Below Tarheel

“Below Tarheel”
Rise of the Runelords episode
Episode no.	Episode 64
Date	2009
Game Master	Abbe
Characters	Gloriana Honeypot Nell Velicia
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "Kaer Maga" "Return of Ironbriar"
Rise of the Runelords chapter list

In this chapter being guided through the lower regions of the city the heroes find the Split Street gang.

Below Tarheel

We cut the celebrations short to try to get to the hideout before they had too much time to prepare. The dwarf showed us a way down below the district called Tarheel to the entrance of the complex, but turned back there. I sent Kaven with him to make sure he got back. I told him to wait for me at the inn.

Honeypot cast some rituals before we entered. Telepathy and resist energy surge. There was some discussion as the second one was very expensive, but the sword we were looking for was a burning sword so I thought that protection from fire was a sure bet. I said that I decided that we should cast it as the leader of the troupe. They all accepted that.

We opened the door and found a room with white marble floor and walls. It was magically lit and very bright. There was a raised basin with fish in. We went in, Velicia leading the way, and I jumped up and walked along the edge of the basin. Honey followed me.

As we continued down the room we were suddenly attacked by crossbow bolts being shot from the left wall. We couldn't see the crossbowmen as they fired from a dark room through slits, but Velicia suddenly disappeared as she teleported away. There were noises of a fight from the other side of the wall. Honeypot urged me on and I ran along the edge of the basin tumbling of the end and landing in front of the door in the far end of the room and opened it. I was almost surprised that it wasn't locked when they had set up the ambush with the crossbowmen. I went into the corridor beyond, leading right and left, and noticed a hidden door on my left side as I stealthily took position next to it. Honeypot and Gloriana followed me out into the corridor. Gloriana looked worried and hurt with several wounds from crossbow bolts, but Honeypot helped her. I opened the secret door hiding behind the door and suddenly stabbed the crossbowman inside in the throat. He had been ready to shoot anyone entering but never got off his shot. Further inside was a cramped corridor filled with crossbowmen, a woman armed with two scimitars, a leader for the troops and Velicia fighting them.

Honey and Gloriana downed another of the crossbowmen and Velicia teleported out to us others. She brought a crossbowman with her and he got stuck between me and Honeypot, but almost immediately she teleported back in again. The crossbowman was distracted by Honeypot as I stabbed him in the back. He was dead before he hit the floor. After some magic from the others the remaining gangers gave up. Velicia told them they could leave if they went straight out and didn't come back. They agreed and as we led them out we started talking to them and they mentioned that they were put there to guard the entrance while Tirana was casting a big important ritual. As we were distracted the woman armed with the two scimitars suddenly ran away along the corridor and around the bend ahead. I followed as quick as I could into the next room, which was more like a cave, but she had disappeared. I quickly retreated back to the others, but had time to notice a small devil and lots of lightning in the cave.

I told the others and Velicia asked what kind of devil it was and I told her it was a red one. From my description the others called it an imp. We escorted the rest of the gangers out and the leader, who had been the one to give up, told us it was foolhardy to run like that in the trapped corridors of that place.

When they had left we gathered our strength and took a right turn in the corridor, following the one that got away, into the cave. I was looking for any possible traps. We tried to sneak in to surprise the little devil. It had made itself invisible and tried to hide, but I noticed where it was and got a little carried away forgetting to sneak. It chattered about it being king of the cave and that we had to bow and give it all our magical items. It probably felt pretty safe. Therefore it was quite surprised when I shouted "Then have this!" as I threw my dagger straight into its chest, wounding it heavily. It only coughed blood as a reply as I retreated back around the corner and hid to prepare another surprise attack. I heard the sound of lightning and could smell it in the air. Honeypot helped me by blinding it with her fairy dust magic. I then stealthily moved into the room and threw my dagger once more, this time straight into an eye, instantly slaying the little demon.

We could see a small pile of treasure it had collected. It was surrounded by walls of lightning that looked pretty dangerous. Honeypot jumped over it and collected a magical sickle and a magical scale armor

The tentacle beast hiding in the pool.

A rough tunnel led us to a door. It led into a room with a big basin with strangely glowing water. Bridging the basin was a large metal machine with lots of big pipes leading to it. In the right end was a control panel. Velicia went in to scout when I noticed something stirring in the water. No one else saw anything. I tried to describe it as Black Magga but a little smaller. The other weren't fond of that description. Velicia continued but I hid in the doorway. It still didn't attack so she went up to the control panel. That made it move. I was prepared to throw a dagger at it waiting for it to break the surface. But what happened next wasn't what I expected. Honey ran up to the basin and dove in, changing shape as she did. Then she swam around among the monsters tentacles, totally confusing it and making it swim around so violently it burst out of the water and ended up on the floor in front of me. In surprise I threw my dagger. It lashed out at Honey with a long tentacle and hit her hard. Gloriana cast her magic from the tunnel. I threw my dagger again and went back up the tunnel and hid. I heard Velicia charging it but her confident voice was soon filled with pain. The others shouted that it had grappled her and tore at her hard. I charged back into the fight and we attacked it from all sides. I moved close and stabbed it hard close to its eye. It flailed about and as I followed up the attack it threw Velicia in front of my attack but luckily I didn't stab her. Being off balance my third stab also missed. It continued to flail about and one of its tentacles hit me felling me to the ground. Honeypots dance helped us keep it surrounded and after a long fight I finally stabbed it near the mouth. All tentacles fell to the floor and it slid like a giant jellyfish back into the basin it came from.

We caught our breath and searched the room. We didn't find anything new so we concentrated on the control panel and the machine. Velicia used her magic to try to see what happened when she pulled the levers. I used my experience from traps to tell her how the controls related to each other within the control panel. honey looked for changes in the basin and Gloriana watched some magical flows. Together we finally turned off the machine. Honeypot swam around in the water and though it was impressive I thought that the water really looked poisonous.

We continued through a new corridor. to our right there was a room with big strange paddles that could move around. This was probably what the dwarf had meant with rotating knives. I slunk between them and looked out the opening beyond. It was in the middle of the cliffside below the town, overlooking the country side. I went back and joined the others.