Puzzled

The last session in the Swords & Wizardry campaign was entirely in a dungeon. Specifically, Red Mausoleum adapted from Advanced Adventures Module #2 by James C. Boney published by Expeditious Retreat Press. OSR dungeon adventures have a history of having roadblocks in the dungeon that must be passed by solving puzzles or finding the correct key. This dungeon is no different. I enjoy a simple puzzle in a game, it allows everyone to participate and it is a break from constant monster fights that become necessary at higher levels. I particularly find that some of the quieter players get a chance to offer opinions on the direction the group should go or what to try. No ideas are bad ideas (unless they result in setting off a trap).

The party of players was briefly stumped in this session and they went back and forth between three rooms several times (I lost count). Some members were beginning to voice the thought of giving up and leaving. I had to remind them of some of the clues they had received but for the most part, they figured it out on their own.

A new player character joined the game. The player who tried out the game playing an NPC rolled up a new character to join the play.

Session 124: The Guardian Gate

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alrix (couatl sorcerer), Aldus (human cavalier), Thistle Walker (human ranger), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC), Domago (human cleric NPC), Ian of Darkhollow (human cavalier NPC).

The adventurers are in a dungeon beneath a red platform of stone they discovered in the Sistermoors. They are trying to find the source of the undead hordes menacing nearby villages and towns. They just recently killed a pair of undead creatures in a tomb they found.

The adventurers leave the tomb after being certain they checked each coffin for treasure. They ascend the stairs back up to the large room full of stone coffins. They walk to the far end of the room counting the stone coffins and find there are 19. They make note of the bronze plaque they spotted earlier that mentioned 21 knights were buried here. They spot a light shining from the passage they entered from and take up defensive positions. A human ranger enters the chamber.

“Who goes there?” Aldus challenges the stranger.

The man tells them his name is Thistle and he has been sent to discover the source of the undead in the Sistermoors. His tracking skills lead him to the red, stone platform in the swamp and he entered. Following tracks, he came to this chamber. The adventurers decide to let Thistle accompany them and they tell him about what they have discovered. They speak about the mystery of the guardian gate in another chamber for which they need a password to get past.

Thistle asks about the door at the south end of this chamber but Fenris warns him that it is a false door and it is connected to a mechanism of unknown purpose. The group decides to head back to the entrance chamber with the stone floor painted with thousands of faces. Here they find a door they have not passed through yet is open, but Domago tells them that he opened the door when he was making his way back to the group after being teleported by the crypt thing (last session). The door leads to a hallway with six doors. Each door leads to a crypt chamber with a single stone coffin. The group checks each stone coffin. Aldus, still under the strength enchantment cast by Lakima, opens the stuck doors and lifts the heavy, stone coffin lids. Inside each coffin, they find undead, zombies, ghouls, shadows, and in the last coffin a wraith. In the fighting, Aldus is paralyzed by ghouls twice and has to be healed by Domago. Eathwund is also drained of life force by the wraith. They manage to destroy each of the undead and find nothing of value in the coffins.

The group examines the guardian gate again. Fenris inserts the rusty sword again and they note the humming sound. Heading back to the entrance chamber, Thistle hears the humming sound from two of the columns in this chamber as well. There is one door they have not yet checked so they open it. It leads to what was once a library. Only stone shelves covered in debris remain. They search the debris and find six belts made of woven hair that have a platinum belt buckle. The buckle has a strange sigil on it. Lakima tries to use a detect magic cantrip but it fails and he loses a 1st level spell. The belts do not detect as magical. Nonetheless, they decide to wear them. All but Aldus and Domago put on belts.

They are uncertain how to proceed so they head back to the Hall of Honored Dead where the 19 coffins rest. Since the false door activates a mechanism Thistle suggests they open it. Fenris warns him that it could activate a trap. Despite the warning, the group decides to proceed.

Thistle opens the door and they hear the sound of stone moving. Lakima who is standing beside a stone coffin at the far end of the room sees it slide to one side revealing a cavity beneath from which a horrid black pudding monster begins to rise. Lakima shouts a warning and backs away behind a stone pillar. Eathwund and Aldus run to the area. Eathwund warns Aldus back telling him that the creature is acidic. Lakima casts magic missile and the bolts seem to strike the blob but they are not sure it does any damage. Alrix fires a pair of arrows into the creature from his magical longbow. Eathwund readies his mace and uses his magical ring to ignite it into flame. He then strikes the black blob and he clearly sees he has injured it. At this moment a second coffin slides to one side, this one again beside Lakima. Lakima looks and sees a grey ooze emerging from a recess that was below the stone coffin. Lakima quickly casts a wall of ice in a circle from floor to ceiling around the grey ooze. Meanwhile, Alrix continues to fire arrows at the black pudding, Eathwund attacks with his flaming mace again and Thistle fires sling bullets at it. A third stone coffin slides to one side, this one again not far from where Lakima is standing. A strange, floating round orb of flesh with a single large eye emerges. Tentacles sprout from the top of it.

“We have to kill this beast quickly!” Lakima shouts to his companions.

