After hearing the priest's words, (Aside from silver and magic, any other weakness to these werecreatures you know of?) asks Eggo Lass telepathically. (If we're going to encounter the brute again, may well be aware. And while we've known Bilyur, just in case...)
You all spend the hour-long short rest either recovering from the battle, or discussing matters with the High Priest. He didn't intend on letting you stay for so long originally, but seems to have taken quite the liking to your party, so is willing to let you stay for an extended period of time to make sure you're all in the best possible state for what's up ahead. He receives the telepathic message from Eggo, and then Sly's question, and realises that both of the female party members have came to similar conclusions; Bilyur may possibly be a threat in future, so they need to know if there's anything useful to help deal with him, and when they can expect this shift to happen. He answers to both in one response, managing to twist the way he says what he tells them to make it sound like he only received one question, which of course is what everyone but Eggo thinks happened.
His response is the following: 'Yes, it's more than likely that your monk may suffer from the same cursed affliction as Elana, and now me. When she was first cursed, we didn't know what to expect, however, she just randomly turned savage one day, just for 8 hours. We figured that this was because of a full moon occurring; however, because we are all obviously indoors, we can't see the night sky to estimate when the next full moon is, so we have made sure to keep track of time since then. Her last shift was 5 days ago, and full moons occur every 28, so you have 23 days before you can expect your friend to turn savage for the night. I advise you to keep track of your rests and time spent adventuring so you don't have this event be sprung on you. When it actually comes to the night, there is little else you can do to damage lycanthropes other than using magic and silver weapons, from what I've found at least, but since he's your friend I'd imagine you'll just aim to restrain him.'
[I'll explain in more detail closer to the time, but when the shift does happen, I'll probably take Bilyur over as an NPC for that period of time and it will operate like a regular encounter, however to make sure Rhino still has something to do, we'll have it so that Bilyur's true self, who will be trapped within his mind, can make Wisdom Saves as his turn to try and give his body disadvantage on saves, attacks and checks, and then they can also roleplay that inner conflict too!]
Bilyur continues to stare at the priest, sorrow in his eyes. He says to his friends, "This is a great power that I have been granted, but it is an evil one. Know that, though this grants me great abilities, if I ever get the chance to remove this curse, I will. Even now, I feel the pull of Mathan Bán, he is already tearing at my soul. He wishes me to claim all the power for myself..." He drifts off, his pupils dilating before he shakes himself free. "I can fight him now... But with the full moon behind him, I will be powerless." He turns to Techi, "You seemed sad when the High Priest mentioned the next dungeon. Is there something wrong?"
The Priest listens to Bilyur’s words and nods along sorrowfully, and then he turns to Techi, who cringes slightly when Bilyur confronts him and sighs, then explains slowly that ‘I did not want to have to bring this up in fear of alarming people, but I am aware of what the next dungeon holds. Within the wider Tyraan Government’s Department of Archaeology, I worked under a Brass Dragonborn named Kalthrat, and when he first went into the dungeons, I was assigned the roles as his successor if things went awry.’ He puts a hand into his dusty brown trousers and takes out a small, smooth stone, carved to look like a pair of lips. He then explains that ‘He relayed information to me once per day with a sending stone, though one day the messages stopped coming, implying that he was most certainly dead, and that meant I had to step up, face the dungeons and complete his unfinished business.’ He then sighs and looks towards the High Priest, and tells him ‘Due to the limits of the stones, Kalthrat could only relay very basic information to me, but with some prior knowledge I am aware of some details. Do you wish to know what the 10th Dungeon holds, or rather stay in blissful ignorance?’ The Priest, realising he might not ever meet such an informed adventurer ever again, tells him to speak on, and so Techi does.
‘The 10th Dungeon is known as the Bastion of the Lich One. It was created years ago as a fortress for the lich Solshere, and in its prime it was filled with magical treasures, untold riches, and undead hordes.’ Techi’s face grows dark and he says ‘All evidence points to the Bastion being placed into the 100 Dungeons whilst Solshere was still animate, meaning that there is a great chance that the lich may still dwell there, unless they have been defeated by prior adventurers, and that doesn’t even account for the undead armies that were stationed there, with its numbers potentially growing from all the dead adventurers being fed into it daily. So, in summary, the 10th Dungeon is a death trap. We will be lucky to make it through alive.’
Sly, studiously making notes from Techis explanation of the 10th dungeon, circles the word "Treasure" twice.
