Morganna's Zoo

As I mentioned last post I had to come up with something quick and I did a mash-up of Menagerie and Morganna's Zoo (Creations Edge Games). The Menagerie surprisingly took up an entire session. So this time it was time for the players to enter Morganna's Zoo.

I have also done some additional writing for the Hall of Harsh Reflection. The doppelgangers are not just going to let the Players smash their hideout and get away with it. But as per usual the players made a right turn and decided to return to an old dungeon far from the town and the current plot. With a little scrambling, I managed to pull the old dungeon map out of the Roll20 archive.

Session 65: Morganna’s Zoo

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alonso (human fighter), Aashdoshan (human necromancer), Vervork (human fighter NPC), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC).

After the sun sets the Company of the Black Dragon makes their way to Morganna’s Zoo. Viewing the building they see that it is completely dark, all of the windows are blocked by wooden shutters, and no light escapes. Fenris checks the side door and finds it locked. He then comes around to the main double doors and effortlessly picks the lock opening the doors to the Zoo. As he enters Lakima reminds everyone that they do not want to kill anyone if they can avoid it. They have no proof yet that the Unicorn is being held in the zoo.

Fenris is followed into the zoo by Alonso, Eathwund, Vervork, Lakima, and finally Aashdoshan. They find the entry hall dark and quiet. Fenris moves ahead to the office and then comes back to tell everyone to hide because someone is coming. Soon they can all hear the tramp of someone very heavy on the wooden floorboards. Around the corner comes an eight-foot-tall bear standing on its hind legs and wearing a belt. The bear roars out a challenge in common much to everyone’s surprise. Lakima shouts back, “Knock him out don’t kill him!” Aashdoshan casts Hold Person on the bear just as Fenris stabs the bear in the back. The spell works and Fenris’ attack is not nearly enough to kill the werebear.

Lakima admonishes Fenris that they do not want to kill anyone. Fenris hisses back that “Someone else is coming!” Another Werebear enters the room and spots the heroes and also his prone companion. It roars in anger and runs forward but is caught up in a Web spell cast by Lakima. The web holds the bear against one of the walls.

Fenris leads the group past some of the larger cages containing animals to the office but he finds the door locked and he cannot unlock it. After a quick search of the two werebears, Alonso plucks a key ring off the belt on the werebear who is stuck in the webs. The bear tries to bite him but misses. The keys work on the office door and they search the room. Aashdoshan finds some ledgers detailing the business of the zoo. It is apparent that the zoo does not make a lot of money from visitors. Not enough to pay for the expenses. But he finds no mention of a unicorn.

They head through the main zoo yard causing some of the animals there to roar at them. But they seemly do not alert anymore guards. The door to the main building proves to be unlocked. Inside is a large room with several doors in its walls. In the room, they immediately see a large wagon. Also in the room are barrels of spoiled meat and trunks full of the type of gear hunters would use to capture animals. As they search the room Eathwund listens at a door and hears strange, singing, and snorting coming from beyond and the sound of a blade on a cutting board. Swinging the door open he beholds a wereboar chopping up meat and throwing it into a stew pot. The light from Lakima’s staff spills into the room alerting it and it spins around to see Eathwund standing in the doorway. The wereboar starts shouting, “trespasser’s, help!”

Eathwund, Alonso, and Vervork rush into the kitchen and attack the wereboar using the flat side of their swords to pummel it into submission. Soon the creature is lying stunned on the floor of the kitchen. Some ropes are taken from the back of the wagon and the creature is tied up. But as they are doing that, they hear many footsteps descending from above and approaching another door to the main hall. Just as that door begins to open and they glimpse more werebears, Lakima casts web and blocks the doorway. They hear anger shouting from the other side of the door which thumps several times but the webs hold it closed.

The adventurers continue to search the area finding a bed chamber and a dining hall but soon they have searched the entire floor. Lakima gestures for everyone to get ready but to move away from the door and tells Vervork to burn away the webs holding the door shut with his torch. As soon as the webs are burned away the door is flung open, three angry werebears confront them. Lakima casts Fear on them and two of the werebears turn and run back up a stair to the second floor. The third fights off the effects and charges into the chamber swinging its claws at the adventurers. Alonso and Eathwund confront it and start pummeling the werebear with the flats of their swords. After a repeated battering they finally knock the creature unconscious and tie it up as best they can.

The group heads upstairs and finds some bedrooms. In one chamber the two werebears who fled are found but they quickly close the door upon them. No evidence of a missing unicorn is found. They head back downstairs and start searching for a possible cellar. Eathwund suggests that everyone climb into the wagon, which they do. They push the wagon toward the door and find the outline of a large trapdoor in the floor but no obvious way to open it. Lakima then finds a secret panel in the wall concealing a lever. Once the lever is pulled the section of the floor they found starts to descend. They can hear the clanking and rattling of chains from above. As soon as the platform starts to descend, everyone jumps on it.

The wooden platform slowly descends fifteen feet into a stone-walled cellar. They immediately see another werebear working at a forge and standing near him is the Zoo owner Morganna. She reacts in surprise at their arrival and then yells out, “Kill them!” to the werebear. Lakima shouts out to everyone that “the gloves are off!”

