Chapter 51
Having returned to the other side of the vast cavern of boiling, corrosive mud, the companions investigate the one-way turnstile. Dolor’s skill with locks and mechanisms doesn’t reveal any way to reverse the direction and allow them through. He turns to Gven, “Looks like we do it your way.”
The muscular barbarian approaches the turnstile, plants her feet solidly on the rocky earth, grabs hold of the bars, and begins to push with all her might. There’s a bit of movement, but she can’t quite break it loose and lets go in frustration. A beam of blue-white light erupts from Mond’s hand, freezing the center of the mechanical device in the hopes of making it brittle and easier to break. Gven grasps the bars again, joined this time by Dolor, and together they’re able to slowly move the revolving barrier several inches before something snaps and it breaks free. The half-orc slumps to the floor in exhaustion and then gradually pushes herself up to stand, ready to move onward through the obliterated gateway.
Meanwhile, enamored by his new, magical battle hammer, Bilwin holds it closely and stares intently at its intricate carvings, divining the object’s identity. Speaking softly to himself, “This hammer is named Whelm and was forged a very long time ago to strike back at the giants who invaded its creator’s home. It will give me an advantage when attacking and increase the damage, but, wait a minute, it’s afraid of being outdoors. It’s agoraphobic! Oh, this is nice…when I strike the ground with the butt of its handle, it sends a shockwave at my enemies. And it reveals secret doors. That’s handy.”
The companions pass through the room where the four remaining golems are motionless in a corner. Dolor suggests they return to the room with the hanging orbs to rest. With only a single door, they can secure the room and rest with some assurance to their safety.
Entering the room where the nine orbs hung from the tall ceiling, Grindlefoot notices the broken glass covering the floor. Wanting to tidy up the place, the druid casts Gust of Wind to push the debris into a corner, out of their way. Unexpectedly, the gust is so strong that the smaller pieces of glass and dirt fly up the wall, hit the ceiling, and come rushing back at the group. Having entered the room behind the halfing, Mond takes the brunt of the naive assault, leaving several small cuts on his face and exposed skin. Exasperated, the half-elf harumphs and then sits against a wall and closes his eyes. “I’m taking the last watch.”
Long rest….
Waking after several hours of uncomfortable sleep, the group breaks their morning fast with dry rations before navigating their return to the sphinx’s junction. The beast opens one eye to silently note their passage, but doesn’t offer any commentary as they turn into the center corridor, the only one yet unexplored.
Halfway down the thirty foot long passageway, they encounter a small round room to the right. Beneath the foot of water covering the floor, they can see a deeper pool within the cubby. Bilwin retrieves a copper from his leather purse and concentrates for a brief moment, the coin begins to glow. Tossing it into the pool they can see that it’s close to ten feet deep and at the bottom there is some sort of circular mechanical structure.
Mond pontificates, “I venture to guess that wheel is attached to a valve somewhere, which might drain this water we’ve been mucking aboutin.”
Dolor volunteers to investigate further and removes most of his clothing and belongings, setting them on the floor. The tiefling wades into the pool, takes a deep breath, and dives below where the others can see him attempt to turn the wheel. He returns to the surface in defeat.
Gven vounteers to try next, undresses to her smallclothes and takes the tiefling’s place in the pool. Her second attempt is successful, she’s able to turn the wheel several revolutions. Off in the distance, they hear the sounds of gears shifting and pipes rattling. As the half-orc returns to the surface, the foot of water in the corridor drains away, leaving a thin layer of wet grime on the stone floors.
With Gven and Dolor clothed and armed once again—and dry, thanks to Bilwin’s Prestidigitation—the adventurers continue northward in the passageway. The end opens up into a large square room, easily sixty feet between each side. Most of the room is filled with gunk-covered water and appears to be roughly fifteen feet deep, at least from what they can see through the muck. On the opposite side of the room, in the northeast corner, an opening leads to another corridor continuing north. In the middle of the eastern wall, to their right, is an opening that appears to be an adjoining room. In the most northern corner of the eastern wall, is a door. From where they stand, in the middle of the southern wall, a ten-foot wide ledge follows the wall to the western wall, where it turns towards the northern wall and provides a path to the far passage. Looking closer, Mond notices that the ledge has a six-foot section missing along the western wall, making the way more difficult.
“Looks like there’s only one way to avoid swimming.” Bilwin gestures to their left and Dolor begins to lead them around the side of the room.
As they reach the southwestern corner of the room, Grindlefoot notices that the seaweed-like gunk floating on the water seems to be moving purposefully. “Hmm, that seems odd.” Abruptly, two creatures with lengthy tentacles burst from the water, spraying the companions with water and bits of vegetation.