Outwardly calm, the wizard suddenly feels energized. Great danger, great reward, a simple thought for a mind as vast as hers, but carrying a deafening resonance.
The tiefling also notes the days until Bilyurs transformation. "We may yet uncover ways to restrain your curse, or perhaps to halt it entirely. Alas, with the dangers ahead 'tis but a small worry." "Thank you, sir...", Sly realizes she hasn't learned the name of the priest.
The wizard stands and dusts off her robe with a mage hand. She looks to the others. "Shall we proceed?"
"Seems a necessary course of action." says Eggo Lass about continuing. "Skeletons and liches. Fun!" she says sardonically. Then a flicker of hope, "Perhaps we'll come across a cat skeleton!"
After your hour rest, you say goodbye to the High Priest, who wishes you good luck once again, and then clamber up into the inky darkness of the Shadow Weave portal, and through into the 10th Dungeon...
Everybody levels up to Level 5!
Bastion of The Lich One
As you pass through the portal, you hear whisperings from only a handful of voices, not as many as you usually hear, making each one ring out more distinctly. Just out of your peripheral vision, you can see the hazy shadows of a cloister of tortles, each horribly mutilated but somehow at peace in their transient state, and if you were to count them all, you would get 21 of them. Seems the only victims of this dungeon throughout its whole history were the tortles slain by Mathan Bán. They whisper the secrets and stories on what is to come next, before you wake up, only a split second having passed, as if the event was merely a dream.
As an orphaned youth, Solshere grew up in a Tyraan wizarding academy, though whilst other students would be out larking about between lectures, he would find entertainment in seeing if he could separate the soul from the body, or animating dead animals with jerky hand movements, or controlling insect's bodies against their will. It was always clear that he was evil, though due to the high levels of neglect he endured, this was never corrected. As he grew from a solitary and callous child into a young adult, this strange obsession with the darker arts grew. His morbid hobbies grew into the actual studies that based his career, consisting of evil experiments which tested the limits of what a mortal body could endure. Eventually his dark deeds became so sinful that they could no longer just secretly take place within the under-crofts of taverns, or in the halls of his colleges by candlelight; he needed his own place.
And so, the Bastion of the Lich One was constructed. The details on whether it was a converted ruin, or freshly built, are hazy, though it was founded in the farthest reaches of the Tyraan Wastes, where no one would dare reach it. And, of course, it was not named after 'the Lich One' originally, but that is the only name that can fit it, since it was unnamed at the time of it's creation, for Solshere had little bother about his legacy, and just saw it as a fortress to do his work undisturbed. It was also not a home, by any stretch of the imagination. Solshere likely loathed the place, and simply put up with it as a place to conduct his business on pushing a creature's form to it's limit. He toiled until the end of his natural lifespan, then, simply continued on. Lichdom was not a big deal for Solshere; for him it was just another experiment, and a resetting of the hourglass. Evidence suggests that Solshere did hundreds of experiments in his time, and would have had a small coven of kidnappers and graverobbers that would go out into the wider world to bring back test subjects for Solshere, along with any treasure that could be added to his collection or would help with his research. When the Bastion was sealed into the 100 Dungeons, Solshere likely continued, now getting a fresh supply of bodies as resources more directly, his fortress now heaving with the undead and unholy...
The location you arrive in is one of the foulest places you have seen on your quest so far, if not in your life. The last time you had seen such a horrific sight was the 1st dungeon, with the final room consisting of piles of corpses from hopeless adventurers, but even those bodies were either raw skeletons, all the meat eaten of them, or still fully recognisable as a person, with just one or two larger wounds, as if they were unconscious from their injuries. This time it is different.
The room is 25 by 30 feet, doors to the north, east and west, with the ceiling being 30 foot high, however the stumps of candles on the dining table only shed dim light up to 20 feet, leaving the final 10 foot stretch up to the ceiling in complete darkness. The aforementioned dining table is 15 feet long, with chairs scattered about the place, rotting corpses slumped into them or onto the table itself. They look like they might have been adventurers who sat down to indulge in the now fetid feast laid out upon the table, but somehow died where they sat. There are 6 corpses in total, and all in a terrible state. Some of them have had their stomachs rotted through, leaving organs trailed across the ground, dragged out by who knows what. Bone is visible in patches where skin and muscles have been torn off, and their eyes are so watery and sunken into their skulls that they appear like they might burst if you were to prod them. Their jaws hang limp and any remaining flesh is a sickly green. Their blood has long congealed into a crust of dark brown across their tattered clothes, and perhaps the most notable thing about them is the grubs that writhe across all of them, in and out the cavities and across the table to dine on the extravagant banquet that now is a pile of decay.