Aldus turns to confront the new danger, as do Thistle and Domago. While Eathwund and Alrix finish off the black pudding. Lakima hurls a dart at the floating orb and it explodes, releasing a large cloud of spores. Everyone stands back as the cloud settles to the stone floor. Only then does Lakima carefully advance. He notes that the recess under the stone coffin is empty. At this moment they hear a slam and see the false door they opened slam shut again.

Thistle who had taken cover behind the central column takes note of the fact that it is damp with condensation. He taps on the column with a metal spike and hears a hollow echo.

“The columns are hollow,” Thistle tells everyone.

Fenris checks a pair of columns near where he is.

“These aren’t,” he says.

Lakima tells Fenris to go and examine the hollow column. He checks and finds there is a 2-foot square section that he can slide down. Inside the hollow is a pool of stagnant water. Fenris checks it and declares that he can see a water-filled passage heading northeast under the chamber. They debate whether to enter. Lakima is sure it is a dead end but Thistle and Fenris suggest they search the tunnel and then come back. Domago tells everyone to gather close and he uses his magical Book of Water Breathing to cast water breathing on the entire company. Fenris then climbs into the column and disappears under the water. Thistle follows a few moments later after trading his scrolls to Domago for the priest’s silver coin that has continual light cast on it.

Fenris and Thistle swim down a narrow stone passage under the chamber and come to an end. Above they see an opening. Swimming up they emerge in a pool in a chamber with no exits. Across the room from them they see three large iron trunks held closed with padlocks. Fenris immediately pulls himself out of the pool and shakes off the water. He suggests to Thistle that he should head back to tell the others what they have found.

“You want to wait here in the dark all alone?” Thistle says.

Fenris then changes his mind. He says that they both should stay. Fenris finds traps on each of the chests and manages to disarm all of them. He opens the chests and finds a stone bowl filled with gems and jewels in one. The second holds bags of gems, a fine dagger in a sheath, and three garish gold statuettes depicting nude elves. In the third chest, he finds a simple prayer book dedicated to Saint Waldon written in old mor. They put all of the items in a large sack and swim back to the Hall of Honored dead.

Emerging in the hall Fenris shows everyone what they found. He examines the dagger and asks Lakima to cast detect magic on it. Lakima declines and tells him he can not afford to waste spells. Fenris shoves the dagger into his belt. The prayer book is given to Domago who examines it closely. Despite being immersed in water it is remarkably not wet at all. Domago tells everyone that St. Waldon is the patron of a peaceful death. He is certain this prayer book would destroy any undead who viewed it.

More time is spent going back and forth between the entrance chamber, the guardian archway chamber, and the hall of honored dead. The group cannot find a way past the iron gates or the guardian archway.

“Maybe we should leave,” says a frustrated Lakima.

Thistle suggests that possibly this strange, red stone dungeon is not the source of the undead. They have encountered some here but no indication of a source for the hordes of undead found in the Sistermoors and no tracks to show that they came from here.

Eathwund suggests that they check out the stone faces in the entry chamber once more. Thistle notices that the lower lip of the stone face of the angry male figure is made of a different stone. Fenris takes his crowbar and chips away at the lower lip revealing a cavity in the mouth. At this moment a magic mouth spell is triggered and the stone face begins to laugh diabolically and very loudly. As the laughter gets louder and louder the walls and floor of the chamber begin to shake and dust and debris shower down on the group. Then the laughing stops. Lakima tells Fenris to check inside the mouth. Reluctantly, Fenris reaches into the cavity with the crowbar and finds it empty. Again, the magic mouth appears and laughs loudly. More debris rains down and cracks appear in the ceiling. Then the entire group notices that the entrance is gone. The stair has been replaced with a stone archway. A sigil is carved into the keystone. There appears to be no way to exit.

Fenris and Eathwund tap away at the closed entrance but it appears to be solid. Lakima tells Fenris to check the other stone face. He and Thistle check the face of the angelic woman looking skyward. Thistle notices that the stone beneath her eyes looks to be covered in a stucco-like material. He calls Aldus over and gets a boost up so he can reach the eyes. Using a crowbar, Thistle breaks away the stone patch revealing a small hole and a rush of water comes pouring out splashing down on the floor. The water quickly forms a large puddle.

“Don’t block it. Watch where it flows!” Lakima shouts at everyone.

The water reaches a depth of a few inches and flows to the center of the room where it pools. In the center of the pool, they see a small whirlpool form. Fenris splashes into the water and examines the draining water. He tells everyone that there is a small hole in the floor. Lakima now tells Thistle to block the water pouring out of the stone face. Thistle takes an iron spike and wraps a rag about it. He then stuffs it in the hole blocking the flow of water. Soon the water drains through the floor and is gone. The group looks down at the hole in the floor. A single face on the floor painted with its mouth open in a scream is where the hole is located. They realize that if it was always present, they would have probably noticed it when they first searched the floor. Fenris examines the hole and uses a crowbar to lever out the entire flagstone. Underneath is a wet chamber about a foot square. Resting in the cavity is a glyph-shaped key made of platinum. Thistle asks to examine it and he tells everyone that it is formed in the shape of a glyph of opening. Taking the platinum key they press it against the keystone of the archway blocking the dungeon entrance and the stairs reappear along with the sunlight streaming in from above. The key is carefully put back into a sack.

