Journal of Rollo Lavius 1

Entry #171- The City of Devils

(G171 20/07/2013 Sat via Roll20 - JF(GM) , AP)

[Forgive me once more for jumping around in the narrative dear reader! I really should get my notes in order but anyway, here is the next instalment of the adventures that Fenrir and Corum had in Darknessdeep]

DAY 211 (8 Marpenoth)(October) cont ...

It was morning at Kreenan's hideout and the were both getting bad coughs. The air in Darknessdeep was full of ash and soot and everyone that lived there had a bad case of 'black lung'.

Fenrir and Corum were not used to this air and their lungs were filling up with nasty gunk. There wasn't much they could do about it though and once he'd cleared his airways as much as he could Corum said to Fenrir :

''

I think we just need to get out of here. Whatever is on the other side of the barrier has to be better than this. If we've really been dead for fifty years let's get out of here and go to Baldur's Gate or something.

I don't know though. I once read a book about this man that ended up in a hellish version of his city. It was called Unthank and when he got out of it, well, it was only then he realised he was in hell.

The next place he went to was this sort of hospital under the city where he got healed up. Sounds like a better place than this. Forget De Rosan I say and concentrate on getting out.Either that or the only way to get out is kill De Rosan or defeat him somehow.

If there is no way out at all I'm just going to kill myself, because the afterlife seems like a better option than this.

''

Fenrir agreed but had no idea how to get out. Corum reminded him that Zander had mentioned something about an exit in the City of the Dead.

Anger, their ever useful guide, took them to the northern most gate to the Necropolis.

They spotted two figures at the gate, seemingly in conversation, a normal sized man and a much larger man.

Fenrir flew over invisibly and tried out his talisman. It had no effect and when he listened to them talk he could not understand the language they were speaking in.

So they decided to go down to the next gate and try that one. Fenrir went in first, flying and scouting. He saw the wizard chap and his big friend fighting zombies and skeletons so deciding to help landed and started blasting too.

When the fight was over he introduced himself (as Bob Smith) to the other two men and the wizard told him he was Hellion and his companion was a flesh golem called Fred.

Hellion was 68 years of age, or so he said.

During the conversation Hellion said this;

''

Ask yourself this, how could have let this happen? I remember part of it, but as if it all happened to someone else. And I try and think back to what happened a year ago and I cannot. There is only now, and what happened a long time in the past.

And there is more. It was like I'd just woken up four days ago from a nightmare but into another one.

Two days ago I went to the barrier and walked some of its length. There is so much out there that is unformed. The ruins look different out there, like they are all melded together by dragon fire.

And the people that live out there, well, you can't really call them people, they are more like ghosts. Vague spirits that take on more of a shape when you approach them. They don't speak, I don't think they even breath. They must be some kind of undead I don't know about.

I've got to get out of here! If I don't I'm going to kill myself.

''

They then went back to the gate and collected Corum. Fenrir decided to try the crypts in the City of the Dead that held portals to small dimensions where the dead of Waterdeep were buried. At the House of the Homeless they found one of Anacaster's portals but it was only an empty arch.

There were undead there, lurking in the deep shadows, but they were not attacked.

Hellion told them a story about a snowglobe that he had once encountered that held a small world in it, in a pocket dimension. He was starting to think that Darknessdeep might be like that.

At the Merchant's Rest Crypt it was the same thing, just and empty archway where the portal had once been.

Next the went to the Hall of Heroes which was down in the south east corner, close to the edge of the barrier. The world seemed faded here and strange ghostly things flitted about in the shadows.

The Hall of Heroes looked like it had been rebuilt into something larger and there were crucified corpses outside it and bodies stretched out on wagon wheels.

Fenrir cautiously tried the entrance and saw four Vampire Spawn guarding a set of tall closed brass doors. They did not see him since he was invisible and he reported back to the others.

After some discussion they decided to meet Hellion back at this place the next day once he'd rested and got his spells all back.

They had Anger bring them back to Kreenan's and had something to eat, then rested for the remainder of the day.

DAY 212 (9 Marpenoth)(October)

In the morning they went back to the appointed place, guided there by young Anger, where they met Hellion and Fred.

They went in at full strength and killed three of the Vampire Spawns and made the other flee. Fenrir opened the brass doors and saw a corridor beyond it.

From now on Fenrir would generally float ahead of the others and scout around while invisible. They came to a junction with several doors. The first one was a kitchen that had two zombies in it. These they quickly killed.

They continued exploring and found a dining room with a tiger skin rug by the fire.

Much to their surprise it came to life and badly mauled Corum! Once more though the magical blasts of Fenrir and Hellion proved the enemies' doom.

The crypt or whatever this building was proving to be, was a maze of corridors and rooms. The next door they tried had a sign on it which read 'Dr Karl Adenauer'.

Inside was a small study and a grey bearded man sat at the desk. He was prepared to talk to them and give them information in return for gold. Among other things he told them that the Hall of Heroes had been converted into a family crypt for the Heydrich family about thirty years ago.

It's current master was Count Riener Heydrich who preferred to live here than in the city because he was left alone by the devils.

They left him and went upstairs to an upper level of this large building and Fenrir shot down a pair of zombies. In the following corridors and rooms they fought and slew a strange four armed skeleton and another vampire spawn.

They then found their way to a set of rooms that were used by Katrina Heydrich, the count's sister. She did not want to fight them, in fact she said she would like them to kill her brother so she could rule in his stead. The best way to do this she explained was to find the Castilian, kill him and take his keys.

Fenrir didn't want much to do with this strange woman so he ushered everyone back out again. The next room down the corridor was a trophy room. Inside one of the statues came to life and turned out to be a wood golem. Fred traded heavy slamming blows with it and everyone else helped.

The wood golem was eventually defeated, but Fred and Corum were badly hurt. They decided to barricade the door and rest for a while.