Merrick watches his arrow snap on the hard walls of the cauldron and struggles to make himself useful. He moves to throne and hesitantly begins looking through the corpse for a wand, ring or anything magical that might have belonged to Ulizimila which might help return the cauldron to normal.
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Parundar feels the cauldron snatch him and throw him upwards. He sees a final upside-down glimpse of his party before he's plunged into the darkness of the cauldron.
As it shakes him inside of it, Parundar tries his best to curl into a ball, with his head between his knees and his hands over the back of his head. This was a tactic he used frequently while being beaten by angry thugs in the past. Not quite the same as a cauldron, but hopefully it'll help.
With the assist from Abelard, and the flanking attacks of his allies, Boruk is able to smite the cauldron with a ringing blow, putting a sizeable dent into it.
Ethan hits, with the flanking assist from his allies, but the staff bounces harmlessly off.
Abelard and Merrick can tell that looking round the cottage is a task that will take minutes, rather than the seconds they have at the moment.
Turning back towards its biggest threat, the cauldron snaps at Boruk, wounding him quite badly, but failing to take hold of him in his enlarged state.
The violent motions roll Parundar against the heavy iron sides of the cauldron, bruising him despite his defences.
Abelard, upon realizing that the creature must be defeated in order to succeed in the mission, decides that helping Boruk is still the most useful option. He again moves to flank the cauldron and tries to assist Boruk with his next attack.
Boruk grunts as he is hit again by the cauldron, "I'm fairly sure that's a cracked rib. This is starting to get fun!" he thinks to himself with a manic smile on his face.
"Ye'll need to do better than that, ye giant's chamber pot," he shouts at the cauldron. He then raises his axe above his shoulder and whips it forward at the cauldron again.
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Parundar yells in pain as the cauldron jostles him in its belly. The darkness of the cauldron and the pain inflicted upon him remind him of that original day... the day he used one of his abilities, he thought, for the last time.
"I'm sorry..." Parundar tells himself, thinking of his lost friend, and he uses the hex that was his curse and salvation: Misfortune.
Recognizing the cruel twist of fate, that his destiny, too, may lay in the result of this hex, Parundar laughs a bittersweet cackle. It's the sound of a madman, one torn by regret of the past and determination for the future.
Ethan lunges in and swings with his club, not expecting to harm the cauldron, but offering it another target other than their most effective warrior, Boruk.
Merrick fires another arrow, which hits but does no more damage than Ethan's enchanted club. Abelard trips over his own feet and is unable to provide any assistance this time round.
Boruk again manages to put a sizeable dent into the cauldron, which staggers sideways slightly.
Parundar's hex is highly effective! Under the effects of the curse, the cauldron cannot get a grip on Ethan and there is a loud clang as its iron 'jaws' clash harmlessly against one another. The violent motions pitch Parundar flat on his face, but he manages to shield himself with his arms.
Abelard continues to assist Boruk with his attacks on the creature.
Seeing his enemy begin to flag, and hearing his ally's pained yells, Boruk swings with all his might, trying to connect with a weak spot on the cauldron.
Total Damage:18+26=44
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Parundar is emboldened when he hears something striking the outside of the cauldron followed by the empty clanking of its metal jaws.
"Hah! Bit off more than you could chew, eh? Oh, sorry, poor choice of words on my part."
Parundar continues to cackle like a madman from within the cauldron, especially as he's able to shield himself from as devastating a blow as before as he lands on his readied arms.
Boruk's axe strikes right through the sides of the rusty cauldron, shattering it into pieces, before embedding itself deep into the floor - inches away from Parundar's nose. (No harm done!)
There is a whumwhumwhumwhum as the various pieces career across the floor, spinning wildly before settling. After that, all is silence.
Searching the hut takes well over half an hour, due to the state it is in, but you find a jar of pickled rat's tail. You also find some statuettes and rare stones (worth 50 gp) as well as some arcane ingredients that would have value to the right buyer (100 gp).
The ominous shape that was sat in the wicker chair turns out to be nothing more than a bundle of branches, mud, and linen. Its purpose seems to have been simply to distract any intruders from the true guardian (the cauldron).
Night has long fallen by now. Sleeping in the hut is not the most pleasant experience any of you have had, but the night passes without incident.
