Riddles & Rats
With the first wave of the Black Moon wiped out, the party progrssed down a set of stairs that led to the a series of rooms deep below the town of Wallowdale. For a gambling den, this seems to be an extensive structure with a variety of rooms. As they progressed deeper into the caverns the group found a small antechamber with a staircase leading up and an open archway.
Electing to investigate the archway first, the room opened up significantly and they found a slightly raised platform and two further open archways. Rasiu, the only member of the group who could see the deep darkness, began to make his way into the chamber. As he moved far enough for the first archway to possible to look through, the sound of a hand slapping against stone echoed out, followed by a grinding noise and a very final crunch of stone on stone.
Not entirely sure what had just happened, Rasiu moved slightly further forward, allowing him to see that the platform had a mark embossed upon on it:
Unsure of the meaning, Rasiu begins to move closer, only to be stopped in his tracks by a coming from further ahead. Faint at first, but quickly growing stronger, the glow of a fire billows out in the darkness, until it becomes clear to all of the party. Further ahead on the path stands a dwarf, though like no other dwarf you have ever seen before. His hair are made of rippling flame, pulled up into a crest above his head and his skin is made of some kind of bronzed metal. Clearly noticing the group, the dwarf turns and looks over with his eyes of deepest red, glistening like some kind of gemstone. Smirking to himself, the dwarf is looking through the other thing that could be seen - an open, oval portal through which can be seen a land of fire and ash. With the grin of someone who believes themselves superior to who they are looking at, the dwarf waves a hand and the portal closes once more.
In shock having never seen anything quite like this, the entire group pauses for a moment, before deciding to continue exploring the room that you found yourself in. Other than the exit to the portal room, you discover that the previously open passageway to the side is now blocked by an enormous stone door. Upon the door, a grid pattern with stylised images surrounded a five by five grid of depressible buttons.
As the party struggled to work out the trick to opening the puzzle, Paul delved deep into his memory to try and recall the trick to opening these doors. Though not something he had direct experience of working with, he does remember that the text on the outside of the door forms a key part of the puzzle. From behind the door, you can hear muffled voices and the more perceptive amongst you can just about hear the panicked words of those on the other side asking what they should do and informing someone that you were trying to get through the door.
As you continue to meddle with the locking mechanism and realise that there there is no way to pick or force the lock, the puzzle must be solved, one or two of you hear the clatter of a kicked stone from behind you. Snapping around, you're only quick enough to see that you have been flanked and a small group of mercenaries stand behind you with weapons bared. Getting off the initial volley, the mercenaries were led by a short, large nosed man with buck teeth who was quickly rushed by Atticus. Pinned in place by the hulking warrior, the man quickly realised that he was in trouble when the blade of the swordsman slid past his guard and carved a chunk of his flesh, something that was clearly a surprise to him. As the fight progressed, one of the the two archers with the man were quickly overwhelmed by Rasiu, and the buck-toothed man underwent a horrific yet familiar transformation.
As his muscles broke and reformed, his muscles bulged and reattached, the man's form shifted into that of a humanoid rat. This was no half measure as with the Guard Captain - this was a fully fledged transformation into a were-rat. However, the transformation was short lived as the party's panicked attacks pummeled the creature from multiple sides. The final blow was levied by Smitty, whose slow and purposeful walk led him to the creatures side before electrifying the creature so intensely the smell of cooked flesh was accompanied soon after by the minor explosion of the creature's head.
As the creature fell, however, something went wrong in the spell that Smitty had cast and, struggling to bring it back under control, the electrical energy rippling over his form, he vanished with a sizzle of his own, only to reappear 20 foot away atop the embossed sign. As the rest of the party went to deal with the remaining archer, Smitty's struggle overcame the spell's excess force and he realised that, for a short while at least, he could control this teleportation. Utilising this skill, he teleported to the other side of the door that had foxed them earlier, only to be mobbed by a group of mercenaries who seemed to barely know the correct end of their weapon to use. All the same, a blow was struck and damage done to the Sorceror.
While he was under attack, a growling could be heard from further back in the chamber, hidden behind the pillars present. coming around the corner, Smitty saw one of the meanest, sternest looking men he had ever come across:
Thinking quickly, Smitty cast a spell to put the three foes in front of him to sleep, before utilising his temporary teleportation ability to put him back on the other side of the door. Once through, a echoing, rumbling growl that develops into a fully fledged howl echoes through the corridors of this underground den.