Zallin's Cube

During last weekend's Swords & Wizardry session the group jumped into the portal to Zallin's cube. This is my take on the AD&D adventure Bzallin's Blacksphere from Dungeon Magazine 64 (1997). I started with a map of the Cube created in Blender directly matching the map in the adventure but with changes to the creatures encountered. But with the players taking longer than expected to reach the Cube I has an extra week to think about it and I made a number of changes. I got rid of all of the Lich Zallin's apprentices and added an evil temple. I just thought it odd that a Lich would have living apprentices and this campaign has had enough magic users of late.

Session 83: Zallin’s Cube

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Aashdoshan (human necromancer), Alrix (couatl sorcerer), Domago (human cleric NPC), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC), Lantosh (human fighter NPC).

With Fenris, Lantosh, and Aashdoshan still trapped behind the Statue trap in the circular chamber in Zallin's Tower the group pauses to confer. Lakima announces that he has an idea on how to easily enter and leave the room. He tells Aashdoshan to get everyone into the Tower in a Book. Then Lakima casts Glow minion and tells his summoned Glow minion to walk into the chamber and pick up the book and then return. The Glow minion walks through the doorway between the trapped statues and nothing happens. The Glow minion does not trigger the trap (having no consciousness). Lakima asks Palderus to show him the statue of the mage that he found. Palderus leads everyone around the tower to a dead end where a statue of a female mage stands facing the wall. Nearby is a locked trunk left in a dusty corner. A detect magic spell on the statue is inconclusive. Fenris manages to unlock the trunk and he finds traveling clothes inside it. A pair of boots and a cloak glow as magical in the range of the detect magic spell. The items are taken and put in the bag of holding.

The adventurers head up the curving stone steps to the next level. Here they find a large bedchamber occupying the entire third floor of the tower. The furniture in the chamber is covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs hang off of the bedposts. The party steps into the chamber and Aashdoshan who leads the way is attacked when a rug on the floor rears up and tries to smother him. He manages to duck past it as the rest of the adventurers slash and stab at the rug. In a few moments, the rug stops moving and lies in tatters on the floor. The room is searched but nothing of interest is found.

They head up to the next floor and find a blood-splattered wooden landing. Three doors enter onto the landing, two of which are open. Aashdoshan checks the blood and finds it sticky indicating that it is recent. One open doorway leads to a room open to the outside from a wide hole in the wall and ceiling. The room is buried in stone debris. Another open door leads to a shabby bedchamber. They find an iron stove that is still warm. The closed-door is opened to find another bedchamber. In this chamber, the stove still has a fire burning in it. While Fenris and Aashdoshan search this room, Lakima checks the other bedchamber again. He looks under the bed and is surprised to see a grey-skinned, hairless gnome looking back at him.

The gnome is terrified of them at first but he slowly begins to talk. He tells them that his name is Garlin. He is a member of a family clan of deep gnomes who are enslaved by Zallin the lich. Garlin says that he is too clumsy, so Zallin sent him and his brother through a portal to work as servants for the necromancer Zhargaunt. The puddle of blood on the landing was where his brother was killed by Zhargaunt. Garlin is terrified of defying the Lich Zallin but he does impart some information. He tells them that the Lich lives in a realm of his own making beyond the portal. While Fenris watches Garlin, Lakima goes into the second bedchamber and checks under that bed. He finds nothing but while crouching he spots a black leather spellbook hidden under a dresser. The spellbook of Zhargaunt the necromancer and custodian of the tower.

The gnome was an optional encounter I added to the tower in case the heroes did not understand the significance of the portal. Ideally, they would have interrogated the necromancer but last week they incinerated the necromancer before they had a chance to speak with him. The deep gnome when questioned dropped a clue to the nature of the portal.

The gnome is left hiding under the bed. Fenris asks if they should finish him off but Lakima tells him to let the gnome be. The group descends to the 3rd floor again. The adventurers decide that they need to rest and recover in Caster’s Ford before attempting to step through the portal. Aashdoshan casts dispel magic on the statue of the female mage but nothing happens. They leave the tower and recover Palderus’ flying carpet. Again, Lantosh and Lakima join Palderus on the carpet while the rest of the group enters the Tower in a Book. The carpet ride to Caster’s Ford is accomplished before the light of the day is fading. On the way to Caster’s Ford, Palderus explains that he must stay to watch the Blacksphere. By his calculations, it will breach the walls of his tower in less than a week. Before that happens, he will need to inform the mayor and get the area cordoned off. If the adventurers should fail in their task, he also needs to be ready to try and find more help.

The group goes over to the Church of St. John and pays for the healing services made available for adventurers. Then they get rooms again at the Blue Dragon Inn. Watches are set and they try to get some sleep. Late at night, Eathwund is disturbed by a fight in the hallway. He opens his door and sees a pair of men arguing over a debt.

“Is there a problem here”, he asks loudly.

The men make their apologies and quickly move back downstairs.

The next day the group of seven adventurers returns to the Tower in the forest. The clearing around the tower is littered with dozens of rotting corpses from their earlier visits. Aashdoshan takes the time to raise four of them as zombie servitors. Then the group makes their way to the third-floor portal chamber. The Glow Minion spell is cast and everyone enters the chamber in the book. Once they are out, they form a circle around the portal. Lakima counts out, “1, 2, 3” and everyone jumps into the portal.