DAY FOUR
The morning sun's light doesn't really penetrate the hut at all, but when you step outside you realise that it's going to be a beautiful sunny day. Maybe it's the knowledge that you're well on your way to having all the ingredients needed, maybe it's the fact that the hut's guardian has been destroyed, but either way the glade doesn't look nearly as sinister as it did yesterday. The firefoot fennec that Boruk rescued scampers happily around the clearing, rolling in the dew and yipping joyfully.
After a quick breakfast, you pack your things and start walking. Even though you know where you're going, thanks to local advice, it's a long walk to the dwarf monastery.
It is well after lunch by the time you get to it: sitting squat at the foot of Droskar's Crag, the ruined monastery comes into view between ancient gnarled trees. Made of simple stone blocks, worn smooth with the passage of time, the stout building is falling apart. Sections of the slanted shale roof have collapsed and portions of the outer wall have crumbled. Weeds and wild thorn plants run rampant across the field leading up to the place, leaving only the slightest indication of a path that ends at the ruined front doors.
Beyond, an overgrown yard sits in shadow.
(Picture)
The old path that leads up to the ruins ends about 50 feet from the monastery. Before entering the yard, the path passes between a pair of old stone statues. While one of them is little more than rubble, the other is relatively intact. The 5-foot-tall statue is incredibly worn but it can still be made out as a dwarf holding aloft a great stone hammer.
Moss and creeper vines cover most of its surface.
Boruk bends over and holds out a hand to Parundar, helping him off the floor, then thumps him a few times on the back, in a friendly fashion. "Haha, that pot put up a good scrap! I haven't had this much fun since that time I had ta fight a group of boars with me bare hands."
When his search brings him to the "corpse", he lets out a bellow of laughter. "Gettin' the willies from a bunch a' sticks and grass", he says shaking his head in amusement.
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After waking up, Boruk stretches and heads outside, smiling as the firefoot fennec capers around the meadow, Looks like the wee beastie is enjoying itself.
He tucks into breakfast, sharing a few scraps with the firefoot fennec as he eats. When everyone is ready, Boruk, excited at the prospect of heading to a monastery of his race, especially one that could have a link to Jernashall, says "On to the monastery then?", eagerness clearly filling his voice.
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When they arrive Boruk notices the clearly dishevelled appearance of the monastery. "I knew it would be abandoned by me kin, but it still hits me hard ta see a fine dwarven building reduced to such a state." He shakes his head with sadness, "We lost a good deal with the eruption of Droskar's Crag."
He looks around to see if anything of interest catches his eye...
...he also checks for any signs this place might be related to Jernashall, paying particular attention to the statues or any artwork/decoration that might indicate craftmanship or history related to Jernashall.
Ethan looks around at the monastary's exterior, looking for any unusual characteristics or hidden threats.
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As the cauldron shatters, Parundar becomes visible. He's laying facedown, his body spasming as though sobbing uncontrollably. Any concerns are dispelled (or perhaps worsened) as he turns his head upward and you see a look of malicious glee on his face.
Parundar finally notices the light, his party members surrounding him, and awkwardly takes Boruk's hand, thankful that Boruk's lighthearted demeanor helped to cover up Parundar's inappropriate expression.
"It looks like the pot took a toll on you, too, eh?" Parundar returns the clap on the back but with a Cure Light Wounds attached:
"It's been a while since I've been able to count on anyone but myself. Thank you all, I thought I was done for."
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As if back home, back in simpler times, Parundar seems to sleep better after a scuffle. He wakes refreshed and attempts to play with the fox, while still keeping an eye on his rabbit just in case the fox got any ideas.
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When the statues come into view, Parundar hears the sadness in Boruk's voice. Parundar gives him a look of sympathy, unsure of what to say in a time like this.
At the witch's hut
Abelard is able to identify the magical shrunken head as a Death's Head Talisman: a necromantic item that allows the wearer to command specific undead, which have to be created with the amulet. Since those undead - whatever they once were - have long since vanished, the amulet is essentially worthless.
At the monastery
Removing the vines around the base of the surviving statue uncovers an inscription.
Unfortunately, the missing name was scratched off a long time ago and is no longer legible. Boruk can tell that it was from the time of the last great dwarven kings, many centuries ago. There's nothing that clearly links this place to Jernashall.
Boruk crouches down at the base of the statue, murmuring in Dwarven as he reads the inscription, "כל שבח ... למי זה יכול להיות מתייחס?"
