11/21/2025 – Geeks & Games – Belowdown Level 1

Last session, the long shadow of an edited history loomed as Khad led yet another crew into the Below Down, interlocking dragons biting brass knockers on the stone doors. Worked halls replaced caves; a broom leaned by pristine flagstones. In the first barracks, two mutants with mismatched feathers, scales, and fur scrambled into chainmail. Cyanril’s first stab slid wide, Yuri’s spearwork and Khad’s macework turned brutal, and Adder’s fractal blast crackled across the room. The pair fell. Chainmail and warhammers were claimed, a pouch of nine bloodstones found, a keg sampled, and a sheepish bloody “sorry” ended the scene. The party wandered into steam and mist: a bathhouse where a lion‑maned, glossy‑eyed mutant and a mosquito‑faced one blinked under showers. Adder’s arrogance nearly sparked a duel; instead Cyanril slid forward and whispered sleep. The sudsy pair collapsed, were arranged spooning, and the water was shut off.

Pantries and privies told of a lived‑in warren. In a warm kitchen, a white‑furred, corded cook stirred stew; with polite questions and a suspicious sprinkle of mushrooms, the party learned the mutants guarded Zortash, Grand Magus. A pantry beyond held two off‑duty guards gambling at Wizards and Thieves. Wagers turned to threats. The nine‑foot tentacled mutant snatched a warhammer and floored Khad; Adder’s blast punched him back; Khad clawed to his knees on a ragged prayer; Yuri and Khad together broke the tawny globular guard. Coins, rations, and bruises were counted. The party retreated to Shug’s shrine, paid Khad’s penance, barricaded a room, and slept unmolested. Morning revealed the bathhouse captives gone—rope cut, blood dragged toward a door. The great dragon doors were forced open as an escape path. A central shaft—brass‑lined, etched with elegant reptilian mathematics—swallowed anything tossed within without a sound; distant light glimmered far below.

They descended to a second level where twin alcoves displayed life‑size paintings of brass automatons with tankards and offerings. The party drank the ale and took a white quartz chunk, twin azurites, and platinum coins stamped with a wizard’s profile and the pledge My Oath, My Life. At a lower shrine, an amber ooze sluiced from the ceiling and shivered to attack. It lashed Khad to the floor again; in a wild gambit Yuri shoved mushrooms at it and lost his left hand to the acid. Cyanril’s missiles hissed, Adder gathered power and detonated the slime, and Khad’s mace crushed what remained. They swept the tar into the abyss and gathered the last offering, leaving with treasures, a new scar, and a clutch of questions: who is Zortash to these brass automatons, what power hums through that mathematic shaft, and why do the halls feel suddenly attentive to their footsteps?

OUTLINE:

Descent to the Below Down and Barracks Ambush

• Entered through dragon‑carved double doors into worked stone halls with a broom and pristine flagstones
• Barged into a bunkroom and surprised two mutants half in chainmail
• Yuri and Khad crushed one, Adder blasted the other; Cyanril’s first stab missed
• Looted chainmail, warhammers, a pouch of bloodstones, an unstrung crossbow, and a keg; someone wrote a bloody apology on the wall

Bathhouse Standoff and Sleeping Spooning

• Followed steam into a bathhouse; found a lion‑maned mutant and a mosquito‑faced mutant mid‑shower
• Adder’s taunts nearly sparked a fight; Cyanril cast sleep and dropped both
• Turned off water and arranged the pair spooning; pressed on past privies and a pantry

Kitchen Talk, Pantry Game, and Brutal Brawl

• Met a white‑furred, muscular cook making stew; heard the name Zortash, the Grand Magus
• In the pantry, gambled at Wizards and Thieves with two guards; the guards demanded all the coin
• Combat erupted: Khad went down under a warhammer and was revived; Adder killed the tentacled brute; Yuri and Khad finished the other
• Rested at Shug’s shrine, paid Khad’s penance, and barricaded a room; later discovered the bathhouse captives gone and rope cut

The Endless Shaft and Etched Mathematics

• Forced open the interlocked dragon doors as a fallback path
• Found a vast brass‑lined shaft etched in reptilian mathematical formulae; a faint light glimmered far below
• Dumped bodies into the shaft; anything dropped fell without a sound

Second Level Shrines and the Amber Ooze

• Descended to twin alcoves with life‑size paintings of brass automatons, tankards, and offerings
• Claimed azurite gems, quartz, and platinum coins inscribed My Oath, My Life; drank the ale
• At a deeper shrine, an amber ooze dropped from the ceiling; Khad was battered
• Yuri attempted to feed it mushrooms and lost his left hand to acid; Adder and Khad destroyed the ooze and swept its tar into the shaft

NPCs:

• Grand Magus Zortash: The hidden master the mutants claim to guard. A reclusive wizard of reputation, associated—at least by rumor—with brass automatons and strict isolation from visitors.
• Lion‑Maned Bather: A mutant with glossy black eyes and a thick lion’s mane, caught mid‑shower and sent to sleep. Vanished later, ropes cut and blood dragged toward a door.
• Mosquito‑Faced Bather: A mutant with a jabbing, spear‑like proboscis. Slept beside his companion and was trussed up, only to disappear before morning.
• Tawny Globular Guard: A tawny‑furred mutant with a rounded build and chain under his tunic. Grim at cards, quicker to violence, and finally outmatched by steel and faith.
• Tentacled Guard: A nine‑foot mutant with tentacles in place of arms who wielded a warhammer with shocking force. Adder’s blast and the party’s fury brought him down.
• White‑Furred Cook: A squat, corded mutant chef tending stew and pan, more interested in seasoning and schedules than sentry work. He confirmed Zortash’s rule and kept the kitchen running.