Techi's breath catches in his throat and he tries to compose himself and get to business, shakily stating 'I...need to look for the treasury, and...maybe Kalthrat's body, but...I think I'll stay with you, just to...', he gulps and tries to contain his shivering, perspiration running down his brow, '...keep safe.'
A pithy elaboration on the state of this place stays in Slys throat because she's too busy holding her breath. She plucks a handkerchief out of a pocket and hastily embues it with as strong of a rose smell as she can manage. She presses it to her nose and squints carefully at the surroundings, breathing through her mouth.
Necromancy, no doubt about it. The wizard surveys the scene, hoping to glean any indication about what happened here. [Investigation: 14]
She also nods to Techi. Finding the treasury sounded like a good plan to the tiefling.
Sly analyses the scene and takes in the following; these adventurers don't seem to have died from any wounds inflicted on them. All of the damage to their body seems to have came about from natural decay or the infestation of grubs amongst their corpses. In Sly's mind, she makes the connection that they therefore could have only died from any one of the following three things: magic, disease, or poison. And, with the bodies being scattered about a dining table, still seated in their chairs no less, fast-acting, potent poison in the food seems to be the most likely cause. She even spots a few dead grubs scattered around the platters, confirming this suspicion.
Xarkris opens his divine senses and although it can’t penetrate the thick stone walls of the bastion to identify what’s in the other rooms, he can still identify what is in this one. There are certainly no celestial, that’s for sure, but there’s also no Undead, which is a comforting thought to know these corpses won’t rise. However, he does detect the presence of a Fiend, a Vargouille specifically, coming from Bilyur’s backpack…
[I would imagine that those of you who were present back then would have likely forgotten by now, but all the way back in the 3rd dungeon, the party was entrusted with a package to be delivered to the Scarlet Oracle in the 77th Dungeon. They were also informed that there was a Fiend kept inside the parcel that would stay asleep if kept within the dark package, but if it was opened, it would attack.]
As the sight of the bodies sets in, Eggo Lass takes a look beyond with her superior eyes in the dark, seeking the guidance of eldritch power. She peers into the darkness to see what lies beyond in hopes that the party can avoid the dead dinner guests' fate.
[[ Devil's Sight: 120ft vision in darkness becomes (effectively) bright light, even magical Drow Darkvision: 120ft dim light is bright light for purpose of perception checks ]]
Eggo Lass looks upwards into the gloom, and with her superior darkvision, she spots a creature hidden above, which is obscured to others within the darkness. It is a large insect, fat and long like a maggot, whilst also having a bruised brown-and-yellow shell over it's pus yellow flesh. It has slumped it's coiling body about a chandelier, and she notices that it is looking down at the table, observing the corpses, it's large black compound eyes unmoving, and the tentacles around it's mouth gently twitching in suspense. From Eggo's particular Underdark experience, she know this beast is a carrion crawler; a beast that feeds on decay and rotten meat. She also knows three key facts about them: 1. They are scavengers, usually finding dead prey rather then going out to kill for the sole purpose of food. 2. They prefer to let their scavenged food marinate a while, until it is as putrid as it can get without fully decomposing, and usually observe this process patiently from a hidden, safe location. 3. Although they do not kill to eat, that doesn't mean they are harmless. In fact, they are far from it, being fiercely territorial when it comes to their food. Disturbing any of the filth would almost definitely cause the crawler to attack.
Sly tells the others, in between gasps for breath: "I believe these people perished upon ingesting some unknown toxicant. Though it begs a number of questions. How could they have thought it prudent to dine in circumstances such as these? What explains the absence of convulsions and attempts to rescue each other? I suspect foul play by the local necromancer."
Unwilling to sit down and perform a ritual in these circumstances, the wizard instead uses a quick flick of her wrist to renew the spell on her floating disk. It wouldn't do to let the emeralds and armor pieces be contaminated.
[By the way, I still have 9 temp hp noted and I forgot who gave them to Sly and if they're still active. Anyone know?]
