I'd Buy That For A Goldpiece!

Vertram and Irgzid lead the party to the place where the troglodytes trade the Lords of Dread, slaves for shadow pearls. The room is carved by human hands, and ancient Olman drawings mark the entrance. The room is an inverted ziggurat, and the bottom most levels in the room are flooded. Ruined alters and collapsed columns form a makeshift bridge across the gloomy water.

The ghostly image of an ancient troglodyte priest appears. Irgzid calls out to his 'father' and says
that he has brought forth the heroes. The ghostly image tells the party that there is an artifact holding the Olman spirits captive, and the seas away. In order to drive out the Lords of Dread, the water must return to the depths of these caves and the Olman spirits freed. The party contines on its way, and Vertram returns to his village.

Further down, the party encounters another cavern where there are six of the petrified fish at the bottom of three vermin infested pits. Ruddy jumps down for a peek, and three very large Rhagodessas jump out and attackt he party. Nesta and Irgzid are quite hurt by the vicious bites, Daria and Gwyndelyn finish off two. The third holds on to take another satisfying bite out of Rudy. And eventually the third Rhagodessa falls. Daria finds the skeleton of a Kuo-toa in the bottom of the cave, after Ortho eliminates the vermin with a lighthing ball.

Exploring on, the group discovers the ruins of a giant underground city. Giant fungus and fleshy stone makup most of this bizzare scene. Abberant and unnatural, things are random jumble of freakish devilry. Three violet-glowing columns of fire burn from floor to ceiling in this giant chamber.

While examining the nearest violet column, a patrol group of four kopru and eight troglodytes. Rudy's eyes become a little glazed over as he turns from his original charge and throws his net at Vin. Persistant fire, applied to the kopru, free Rudy's not-so-agile mind. The patrol is quickly defeated after one well placed lightning strike from Ortho.

Attention returns to the violet column, and like a moth to the flame, Rudy swirls around it unable to take his attention from it. Hjalmgerdr's augury forecasts woe, Rudy takes damage by putting his hand in the violet flame. Not to be left out of the fun, Daria tosses a gold piece (won from an earlier bet with Rudy) into the column of fire. "I dare you to run through and pick that up". Unable to let it go, Rudy dashes in and promptly falls dead.

Shooting a couple of tied-off arrows into Rudy's mass, the party drags his body free. The party agrees to retreat, regroup, and return later. Maybe Rudy and Avner are sharing a toast at a bar in the afterlife.

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Session Characters: Ortho, Nesta, Rudolpho, Daria, Vin, Gwen, Hjalmgerdr
Session Loot: ring of evasion, 4 holy symbols of the Demogorgon (50 gp each).