The session begins on the 16th of Ready'reat. We just pulled Verana out of a pit trap when Rassi fails a spot check. Hearing her scream, I charge around the corner to see a pair of skulks. Kyrin knocks one out with a magic missile to the skull. After several hits from several people, I take out the second one's jugular. 150XP per person.
"Thanks, comedy juice" -Joe referring to his rum and Red Fusion
Verana looks in the first open door and sees a handful of unused cots. She sees several tubular exits out of the room. There is plenty of dust and cobwebs, however there has been clearly foot traffic through the middle of the room. The tunnels were not dug by an animal and are not the same type as the rest of the hallways. I lead the way through a very narrow passage and find a tiny 5x5 foot room where a skulk appears. It misses, I hit, it dies. 50xp per person. A small eye sized hole is on the opposite wall, the same wall in which Verana finds a secret door. As she and I switch places, she trips over a chain around the skulk's neck, on which is a small silver key, she pockets it. The rapier is given to Aidan to hold. Looking through the peephole, I see an empty armory. In middle of the floor is a chest, ontop of which is a cage with a small rat (with a white star on it's forehead). Opening door I get a clearer view of the empty weapon racks before the chest asks me how I am doing. It tells us the halforcs called him One and he was put here to look after the thing on his head. Tarik steps in and continues the conversation, he finds out that the chest is hungry and expresses interest in rations (he liked the ones he had when he ate some adventurers). Tarik feeds him three rations and he asks for more. Tarik learns that he is being paid by the half orcs, and that there is another mimic named Two around somewhere. He threatens to bite us if we are here to break up the slaving opereration. Kazmojen hired the hobgoblins (from the stronghold below) and the skulks and the dark stalkers to steal people to sell in slavery. He thinks he heard from one of the hobgoblins that their base is in the Malachite Fortress and the leader of the dark ones is Yuathyb. We convince him to let us take the rat cage. Backing up to the first large room we discuss our options.
Heading out the other exit from the bunkroom we see a light down the hall. I see black pillars, each one is a carved gnome figure. The walls are covered in murals of various gnomish deeds and feats. There are monkeys in many of them. At the south end we see a pool, above it a gnomish visage spews from its mouth. The room is lit by flickering magical torchlights. Another tunnel leaves the room next to the pool. Stepping into the room, I am shocked by a thunderstone thrown at me before seeing two skulks in the rubble next to the pool. Verana kills one with an arrow. Aidan drops the second with his dwaraxe. 100xp per person. Exploring the room further we find some more geared doors with gnomish letters on them. Seemingly the only observant one in the group, Verana finds a shining box. Inside is a geared system and a crank that matches a hole on the side. Going left we find an octagonal room lined with turquoise ceramic tiles and a pool in the center. There is a humanoid body suspended by spider webs above the pristine clearl pool. Attempting to light the spider web attracts the attention of one the webs creators. A spider jumps from the pool. Two smaller spiders drop from the ceiling. Rassi kills the two small ones, I finish off the large one. 150xp each. Searching the room, the body turns out to be a skulk. Verana finds a secret door, a pair of tourmaline gems, and a dull gray stone which feels warm in the hand. The wizards indicate the stone is an ioun stone. I open the secret door and look over a loft into a cobweb drapped storage room. There is a ladder down. Veranaw and I find casks of sour ale, empty clay jugs, decaying bars of soap, candles, some rope, nine torches, a map case, and some flint and steel.
"Skin the skulks, steal the ladder!" - the GM objecting to the looting of the dungeon
We take the ladder. Continuing to explore, we encounter a room with four ornate pillers. The room is illuminated by magical lanterns. Tattered curtains hang from iron rungs. There are several rows of benches facing a stage. Moving into the room I see a gnome dressed as a baby black bear step onto the stage and speak. An illusionary play takes place on the stage before us.
"The wearbore is ravaging the woman..." a snipit of a play ad-libbed by the GM
I open the trap door in the stage and a pawed tentacled arm tries to grab me. It doesn't succeed in grappling me at first. On its second try, I am pulled down through the trap door. The creature appears to be a naked halfling with tentacles and pointed teeth. With sharp nails on the tentacles, I am hit and fall over. The tentacled fiend is killed. 100xp per person. We level, Aidan revives me and we retreat to the store. Rassi and I quaff some potions; we sleep.
17th of Ready'reat
The next morning, on the 17th of Ready'reat, we head back into the dungeon and return to the stage. While searching the room, Rassi charges into a tunnel where she kills a skulk. The skulk is not like the other chameleon's we have seen, this one iss almost transparent. Under the stage I find a cabinet, where I find a fine-quality mandolin and a small wooden chest. The chest has in it a fine cloak, a locked spell book, a wand (6 in. long made of wood), and a five in. steel rod. Tarik comments the steel rod has the glyph that is J in gnomish and observes it could be a key to those doors. We explore some more rooms. Through one door we find the prop/costume room for the stage. Another room has 20 pedestals spaced evenly aroudn it and has indications that there were once tapestries on the walls. Verana discovers a secret door which Rassi opens, finding invisible things. After a fair bit time pawing over them, we work out that they are paintings. Resealing the secret door noting to come back for them later. Aidan uses the J key in a J door, the door opens and a few moments later closes.
"Suck my giant hot penis" - GM
Continuing down a skulk-made tunnel we enter a room, finding a lever (believed to operate the pit trap we previously discovered) and another tunnel. Ignoring the tunnel, we head down another corridor. The next room has multiple levels separated by marble pillars. There is an old sleeping elven gnome in a throne. There are carved murals in the walls showing a cherubic gnome and impressive gear systems. The face carving and the king are magic. Verana approached the carving and it spoke... "If you wish an audience with the king, place your finest coin in my mouth." Verana places a gold in it's mouth. It eats it. Nothing happens as we approach the king, Verana does however find a secret compartment in the throne. Opening it causes the king to speak. We find 76gp and two steel rods (labeled N and E). We use our newly found E key. Through the door we see a carved map which appears to be a map of the dungeon we are in. Entering another room we find a skulk sleeping on a cot. Verana kills it. 50xp per person. In the room we find a chest with three sunrods, two flasks of oil (Verana and Tarik took these), two tindertwigs, a thunderstone, a ceramic stage mask of a sad gnome with rabbit ears , a silver ring with turquoises for eyes and a silver ewer with moss agates.