"All praise... who could it be referring to?"
As he gets up he turns to the others, "It says All Praise... somethin'. The name has been scratched off and I can't tell what it says. I can tell you that this place is old, back from when dwarves were still in our prime. I don't know if it's from Jernashall though..." he says, disappointment in his voice.
He looks at the others again, "Are we ready to go in? Might as well go in the main entrance, when the doors are nice an' open for us." Boruk says, pointing at the fallen doors to the monastery.
Abelard stops for a moment to take in the beauty of the ancient structure. Even in its dilapidated state, it's clear that the monastery was once a magnificent sight to behold. "What a privilege it would have been to see this in it's prime! Wouldn't you agree Boruk?"
Abelard, understanding Dwarven at least on a scholarly level recognizes the writing and raises a similar question in his mind to the one posed by Boruk. I wonder if this fellow might have been a dwarven hero of great renown; perhaps the builder of this monastery. Or perhaps it represents a deity or founder of this monastic order...
Looking more closely at the statue, Abelard can see that it is not merely weathered, but defaced: at some point in the distant past, all of the sigils of Torag that the dwarf was wearing (belt buckle, ring, carvings on the hammer and so on) have been chipped off.
Looking at the dirt in the gateway, Parundar finds the tracks of several wolves, going in and out of the monastery. Some are old, and some are fresh.
Moving through the gateway at Boruk's suggestion, you find yourselves in an open space. Tall grasses and chunks of stone debris have all but overtaken this small yard. Off to one side, a wooden stable has collapsed into a mound of rotting timbers and moldy straw. The outer wall on the east side has also collapsed, leaving a ragged hole. A heap of tumbledown stone at the northwest corner suggests there was once a well there.
Three doors exit into this yard: a pair of double doors to the east, a single door to the north, and a lone door leading into the squat tower in the southeast corner.
"There isn't much left of this place," Ethan says. "It shouldn't take us long to search it." He looks to the tower. "I would suggest starting there, and working our way towards the main building."
Replying to Abelard, Boruk says, "Aye, I can tell from the stonework that it would've been a sight to behold. It's a shame, a small bit of care and it'd be almost as beautiful as when it was first built."
When they enter the courtyard, Boruk would have a quick glance around to see if anything catches his eye.
Boruk nods at what Eithan is saying, "Aye, the tower is likely to be the quickest place ta search. The main building is bigger and will likely take longer. It could have a few levels underground as well, hope ye can see in the dark, or have some torches," he says with a wink.
"I have a couple," Ethan replies, stopping to unshoulder his pack and remove the two torches from within. "If we go underground, we won't have to rely entirely on your eyes for at least a couple hours. Hopefully, it won't take us that long to find what we're looking for." He returns the dwarf's wink with a friendly grin.
"I agree that the tower is the best place to start if we want to be thorough. From what I know about mushrooms, however, most varieties grow in dark, humid environments like caves. Although, Boruk is likely a much better source of information on this particular species."
Turning to Ethan, Abelard notes "I can also produce magical light, but having multiple sources of light is sure to come in handy."
The wooden door that leads into the old watchtower is stuck fast, but a few good kicks separate the ancient planks from the rusted iron frame and allow you to enter.
Thick webs cover much of the ancient crates and barrels stored inside the base of the tower. A rickety wooden staircase ascends along one wall to reach an open trapdoor above.
No sooner have your eyes adjusted to the gloom and the dust than something multi-legged and chitinous drops from the rafters above, hissing and chittering angrily. It strikes at Boruk, its jaws easily piercing through his armour and injecting him with venom.
Now that you can see it more clearly, it's a spider - albeit one the size of a grown human.
Boruk kicks down the door to the tower and enters the interior, where a giant spider promptly lands beside him and bites him. "Urf!" he exclaims in surprise as the spider's fangs pierce his body.
"Another nasty critter lookin' for a scrap!" he shouts, turning to face it and swinging his axe at its multitude of eyes. As he swings he notices that his arms, and body in general for that matter, feel heavier than normal.
As he attacks, he tries to remember if he's seen or heard about a similar creature before:
Ethan reaches out and touches Boruk on the shoulder, intoning: "May Erastil balance your humors and calm your nerves."