ITEMS:

• Azurrite Gems (2): Bright blue offering stones lifted from shrines to brass automatons.
• Chainmail Suits: Two suits stripped from fallen mutants—scuffed but serviceable, quickly donned by the frontliners.
• Life‑Size Paintings of Brass Automatons: Framed paintings taken from twin shrines; imposing, precise, and oddly reverent. Heavy enough to be a hassle; too intriguing to leave.
• Long‑Handled Brush: A shaft‑side broom stained with tarry streaks—evidence of earlier ooze duty.
• Magic Mushrooms: Pungent caps plucked in the caves—good for visions, bad for combat plans, and apparently not ooze‑proof.
• Platinum Coins (2): Bright coins stamped with a wizard’s profile and the words My Oath, My Life—tokens with a story yet untold.
• Pouch of Bloodstones (9): Deep red gemstones taken from a guardroom pouch; small enough to vanish, valuable enough to matter.
• Unstrung Crossbow: A neglected defense hanging by an arrow slit; claimed for future ambushes.
• Warhammers: Heavy, well‑balanced hammers favored by the mutants. Brutal in close quarters; Khad learned their sting.
• White Quartz Chunks (2): Fist‑sized pieces of milky stone offered at lower shrines and now tucked away for sale or study.

LOCATIONS:

• Barracks: A bunkroom with triple stacks of beds, arrow slit, and gear hooks, where the first clash with mutants erupted.
• Bathhouse: A tiled chamber of mist and overhead showers, each controlled by a wall knob. The site of a sudsy standoff and an undignified spooning.
• Below Down (Dungeon): A worked‑stone complex beneath an old shrine, its clean halls belying age. Steam, kitchens, and shrines hint at a living community bound to a hidden master.
• Central Shaft: A 20‑foot‑wide brass‑lined pit etched in reptilian mathematics that swallows sound and sight. A faint light glimmers far below.
• Dragon‑Carved Entry Hall: A gray flagstone corridor with interlocking dragon doors and heavy brass knockers, the gateway from caverns into the Below Down.
• Lower Shrines: Twin alcoves featuring life‑size paintings of brass automatons flanked by tankards and offerings; a second shrine where an amber ooze attacked.
• Pantry and Kitchen: Circular racks of grain, fruit, hazelnuts, and a warm stew pot watched by a white‑furred cook. Guards gambled here and came to blows.
• Privy: A well‑maintained stone latrine with sloped chutes and a distinct aroma. The party debated the size of its chutes at length.

FACTIONS:

• Fey Court of the Witch Ascendant: The newly elevated fey power whose rise replaced an erased chaos god, seeding capricious magic in the world above.
• Followers of Zortash: The loyal circle around the Grand Magus—reclusive, rule‑bound, and dismissive of visitors.
• Mutant Guards of the Below Down: A motley force of hybrid folk who act more like neighbors than soldiers until roused. They answer to Zortash and keep baths, kitchens, and games in rhythm.
• Temple of Shug: A modest shrine above the dungeon where penance is paid and blessings mended. Khad’s spiritual anchor.

QUESTS:

• Account for the Missing Captives: Discover who cut the ropes and dragged the sleeping bathhouse mutants away—and why.
• Aid Yuri After the Ooze: Find a way for Yuri to fight on after losing his left hand—prosthetic, pact, or clever craft.
• Explore the Below Down: Probe the worked halls beneath the shrine, map its routes, and survive its inhabitants.
• Find an Audience with Zortash: Track the Grand Magus whose name whispers through kitchens and guardrooms, and learn why he shuns visitors.
• Khad’s Penance at Shug’s Shrine: Make amends at the shrine and restore favor after a failed supplication.
• Unravel the Brass Shaft: Decipher the reptilian mathematics etched into the endless shaft and learn where the faint light leads.

PLAYER CHARACTERS

• Adder: A proud, sharp‑tongued shabti who remembers the other timeline and wields crackling, fractal force from a gathered well of power. Quick to threaten and quicker to blast, he masks caution with swagger, but his instincts keep the party alive when monsters loom.
• Cyanril: A goblin wizard new to dungeon work, equal parts curiosity and nerves. He compensates for inexperience with bold spells at clutch moments—sleeping bathhouse guards and peppering foes with missiles—while trying to copy every trick he sees.
• Khad (K-H-A-D): A hard‑tested priest who has died in these depths before and now leads another crew below. He serves at the shrine of Shug, paying penance and pulling comrades back from the brink, but the memory of a previous timeline leaves him wary of new powers rising. Brave under pressure, he has become the party’s moral ballast and battlefield medic.
• Shug (patron deity of Khad): Deity whose shrine sits above the Below Down and answers penitent prayers. Khad’s faith in Shug anchors the party’s rests and rescues in hostile halls.
• Yuri: A human fighter with a taste for direct solutions, from ripping foes apart to diving at horrors others would avoid. He lost his left hand to the amber ooze without flinching, wearing the wound as a badge—and already planning how to fight one‑handed.