Johnna, Morgan, David, Cyber Scott, Jan, Tod

 

——-

Waking up from an extended rest, we are in the control room of the mobile Warforged city. Rune is in love with the construct and wishes to stay and study it. Crusher doesn’t find any maps or schematics. Out the viewports we see Metrol buildings marked with the House Cannith emblems.

——-

 

We head to Metrol, looking for the Creation Forge. Phaedra leads us through the town. Strangely, no one is around. There are fresh footprints, however, leading from the walking city. Our path takes us the same way the footprints lead, to a large building with a House Cannith emblem on it. It seems to be the former seat of House Cannith in Metrol. It’s actually more like a complex; multiple buildings linked together that have grown up over hundreds of years. This is a likely location to find the Creation Forge. A grand, oak doorway stands before us.

 

Phaedra tries to pick the lock, but finds none. She tries to listen for sounds on the other side of the door, but she is unable to hear specific sounds through the eight inches of oak – but she also is sure that she hears an indistinct ‘something.’ Giving up on the door, she finds a window and peeks in.

 

She observes a grand entrance hall. With her keen senses, Phaedra feels as though the room is much like a mouse-trap, ready to spring. Knowing this, Phaedra checks the door for traps and does not find any. Runty tries to kick the door down, but only succeeds in hurting his big toe. The door is barred from the inside.

 

Crusher asks Phaedra if, from the window, she could see the other side of the door. She says she could see the area just in front of the door on the inside. Crusher goes to the window and uses a Fey Step Potion, winding up immediately inside the doorway – with his companions waiting on the other side.

 

Oddly, the tiles of the floor are made of flame red stone. Crusher removes the bar keeping the door closed and opens it, letting in his friends. Suddenly, flames rise from the floor to the ceiling except in the area directly in front of the door – where Project Mayhem is standing. Phaedra inspects the stones but does not discern any mechanical explanation for the trap. Shanti notes that this area of flame is a magical trap; some jets of flame are even illusion or evocation magic.

 

Runty runs heedless through the flame-filled room, straight ahead to the wall on the other side. There is a door to the right side of the room and there are no flames in front of that door either. Runty says, “What are you waiting for? There’re no flames on me!” But his clothes are singed.

 

[Editor’s Note: Scott wanted to run towards the door on the other side of the room, not the wall on the opposite side of the room, but that’s not what wound up happening. Things were confused while we tried to communicate over Google Hangout. I write it as it things happened in story. Sorry, Runty.]

 

One of us spies a riddle chiseled into the inside of the oak door we just passed through to get into this room. The riddle seems to give clues as to how to get through the flames without harm. Shanti reads it to us:

 

A nasty little maze, have we,

to hurt you on your way

 

Ignore the things you see

and just do what I say

 

…

 

Phaedra reads the riddle out loud this time, testing a theory she has, and Crusher tries to follow the directions. Unfortunately, he takes damage stepping into a tower of real flame. Crusher takes a step back to safety. Ugarth points out a misreading led to Crusher taking damage. Trying again, Phaedra and Crusher make progress thanks to Ugarth’s insight. Crusher still winds up at a dead end, however. Shanti makes an attempt, checking each tile carefully for real fire before moving on and successfully, skillfully, finds the way through the maze of fire to the other door, made of stone. Runty runs over to join the rest of us.

 

——-

 

There is a short hallway on the other side of the door that leads us to a small room, 4×8. There we find the remnant of the Warforged resistance, assembled against us. Between us and the angry Warforged lies a 4×4 carpet of human flesh. Two Warforged wizards stand on the disturbing floor covering. They say, “This is where fleshies belong – under our boots!” There are also Adamantine Vanguards.

 

Phaedra targets one of the two adamantine guardians with Spikes of the Manticore. One misses, the second hits. As her arrow strikes, it becomes insubstantial. Four of the Warforged return fire. Phaedra and Shanti take damage. An enemy heals by using his Warforged Resolve. Wilhelm attacks with Iron Fist. Shanti repositions, then does lightning damage. Runty, attempting to diffuse the violent situation and win allies, gives an inspiring speech – but it falls on deaf ears. The enemy Warforged cry, “Death to the fleshies!” Ugarth says that crowding the door is a bad tactical decision. He suggests, instead, “Back up and bring them into our area.” Crusher tries it Ugarth’s way with a crossbow attack, but he misses.

 

Phaedra backs up then let loose with Pounding Barrage against her quarry. All her arrows strike true and her quarry is immobilized. Five blasts hit Crusher and he is knocked prone. Another enemy uses his Warforged Resolve and is the better for it. Wilhelm again uses his Iron Fist. Shanti casts Ice Storm, killing one enemy while slowing another and also creating difficult terrain. Runty does not want to fight, instead wishing to try diplomacy. Reluctantly, he attacks and misses. Ugarth hits an opponent with a crossbow bolt. Crusher hits with a poisoned crossbow bolt.