Even in the gloom, Merrick's aim is good and his arrow sinks deeply into the spider's brain with a sickening crunch. Already badly wounded by Boruk's axe, it falls to the floor, twitching and thrashing its eight legs before finally going still.
Parundar manages to identify the corpse as a giant spider - they're relatively common large vermin that inhabit this sort of place. They need to eat reasonably frequently, which suggests that the monastery is not perhaps as deserted as you might have thought...
A quick search of the tower shows that most of the contents of the crates and barrels - as well as the containers themselves - have long since rotted away. You do however manage to locate a fine-crafted dwarven waraxe, which has survived the passage of untold years partly by being wrapped in an oilcloth; but also by being obviously crafted of the very finest dwarf steel. Its blade gleams wickedly as it is unwrapped - still sharp as the day it was forged. Dwarven runes are etched into the metal: The Forge-Fire guides my hand
With the tower clear, you can move on - but where to next?
Abelard examines the axe, noting first it's inscription and then attempts to determine the value of the piece as a whole. He dons his spectacles and begins looking over the weapon inch by inch, careful not to miss any detail.
"That axe seems to be quite the prize indeed! I think the inscription might be referring to Angradd. He's not nearly as widely known as his brother Torag, but he is still highly regarded in Dwarven society, especially among smiths and metalworkers. Wielding that would likely grant you some measure of good fortune, Boruk."
Finally looking up from the axe, Abelard turns to his companions and suggests that "We might try the northern door first as it seems to lead into a smaller section of the monastery rather than the main building."
The northern door leads to a long corridor . At its eastern end there is a ruined dwarven statue. Smashed long ago, it is barely recognisable as a dwarven monk. His stone hammer sits on the ground next to the shattered remains of his head.
The corridor runs east-west, before turning sharply to the south at its western end. You can see three doors.
The westernmost door opens into a chamber which is entirely shattered, with much of the outer wall and ceiling completely crumbled. Large chunks of stone litter the floor. There is nothing of interest here.
The next door along opens to a small chamber dominated by old cobweb-covered racks and armor stands. What must have once been a well-tended armory is now devoid of arms and armor.
Abelard and Parundar find a secret door in the eastern wall. It swings rustily open to reveal what is obviously a prison chamber : a short corridor with a wall of bars running down one side. Four rusted doors in the wall indicate four cramped cells. The locks on the doors have long since rusted away.
"By my grandmother's hairy chin, that axe is a work of art!" Boruk bends over it rubbing his hands along the runework, "יפה! פשוט יפה!" he mutters in dwarven as he inspects the axe.
"Aye, I think yer right about it referring to Angradd, Abelard. I'm a bit of an amateur smith myself and often offer a quick prayer to Angradd to help guide my hand on the hammer." He looks around at the others saying, "I know I've only recently got the bow but this axe feels like its made for my hand. Would ye be okay with me using it?"
"And I agree with Abelard about trying the Northern door first, we can work our way around the building from there. By the way, thank ye for the healin' Ethan, me arms felt like a lump of lead when that eight-legged scuttler bit me! I feel much better now."
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Boruk enters the corridor warily, trying to avoid any more giant spiders jumping on top of him and biting him. He has a quick look at the statue to see if there are any identifying features that might give insight into the monastery.
As the group walks by the ruined chamber, he shakes his head at the destruction. The armoury, on the other hand, gets him excited, until he realises there's nothing of note there. He gets excited again as Abelard and Parundar find the secret door, imagining more fantastic weapons like the axe, and maybe some armour to match. His confusion as they find a row of prison cells is plainly evident on his face as he goes in.
"What's a hidden prison doin' behind a false wall in an armoury? That's not a normal thing to have in a monastery, is it?" he says looking at the others, the confusion in his voice matching that on his face
"Let's have a look and see if there's anything in there that might tell us what it was used for." Boruk would try to search each of the four rooms and then the corridor outside to see if he could find anything.
Ethan tries to recall if dungeons were a common feature of ancient dwarven monasteries.
The instant that Boruk and Parundar enter a cell, the skeleton inside stands up, lashing at them with their claws!
Boruk grunts in pain as the skeleton's claws carve furrows along the unprotected region of his arm. He bellows at the skeleton, the pain causing him to enter a battle rage.
His anger powering his muscles, he swings his new runed axe at the skeleton with another roar.
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A wide gash appears on Parundar's chest, the skeleton's claws ripping through his clothing to the flesh underneath.