BIlyur sees the bodies on the ground, and he sees that they have died of an unknown toxin. He will shift into his werebear form before crouching down to the bodies and taking a deep sniff, seeing if he can discern what the toxin would be. As he shifts, he says, "Might as well make use of this."
Xarkris eyes the Carrion Crawler closely and grasps the handle of his Battle Axe tightly. “It had been a long time since I killed something”, he mutters thru clenched teeth.
Eggo Lass' eyes light up at the idea of extracting the toxin. Telepathically, so as to not disturb the crawler, she speaks a plan to each of the party, (What if we first went towards the doors at the end for distance. And then I could cast dancing lights in the form of a man so as to both entice the crawlers to defend its feast while lighting the way for the rest of you.)
After hearing the priest's words, (Aside from silver and magic, any other weakness to these werecreatures you know of?) asks Eggo Lass telepathically. (If we're going to encounter the brute again, may well be aware. And while we've known Bilyur, just in case...)
[[ short rest taken on sheet ]]
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo, Sunny | Draíocht, Kholias | Eggo Lass, 100 Dungeons
Talorin Tebedi, Vecna: Eve | Cherry, Stormwreck | Chipper, Strahd
Let's Test Monsters! | We Are Modron
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 46, 2/13/25, Anima Christi
Sly finishes up her notes. [noted short rest]
Sly motions to Bilyur. "Are you suggesting that our companion might also be afflicted by senselessness on some nights?"
You all spend the hour-long short rest either recovering from the battle, or discussing matters with the High Priest. He didn't intend on letting you stay for so long originally, but seems to have taken quite the liking to your party, so is willing to let you stay for an extended period of time to make sure you're all in the best possible state for what's up ahead. He receives the telepathic message from Eggo, and then Sly's question, and realises that both of the female party members have came to similar conclusions; Bilyur may possibly be a threat in future, so they need to know if there's anything useful to help deal with him, and when they can expect this shift to happen. He answers to both in one response, managing to twist the way he says what he tells them to make it sound like he only received one question, which of course is what everyone but Eggo thinks happened.
His response is the following: 'Yes, it's more than likely that your monk may suffer from the same cursed affliction as Elana, and now me. When she was first cursed, we didn't know what to expect, however, she just randomly turned savage one day, just for 8 hours. We figured that this was because of a full moon occurring; however, because we are all obviously indoors, we can't see the night sky to estimate when the next full moon is, so we have made sure to keep track of time since then. Her last shift was 5 days ago, and full moons occur every 28, so you have 23 days before you can expect your friend to turn savage for the night. I advise you to keep track of your rests and time spent adventuring so you don't have this event be sprung on you. When it actually comes to the night, there is little else you can do to damage lycanthropes other than using magic and silver weapons, from what I've found at least, but since he's your friend I'd imagine you'll just aim to restrain him.'
[I'll explain in more detail closer to the time, but when the shift does happen, I'll probably take Bilyur over as an NPC for that period of time and it will operate like a regular encounter, however to make sure Rhino still has something to do, we'll have it so that Bilyur's true self, who will be trapped within his mind, can make Wisdom Saves as his turn to try and give his body disadvantage on saves, attacks and checks, and then they can also roleplay that inner conflict too!]
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Sparkles: Aasimar Monk: Drakkenheim: What's in the Here and Now
Lith Ja’mas: Githyanki Sorcerer: Ghosts Of Saltmarsh
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist! and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
Bilyur continues to stare at the priest, sorrow in his eyes. He says to his friends, "This is a great power that I have been granted, but it is an evil one. Know that, though this grants me great abilities, if I ever get the chance to remove this curse, I will. Even now, I feel the pull of Mathan Bán, he is already tearing at my soul. He wishes me to claim all the power for myself..." He drifts off, his pupils dilating before he shakes himself free. "I can fight him now... But with the full moon behind him, I will be powerless." He turns to Techi, "You seemed sad when the High Priest mentioned the next dungeon. Is there something wrong?"
