Belowdown Ep. 8

Last session, the Belowdowners discovered a room filled with canisters of a mysterious, bubbling green gel. Junie, identifying it as a magical fuel source, was knocked unconscious just by touching a canister. Wolf, however, was sturdy enough to resist its effects. After reviving Junie with a newly purchased healing potion, the party decided the fuel was too dangerous to handle and pressed on.

Their explorations led them to a chamber containing a glass plinth displaying a moving image of skeletal soldiers rising from a pool. Atop the plinth sat a frosty, wispy orb. Ever curious, Wolf touched the orb and promptly vanished. One by one, the rest of the party followed suit, teleporting to an unfamiliar and much deeper level of the dungeon.

They appeared in a chamber where a massive, mouth-shaped stone carving spouted water into a channel. Venturing through a nearby door, they were ambushed by seven ooze-drenched skeletons, the very same creatures from the plinth’s vision. The battle was grueling; Junie’s alchemy proved invaluable as she rusted their swords and later obliterated a group with a powerful axiomatic flask. The party finally triumphed, finding only an empty sarcophagus in the room.

Further exploration revealed two more significant chambers. The first held a colossal, spiraling black horn. Cad’s knowledge of the Diabolic language revealed a terrifying inscription: ‘Sounding the horn brings the ender of times.’ Wisely, they left the instrument untouched. The second chamber housed a massive, still creature—a snake with a humanoid torso—coiled atop a mound of treasure. Deeming it too great a threat, they retreated, eventually finding a set of stairs leading upwards, offering their first potential route out of the depths.

OUTLINE:

The Room of Volatile Materia

The party discovered 13 canisters of green, bubbling gel.
Junie identified the gel as a magical fuel source, or materia.
Wolf touched a canister and resisted its magical energy drain.
Junie touched a canister and was knocked unconscious.
The party revived Junie with a healing potion and decided to leave the dangerous fuel behind.

The Teleporting Orb

The party found a room with a plinth displaying images of ooze-covered skeletons rising from a pool.
A frosty orb rested on the plinth.
Wolf touched the orb and was teleported away.
Cad, Junie, and Adder followed Wolf through the teleporter.
They arrived on a new, much deeper level of the dungeon (Level 18).

Combat with the Pool-Borne Skeletons

The party entered a tomb and were ambushed by seven ooze-drenched skeletons, as seen in the plinth’s vision.
Junie used alchemy to rust the swords of three skeletons, forcing them to switch to bows.
The party engaged in a long, difficult battle, with Wolf tanking damage and Adder unleashing self-harming blasts.
Junie crafted and threw an axiomatic flask, destroying a group of the skeletons.
The party eventually defeated all seven skeletons but found the sarcophagus in the room was empty.

The Horn of Apocalypse and the Serpent’s Hoard

They discovered a room containing a 40-foot-long spiraling black horn (a Labrophone).
Cad read the Diabolic inscription, which warned that blowing the horn would bring about the end of times.
They decided not to blow the horn and left a warning note for others.
In another chamber, they found a massive, dormant snake-like creature with a human torso coiled on a pile of treasure.
Choosing to avoid a confrontation, they quietly retreated and propped the door open.

A Perilous Rest and a Way Out

The party encountered another room with eight skeletons, retreating after a brief skirmish.
Feeling overwhelmed, they decided to rest in a secured room.
During the rest, a single drow skeleton attacked the camp.
They defeated the lone skeleton and recovered a suit of valuable Mithril Chainmail from its body.
Fully rested, they decided to sneak past the snake creature and found stairs leading up to the next level.

NPCs:

Pool-Borne Drow Skeleton: A more formidable version of the pool-borne skeletons, this one was of drow origin. It was better equipped with a shield and mithril chainmail, making it a tougher opponent.
Pool-Borne Skeletons: Ooze-drenched dwarven skeletons that rise from pools of magical goop. They are relentless combatants, wielding longswords and shortbows and wearing chainmail. Their goopy coating seems to grant them regenerative abilities.
Serpentine Guardian: A gigantic, silent creature with the coiled body of an anaconda and a mighty humanoid torso, topped with a viper’s head. It was found motionless, coiled around a vast hoard of coins and treasures.

ITEMS:

Alchemist’s Fire: A flask of volatile liquid that ignites on impact, dealing fire damage over time to those it splashes.
Axiomatic Flask: A potent alchemical creation that deals 2d6 damage to supernatural chaotic creatures. Junie created and used two to great effect against the skeletons.
Black Labrophone: A colossal, 40-foot-long spiraling black horn. It is a powerful magical artifact inscribed with Diabolic runes stating that sounding it will bring about the end of the world.
Materia Canister: A brass-colored tube filled with a bubbling green gel. It is a powerful magical fuel source that is dangerous to the touch.
Mithril Chainmail: A suit of chainmail made from the light, strong metal mithril. It offers good protection without the usual drawbacks of heavy armor. Recovered from a drow skeleton.
Potion of Healing: A standard magical potion that restores a small amount of health to the drinker.
Teleporting Orb: A frosty, wispy orb resting on a plinth. It acts as a one-way teleporter to a deeper level of the dungeon.

LOCATIONS:

Apocalypse Horn Room: A chamber on level 18 almost entirely filled by the Black Labrophone, a massive, spiraling horn inscribed with a warning in Diabolic.
Level 18: Mouth-Spout Chamber: The arrival point on level 18, a room where a large, mouth-shaped carving in the wall spouts a constant stream of fresh water.
Materia Fuel Room: A circular room on level 12 containing thirteen canisters of a volatile green gel, identified as a magical fuel source.
Skeleton Tomb: A room on level 18 containing biers and an empty central sarcophagus. It served as an ambush site for seven pool-borne skeletons.
Teleporter Orb Chamber: A chamber on level 12 containing a glass-sided plinth and a frosty, wispy orb that teleports those who touch it to a deeper level.
The Serpent’s Hoard: A large chamber on level 18 where a massive serpentine creature guards a huge pile of treasure. The room also contains stairs leading up.

QUESTS:

Escape the Lower Levels: After being unexpectedly teleported from Level 12 down to Level 18, the party must navigate the dangerous new floors and find a way back to familiar territory, or an exit to the surface.

PLAYER CHARACTERS

Adder: A Shabti Kineticist, a being of immense but unstable power. Adder channels raw energy into destructive blasts, but doing so takes a physical toll, often harming himself in the process. Despite his power, he is lawful and was instrumental in preventing the party from accidentally causing the apocalypse.
Cad: A Priest who serves as the party’s healer and moral compass. His connection to the divine allows him to mend wounds and turn back undead forces. He also possesses surprising knowledge of occult languages like Diabolic, which has proven vital to the party’s survival.
Junie: An Ifrit Alchemist and the party’s primary source of utility and tactical solutions. Her knowledge of potions, poisons, and magical substances is vast, though her curiosity can sometimes get her into trouble. In combat, she uses her concoctions to disrupt enemies and create powerful, single-use weapons like axiomatic flasks.
Wolf: An Orc Sea Wolf who acts as the party’s sturdy frontline fighter. Impulsive and direct, he is often the first to interact with strange objects, a habit that has led to both trouble and discovery. He wields a longsword and shield, and his sheer toughness allows him to withstand effects that would fell his companions.