The half-orc barbarian is the first to react and invokes her rage before drawing Tempest Edge to attack. The first strike glances off a tentacle while slicing a sizable chunk of the creature’s flesh. Her second swing is so perfectly executed, the blue greatsword flashes brilliantly and emits a deafening thunderclap as it severs the last eight feet of a tentacle.
Standing to the side of the doorway they entered, Mond points his open hands at both beasts and a thin sheet of flames bursts forth. The magical fire consumes each of the creatures, causing them both to screech in pain.
Dolor pulls Gleaming Blade from its scabbard and rushes forward, slashing an uninjured tentacle of the closest creature. Blood spews from the wound as the rogue backs away to supposed safety.
The first creature, injured by Gven’s greatsword, turns its eyes toward the barbarian and she suddenly feels a strong desire to enter the water. As she begins to take a step, she’s able to shake off the strange compulsion and resets her feet solidly on the rocky ledge.
The second creature targets Mond, lashing out at the sorcerer with its slime-covered tentacles. Barely in time, the half-elf throws up a magical shield to protect himself and the lengthy appendage is unable to reach its target.
Grindlefoot feels that he might be the best help to the group from a vantage point along the higher ledge on the western wall. He follows the walkway to their left, sprints to the southwest corner, turns right, and gathers speed to jump the six-foot gap. The three-foot-tall halfling barely makes it far enough to grab the ledge with his hands, but the sweat on his hands and the slime on the stone prevent him from getting a grip. He falls into the water below.
Meanwhile, Bilwin’s new hammer, Whelm, is speaking to him telepathically. “Come on lad, let’s get ‘em! ‘Ey might not be nasty giants, but they be hurtin’ yer mates and we no gonna stand for that. Get in there!”
The dwarf wields the battle hammer with a new ferocity, unseen when attacking with his hurdy-gurdy case. Targeting the closest beast, Bilwin wallops the thing on what he thinks is its head. At the same time, a ghostly beer stein appears floating next to him. It flashes for a brief moment, joining the attack, and its spectral blow of force is the final thing the creature feels in this world. The dead beast slowly begins to float off to the other side of the room.
Still raging, Gven swings her greatsword at the remaining beast, lopping off another tentacle and creating a rather large hole in its body.
Mond’s hands are still extended in front of him, facing the beast, and a misty spray propels towards the creature. Enveloping its body, the companions—except for Grindlefoot, who is currently under water—watch it begin to dissipate from the poison, its flesh dissolving into the water.
The companions hear a voice from the west side of the room, “Can someone help me up? This water is nasty. Doesn’t feel natural at all.”
Once Grindlefoot is pulled from the water, Bilwin gestures with a hand and the halfling’s clothes rustle briefly and magically dry out. The group continues northward along the west wall. Everyone—including the halfling this time—successfully cross the six-foot gap and they make it to the opening in the northeast corner. Peering into the passageway that goes due north, they see a door twenty feet in front of them. Making their way into the hallway, they come across another door set in the wall to their right.
Bilwin gestures towards the side door, “Shall we?” Without waiting for a response, typical of the dwarf, he opens the door inward. From the doorway, they can see a passageway extends to the east, probably sixty feet long with a closed door at the end. The group stands around the door looking perplexed, curious about the spinning tube that runs most of the hall’s length. The cylinder is thirty feet in diameter, allowing any of them to fit inside, but is rapidly spinning clockwise, making the journey through quite difficult. There are black and white stripes painted diagonally inside, giving it the appearance of the spinning pole found outside the storefronts of more affluent barber-surgeons.
Dolor, ever the optimistic rogue, is the first to attempt traversing the revolving tunnel. Stepping into the cylinder with the intention of immediately jumping forward, his foot encounters a slippery substance and the tiefling ends up prone with the tube pushing him to the left side. They hear a sound, ‘pa-ching’, and something shoots out from a wall to land inside the spinning cylinder. As soon as it touches, the floor bursts into flame, singeing the rogue. More than halfway through the tube, Dolor is able to continue rolling towards the other end, eventually falling out of it onto the solid rock floor.
He breathes a sigh of relief, “If it’s not a rope it’s something else.”
Thanks to his Boots of Striding and Springing, Bilwin is able to easily leap through the revolving tunnel to join Dolor. The dwarf graciously offers the tiefling his hand to help him rise to his feet.
The rest of the party decides to remain on the original side of the spinning cylinder until Bilwin and Dolor investigate the door at the end of the passageway. The tiefling picks the locked door and opens it slowly to what appears to be a storage room full of dried goods, preserved meats, and several empty casks. Lying on the floor is a loudly snoring, unkempt dwarf.
Dolor observes, “That hardly seems worth the effort.”
Meanwhile, Gustaf continues to update his map of their journey through the temple. “So many interesting things to record!”