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
The Priest listens to Bilyur’s words and nods along sorrowfully, and then he turns to Techi, who cringes slightly when Bilyur confronts him and sighs, then explains slowly that ‘I did not want to have to bring this up in fear of alarming people, but I am aware of what the next dungeon holds. Within the wider Tyraan Government’s Department of Archaeology, I worked under a Brass Dragonborn named Kalthrat, and when he first went into the dungeons, I was assigned the roles as his successor if things went awry.’ He puts a hand into his dusty brown trousers and takes out a small, smooth stone, carved to look like a pair of lips. He then explains that ‘He relayed information to me once per day with a sending stone, though one day the messages stopped coming, implying that he was most certainly dead, and that meant I had to step up, face the dungeons and complete his unfinished business.’ He then sighs and looks towards the High Priest, and tells him ‘Due to the limits of the stones, Kalthrat could only relay very basic information to me, but with some prior knowledge I am aware of some details. Do you wish to know what the 10th Dungeon holds, or rather stay in blissful ignorance?’ The Priest, realising he might not ever meet such an informed adventurer ever again, tells him to speak on, and so Techi does.
‘The 10th Dungeon is known as the Bastion of the Lich One. It was created years ago as a fortress for the lich Solshere, and in its prime it was filled with magical treasures, untold riches, and undead hordes.’ Techi’s face grows dark and he says ‘All evidence points to the Bastion being placed into the 100 Dungeons whilst Solshere was still animate, meaning that there is a great chance that the lich may still dwell there, unless they have been defeated by prior adventurers, and that doesn’t even account for the undead armies that were stationed there, with its numbers potentially growing from all the dead adventurers being fed into it daily. So, in summary, the 10th Dungeon is a death trap. We will be lucky to make it through alive.’
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Sparkles: Aasimar Monk: Drakkenheim: What's in the Here and Now
Lith Ja’mas: Githyanki Sorcerer: Ghosts Of Saltmarsh
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist! and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
Sly, studiously making notes from Techis explanation of the 10th dungeon, circles the word "Treasure" twice.
Outwardly calm, the wizard suddenly feels energized. Great danger, great reward, a simple thought for a mind as vast as hers, but carrying a deafening resonance.
The tiefling also notes the days until Bilyurs transformation.
"We may yet uncover ways to restrain your curse, or perhaps to halt it entirely. Alas, with the dangers ahead 'tis but a small worry."
"Thank you, sir...", Sly realizes she hasn't learned the name of the priest.
The wizard stands and dusts off her robe with a mage hand. She looks to the others.
"Shall we proceed?"
"Seems a necessary course of action." says Eggo Lass about continuing. "Skeletons and liches. Fun!" she says sardonically. Then a flicker of hope, "Perhaps we'll come across a cat skeleton!"
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo, Sunny | Draíocht, Kholias | Eggo Lass, 100 Dungeons
Talorin Tebedi, Vecna: Eve | Cherry, Stormwreck | Chipper, Strahd
Let's Test Monsters! | We Are Modron
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 46, 2/13/25, Anima Christi
After your hour rest, you say goodbye to the High Priest, who wishes you good luck once again, and then clamber up into the inky darkness of the Shadow Weave portal, and through into the 10th Dungeon...
Everybody levels up to Level 5!
Bastion of The Lich One
As you pass through the portal, you hear whisperings from only a handful of voices, not as many as you usually hear, making each one ring out more distinctly. Just out of your peripheral vision, you can see the hazy shadows of a cloister of tortles, each horribly mutilated but somehow at peace in their transient state, and if you were to count them all, you would get 21 of them. Seems the only victims of this dungeon throughout its whole history were the tortles slain by Mathan Bán. They whisper the secrets and stories on what is to come next, before you wake up, only a split second having passed, as if the event was merely a dream.
As an orphaned youth, Solshere grew up in a Tyraan wizarding academy, though whilst other students would be out larking about between lectures, he would find entertainment in seeing if he could separate the soul from the body, or animating dead animals with jerky hand movements, or controlling insect's bodies against their will. It was always clear that he was evil, though due to the high levels of neglect he endured, this was never corrected. As he grew from a solitary and callous child into a young adult, this strange obsession with the darker arts grew. His morbid hobbies grew into the actual studies that based his career, consisting of evil experiments which tested the limits of what a mortal body could endure. Eventually his dark deeds became so sinful that they could no longer just secretly take place within the under-crofts of taverns, or in the halls of his colleges by candlelight; he needed his own place.
