A14. Follow the Pixy

When did Daisee become so distrustful? Kevar at the door checking for traps (rolled 16) and she also checking over his shoulder (rolled natural 1), “LOOK OUT!!” She reacting to something sticking out of the muddy floor. Yet while the door was NOT trapped, nor locked, Kevar cannot open it. Sudieman steps forward to shoulder it earning a bruise, “OOMPH. I think it’s barred on the other side.” Thus our wizard casts ‘Knock’; we hear a metal bar fall on the other side of the door.

A large room filled with ranks of statues: groups of spear wielders, archers, axe-wielding warriors.

Even slaves carrying a sedan where inside is a handcuffed man. Obviously decades old, if not a century, since most wooden items have deteriorated: spears now bronze-tips on the floor covered in decayed wood, archer bows and arrows decayed except for the arrowheads. Rubble and broken statuary everywhere. A domed structure near the back of the room; its dome made of stucco.

Kevar enters already casting ‘Detect Magic’ but finds nothing (within 30 ft). The cleric enters to look closer at the statues, “Like our Nangalore thief; these too are petrified men. Not statues.” Kevar moves to inspect the sedan and its handcuffed occupant, “Three inch-long slits in his chest. I can barely see arrowheads inside. This man was shot! Is he a patient?”

Kevar moves further into the room, finally detecting magic on the inside of the domed structure. No visible doors on the structure. Daisee finally deciding to enter the room further as she climbs the low dome to begin hammering on the stucco. Creating a small cave-in; her peering inside with her dark-vision to discover a sarcophagus off to one side. The structure not a room but a cairn. She’s already jumped down into the room to inspect closer: 6 sets of decaying bones along with 6 jade-bead pectoral armor.

Kevar climbing onto the dome to help direct the kinder to the detected magic. The wizard lying flat, wary of too much weight on the busted stucco dome. As directed, Daisee reaches for a turquoise-pendant (feels special) which goes into her bag, along with the pectoral armor (50gp each). Curiosity has her reaching for a bronze lamp stuck in the floor. And that’s when Kevar yells, “Behind you! Look OUT!” Daisee turning to greet the new arrival, “Hi. I’m Daisee.” Coming face-to-cowl with a Wight!

A magical sling bullet, Kevar jumping down to aid, Sudieman climbing on the dome to gain sight to ‘Turn Undead’ before jumping down. The amulet about the Wight’s neck glowing bright-blue…and the Wight remaining to fight. Diero the last to move toward the cairn. The Wight slashing the kinder with its longsword but just missing with its outstretched hand. Flit dashing in to steal the Wight’s amulet. Kevar casting ‘Blade of Doom’ only to miss even with Advantage (rolled 1 and 2). Hacks and slashes, Daisee getting hit again (blade and necrotic touch). Diero finally reaching the dome top to cast ‘ThornWhip’ which lifts the limp Wight…the thorn damage enough to kill it.

After healing Daisee, we exit the room south. Turning east we come upon a short side hall displaying a 3ft tall stand. Kevar misses the trap but Daisee stops him in time to point out the hinge…a pitfall. She disables it then strides toward the stand where a small silver coffer is displayed. Inside, she finds a slim copper figurine with wings, now placed in her bag. Sudieman inspects the inside of the coffer lined with glimmering beads. When he disturbs a bead with his light pick, Daisee’s handbag starts dancing. Out flies a…pixy for lack of better description. It flitters out the room and down passages.

We give pursuit. Backtracking thru prior rooms: thru the secret door, mermaid room, west to another door we hadn’t searched. The pixy hovering. A trail of mud and flotsam angling to the opposite wall…discovery of a secret door. The pixy dashing thru the now opened secret door. The muddy flow continues along the next passage, glowing silver tracks on the floor and ceiling…from what?

Another secret door with a statue on its backside. Kevar retrieves a magical longsword from its scabbard. We ignore the northern door where the pixy hovers, to check out the short southern hall that turns east to a door. That opens to an odd-shaped room also wet and slimy with broken statues. But we back out of the room once Kevar notices a green blob hanging above the door we’ve just opened.

We backtrack to the pixy’s northern door. Beyond, alcoves east and west with fountains. Movement in the western fountain proves to be tadpoles (at least without closer inspection). A larger flooded room beyond with rows of parallel columns, and two braziers. Initial test is 2 feet of water. Kevar leads the way…and sinks after the first 5 ft. A 10ft deep channel outlines the room. At least Diero’s ‘Waterbreathing’ spell is still active for all.

Daisee follows Kevar while Sudieman and Diero march down the middle of the room, noticing a slimy enormous growth (green algae) on the eastern wall. As Kevar nears the northern corner, the green blob springs into motion, flowing over and around a brazier attacking the closer Sudieman, “Run! Get out.” The cleric fighting to keep the green giant slug at bay. Kevar and the kinder swimming faster to the far door. Diero turning into a large spider, climbing a column to cast a web at the slug…misses.

Sudieman moves past the slug to block its approach toward his allies. And that’s when the slug spits slim at the lined up adventurers, before attacking the cleric (nat 20 almost crippling Sudieman). Once again the spider cast webbing (nat 20), snaring the blob (mere seconds before it easily breaks free). Kevar at the door turning to cast ‘Fear’ but the mindless slug too ignorant to react. But enough delay for all to get out of the room, to include the spider dashing across the ceiling thru the open door. The cleric last to leave and locking the door.

“Here, take this.” Kevar handing the wounded cleric 2 potions of healing. Our healing spells low if not depleted. We've entered a short passage with a locked southern door. 

Its hinges on our side. Sudieman prying the hinges free. “WOOSH!” A wall of water on the other side of the door slams the door into Sudieman before cascading into the room. The spider still clinging to the ceiling. Daisee standing firm in the corner, while Sudieman and Kevar are flushed back towards the slug room. Enough water pressure to crash the door open. Kevar grabbing the doorframe; the cleric flushed further into the room. Grateful the monstrous slug has moved on.

We continue to follow the pixy now flittering thru the hermit-crab room to the eastern passage that turns north. But Kevar notices stucco crumbling on the southern wall, exposing a block. Curiosity has him pushing it. The wall crumbles, revealing another room. Once again Daisee stops the wizard as she’s noticed another trap…glass vials imply potential poison needles!

Before us is a long giant table with runes and glyphs on every surface. Across the room, an axe embedded in the wall. More disturbing is the shadow angled from the axe-head: what looks like an arm pinned to the wall. Our archeologist wizard taking time to decipher the runes, “A lot of words that threaten…you defilers; you will be locked in here with me for eternity.” Kevar turns his attention to 11 glyph faces at the foot of the sarcophagus. His rune-reading revealing the needed pattern…5-4-3-9.

A slab slides off the sarcophagus revealing skeletal remains. Daisee immediately drawn to the edge to see a jade-mask, jade pendant with a bat image, a dark opal diadem on the skeleton’s forehead. But Kevar already activating the glyphs, closing the lid, “What part of Defilers or Eternity don’t you understand?!” A mystery we leave behind as we exit thru the broken stucco back into the hallway that turns north.