409 - May 15
Mid-day
June 15
As the party was contemplating the mystery of odd lights and vanishing Bugbears, two strangers appeared in a nearby corridor, an Elven Warblade named Taryyn and a Half Elf Rogue named Aradec. They had been sent from Eboracum to join the party and to order the Elf Fighter to return to Eboracum for unspecified reasons but possibly connected to special mission training for anti-Saxon counter-insurgency operations.
Noting that Taryyn and Aradec had entered the dungeon via a tunnel separate from the privy shaft used by the party previously, the Wizard opined that something seemed not quite right with the layout of the dungeon. A check of the doorway leading out of the Bugbear room which should have revealed a 40' corridor leading to the Dire Rat room confirmed the Wizard's suspicions for what he actually saw was a 15' corridor leading to a strange 10' diameter silvery metal face set into a stone doorway. The face had staring eyes and an open mouth sporting sharp teeth. It might be a door though there was no obvious opening mechanism. The Rogue gave it a long hard look and decided it was sinister but could not find an immediate way to open it. The Wizard cast Detect Magic on it and detected very strong Illusion magic. The Ranger then decided to put his hand in the mouth. He experienced a strong sucking sensation and noticed his fingers vanished when he put his hand in the mouth. Pulling his hand back with some difficulty he was rewarded with nasty burns which the Spirit Shaman healed with a Cure Light Wounds spell.
At this point the party decided to go and check the door from whence they had previously heard the sound of noisy chewing and gulping.
The Rogue snuck up to the door and again heard the ghastly noises. Displaying impressive Roguey skills, he picked the lock and flung the door open at which point the Warblade charged into the room.
The room revealed a large snake (helpfully identified as a very big rock viper by the Spirit Shaman) busy masticating a Bugbear. Another intact Bugbear, looking decidely nervous, stood behind the viper guarding a door leading out of the room.
The Warblade herocially engaged the snake, badly wounding it but sustaining a nasty bite in the process which led to him feeling mighty poorly. The Ranger finished the snake off with an arrow. While all this was happening the Bugbear ran through the door he was guarding.
Nothing of particular value was found in the snake room so the party moved up to the door. The party heard a voice speaking Celtic announcing "Ready? 1....2...3". The Ranger prepared his bow, the Psion got ready to unleash his formidable mental powers and the Warblade readied himself to charge.
The door was flung open revealing a Bugbear holding up a rather attractive dark-coloured small table with the Sorceror the party had encountered earlier (or was he a Wizard?) standing behind him.
Before the Sorceror could unleash a mighty spell an arrow from the Ranger and a mental attack from the Psion battered him into submission. Both he and the Bugbear surrendered (pussy).
The room containing the Sorceror and Bugbear contained what looked like a cell door. The Sorceror (who identified himself as Vestek - "a victim of circumstance - thank the gods you saved me") turned out to be carrying 70gp and a key to the cell door.
Peering into the cell, the Warblade saw two people in a small cell. An emaciated dark haired man in ragged clothes and a better fed older man in quite expensive clothes.
The cell mates turned out to be a rather deranged Irish monk (Ay Begorrah!!) named Boniface who had come to England searching for a vision of the Lord. The other man was a somewhat foppish Gaulish merchant named Verus. Verus offered a reward of 400gp to anyone who could take him to a port. Boniface, a man of limited means, offered a magic chalice/bowl as a reward. He claimed the bowl was buried nearby. Vestek stated that the tower was defended by Atlidoc (a Pictish warrior) and 12 Hobgoblins and that the party should probably leave soonish as Atlidoc was prone to conducting regular inspections of the dungeon.
Vestek was also asked about the mysterious metal face. With a little gentle prodding - aided by several homicidal suggestions by the suspiciously ill-intentioned Wizard, he said it was some sort of portal used by the witch Guilod (of whom Vestek seemed quite frightened). He said the face usually appeared when Guilod was coming or going to the tower. Vestek renewed his advice that the party leave the tower - like really soon.
The party decided to take that advice and leave via the non-privy tunnel used previously by Tarryn and Aradec. A quick check of the metal face revealed that, oddly enough, it had vanished and the mundane corridor leading to the Dire Rat room had re-appeared. The Wizard found this all a tad worrying and possibly out of his league (how is that possible?).
The party emerged from the dungeon in a copse about 100 yards from the tower. Two Hobgoblins were visible atop the tower. On spying the party a horn was heard to sound. The party decided to head for Fort Vitellus taking a slight detour to dig up Boniface's magic chalice. Before leaving, the Ranger tried a couple of long range shots with his longbow and almost hit a Hobgoblin.
En route to the chalice, the party came across Atrivates sitting on his customary folding chair. He showed a little interest in Boniface's chalice (it might be the mysterious cup/bowl/platter of bronze that Artrivates seeks). He showed a lot more interest in the metal face and advised that the party did not want to be in the vicinity of Guilod if she chose to turn up.
