corpses, he sees that the offal is mostly there, with the choicest cuts removes... poorly.
Other than that, there's not much to know about this particular mess.
"A new ghoul then, or something equivalent. In any case, we must make headway. Anzath, can you ascertain if that key on the north door is attached to a trap?"
Mone sniffs eagerly at a rat carcass while the humanoid party members decide how to proceed.
That key is most definitely not trapped. You safely extract it.
Also the axe.
Anzath puts an ear to the door.
Anzath hears nothing.
in the main room that they arrive in, Tragershen will use some minor spells to make sure the party is properly informed.
Tragershen, armored and armorer, sees no magic, no poison, and nothing invisible.
But checking doesn't hurt.
The whole survey takes a few minutes.
Where next?
After Anzath listens at the door, Bedlam politely bullies his way to the front. The dwarf looks to everyone before placing his (well manicured) hand on the door. He counts to 3 before opening it...
Bedlam swings open the door. A dark hall cuts across his sight--a long passage to the east and west. To the left/west, he can see that the passage opens into a larger room. To the right/east, he can see a few doors in the wall to the south. His darkvision can't reach the end of the corridor in either direction.
Bedlam posts up just inside the hallway. He hands out a sandwich if folks turn left; and, only the crusts off the sandwiches if they go right.
He smiles.
With a scowl, Adelie dodges past bedlam’s nonsensical and inexplicably-infinite sandwiches to float towards the large room to the left.
Mone remains next to Nico and Aurora, ready to guard them from any enemies or shenanigans.
Anzath steps back and lets Bedlam open the door, her bow drawn and at the ready.
Talathel advances to the front, as the party is turning left.
The party gradually sees a chamber come into view. Before they get very close, they hear heavy snoring.
Bedlam makes a it ain't be me expression from the back.
Anzath grabs a sandwich and stuffs the hobbaby's mouth quiet. She trains her ears on the sound of snoring, trying to discern how many snorers and of what kind.
One snorer. Humanoid.
Talathel whispers:
"The stealthiest should investigate and if necessary eliminate."
Send the air elemental ahead, with Anzath slightly behind.
Bedlam nods. The dwarf begins doing some stretches. When he notices they were referring to Anzath, he mutters a bit before waiting.
Adelie obligingly floats forward, looking through the darkness with wildshape-enhanced vision.
Anzath and Adelie creep into the room. Enormous metal spikes and hooks jut from the walls. In the corner, a huge human is curled up on a pallet of rat skins. His muscles are almost grotesquely corded and veined, and he look impossibly strong. He tosses in a sleep tormented by unknown nightmares.
Bedlam begins looking for any Satyr....
Bedlam cannot locate any satyrs, sileni, fauns, nymphs, dryads, oreads, or any of the other minor deities of the land. He might check Lolly's feet, just to check, but he has toenails, not hooves.
Be no Cyclops be no stink'n satyr 'round.
Bedlam takes out a tablet.
Be common knowledge dat Cyclops be digg'n Satyrs.
Anz and Adelie can see that this man has two eyes. But maybe, just maybe Bedlam will survive long enough to meet a cyclops someday!
Anzath scratches her head. The situation seems impossible. This man should be questioned, definitely not trusted. She signals silently back to the group Take him alive.
Talathel nods, signing to all:
Grapple. Bind with rope.
He has a greatclub that he's hugging like a teddy bear.
Tragershen signs "I could try a spell that would make him laugh uncontrollably, if it works on him. If it does, you could tie him quickly. If it doesn't, the attempt would certainly wake him."
If the others agree to it, he'll cast the spell. He can cast it from as much as 30' away, so he can stay clear of those who would jump the guy.
Adelie signs ”Wait a moment. I think we might know who this person is, at least vaguely. The ghoul that we weren’t able to finish interrogating because someone killed it mentioned a madman just down the stairs that the ghouls aren’t allowed to eat. This could be him. And if this is him, it might pay to know why aren’t the ghouls allowed to eat him. I doubt that it’s just because he’s insane. Could Detect Magic reveal anything? Is he protected somehow?”