After wandering around a bit more, the plucky band of intrepid adventurers comes across a strange collection of traps and an odd fountain adorned by representations of the elemental forces. They exert considerable brainpower and eventually pull the levers that need pulling and sprinkle the sand that needs sprinkling and are rewarded with a bottled djinn.
They release the djinn and contemplate the benefits of 1001 days of service as opposed to three wishes. In the end, wishes are selected. One to recharge the staff of resurrection, one to recharge the undead zapping staff and the last one is used to move the group as close as possible to the Rotting Man!
They materialize on an ivory staircase which opens into a large room. Across from them are a huge set of double doors, carved with the most vile and horrific scenes of death, disease, demons and depravity. As they enter, an apparition materializes…it does not radiate evil and so the group interacts with it. The weeping ‘ghost’ begs them to turn back. It has been placed here by the high priest of Orcus to guard the entrance to his ‘lair’. With an increasingly weepy voice, it entreats, cajoles and implores them to turn back.
When the group shows no signs of doing so – it screams a shrill screech of doom. The Lad dies. More screeching and more death follows. The cleric is kept busy using the staff to return the fallen to the land of the living while the mage fires volley after volley of magic missiles and the fighters attempt to bludgeon it into oblivion.
After screeching, it draws a ghostly blade and begins stabbing people as it sobs helplessly. After the party members land a few stiff blows, it starts sucking the life energy out of them and healing itself. Within the first sixty seconds there are five dead party members – some more than once.
Eventually the elf speaks in the voice of reason – time to run! Up the stairs they flee, leaving the weeping spirit behind. They flee headlong up the stairs – that are doing a really interesting fade to black and are skewered by poisoned spears that shoot out of the walls. More people die and the cleric ends up nearly exhausting the newly-recharged staff.
They creep up the stairs and exit through a trap door into a crypt of some sort. Leaving the crypt, there are doors painted to look like gates and iron and stone, accompanied by runes carved over the entrances. the runes suggest that abasement is needed. The crypt itself is in a large cavern with a single exit that leads away.
Well…at least they know where the Rotting Man lives…and apparently he doesn’t like visitors.
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