Jhadar and Splug clear the rubble from F10 and F12 and carry their companions into the room to the north. As the rocks are tossed into the hole, Jhadar hears [Perception] a loud clang. He casts light onto another rock and drops it into the hole. The illumination from the rock shows a water pipe exactly like the one he saw in the cavern with oozes.
Consulting his captured notes and using Voyvod's alchemical equipment, Jhadar uses Arcana and Nature to combine the gravespawn potion and the rejuvenating mushrooms into an antidote to revive his companions. With the climbing kit and rope Jhadar saved earlier, the party climbs down the shaft [Athletics], out of the frog-shaped pipe. Carefully avoiding the rushing stream, the party climbs up the hanging vine, out of the rift and back to the safety of the campsite.
You have thwarted Voyvod's dark plans and rescued your adventuring companions. Congratulations! This ends the adventure.
No 4th Edition experience would be complete without the obligatory Skill Challenge so I tacked on the last encounter as a skill challenge to find and revive your companions. It was a complexity three challenge with eight successes needed to gain 300 XP (equivalent to defeating three standard monsters).
You also get 200 XP for surviving the adventure. Enough XP to hit level two!
With your staff providing illumination, Splug works on the manacles using Thievery.
1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16
Not long after your companions are unchained, you cast light on your clothes, and with Splug's help, the two of you carry your friends one-by-one out of the darkness.
Splug follows you east towards the darkness. The illumination from your staff struggles to shine more than five feet away as you are swallowed by the chilling, supernatural darkness.
When you reach M10 light falls on the end of the cavern, and you notice four humanoid figures chained to the walls. These people are clearly alive but in some sort of magical stupor. They wear only tattered mundane clothing. You suddenly realize that these people are your traveling companions! Perhaps you can find something to rouse them, but nothing here does the trick.
Here's where I hand narrative control to you to fill in the description of your companions…
Or if you'd rather not, some familiar faces:
Firstly there is a determined-looking Keleshite woman with tattoos under her eyes. Next to her, is a lithe silver-haired elf maiden. Third is a blond Varisian woman with tattoos on her arms and legs. Finally, to your north is a dark-haired Andoren man snoring away.
Bright light shines from the end of your staff, bathing the damp cavern in a warm glow. Splug goes over to a particularly large specimen…
Nature1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17
…and snaps the stem off, revealing a distinctive colouration under the cap that you recognize as belonging to a species with curative properties. Splug finishes the mushroom in several bites Perception: He is very hungry :) and gathers several more to eat.
Using Dungeoneering you discern that the rock pile at F10 is unstable, making the square hazardous to cross (Athletics DC 10) without clearing the rocks away.
After a short breather Splug seems to have recovered from his close call with death. He gets up and follows you past the natural column through the doors to the south east.
This area is another natural cavern, with dim light coming from the nearby room of worked stone where you defeated Voyvod. Water cascades down the wall to the east and into the hole here. The terrain is rocky, and further to the east, a deep darkness pervades. Clusters of strange mushrooms grow to the south, lending a fungal smell to the wet scent of the cave.
Before you proceed, please make Dungeoneering, Nature and Perception checks.
Through your trained arcane eye and meticulous investigation of the various unburnt tomes, notes and apparatus you discern that experimentation mostly in the schools of necromancy and enchantment was conducted here. There is evidence the process of tainting the roots and oozes indigenous to the area was perfected here.
Perhaps more disturbing are the lists of material components needed for the creation of a vast army of undead thralls. The extensive notes here remind you of your apprenticeship in Nex when your mentor—purely out of academic interest—showed you the captured notes of a slain Gebbite infiltrator detailing foul necromatic rituals. Although it follows processes formulated differently to Garundi schools of magic, it unmistakably achieves the same goal.
Your timing is excellent and Voyvod gets an undead face full of magic missile. Voyvod's vile form slumps against the wall, hopefully never to rise again.
With Voyvod gone the dark whispers that had been gnawing at your psyche are finally banished, returning your mind to a familiar peace.
Well done! You earn 500 XP for defeating Voyvod and co.
If you search the place:
You find 350 GP worth of valuables as well as your companions' gear.
Splug spends his final healing surge and is no longer bloodied.
Voyvod howls in frustration from being smashed by a your missile storm.
I forgot to factor in the +3 from Action Surge for your second magic missile, so to make up for it your third magic missile hits and does 11 force damage.