"Ah, dammit!"
Parundar recoils backward (5 foot step), takes a deep breath in, and unleashes an Ear-Piercing Scream.
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
EFFECT
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one creature
Duration instantaneous; see text
Saving Throw Fortitude partial (see text); Spell Resistance yes
DESCRIPTION
You unleash a powerful scream, inaudible to all but a single target. The target is dazed for 1 round and takes 1d6 points of sonic damage per two caster levels (maximum 5d6). A successful save negates the daze effect and halves the damage.
Ethan calls upon Erastil’s power to send a wave of healing energy over his wounded friends.
Merrick's longbow shot goes wide, but Boruk shatters the skeleton he is facing into fragments, and Parundar's scream causes severe cracks to appear in the other one, although it remains standing.
The remaining skeleton lashes out again, landing one hit on Parundar.
Ethan re-focuses the divine energy he is channeling to strike down the skeleton.
Boruk feels a soothing warmth flow through him and his wounds begin to pain him a little less. Still, it does little to calm his rage, as he knows there are still enemies to be slain. He barrels out of the cell he is in and attacks the skeleton endangering his allies with another roar of anger.
Parundar finds that his dagger has absolutely no effect on bone, beyond leaving a few scratches. Fortunately for him, Boruk solves the problem by crunching the skeleton into pieces!
You spot that one of the cells has a skeleton in it who did not rise against you. It lies in a peaceful posture on the simple straw cot. On one of the hands is an ancient ring with the symbol of Torag - a finely crafted mithral ring with a ruby. It is clearly immensely old and valuable.
Growing inside the skeleton's ribcage is a pair of ironbloom mushrooms.
”Are these enough to brew the cure, or do we need to find more?” Ethan asks. ”If they are sufficient, we should make for Falcon’s Hollow. Lives hang in the balance with each hour we are gone.”
His last enemy destroyed, Boruk begins to calm himself, chest heaving as he pants as an after-effect of his rage. A sense of fatigue envelopes him as his rage begins to abate.
Boruk whistles at the sight of the mithral ring. "Now that's worth a shiny copper!" he says, examining the ring.
He listens as Ethan asks about the mushrooms, then shrugs. "I've no idea how many mushrooms we need, but I'd prefer to search through the rest of the monastery if we can. It shouldn't take too long and it's going to take at least a day to get back to Falcon's Hollow anyway. It's better to have a beard yer trippin' over than no beard at all after all." He pauses for a second, thinking about what he said, then coughs into his hand and says "No offence to the beardless among us of course!"
"On a more personal note, I've been looking' for ruins like this one for years an' I'd hate to leave only havin' searched half the place."
"Hmm I'm not a master of herbal medicine by any means. Those mushrooms might be sufficient, but my opinion would be little more than an educated guess. I'm of a mind to continue searching these ruins as I may never have the opportunity again. Who knows what secrets may lie within. However, I agree with Ethan that we should not delay from returning to Falcon's Hollow without good reason."
"Boruk also makes a good point that it may be safer to rest here than in the woods before making the trek back."
Abelard can determine that the two mushrooms you have found are probably not enough for an entire town.
Deciding to continue, you exit the secret chamber and return to the corridor. The next door along opens into a small square room that was obviously once a study. Gnawed bones litter the floor and tufts of gray fur can be seen here and there. An old stone desk sits in the center of the chamber, scratched and cracked in many places.
The desk is completely empty save for a few scraps of ancient parchment (now illegible) and an old quill. Abelard however discovers that one of the drawers has a secret compartment. Inside is a small pouch containing 100 pp, and a prayer book.
The book is likely worth something to a scholar interested in dwarven history.
Continuing into the side room that leads off from the study, you find another ruined chamber : gaping holes in the roof allow faint light to
enter. One of the stone columns that once supported the ceiling is toppled, its broken pieces littering the floor. A thick patch of black mushrooms hides in a nearby corner, giving the room an earthy scent
that is barely noticeable above the stench of wet fur.
The smell is coming from three large, grey, wolf-like creatures. They were obviously sleeping during the day, but they are equally obviously now awake - and very unhappy about it.
The largest of the three, an evil-looking beast with a fell red light shining in its eyes, opens its muzzle in a snarl - and speaks. "How dare you enter my domain! The penalty is death!"