Beyond the door lies a room full of strange iron bars that project from the walls and hang from the ceiling. The only door is in the opposite wall and about 30 feet above the floor. Presumably, one can traverse the bars and reach the far door.The cleric’s map of traps reveals that the entire floor is indeed trapped and the decision is made to send the mage on a scouting mission.
The mage assumes gaseous form and wafts his way across the room and into the opening beyond. He returns a few minutes later with news that the room beyond is occupied by a duo of four-armed mountain gorillas. This seems like a bad enemy to encounter and the mage is sent out again. This time he uses a spider climb spell to climb the walls and hang upside down. Once ion place he lobs a pair of fireballs through the opening in rapid succession. Flame billows out the door and the smell of burnt monkey hair is strong indeed when the monkeys in question launch themselves out of their flaming lair.
A third fireball greets them as they exit and then several flights of arrows from the front rank fighters crowding the door. The first monkey to fall to the ground causes a lightning strike to electrify all the bars. This troubles the second monkey, who then eats a pair of arrows for his trouble – and is liquefied upon striking the ground. The sonic echoes cause the party’s teeth to ache, but they are undeterred. .
The bars are traversed and there is evidence in the monkey room that other adventurers may be ahead of them in the quest to unlock the vault. A large lever is found protruding from the floor and the group wonders aloud at just wtf is going on in here as they proceed to investigate a door – leading to a huge mural of a smiling kingly fellow and a secret door that leads to a room full of weapons of historic heft.
The mage spies the odd man out and unlocks the secret door that allows egress. The exit leads to a room with carved pillars. Going near the pillars causes a ghostly moan to issue forth a high volume. Beyond the pillars, a door and on the floor twixt here and door are pieces of very lifelike statuary. Medusa! Basilisk! Catoplepas! Something stony!
Thus, the party is not surprised when the next room reveals a comely lass reclining on a sumptuous bed,. As she props herself up on one shapely elbow and starts to address the party,. the paladin screeches ‘evil’ and the mage unleashes magic missiles as the fighters ply their bows. The medusa’s riddled body slumps to the bed and the party breathes a sight of relief. They loot the room, toss the cooling corpse onto the floor, devise a scheme to preserve the head and sleep in the blood-stained bed.
The next day, they set out on more exploration and head-scratching. The head-scratching comes at the sights of a level or silver set in a pillar and surrounded by brass cubes weighing several hundred pounds each. They also find a doorway that opens onto a blank wall. The decision is made to pull the lever in the monkey room to see if it will spin the ring to an opening so the door will allow access to something. As the paladin watches, not one but two doors flash past her vision, but when the ring stops moving only a blank wall presents itself. Onward!
Eventually they encounter a block pudding in a sideways gravity room, but burn the heck out of it and by the look of the map, they have almost come full circle. Discussion revolves around the role of the levers and how the ring shifts to gain access to the vault.
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