And so, the Bastion of the Lich One was constructed. The details on whether it was a converted ruin, or freshly built, are hazy, though it was founded in the farthest reaches of the Tyraan Wastes, where no one would dare reach it. And, of course, it was not named after 'the Lich One' originally, but that is the only name that can fit it, since it was unnamed at the time of it's creation, for Solshere had little bother about his legacy, and just saw it as a fortress to do his work undisturbed. It was also not a home, by any stretch of the imagination. Solshere likely loathed the place, and simply put up with it as a place to conduct his business on pushing a creature's form to it's limit. He toiled until the end of his natural lifespan, then, simply continued on. Lichdom was not a big deal for Solshere; for him it was just another experiment, and a resetting of the hourglass. Evidence suggests that Solshere did hundreds of experiments in his time, and would have had a small coven of kidnappers and graverobbers that would go out into the wider world to bring back test subjects for Solshere, along with any treasure that could be added to his collection or would help with his research. When the Bastion was sealed into the 100 Dungeons, Solshere likely continued, now getting a fresh supply of bodies as resources more directly, his fortress now heaving with the undead and unholy...
The location you arrive in is one of the foulest places you have seen on your quest so far, if not in your life. The last time you had seen such a horrific sight was the 1st dungeon, with the final room consisting of piles of corpses from hopeless adventurers, but even those bodies were either raw skeletons, all the meat eaten of them, or still fully recognisable as a person, with just one or two larger wounds, as if they were unconscious from their injuries. This time it is different.

The room is 25 by 30 feet, doors to the north, east and west, with the ceiling being 30 foot high, however the stumps of candles on the dining table only shed dim light up to 20 feet, leaving the final 10 foot stretch up to the ceiling in complete darkness. The aforementioned dining table is 15 feet long, with chairs scattered about the place, rotting corpses slumped into them or onto the table itself. They look like they might have been adventurers who sat down to indulge in the now fetid feast laid out upon the table, but somehow died where they sat. There are 6 corpses in total, and all in a terrible state. Some of them have had their stomachs rotted through, leaving organs trailed across the ground, dragged out by who knows what. Bone is visible in patches where skin and muscles have been torn off, and their eyes are so watery and sunken into their skulls that they appear like they might burst if you were to prod them. Their jaws hang limp and any remaining flesh is a sickly green. Their blood has long congealed into a crust of dark brown across their tattered clothes, and perhaps the most notable thing about them is the grubs that writhe across all of them, in and out the cavities and across the table to dine on the extravagant banquet that now is a pile of decay.
Techi's breath catches in his throat and he tries to compose himself and get to business, shakily stating 'I...need to look for the treasury, and...maybe Kalthrat's body, but...I think I'll stay with you, just to...', he gulps and tries to contain his shivering, perspiration running down his brow, '...keep safe.'
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Sparkles: Aasimar Monk: Drakkenheim: What's in the Here and Now
Lith Ja’mas: Githyanki Sorcerer: Ghosts Of Saltmarsh
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist! and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
A pithy elaboration on the state of this place stays in Slys throat because she's too busy holding her breath. She plucks a handkerchief out of a pocket and hastily embues it with as strong of a rose smell as she can manage. She presses it to her nose and squints carefully at the surroundings, breathing through her mouth.
Necromancy, no doubt about it. The wizard surveys the scene, hoping to glean any indication about what happened here. [Investigation: 14]
She also nods to Techi. Finding the treasury sounded like a good plan to the tiefling.
Sly analyses the scene and takes in the following; these adventurers don't seem to have died from any wounds inflicted on them. All of the damage to their body seems to have came about from natural decay or the infestation of grubs amongst their corpses. In Sly's mind, she makes the connection that they therefore could have only died from any one of the following three things: magic, disease, or poison. And, with the bodies being scattered about a dining table, still seated in their chairs no less, fast-acting, potent poison in the food seems to be the most likely cause. She even spots a few dead grubs scattered around the platters, confirming this suspicion.
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Sparkles: Aasimar Monk: Drakkenheim: What's in the Here and Now
Lith Ja’mas: Githyanki Sorcerer: Ghosts Of Saltmarsh
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist! and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
Xarkris uses his Divine Sense in order to detect any good or evil this area.
Xarkris opens his divine senses and although it can’t penetrate the thick stone walls of the bastion to identify what’s in the other rooms, he can still identify what is in this one. There are certainly no celestial, that’s for sure, but there’s also no Undead, which is a comforting thought to know these corpses won’t rise. However, he does detect the presence of a Fiend, a Vargouille specifically, coming from Bilyur’s backpack…
[I would imagine that those of you who were present back then would have likely forgotten by now, but all the way back in the 3rd dungeon, the party was entrusted with a package to be delivered to the Scarlet Oracle in the 77th Dungeon. They were also informed that there was a Fiend kept inside the parcel that would stay asleep if kept within the dark package, but if it was opened, it would attack.]