The party moved on. Boniface had some trouble remembering which copse is the one he buried the chalice in (he was somewhat light-headed from hunger and not dealing with a full deck anyway). After a nourishing meal of iron rations provided by the Warblade, his memory improved and he dug up an old style Celtic pewter bowl of considerable antiquity. According to Boniface, once a day it can convert two pints (1.2 litres) of any liquid into pure water. After handing the bowl to the party, Boniface (with a sack of food donated by the party) wandered off in a happy mental fog in search of his vision. While engaged in this activity the party noticed a rat with a blue hat hiding in the undergrowth. This turned out to be Vestek's familiar. It was taken into custody. Convinced that Boniface's bowl was not the artefact he sought, Atrivates also wandered off.
The party returned to the fort (now garrisoned by 10 Archers and 8 Legionnairy Swordsmen) and locked up the Bugbear, familiar and Vestek. The party rested and planned to return to the tower to clean it out.
That night the Ranger was woken by a Legionnary who reported that strange lights were coming from the tower. On inspection it was noted that irregular flashes were coming from the tower. They started at about 0200 and lasted for about 40 minutes. Vestek was interrogated about this and revealed that this kind of activity typically happened whenever Guilod was coming or going or summoning something.
At 0500 the party headed off. Upon nearing the tower they noticed the main gates were open and there was no sign of Hobgoblins. The Psi-crystal was sent on reconnaissance and reported the tower to be empty but that, just inside the open gates, there was some sort of glowing object.
Upon inspection this turned out to be the mysterious metal face, now hovering about 10 feet off the ground. Written on the face in what appeared to be blood and in Pictish was the phrase "I'll find you and bind your black souls to Arawn - Guilod". A quick discussion amongst party members revealed that Arawn is an odious Celtic deity (possibly of Pictish origin) devoted to the land of dead, revenge, terror and war. The reverse of the face proved to be a black disc. Rocks thrown into the disk disappeared without sound. A stick pushed into the disk came back cold and wet.
At this point, displaying the kind of valour that wins medals and fills cemeteries, the Rogue jumped through the disk, though he did take the precaution of tying a rope around his waist and securing it to a stone pillar in the tower.
He disappeared from sight after entering the disk and was pulled back by his impressed colleagues three seconds later.
He re-emerged wet, cold and a little dazed. It transpired that he had passed through the disk and had fallen onto a narrow pathway abutted on side by a cliff face and on the other by a sheer drop. The path was 5' wide and man-made though somewhat worn. It was dark and very windy and wet and cold on the path.
At this point the party paused to consider next steps.
A search of the tower and dungeon revealed that it had been cleaned out and that the entire garrison had vanished. The party also found a secret door at the end of a staircase leading down from the ground floor of the tower which came out in the kitchen of the dungeon.
What next???
Time - around 0800 June 16
As the party was contemplating the mystery of odd lights and vanishing Bugbears, two strangers appeared in a nearby corridor, an Elven Warblade named Taryyn and a Half Elf Rogue named Aradec. They had been sent from Eboracum to join the party and to order the Elf Fighter to return to Eboracum for unspecified reasons but possibly connected to special mission training for anti-Saxon counter-insurgency operations.
Noting that Taryyn and Aradec had entered the dungeon via a tunnel separate from the privy shaft used by the party previously, the Wizard opined that something seemed not quite right with the layout of the dungeon. A check of the doorway leading out of the Bugbear room which should have revealed a 40' corridor leading to the Dire Rat room confirmed the Wizard's suspicions for what he actually saw was a 15' corridor leading to a strange 10' diameter silvery metal face set into a stone doorway. The face had staring eyes and an open mouth sporting sharp teeth. It might be a door though there was no obvious opening mechanism. The Rogue gave it a long hard look and decided it was sinister but could not find an immediate way to open it. The Wizard cast Detect Magic on it and detected very strong Illusion magic. The Ranger then decided to put his hand in the mouth. He experienced a strong sucking sensation and noticed his fingers vanished when he put his hand in the mouth. Pulling his hand back with some difficulty he was rewarded with nasty burns which the Spirit Shaman healed with a Cure Light Wounds spell.
At this point the party decided to go and check the door from whence they had previously heard the sound of noisy chewing and gulping.
The Rogue snuck up to the door and again heard the ghastly noises. Displaying impressive Roguey skills, he picked the lock and flung the door open at which point the Warblade charged into the room.
The room revealed a large snake (helpfully identified as a very big rock viper by the Spirit Shaman) busy masticating a Bugbear. Another intact Bugbear, looking decidely nervous, stood behind the viper guarding a door leading out of the room.
The Warblade herocially engaged the snake, badly wounding it but sustaining a nasty bite in the process which led to him feeling mighty poorly. The Ranger finished the snake off with an arrow. While all this was happening the Bugbear ran through the door he was guarding.
Nothing of particular value was found in the snake room so the party moved up to the door. The party heard a voice speaking Celtic announcing "Ready? 1....2...3". The Ranger prepared his bow, the Psion got ready to unleash his formidable mental powers and the Warblade readied himself to charge.
The door was flung open revealing a Bugbear holding up a rather attractive dark-coloured small table with the Sorceror the party had encountered earlier (or was he a Wizard?) standing behind him.
Before the Sorceror could unleash a mighty spell an arrow from the Ranger and a mental attack from the Psion battered him into submission. Both he and the Bugbear surrendered (pussy).
