8/19/2006

Chris: DM
Kathi: Tanji & Krysylys
JC: Neysa & Ana

There is much discussion regarding Gond, the Artificer, the water works below, and the possibility of temples hidden or otherwise before Tanji's stomach growls loudly with the announcement of lunch time. Neysa checks the door again to be sure it hasn't been disturbed and the group settles down for a brief repast, too brief for the halfling's liking.

"We should investigate the waterworks machinery while we have the opportunity." Ana says to Neysa and Krys as Tanji finishes up. "I'm not comfortable not knowing what's down there."

Given that there are no objections Krys ties a rope to the well crossbar and Neysa lights her lantern. Ana is first down the rope followed by Tanji, Neysa and then Krys, but just as last time he allows Tanji to manuver herself around him so she can enter the low, narrow passageway first. At the end of the first side passageway to the left (after the turn) Ana spots a hidden door of some type but is unsure of how it operates. Tanji studies it for a moment when he points it out to her and then begins feeling along one edge until she finds the mechanism.

"Stand back a bit." The halfling says to the others. "Here goes."

A section of the wall slides back and up at her touch revealing a large room with a 5' ceiling. It's a wine cellar as evidenced by the barrels along one wall and large built-in rack of wine bottles along another. On the south wall there is an alcove with a ladder leading up. Not needing to use the ladder Ana lifts the trap door a crack and stands on his toes to look around. The trapdoor opens into the kitchen on the floor above. It's actually one of the far outer corners or the kitchen giving us a good feeling for where we are in relation to the floor plan above. Tanji briefly investigates the condition of some of the wine bottles and announces that some of it is probably still good.

Leaving the wine cellar we continue down the original passageway and come to the machinery room. The shaft from the water wheel is turning slowly but the shaft leading up into the keep is not as the gear mechanism is somehow disengaged. There is perhaps 8-10" of space between the vertical shaft and the walls of the housing and looking up to investigate we spot a very narrow stair-like ladder spiraling up. However, it is too small and too tight for the elves but Tanji could do it, and does.

She climbs for a bit and then hears something from above. ("Grandma? Is that you?") She converses with it for a bit and it turns out to be the guardian of the keep, a solitary gnome named Rumblekin. She wins Rumblekin's trust with her easy going, friendly manner and the gnome comes down to meet the rest of us. Rumblekin is fairly grubby, and very pale, and has a small bright yellow gear hanging around his neck which Neysa takes to be a holy symbol of some kind. He tells us that someone named Balthazar is also still here in the monestary but that he never comes out of his upstairs room.

When he questions us as to our motives and reasons for being here Tanji replies that we thought the place was deserted and are simply here to gain information about what befell the monestary and what was the fate of its inhabitants. (Oh and possibly some treasure too if there happened to be any conveniently lying around.) Rumblekin tells us that the place was overrun by bands of orcs some 40 or 50 years ago and that he is the only survivor, now self tasked with trying to keep the monestary from falling into further disrepair and safe from invaders (hence the skeletons at the entrance and the traps that we've so far encountered). When the conversation turns to treasure he mentions some place called the Chamber of Wonders but no one presses him for details.

He says we would need to speak to Balthazar for more information and leads us up through the trapdoor in the wine cellar. When we come to the stairway on which Tanji was blinded he stops and cast a spell (which Neysa recognises as Dispel Magic). He casts another just before reaching the landing and then another before ascending the second section of stairs beyond the landing. As he leads us on he says one of his biggest concerns is for the safety of the books and scrolls in the library given that the outer wall has been smashed in and the room occupied by giant wasps. He asks if there is anything we can do to help.

"We can certainly investigate," Ana says with a look to the others, "but I don't know if we'll be able to help. It really depends on how many are in there."

"I understand." Rumblekin says. "Come on, I'll unlock the door for you. Maybe you guys could do that while I take Tanji to speak to Balthazar."

Rumblekin unlocks the library door and stands back. Neysa puts her eat to it and nods. "They're definitely in there." she says. Ana opens the door gently and the sound of buzzing becomes apparent.

"Come on Tanji." Rumblekin says. "I'm sure Balthazar can answer your questions better than I."

The elves watch the two diminuative figures retreat through the dim light and take note of which door they go through before being lost from sight. Ana again pokes his head into the library and sees that the room is in complete disarray. He also notes that the air flow is inward so we are not in danger of the wasps picking up our scent.

Not wanting to get into a battle just yet, and not being willing to let Rumblekin lead Tanji off to meet this unknown Balthazar alone, Ana quietly closes the library door and then he, Neysa and Krys quickly decide the wasps can wait and follow the two through the far doorway. The first doorway we come to is silent and Ana opens it to reveal a large chamber in the center of which is the murder hole. There are also skeletons which begin to advance towards us so the door is quickly closed.

At the next door we can hear the sounds of conversation from within. This is Balthazar's room and as we enter the first thing we notice is that Balthazar is a ghost, or rather a non-corporeal spirit as ghost has negative and evil connotations. As we converse it is obvious that he is as unsure of our motives as we are of his. In spite of this (or perhaps because of it) we come to an agreement that if we will rid the monestary of the wasps and undead orcs (in several locations) that he will help us retrieve the scroll that we are specifically seeking. At one point in the conversation he asks Rumblekin to leave so that he may speak to us alone. At first Rumblekin resists but Tanji persuades him that they (Balthazar, Ana, Neysa and Krys) probably just want to talk "boring elf stuff" and she leads him out so he won't be alone.

When in private Balthazar adds and additional request, that we take Rumblekin with us when we depart. It is partly because he needs Rumblekin to personally see to the gathering of acolytes and followers of the Artificer which are needed to help rebuild the monestary, but also partly because he fears from Rumblekin's sanity after so many years of being alone. We agree.

The wasp room takes many rounds, many more arrows, and a well placed Web spell to clear but we finally kill the vermin and set ourselves to (at least temporarily) fixing the hole in the wall so that no others can return. Unfortunately we are soon forced to admit we simply don't have the materials for doing so at hand so this task will have to wait for the moment.

The room downstairs that was boarded up is one of the rooms with undead orcs which by the smell of them are actually ghasts. Not wishing to risk the unpleasantness their touch brings we bake them to a crackly crunch with several Fireballs from Tanji's Necklace of Fireballs.

Rumblekin then insists on checking on his pet rust monster. "He's got to be hungry by now."

Those of us with metal weapons and armor, i.e. the elves, shudder at the thought of facing a rust monster and let Rumblekin lead the way.

End of session.

Next Session: 9/9/2006