Eathwund and Alonso rush at the werebear which defends itself with teeth and claws. One of the beasts’ swings slashes into Alonso’s arm opening a deep wound. Vervork approaches Morganna, he sees that her right arm is reptilian and ends in large, clawed fingers. Around her neck is a silver, gem-studded collar. Vervork slashes at and hits Morganna. She immediately transforms becoming a six-legged reptile ten feet long with glowing eyes.

Aashdoshan yells a warning, “Basilisk, don’t look at her eyes!”

Vervork misses the warning and looks at the creature, he feels his muscles begin to tighten and constrict but he fights it off and then looks away. The reptile slashes him with enormous claws opening a wound in his leg.

Meanwhile, the werebear is killed by Eathwund and Alonso who have foregone the peaceful approach adopted earlier. As the creature falls it transforms into a burly human. They watch as its eyes open once more and it struggles to its feet. Eathwund looks over at Aashdoshan and sees that it is his doing. Aashdoshan raises the human as a zombie under his control. The zombie then stumbles toward the basilisk. Alonso and Eathwund also move over to help Vervork with the basilisk averting their gaze from its eyes. Even with their gaze averted they cannot help but hit the enormous creature. Soon its blood is covering the stone floor of the cellar. Just before dying Morganna transforms into a hybrid, human-basilisk form and begins to cast a spell – but a dagger thrown by Lakima plunges into her throat and she collapses to the floor dead.

After Morganna falls, she transforms back into a human woman. Aashdoshan wastes no time in raising her as a zombie. Aashdoshan searches the zombie Morganna and finds a pouch holding sapphires and a key. He tosses the key to Fenris.

Against one wall they spot three iron doors. Fenris listens at one and tells them that he can hear angry snorting sounds. They tell him to open the door and an enraged Minotaur emerges into the room. It gets ready to attack but Lakima talks to it and it is persuaded to calm down with the promise of being freed. Eathwund opens the next door and finds a glorious unicorn wearing a bridle covered with glowing runes. Eathwund removes the bridle from the unicorn. The magical beast bows slightly to Eathwund and then vanishes without a sound. The unicorn has been found and promptly disappears!

The last cell is found to hold a human guard named Ronnick. He is grateful for the rescue and fills the adventurers in on what happened to him. He intervened while on patrol when he spotted the bakers’ son Kendal being tossed in the back of a wagon by some thugs. The thugs knocked him out and he awoke here. He saw Morganna transform the boy into a minotaur using her collar and a long ritual involving a lot of chanting. Aashdoshan is convinced by Lakima to take the collar off of the zombie and to try wearing it. He feels it is magical but he has no idea what it does.

As they ascend back up to the main floor, Fenris having deduced how the lift works, the Minotaur immediately dashes off into the night out the side door. Ronnick is sent to summon the watch and they arrive a short time later. The heroes travel over to the Elvish embassy and are led to meet Wynather. They tell him that the unicorn has been freed and he accepts their story and pays them the agreed amount. They then head back to the Manor house, everyone deciding to stay in the house that night.

The next morning Lakima casts identify on the collar and the bridle. He learns that the collar is the Moonstone Collar but it is only useable by someone afflicted with lycanthropy. The bridle is a Disrupting Harness that is able to block the teleport ability of animals that wear it. Over breakfast, Lakima tells everyone that he plans to travel to the Temple of Medamellara to recharge some of his wands at the Mana Well. Most of the adventurers decide they will go as well. Alonso goes over to the Church of St. Cuthbert and asks Abbot Marta to check him for lycanthropy. Marta listens to his story and assures him that the werebear claw hit he took would not be enough to infect him. He checks nonetheless to set Alonso’s mind at ease and finds he is not infected. Alonso then heads over to Crowly’s and asks about buying a magical longsword. Crowly tells him what level of enchantment he can manage and how long it would take. Alonso decides to buy a longsword at Clearwin’s Oddities instead.

The next day Lakima, Aashdoshan, Eathwund, Alonso, Lantosh, and a somewhat reluctant Fenris set sail on a riverboat bound for Caster’s Ford. They arrive in two days and disembark. As it is late in the day, they head right over to the Blue Dragon Inn. The owner Geflion greets them warmly. Loudly proclaiming to the tavern room that the famous Black Dragon Company always stays at the Blue Dragon in Casters Ford.

Lakima asks Geflion about the news in Caster’s Ford. They have not been here in several months. Geflion catches them up on problems with hobgoblin armies to the north. Lakima then regales Geflion with tales of the company’s recent exploits. Including telling a large crowd that has gathered about the incursion of doppelgangers in Edgerton and even the presence of a Mind Flayer. With the tavern room filling up with the curious, a thankful Geflion tells the company that they stay for free.

The night passes without event, a rare occurrence in Casters Ford, and they rent horses and set out the next day for the Mana Well. It only takes a few hours and they arrive just before noon. They find that the silver dragon Lethnearinos has made repairs and additions to the temple. Statues to Medamellara flank the entrance where they are met by Toffin a priest of Medamellara. He tells them that he “heard the call” and traveled to the temple. They have not had many visitors since he arrived but he has heard of the Company of the Black Dragon and he greets them warmly. Lethnearinos arrives in the form of an elven mage and confers with them about the local events.

In the afternoon Lakima and Aashdoshan risk plunging some of their magic wands in the Mana well and recharge them. They all decide to stay for the evening.