“Well, now we know the key to getting out should the entrance close again,” Thistle says.

“We should leave,” Lakima states, “I can see no way forward.”

“Perhaps we should check the columns with the slots again?” Eathwund suggests.

This is enough to persuade the group to head back to the chamber with the guardian arch. There are three exits from this chamber that they have not been able to pass through. Two passages are blocked by an iron portcullis that defies their attempts to open, and the guardian archway that is blocked by a forcefield.

As they approach the gateway, the stone face above it again asks for a password. Eathwund suggests that they might need to enter 21 blades into the columns because of the 21 knights they read about in the other hall. They count the openings and find there are 24 scattered randomly about the columns. Eathwund asks for more blades from Fenris and he hands over one of his daggers. When it is inserted in the column in which the rusted sword already resides, the humming sound gets louder. A reluctant Fenris is persuaded to hand over the new dagger he found. When the third blade is inserted into the column there is a loud crack and a bolt of lightning discharges from the column striking the iron portcullis furthest from the guardian arch. The portcullis vanishes as if it was never there.

The group moves to investigate this new corridor. As they approach it Fenris notices that his new dagger (which he immediately removed from the column) is glowing blue. He calls attention to this. He finds that the closer he gets to the corridor leading to the tomb of the wraith Domago turned earlier in the day, the brighter the dagger becomes. The group continues down the corridor and opens a door into a tomb. A single, large stone coffin rests on the floor. A stone rose is carved onto the lid. Aldus tries to open the coffin but finds that it is held shut somehow. Fenris examines it and tells everyone that the rose engraving is a complex lock holding the lid closed. Lakima asks him to open it.

“When someone locks a coffin do we want to open it?” Fenris asks. Lakima tells him to do it.

The coffin is opened and inside they find an old corpse that has been arranged face down in a peculiar manner. Under one hand Eathwund finds a small wooden box. Inside the puzzle box that Fenris is able to open, they find a piece of glass covered in scratches. When the light of Thistles’ lantern passes through it words are projected on the nearby wall.

“Ars Piel Caron”.

The group immediately returns to the guardian archway. Lakima approaches and the archway shouts out its challenge. Lakima repeats the words they have just learned hoping it is a password. Suddenly, the magic mouth yells out another phrase that they have not heard before and a web of dripping green slime covers the archway. Tentacles dripping in green acid reach out toward the company.

“It is asking for the full password,” Domago says.

“Is it just me, or does it sound angry?” Eathwund says.

Eathwund takes the sword and dagger out of the right column and inserts them in the left column. Fenris provides a third blade and it is inserted. There is again a loud crack and a bolt of lightning streaks from the column to the nearby gate. The second portcullis disappears.

The group set out down this new corridor and find another chamber with a single stone coffin. The coffin again has a rose design on the lid. This chamber is different in that the walls are covered with bright patterns of color. The colors are bright and vibrant despite the age of the chamber. Fenris unlocks the stone coffin and Aldus slides it open. Inside is a skeleton dressed in ancient plate mail, holding a long sword and shield. On its head is a shiny, ornamental helm. Eathwund gently removes the helm and finds words inscribed on the back.

“Sug Argaoth”

“What does Sug Argaoth mean?” Lakima asks Domago. The priest replies that it might be a name. It has no meaning to him.

They return to the archway and Lakima answers the challenge of the stone face with all of the words they have recently learned. The eyes of the stone face close and the acidic tentacles vanish.

“Is it open?” Thistle asks.

Lakima cautiously moves forward and finds he can step through the archway into the room beyond. The chamber beyond is made of stone that is a deeper shade of red than they have encountered before. At the far end of the room is a ten-foot-square altar of dark stone. It is shaped with ramps leading up to its sides. Sinister-looking brown stains cover the top. Another stain of brown leads to an open corridor on their left. Thistle examines the stain and says it looks like three bodies were dragged in the direction of the corridor recently.

The group follows the trail down the corridor and opens a door. Before them is a stone chamber with a stone coffin in the center. Resting on the coffin is a skeleton dressed in ancient armor holding a shield and sword.

“Guys, my dagger is glowing again!” Fenris warns them.

The skeleton slowly levers itself up into a sitting position. They see that skin and hair still cling to the creature.

“I am the guardian of the temple. Who are you and what is your intention!” The creature asks in a raspy feminine voice.

Lakima questions the creature and demands that it put an end to the threat of undead in the area. The creature responds that it knows nothing of undead found in the area. Its duty is to protect the altar in the Low Temple from defilement. When asked what god the altar is dedicated to it answers that it is dedicated to Jahoor. Domago tells everyone that this is the ancient name the people of Mor gave to the Dark Lady.

“The god that Ashdoshan worshipped,” Domago states.

“Well, that’s not good,” Lakima says.

They decide to back slowly away from the skeleton guardian and return to the chamber with the altar. In the wall behind the altar, they can see another door.

“Don’t touch the altar,” Lakima warns everyone, “Let’s try that door.”

Lakima points at the door and Fenris moves to check it.