Tuesday, May 11, 2004

WFRP Update 13

As night begins to fall, the heroes start preparations for their watch. They persuade the dwarfs to spend the night aboard the boat, well away from any danger and then lay out a few patrol routes. Certain that whatever creatures have been abducting the dwarfs will strike the tower, the heroes take up watch positions in the tower. As the night passes their resolve is sorely tested. various diversions are pulled out and their thoughts start to turn inwards. As Rudolpho steps out onto the scaffolding, a grey hand reaches upwards and tries to grab his leg. He avoids it's grasp, but the mere touch of the strange being leaves his leg numb and lifeless. His shouts bring the others to the edge of the tower and a number of eyes peer out into the night. With alarming swiftness, the ghoulish creature swings from above the entrance, ugly, dirty claws pawing at Elpham. While Max looks for a clear shot, Elpham, Magdelaine and Rudolpho all rush forward to attack the ghoulish abomination. Magdelaine and Rudolpho quickly succumb to the creatures chilling touch, while only Elpham's amazing fortitude keeps him from falling before the beast. Under the combined efforts of Elpham and Max, the creature is forced to flee, scampering around the scaffolding and down the side of the partially completed tower. Trusting to luck, Elpham gives chase and turns the corner to see a hitherto undiscovered door opening in the base of the tower. Before the creature can gain the safety of it's lair, Elpham's dagger flies through the air and buries itself in the creature's chest. The abomination falls, and the world is a slightly better place because of this.

As the dwarfs come rushing from the boat, Elpham examines the door and the creature. He can see three doors inside the lair and a strange, 5 sided pendant is discovered on the creature. With some examination it is discovered that the pendant is some sort of magical key and opens the door whenever it is within a certain distance. As Magdelaine and Rudolpho recover and the chill begins to leave their bones, their is much discussion about what to do. Eventually it is decided that the lair must be explored, but that the light of day is the best accomplice for this activity.

At noon the next day the heroes enter the lair. They begin to explore the lair and discover that it is the remains of an old tower, as indicated by the curving rooms. In one of the rooms a large number of old alchemical equipment is discovered as well as a book filled with strange calculations. Strange, esoteric writings cover almost every wall. As well, there is an old, dust covered person standing in the middle of the room, who slowly opens his eyes and then rushes towards the heroes. Within seconds the creature is joined by another 4 of it's kind, trapping the heroes within the room. However, the skill of the heroes is too great for the creatures and they are quickly dispatched back to the graves that they sprang forth from. A search of the creatures reveals that they are wear the same ancient livery and a cylindrical, six sided pendant. As the exploration continues, the heroes discover that the center of this abandoned tower contains a round metal wall. Two bars extend from the wall, on opposite sides of the wall. With some exploration, it is discovered that the wall, is actually a giant door. As the bars are pushed, the entire wall rotates and an opening is slowly revealed. Within the newly discovered chamber is a glowing six sided star, with a small hole at each point. A quick investigation shows that each hole has six sides; seemingly a perfect match for some of the recently acquired pendants.

As Magdelaine studies the books that were unearthed she discovers that the previous owner was studying some strange form of necromancy. His writings seem to be tied to the chaos moon. There is an entire book devoted to trying to calculate it's erratic path. Eventually curiosity gets the better of Rudolpho and he enters the central room and places one of the pendants into a hole. A central square becomes outlined in red and descends a few inches into the floor. Placing the other pendants into the holes the floor lowers a bit more, but the last six sided pendant is missing and eventually the mysterious floor must be abandoned.

Another night rises and falls and no other creatures issue forth from the darkness. The dwarfs consider the matter close and exchange the pendants for the promised bonus. Although the mystery is still scratching at their minds, the heroes congratulate themselves on a job well done and continue their journey up the river.

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