Flippin’ Tourists

The group pauses momentarily at the top of the slide to assess the situation. Beyond the bronze bars that block the passage is a black curtain that blocks the passage. Despite his better judgement, Barada stretches one of his arms through the bars and tries to twitch aside the curtain, receiving a savage slash for his troubles from the armored figure hiding behind the curtain. Make that two armored figures…’pewpewpew’ make that one armored figure, and a hack or two later – make that no armored figures (well, none that are still breathing anyway). Beyond the curtain, another curtain.

Undead are summoned to open the curtain, which reveals a second set of bars and a curtain behind them – and the hastily departing footsteps of whomever lies behind curtain. The group presses on, bending the bars and passing through into a ceremonial area of some sort, complete with braziers and creepy frescoes. At the far end is a curtain with the bronze statue of the sad man the group pummeled to death in the complex below. A detect magic reveals much magic in the area, but the group decides that it is probably bad juju to mess with it and continue the pursuit.

They arrive at a rope bridge that spans a vast chasm. When they are crossing it collapses, having been sabotaged. Reza narrowly escapes plummeting to his doom, and the rest of the group uses levitation and various means of flight to cross. A little while later, it is more of the same. Another bridge stretches over the blackness. This time the group is prepared. Barada scouts in bird form and detects an ambush being assembled. Invisible Dalliance levitates into the center of the area and lets fly with a fireball. As the grooup surges forward, the bridge collapses again – and again the group uses flight to cross the gap. A tussle breaks out in the hallway as Reza, Lubboch and Bud engage the enemy. A Hold Person and a Finger of Death later and Reza fights alone. Luckily for him, Dalliance pops up and lets fly with a Cone of Cold, just as reinforcements and poisonous snakes swarm the hallway. Some time later, Bud is free to move again and Lubboch (courtesy of the ring of regeneration) is drawing breath again, but is in no real condition to fight or travel.

Pressing onward, the group reaches some sort of sacrificial area that protrudes over a vast pit, and there is a handy greased slide to hurl victims into the depths. the group amuses itself with the idea of donning the Ring of Feather Falling and riding the slide for fun.
Hmmm. Perhaps later. First, they double back to see what lies in the other direction. Double doors, behind which Bud detects the unmistakable odor of wolverine. No one can come up with a good reason to poke a wolverine, so they turn back. At this time, Barada finds a secret door and it is then opened. The sight beyond blasts poor Barada’s mind into catatonia. A room with a statue of the sad man/death’s head, a pool of black fire and two massive pillars carved with a string of runic inscriptions. Dalliance retains sanity and turns Barada away. The group returns to the sacrificial area and decides that it is time to enter the mansion again. After a hour or so has passed, Barada is able to speak of his ordeal. He recounts a visitation by Thatanos, who promises Barada that he will be waiting for him…for all of them when they die, as payback for destroying his incarnation. Everyone thinks about that for a bit and plans are made to get chummier with the Lathanderites…maybe they can offer some form of salvation.
Wen the group reemerges – the complex is dark. All torches have been extinguished and the place is eerily silent.

Perfect exploring conditions and the group sets off with Reza in the lead, who promptly falls through a trapdoor and 60 feet into the river below. The Gauntlets of Swimming come in handy, and the group rapidly deploys ropes to raise Reza out of the water. As he is hoisted upwards, he catches a glimpse of the giant gnome coming down a path with a large net, presumably to catch and eat whatever has fallen into the river. No free lunches for the gnome, though, and the group presses onward – Reza at the rear again. Some quick exploration reveals two sets of double doors and a secret crawlspace. One set of doors leads to a charnel house – a vast repository of dead/undead and corpse crawling carrion crawlers. At the far end of the room a flame-spouting demon rises out of the floor, loosening stools all around until it is recalled that this is the statue seen weeks earlier. A few fireballs are lobbed about, but the group decides to put off the grand melee of undeath for a chance to investigate one of the other intriguing avenues of exploration…