Returning to the search and being unable to access the secret door in the armory, the group’s attention turned to the closest door that leads to a plundered library. All that remains of interest is a desk carved to look like a pile of bones – highly magical and trapped to boot – according to the mage and cleris, respectively. Glowing heads are floated and unseen servants are called in to open the drawer – and the desk explodes into a mist of acid – which the servants ignore and the book is theirs!.It appears to be the traveling spellbook of a high-level mage. Ooooooooh.
Some stairs up l;ead to a long hallway with fiendish statues arranged within. Double doors to either side of the midpoint and a matching set of descending stairs on the opposite end, reports Malchor as he pilots his drone head. Going down the stairs on the other side brings a bizarre library into view. Shelves are well stocked, but sinuous tendrils of stone flit about organizing and protecting the tomes, books, folios and scrolls that are piled on the shelves.
This prompts an extended discussion and rules-lawyering session. In the end, a small group of unseen servants are equipped with pouches of holding. The books are ferried out of the room and to the top of the stairs. From there, the magical and historical works are culled from the rest and these are then brought to the balcony and teleported to the party’s secret treasure cube. Time for a rest!
Since the army of the unseen had scoured all the fleshy bits out of the laboratory space, the group was pretty confident that there would be no golems waiting for them when they reentered, and they were correct. Instead, they were attacked by a quintet of lesser vampires! Some of the party are brought down and the vampires attempt to sock thur blahd. There is a brief skirmish before the undead are vaporized in a blinding flash from the staff of Elulyn The rest of the party suffers mild sunburns and a bit of temporary blindness. Well now. Back to investigating! Up to the hallway of the double doors and fiendish statues. While the party is ready for anything, the new earth el;emental shoves the doors open to reveal al long, bone litterd, smoke-filled hallway. The hallway is explored – a trap covers the entire intersection at one point – the earth elemental is made flying and Malchor’s floaty disc acts as a stepping stone for the rest of the group.
One of the rooms investigated is a dining hall where the dead are tied to chairs. When Malchor speaks with one of the fallen, he learns they were poisoned by the cook. The kitchen is investigated and the ghostly form of the cook can be seen flitting about. In an uncharacteristic move, they leave the scene and resume exploration.
They find a room with a glowing pool and lose the earth elemental to a pool of life trapping before holding rulescon 2.0 and devising a way to extract a small glowing key from the bottom of the dangerous pool. Excitement!
More investigation brings them to an old and crumbling map which the mages magically restore. It shows locations of ancient ruins and settlements that are quite ancient. Perhaps there is more to be learned there.
Finally, they encounter a heavily trapped ornately carved door that appears to be made of mahogany or a similar hardwood – in direct contrast to the massive stone doors found everywhere else in the tower.They bend their thoughts towards overcoming this latest obstacle to plunder.
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