Voyvod points with a bony claw towards the southern exit (H8), "They sleep in the thickest darkness," Voyvod’s look of amusement becomes a mask of rage, "though you will never wake to see them!"
As the wispy shapes begin to whimper and groan, the thin humanoid raises a hand and speaks to you in a hoarse whisper.
"We are Voyvod. Welcome to our home. I see our creatures have brought you to us as we wished. You seem to be more resilient than your companions. You shall make an excellent subject for our experiments."
"Your erstwhile companions sleep, unlike you, in the thickest darkness of the cavern until we wish to use them. They sleep until Voyvod no longer wishes it."
Splug opens the secret door a fraction and holds his other hand up to signal 'Stop.'
When the coast is clear he waves you over and through the portal you spot two more tainted wisps of the type you fought before, as well as the undead humanoid. The undead humanoid is wearing robes of a style you are sure to be at least ten centuries old. Your knowledge of history recalls that centuries ago this area was under the control of the Whispering Tyrant, Tar-Baphon.
You notice that the stonework of this passage is rougher than the worked stone of the previous area and leads to a suspicious dead end. The wall in front of you is wooden and hinged on the right.
You quickly spot a clasp and discern that this is a secret door, and you are standing on the undisguised side.
Hooray! The site went down last night and took my post with it.
Jhadar confidently opens the trapdoor and emerges in a narrow passage that leads away into the darkness. He doesn't set off any traps and there aren't any monsters waiting to pounce. (I apologize for wasting your time with this red herring, it's the module's way of trying to mess with you.)
You cross the blood sigil and nothing untoward happens. You notice a small vial amongst the dust on the circle.
If you decide to pick up the vial:
You identify the bottle as a gravespawn potion.
Gravespawn Potion This deep purple, putrescent liquid fends off diseases and poisons.
Potion (50 gp)
Power (Consumable): Minor Action. Drink this potion and spend a healing surge. You do not regain hit points as normal. Instead, gain resist 5 necrotic and resist 5 poison until the end of the encounter. You also gain a +5 power bonus to your next Endurance check against any disease of level 5 or lower.
You recognize this type of circle from your studies as a blood sigil.
Boxed Text wrote:
A creature standing in any square the circle touches can take 1d6 damage to treat a natural attack roll of 19 as a critical hit. A creature that dies in the circle will be turned to black dust.
BTW you gain 150 XP and another action point for reaching another milestone.
Jhadar's first magic missile slams into the zombie's torso leaving a huge wound. The zombie staggers, avoiding the second missile. The third missile slams into the zombie, its momentum causing the zombie to topple over! You can thank Action Surge! for turning this into a hit!
Splug warily goes over to check the body with his sword. The now twice-dead zombie does not move.
You are now out of combat. Splug spends two surges to take his health back to full.
Sadly the zombie leaves the column of flame unscathed and once again tries to grab Splug from E5.
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24 vs. AC
Ouch! This is going to hurt. The zombie punches Splug in the face and then grabs him by the nose, inflicting 11 points of damage. Splug is now immobilized.
Sensing more attacks to come, Splug cringes and implores you to help. +2 to defences, and Jhadar can make a free attack.
Jhadar tries to take the zombie's head off with a well-timed magic missile. Alas the bolt narrowly misses the zombie as it turns and reaches down to slam Splug.
As your vision returns you see that the chamber in front of you is shaped like one-quarter of a circle with a small chamber attached in the west and an area of rune-covered stonework in a wide alcove to the east. Near the center of the arc of the western wall is a glowing circle of arcane sigils with drifts of dark dust on it. It illuminates the room with bright, blood-red light.
In the open doorway to the western chamber, a dark, thin humanoid sways, growls, and gurgles, its green glowing eyes sweeping the room. Behind it, the light of the sigil reveals a ladder in the shadows of the small chamber. Two shapes, each like the upper half of a human made of dark smoke, float in the corners.
Splug follows closely behind as the two of you work your way over the rubble towards the worked area. You enter the area and the last thing you see is the sudden flare of arcane runes etched into the tiles. Your vision turns white, and your mind is filled with pain.
Against Jhadar: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9vs. Will
Against Splug 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23vs. Will
With his superior mental power Jhadar manages to shrug off the pain. Although Splug is not so fortunate and is dazed until the end of his next turn. He'll only be about to take a single action per round.
You hear malign entities approach and pray to Nethys for your vision to return soon! Roll initiative.