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Sparkles: Aasimar Monk: Drakkenheim: What's in the Here and Now
Lith Ja’mas: Githyanki Sorcerer: Ghosts Of Saltmarsh
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist! and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
As the sight of the bodies sets in, Eggo Lass takes a look beyond with her superior eyes in the dark, seeking the guidance of eldritch power. She peers into the darkness to see what lies beyond in hopes that the party can avoid the dead dinner guests' fate.
[[
Devil's Sight: 120ft vision in darkness becomes (effectively) bright light, even magical
Drow Darkvision: 120ft dim light is bright light for purpose of perception checks
]]
Perception: 16+4+3 = 23
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo, Sunny | Draíocht, Kholias | Eggo Lass, 100 Dungeons
Talorin Tebedi, Vecna: Eve | Cherry, Stormwreck | Chipper, Strahd
Let's Test Monsters! | We Are Modron
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 46, 2/13/25, Anima Christi
Eggo Lass looks upwards into the gloom, and with her superior darkvision, she spots a creature hidden above, which is obscured to others within the darkness. It is a large insect, fat and long like a maggot, whilst also having a bruised brown-and-yellow shell over it's pus yellow flesh. It has slumped it's coiling body about a chandelier, and she notices that it is looking down at the table, observing the corpses, it's large black compound eyes unmoving, and the tentacles around it's mouth gently twitching in suspense. From Eggo's particular Underdark experience, she know this beast is a carrion crawler; a beast that feeds on decay and rotten meat. She also knows three key facts about them: 1. They are scavengers, usually finding dead prey rather then going out to kill for the sole purpose of food. 2. They prefer to let their scavenged food marinate a while, until it is as putrid as it can get without fully decomposing, and usually observe this process patiently from a hidden, safe location. 3. Although they do not kill to eat, that doesn't mean they are harmless. In fact, they are far from it, being fiercely territorial when it comes to their food. Disturbing any of the filth would almost definitely cause the crawler to attack.

Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Sparkles: Aasimar Monk: Drakkenheim: What's in the Here and Now
Lith Ja’mas: Githyanki Sorcerer: Ghosts Of Saltmarsh
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist! and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
Sly tells the others, in between gasps for breath: "I believe these people perished upon ingesting some unknown toxicant. Though it begs a number of questions. How could they have thought it prudent to dine in circumstances such as these? What explains the absence of convulsions and attempts to rescue each other? I suspect foul play by the local necromancer."
Unwilling to sit down and perform a ritual in these circumstances, the wizard instead uses a quick flick of her wrist to renew the spell on her floating disk. It wouldn't do to let the emeralds and armor pieces be contaminated.
[By the way, I still have 9 temp hp noted and I forgot who gave them to Sly and if they're still active. Anyone know?]
BIlyur sees the bodies on the ground, and he sees that they have died of an unknown toxin. He will shift into his werebear form before crouching down to the bodies and taking a deep sniff, seeing if he can discern what the toxin would be. As he shifts, he says, "Might as well make use of this."
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
[They were from Sal’s Bear Spirit. Can’t remember how long they last but they’re definitely expired by now regardless!]
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Sparkles: Aasimar Monk: Drakkenheim: What's in the Here and Now
Lith Ja’mas: Githyanki Sorcerer: Ghosts Of Saltmarsh
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist! and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
Perception (With advantage from smell) [1,20]+4=24
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
Xarkris eyes the Carrion Crawler closely and grasps the handle of his Battle Axe tightly. “It had been a long time since I killed something”, he mutters thru clenched teeth.
Eggo Lass' eyes light up at the idea of extracting the toxin. Telepathically, so as to not disturb the crawler, she speaks a plan to each of the party, (What if we first went towards the doors at the end for distance. And then I could cast dancing lights in the form of a man so as to both entice the crawlers to defend its feast while lighting the way for the rest of you.)
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo, Sunny | Draíocht, Kholias | Eggo Lass, 100 Dungeons
Talorin Tebedi, Vecna: Eve | Cherry, Stormwreck | Chipper, Strahd
Let's Test Monsters! | We Are Modron
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 46, 2/13/25, Anima Christi