The Transmuter's Last Stand

by admin Mon Sep 03, 2012 8:18 am Having accepted a commission from a prominent spice merchant, the group sets out to discover what has been attacking caravans in the area and put a stop to it. After several days travel, they come across an overturned caravan wagon and the signs of battle.Following tracks from the battle site, they discover a series of carvings in the side of a cliff-face depicting the funereal rights of the clergy of Soleth, a minor death cult, and a hidden door that leads into the mountain.

This looks inviting. The group, consisting of Ulfgar the dwarven Paladin, Asylus the half-elf Sorcerer, Tasinthe the elven Rogue, Sainara the Druidess, and Galrin the dwarven cleric. All acquaintances from Omarak, a small town on the western edge of the Kingdom of Marrain near the fearsome Witch Woods. Venturing into the darkness, they came to a stout oak door which was locked from the inside. Tasinthe thought he could detect the sounds of several creatures talking and laughing in a strange, guttural language in the depths beyond. He has no problem quickly opening the lock on the door and the party threw back the barrier and charged in. The room beyond was a guard post and they interrupted a small band of kobolds in the midst of a dice game. The battle was quick, but furious, with Galrin taking a minor would and Asylus being rendered unconscious from a pair of kobold sling stones. Galrin and Sainara's healing magic restored Asylus to full health while the rest of the group searched for treasure. Aside from some bone dice and small change, the only item of value in the room was a brass warning gong and some of the kobold's weapons and armor.

Continuing further into the dungeon with Tasinthe taking point, they discovered another stone carving dedicated to Soleth. The room beyond was filled with an odd greenish glow. Ulfgar went ahead a bit to get a better lay of the land, but stumbled on a bit of rubble on the stone steps leading down into the chamber, and made a considerable amount of noise. Realizing that there was no advantage to sneaking anymore, the party charged into the gigantic green glowing chamber to find the room bisected with a 10' wall constructed of refuse. Five kobold slingers manned the wall and let loose a volley of bullets to welcome them.

The Great Wall of Rubbish. Asylus, acting quickly, cast a Color Spray spell and rendered two of the kobolds senseless. Ulfgar charged the southern portion of the wall intending to test its strength against his dwarven might, when he noticed a carefully hidden gap in the wall's construction. The paladin wedged his body into the gap and pushed up, causing the wall to shudder and the two kobolds above to be shaken out of their cover, where they were soon brought down by a barrage of missiles. The sole surviving kobold on the wall decided he had had enough and ran for it. Tasinthe performed an acrobatic leap and vaulted to the top of the wall where he saw the kobold enter what he could only describe as a "vortex of magic". The kobold's body was bathed in magical energies and his movements became lightning fast. The elf rogue launched an arrow from his longbow at the transformed monster, only to see the kobold sidestep the arrow as though it were standing still. The kobold turned and ran from the room at phenomenal speed. The chase was on! Tasinthe, Aylus, and Ulfgar ran full speed after the escaping kobold. Along the way, they ran past another Soleth carving and triggered a magical sleep trap that could have been the end of them all, luckily Ulfgar was able to shake off the effects and both the elves were immune. At the end of the long straight corridor was another cavernous room, this one split down the middle by a 40' deep chasm created by a sluggish underground river. The two sides of the room were connected by a fragile rope and timber bridge and guarded by another half dozen kobolds.

As three kobolds plus the refuge from the previous area moved to engage the party, The other three kobolds moved into position and began work to cut down the bridge.

King Arthur: Now, we are about to attempt to cross...the Bridge of Death! The gate-keeper of the Bridge will ask any who attempt to cross five questions... The combat was fast and furious, but the kobolds were no match for the party, especially once Ulfgar crossed the rope bridge and engaged the would-be saboteurs. He slew all three before they could do more than cut one of the four main cables. A lucky shot from a very lucky kobold managed to get past the paladin's guard and heavily wound him. Galrin charged across the bridge to help, but lost his balance and plunged into the darkness below, sucking in a considerable amount of river water before he was rescued. Picking up from last week, the party (with the addition of Caelifer the monk) continued to explore the dungeon depths. Venturing into the area beyond the rope bridge, they discovered a long hall with empty sarcophagi lining the walls. The area was lit with an eerie purple torch burning at the far end. Moving cautiously, but not particularly quietly, Ulfgar went ahead of the group to examine the torch, but failed to notice a passage in the North wall. Within seconds, kobold warriors began to stream from the passageway and engage the group. Almost immediately, Caelifer was struck down by a strangely augmented kobold with poisonous stingers for fingers. The poison was too much for him, and Caelifer crumpled to the floor unconscious. The adventurers moved quickly to fill in the gap and block the swarm of tiny foes. The hall ran red with the blood of kobolds. It seemed for every one the group managed to overcome, two more appeared to take its place. After several minutes of combat, the tide was stemmed. Each of the group was wounded, but they managed to kill more than fifteen of the monstrosities.