 

Phaedra misses. Ugarth and Runty get hit. Wilhelm avoids an attack. Three arrows sink into Runty’s chest, and he laughs. Wilhelm marks, hits, damages, and knocks prone two enemies. Shanti bloodies a guardian and Runty makes him surrender by saying that they need to use the Creation Forge. Ugarth’s attack misses. Crusher attacks with his crossbow but misses.

 

Phaedra bloodies the second guardian. It attacks Runty and misses. A decimated arm stretches out from the flesh carpet attacks Wilhelm, grabs his groin, and pulls Wilhelm onto itself and begins to envelope Wilhelm. The enemy Warforged make four shots at Wilhelm, only two hit, and he is knocked prone. Wilhelm uses Iron Fist on the flesh carpet, but misses somehow. Shanti take out 2 more enemies. Runty convinces the other guardian to surrender, and then effectively attacks the carpet. Ugarth successfully attacks the carpet with a ranged attack. Crusher’s bolt strikes the carpet.

 

Phaedra attacks the carpet, but misses. The carpet now tries to grab Runty now but fails. It constricts Wilhelm more. Shanti magic missiles the carpet. Runty forfeits his attack. Ugarth bloodies the floor covering. Crusher’s bolt strikes the carpet.

 

Phaedra bloodies the carpet and she makes it surrender. Its tassels go down. We realize that the carpet also is a construct made by the Lord of Blades. The remaining Warforged attacks Wilhelm and misses. Wilhelm takes out the last remaining combatant.

 

The battle comes to a quiet end. Runty tries to convince the bloodied guardians to guard the Creation Forge as we try to use it. They are not quite up for that, so Runty accompanies the two prisoners to Rune.

 

——-

 

On the other side of where the battle occurred, we continue down a hallway. After a short while, the hallway and our light is swallowed by a magical darkness. The darkness emanates from the walls, an artificiary influence. Shanti casts Light on an object and the object glows but does not illuminate the area with any useful affect.

 

Wilhelm tries to make out what lays beyond in the black gaping maw before us. He perceives air moving through passages ahead and determines there must be an exit of some kind further ahead, though they may twist and turn like a maze. Shanti suggests we use the walls as a guide, at least to understand where we have been. We progress forward, feeling and trying to find our way through – what turns out to be – a maze.

 

During our dark journey, we hear and feel an explosion all around us. Shanti, Ugarth and Crusher take damage from the unknown source. Perhaps it was a trap.

 

The next trap makes itself known. Turning a corner, we feel a pressure plate release beneath our feet and the walls surrounding us electrify and we are shocked. After running into a dead end, we have to come back to where the electric-trap pressure plate is, but Phaedra disables it before we continue. From this point onwards, Phaedra carefully checks almost every stone for traps.

 

After being cooked and friend, after finding ourselves in lots of dead ends, and after blundering our way through twists and turns, we come to a wall completely engulfed in a complicated mechanism. It turns out to be a highly problematical vault lock, and it looks like it will be a pain to pick. Wilhelm says, “Hit it Crusher.” Before he can, Phaedra says that she can pick it instead.

 

Upon further inspection, there are several locks that make up this apparatus. Using a combination of disabling and lock-picking should open the 6 separate locks – and whatever they hold – but they need to be overcome in the correct order. Failing to follow the correct pattern will reset the locks and we would have to start over.

 

Some of the lock devices are adorned with magical runes. Shanti identifies the runes as abyssal symbols of pain, terror, and death. Because of Crusher’s Warforged nature, and because he uses his Investigation Kit, he can tell Shanti and Phaedra the sequence to follow when unlocking the locks. Phaedra unlocks the first. Attempting the second lock, Phaedra’s finger slips, resulting in a blast of psychic and necrotic energy sluices through some of us. Shanti, Phaedra, and Crusher are bloodied.

 

Finally, the last lock springs open. Jets of steam blast us as the vault door opens. We see a massive circular room lit by a deep blue light, the color of House Cannith. In the center of the room, there is a Creation Forge, a desk covered in coins and gems, a throne where a strange-looking golem sits, two braziers (one smoking and one fiery), and a Warforged ‘dog’ laying by the throne.

 

The golem rises from the throne. As it does, some kind of projectile launchers fold out of its arms. It says flatly, “Withdraw immediately. You are not authorized.”

 

——-

 

500 xp each for flame room riddle

1200 xp each for battle

7500 gp (1250 each) wall hanging of House Cannith; a gorgon’s eyes glow and another creature releases steam from its nostrils

7500 gp (1250 each) platinum statue of a Warforged

500 xp each for maze?

633 xp each for vault door

400 xp each for Obsidian Portal posts

50 xp for voting and attending

200 xp each for RP tonight