They fall for a second and then feel the sense of dislocation as they suddenly land on a stone platform in a strange chamber. The floor is made of a mosaic pattern of different colored stones. The ceiling is lit by a continual light spell. In three alcoves facing them stand three ten-foot-tall frog demon statues carved from green marble. Domago lets out a cry of alarm and tries praying.

“I am cut off from the god of Law!” he says forlornly.

Lakima tells the group that they are likely in a dimension or realm that is separated from the Material Plane preventing the gods from providing aid. A look around the chamber reveals five plain doors made of wood that is painted green. Lakima points to one and tells Fenris to investigate. Fenris listens at the indicated door and tells everyone that he can hear the wind from outside and a scuttling sound. Everyone gets ready as Fenris checks the door. Then one of the zombies opens the door. In the room beyond, directly across from them they see a portal to another realm. The portal is made of iron and is enclosed in a 15-foot diameter circle standing on its end. Blue mist swirls in the portal and the howling of the wind can be heard. Suddenly, their attention is drawn to a 6-foot-long spider perched in a translucent spiderweb spun amongst piles of furniture. The spider is covered in gray hair with a silver hourglass patch of fur on its back. The creature chitters at them and begins to move quickly toward them.

“Stay back, it looks poisonous!”, Alrix shouts at everyone.

They try to attack with arrows, darts, and sling bolts to little effect. Then Alrix casts Magic Missile and blasts the spider just before it reaches Eathwund and three of the zombies. The spider screeches in pain. Domago and several of the zombies strike the spider and then Eathwund chops off one of its legs with his sword. Finally, the barrage of missiles from the rest of the group brings it down. The adventurers search some of the furniture they find piled in corners of the chamber but do not find anything of interest.

Carefully the group chooses another door and advances down a short hall to a new door. Fenris listens and says it is quiet. A zombie opens the door and they see the back of a thick red tapestry blocking the way. The zombie pulls aside the tapestry and they see a huge chamber. The floor is covered in red tiles and in the center of the chamber is a huge statue of a demon (18 feet tall). Now that they can see the tapestry, they see it depicts Hellish politics. Large armies of demons fight at the behest of demon lords against one another.

Seemingly, unaware of them, a man in a simple brown robe can be seen polishing the idol with a cloth. He appears young and has shaved his head in the style of a monk.

“Hey, you what are you doing!” Lakima shouts at the man.

The monk is startled and drops his cleaning cloth. He takes a few steps toward Lakima then halts as he sees more adventurers entering the room.

“Who are you! Who is your Master?” the monk demands. Lakima tells the man that they are mercenaries. The monk asks who they serve and Lakima responds that they are their own masters. The monk seems taken aback for a moment but once he sees the number of people confronting him, he turns away and begins shouting.

“Intruders!”

Aashdoshan hurls a dagger at the monk’s back striking him. Lakima follows that with several darts and the monk falls dead. But the shouts have alerted more monks. Four doors open into this temple area and four monks quickly enter the chamber. One monk directs the others to attack and all four rapidly run toward the adventurers.

Lakima is struck by the open fist of a female monk and he is stunned by the blow, dropping to his knees. Eathwund slashes one monk with his sword opening a deep, bloody wound. The monks are unarmored and clothed only in thin robes offering no protection. Aashdoshan orders the four zombies forward to protect him. Alrix turns into his feathered snake form and constricts around the leader of the monks holding and attempting to crush her. She strikes at Alrix with a powerful open-handed blow and stuns him. He slumps down releasing her. Two of the zombies are smashed apart by monks while trying to defend Aashdoshan but the tide soon turns. The monks are unable to get past Eathwund’s heavy armor and the monks find they cannot dodge his sword thrusts. With each slash of his sword, Eathwund inflicts tremendous damage.

Lantosh pulls Lakima to safety away from the leader of the monks. Aashdoshan finishes her off with a barrage of magic missiles. Soon the last of the monks fall. The adventurers look about and wait a moment to see if any more monks will arrive on the scene. Everything is quiet. The temple is splattered with blood and bodies.

Aashdoshan tells the group that he will be back shortly. He gives the Book of the Tower to Fenris and instructs the remaining two zombies to protect Fenris then he vanishes into the book.

After a few seconds both Lakima and Alarix recover. Lakima walks about the demon idol in the center of the room. Though it is unmarked he is fairly certain it is a representation of the demon lord Isclaadra. One of the more powerful demon lords of the abyss. He steps over to a lectern or altar in front of the statue to check it. As he examines the lectern, he sees an eye appear in the side of the lectern, followed by a mouth. Realizing instantly that it is a mimic he leaps aside as the mimic attacks. Lakima casts Charm Monster but the spell fails to affect the mimic. Domago, Lantosh, and Eathwund all strike the mimic with strong blows. Then Alrix appears and bites the mimic injecting lethal poison into the gooey mass. The mimic chokes and dies.

Aashdoshan suddenly materializes from the Book looking somewhat refreshed. He glances at the puddle of mimic flesh on the floor and looks up with a questioning glance. Then he shrugs and asks if they have searched the bodies yet. A search is made of the bodies and the nearby rooms. They find a silver ring, a pair of potions, and a room with a shelf full of prayer scrolls written in infernal. Aashdoshan drags all of the dead monks into a pile and deposits them into his tower.