Monk with a poisoned stinger? Sure, why not? Several of the creatures had unusual enhancements, like the one who poisoned Caelifer. The group discovered more "pockets" of transmogrifying magic, which when entered, caused strange and powerful mutations for a short period scattered throughout the kobold warren in these halls. Nearly out of spells and with some members gravely wounded, the group decided to camp in the kobold lair until morning. Ulfgar took first watch, hoping it would be a quiet one. It wasn't. About an hour into his watch, Ulfgar found himself the target of new kobold harassment. A single kobold stood just at the corner of the short hallway leading to their camp and began slinging stones at him. Ulfgar bellowed a warning and charged towards the creature. Rounding the corner, he found himself face-to-face with an abomination. The thing might have been a kobold at some time in the past, but now it barely resembled one. It was just over 5' tall with a rat-like tail that split into three separate writing appendages. Its elongated torso harbored a second set of heavily furred arms ending in razorlike claws. Its primary arms carried a wicked black battle axe. "Tazex the Everchanging greets you." it hissed as it moved to battle the Paladin. More kobolds crawled from the darkness as well, to join the fray. The first blow from the battle axe tore across Ulgar's torso, ripping a gaping wound, as well as delivering a horrific electrical jolt. But Ulfgar gave almost as good as he got and wounded the abomination. Caelifer charged into battle with the abomination and delivered a powerful blow. Tazex turned to the monk and responded with a series of powerful blows that left him on the floor bleeding to death. The rest of the party gathered their gear and charged into battle. Some concentrated fire on Tazex while others kept the kobold warriors from gaining flanking positions. Tazex took another serious wound and then vanished. The battle continued with the kobolds taking the worst of it.

Kobold Karnage! A few seconds later, Tazex winked back into existence next to Asylus the Sorcerer and tore him almost in half with a series of horrific blows. Monk and Sorcerer were both out for the count. The two dwarves engaged the monstrous kobold while Sainara tried to stabilize Asylus and Tasinthe plunked arrows into the melee. In the end, it was more than the horror could withstand. Tasinthe delivered the killing shot with his longbow and the monster fell. After ensuring Tazex was truly dead, the group stabilized their wounded and the rest of the night passed without event. The next morning, both Sainara and Califer used some of their healing magic to restore the Paladin and Monk to fighting condition. The group decided to push on the next morning, in spite of their wounds. Tasinthe and Caelister gave the lower hallway a more thorough investigation and found a secret door. They decided to follow the previously hidden passage which led to a large alchemical workroom. A life-sized bronze statue of a robed man stood in the NW corner, while a strange mirror was attached to the East wall, on a track so it could be moved along the wall. The center of the room was dominated by a force cage hovering about 10' off the ground. On a table against the West wall was a bound and gagged figure. The group freed the bound figure and discovered he was a captured half-elf ranger named Kristle who had been overpowered by the kobolds and brought here. The group was interrupted in their examination of the lab by a short, fat figure dressed in robes. He introduced himself as Fardroll the Transmutor and chastised them for interrupting his work. He offered them the chance to put down their weapons and become experiment subjects, or he would have to kill them and use what's left for parts.

Surprisingly, the party decided to fight.