The room containing the Sorceror and Bugbear contained what looked like a cell door. The Sorceror (who identified himself as Vestek - "a victim of circumstance - thank the gods you saved me") turned out to be carrying 70gp and a key to the cell door.
Peering into the cell, the Warblade saw two people in a small cell. An emaciated dark haired man in ragged clothes and a better fed older man in quite expensive clothes.
The cell mates turned out to be a rather deranged Irish monk (Ay Begorrah!!) named Boniface who had come to England searching for a vision of the Lord. The other man was a somewhat foppish Gaulish merchant named Verus. Verus offered a reward of 400gp to anyone who could take him to a port. Boniface, a man of limited means, offered a magic chalice/bowl as a reward. He claimed the bowl was buried nearby. Vestek stated that the tower was defended by Atlidoc (a Pictish warrior) and 12 Hobgoblins and that the party should probably leave soonish as Atlidoc was prone to conducting regular inspections of the dungeon.
Vestek was also asked about the mysterious metal face. With a little gentle prodding - aided by several homicidal suggestions by the suspiciously ill-intentioned Wizard, he said it was some sort of portal used by the witch Guilod (of whom Vestek seemed quite frightened). He said the face usually appeared when Guilod was coming or going to the tower. Vestek renewed his advice that the party leave the tower - like really soon.
The party decided to take that advice and leave via the non-privy tunnel used previously by Tarryn and Aradec. A quick check of the metal face revealed that, oddly enough, it had vanished and the mundane corridor leading to the Dire Rat room had re-appeared. The Wizard found this all a tad worrying and possibly out of his league (how is that possible?).
The party emerged from the dungeon in a copse about 100 yards from the tower. Two Hobgoblins were visible atop the tower. On spying the party a horn was heard to sound. The party decided to head for Fort Vitellus taking a slight detour to dig up Boniface's magic chalice. Before leaving, the Ranger tried a couple of long range shots with his longbow and almost hit a Hobgoblin.
En route to the chalice, the party came across Atrivates sitting on his customary folding chair. He showed a little interest in Boniface's chalice (it might be the mysterious cup/bowl/platter of bronze that Artrivates seeks). He showed a lot more interest in the metal face and advised that the party did not want to be in the vicinity of Guilod if she chose to turn up.
The party moved on. Boniface had some trouble remembering which copse is the one he buried the chalice in (he was somewhat light-headed from hunger and not dealing with a full deck anyway). After a nourishing meal of iron rations provided by the Warblade, his memory improved and he dug up an old style Celtic pewter bowl of considerable antiquity. According to Boniface, once a day it can convert two pints (1.2 litres) of any liquid into pure water. After handing the bowl to the party, Boniface (with a sack of food donated by the party) wandered off in a happy mental fog in search of his vision. While engaged in this activity the party noticed a rat with a blue hat hiding in the undergrowth. This turned out to be Vestek's familiar. It was taken into custody. Convinced that Boniface's bowl was not the artefact he sought, Atrivates also wandered off.
The party returned to the fort (now garrisoned by 10 Archers and 8 Legionnairy Swordsmen) and locked up the Bugbear, familiar and Vestek. The party rested and planned to return to the tower to clean it out.
That night the Ranger was woken by a Legionnary who reported that strange lights were coming from the tower. On inspection it was noted that irregular flashes were coming from the tower. They started at about 0200 and lasted for about 40 minutes. Vestek was interrogated about this and revealed that this kind of activity typically happened whenever Guilod was coming or going or summoning something.
At 0500 the party headed off. Upon nearing the tower they noticed the main gates were open and there was no sign of Hobgoblins. The Psi-crystal was sent on reconnaissance and reported the tower to be empty but that, just inside the open gates, there was some sort of glowing object.
Upon inspection this turned out to be the mysterious metal face, now hovering about 10 feet off the ground. Written on the face in what appeared to be blood and in Pictish was the phrase "I'll find you and bind your black souls to Arawn - Guilod". A quick discussion amongst party members revealed that Arawn is an odious Celtic deity (possibly of Pictish origin) devoted to the land of dead, revenge, terror and war. The reverse of the face proved to be a black disc. Rocks thrown into the disk disappeared without sound. A stick pushed into the disk came back cold and wet.
At this point, displaying the kind of valour that wins medals and fills cemeteries, the Rogue jumped through the disk, though he did take the precaution of tying a rope around his waist and securing it to a stone pillar in the tower.
He disappeared from sight after entering the disk and was pulled back by his impressed colleagues three seconds later.
He re-emerged wet, cold and a little dazed. It transpired that he had passed through the disk and had fallen onto a narrow pathway abutted on side by a cliff face and on the other by a sheer drop. The path was 5' wide and man-made though somewhat worn. It was dark and very windy and wet and cold on the path.
At this point the party paused to consider next steps.
A search of the tower and dungeon revealed that it had been cleaned out and that the entire garrison had vanished. The party also found a secret door at the end of a staircase leading down from the ground floor of the tower which came out in the kitchen of the dungeon.
What next???
Time - around 0800 June 16