That's Fardroll the Transmuter? Maybe he's friendly. Ulfgar charged at the mage to engage him and found Fardroll very hard to hit. Caelifer also moved to attack, but chose a path beneath the force cage, which dropped down and imprisoned him. Once combat started, the bronze statue animated and joined the fight, attacking people seemingly at random. Fardroll cast mirror image and was surrounded by 5 illusory duplicates. He followed that by summoning a giant spider with his wand. The party managed to get past Fardroll's defenses and lightly wound him (along with destroying several images). Caelifer was released from the force cage after two rounds and joined the battle. Fardroll decided he didn't like the odds, so turned to run back down the hallway. As he left, he pulled a patch off his robe and threw it to the ground where it became a 10x10x10 pit in the floor. The party continued to fight with the animated statue and the giant spider and quickly killed the latter. The former proved to be more difficult to overcome. Galrin managed to wound the statue with his dwarven axe, but the missile weapons had no effect. Tasinthe took a running leap and crossed the pit, followed closely by Caelifer. Around the corner, they ran into a monstrous horror. It was one of Fardroll's failed experiments, a gelatinous abomination composed of parts of dozens of kobolds shifting and pulsing with hideous, unnatural life. Tasinthe, Caelifer, and Asylus tried to contend with the Monstrous Errors and the newly created pit, which ended with three dead monsters, everyone wounded, and Asylus unconscious and bleeding to death. But, a win is a win. Fardroll used his magic to transport himself back into the main room, behind the party. His last mirror image was dispelled with an arrow from Kristle, and he was rewarded with Tasha's

Uncontrollable Hideous Laughter for his trouble. Kristle was out of the fight. Ulfgar charged the evil Transmuter, and got blasted with Cause Fear, one blown saving throw later, and Fardroll was unfettered once again. Around this time, Tasinthe and Caelifer finished their combat with the gelatinous horrors and Fardroll decided this was a good time to make a strategic retreat. "You haven't seen the last of me! I owe you for disrupting my experiments!" he shouted as he ran from the room. Wounds were patched, though it was a close thing for Asylus. Everyone survived the encounter. The group took an extra day in the former lair of Fardroll to recover and (better yet!) to loot it. They discovered a great stash of silver and gold, as well as quite a few pieces of jewelry. Also of interest was a scroll (unknown), and two potions. Caelifer opened one of the potions bottles and discovered it was alchemist's fire. After he stopped, dropped and rolled, the flames were extinguished and they knew what was in the other vial. After packing up their treasure, the group moved slowly out into the kobold warrens, watching for new foes as well as another attack by the mad Transmuter. As they headed to the room containing the rope bridge, Kristle detected movement in the rear. From out of the darkness came a fast-moving beast. A giant weasel! Only this monster was unusual, it seemed to be made of earth and stone. Along with the weasel, Kristel could see a armed and armored kobold. The creatures engaged and Kristle was in battle. At the same time, something was stirring in front of the party in the room with the rope bridge... Fardroll stepped from the shadows and cackled, "Not leaving so soon, are you? We've just started to get to know one another." Fardroll waved his wand and a pair of giant vipers appeared and slithered to attack. While the party dealt with the snakes and other foes, Fardroll ran down the wall into the gigantic chasm (using Spider Climb) and destroyed the rope bridge with a Burning Hands spell. He continued across the chasm room and out the passageway, pausing only to use another patch from his Rob of Useful Items to block the hall with a great locked and barred iron door. The group quickly overcame both the giant weasel and his kobold handler, but not before the creature latched on to Kristle and drained a horrifying amount of his blood. The snakes were similarly dispatched, though one managed to poison Asylus and he very nearly perished from the venom. After recovering from the last battle, the group found that they were trapped in the dungeon! Their sole known exit was somehow now barred by a gigantic iron door which was locked and barred. Discussing their options, the group thought their best bet might be to find the secret passage that the dire weasel and its handler had used to get behind them. Between Kristle and Tas, they eventually managed to find an extremely well concealed door.

Unfortunately, they could find no way to open it from this side. The group had no choice but to abandon their plan and see if they could get by the iron door. The rope bridge was a total loss. Fardroll's fire destroyed it utterly. Using the existing bridge supports and rope the group had on hand, the group jury rigged a new, temporary bridge across the chasm. Examining the door, it was clear that nothing they had on hand would allow them to breach it. They needed to pick the lock and unbar it. Luckily, Tas proved to be an accomplished lock pick and larcenist. He managed to crack the lock on the door and slip a tool between the door and the frame to lift the bar off the door. On the other side of the door was a note from Fardroll. It read, "Had a fabulous time. Most fun in years. You owe me for a new evil lair. I will collect. See you later. -Fardroll" The party had survived and defeated the mad Transmuter and his minions. [Continued in Castle Whiterock]