Session 03: Caves Under Mansions Report

 

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    Recap     They heard noises. Sace was first watch then Ziva.       This opened up into a sea cave, this is how the goods are transported in. In the jollyboat.   28. Sloping Passage The incline of the passage is perceptibly greater in this area. Coarse matting has been laid in places on the floor, negating some of the slope's slipperiness.     29. Stock Cavern The passage widens to the south at this point to form a small cavern. There are three bolts of cloth and five small casks in the middle of the floor, resting on a piece of coarse matting.     30. Sea Cave The passage leads into a cave that opens directly to the sea. The tide is out at present, and there is little water in the cave, but there is an obvious high-water mark three feet above the floor. Pulled up onto the sloping cave floor is a small boat, perhaps large enough for eight people, with oars, a step-down mast, and a neatly furled sail. A rope tied to the bow is being held down by a large boulder that serves as an anchor.     There was a jolly boat and a chest:  

Baggie of gemstones (carmelion and two moonstones.

Bronze crown

Silver & gold broach

Bag of money with 800gp

Potion of mind reading, potion of giant strength (ziva)

Bag of beans (10 dried beans) dump on ground and they explode. Plant it and then it will create an effect in a minute.

Bag with two stones (sending stones)

    Went back to the DANGER door.   23. Skeletons' Room The bar securing the door is easily lifted. The smugglers sealed this room after discovering the undead within.   Light spilling in from the large room behind you barely shows that the chamber is only about twelve feet across and the corners are filled with shadow. What little you can see is dingy and dirty.   After a while…   a faint blue light appears at the seam of the secret door to area 24. The light gradually grows brighter as the alchemist's remains reanimate after long decades. At a time of your choosing, the alchemist (skeletal alchemist; see appendix C) emerges through the secret door to assist the skeletons. When the alchemist enters the scene, read:   A hunched corpse wearing a pointed hat and dressed in a robe embroidered with mystic symbols crosses through the hidden door. Thin wisps of beard float from its bony jaw. It raises a finger, tracing arcane symbols in the air. In a hoarse voice, it speaks: "Secrets found and lost then found again. Your paltry minds cannot fathom..."   Treasure. The alchemist wears an empty bag of holding at the waist. One rib bone on each of the skeletons is dipped in gold and is worth 5 gp. The alchemist also carries a cursed luckstone (see appendix B).       24. Laboratory The secret door opens toward you to reveal a clutter of broken glass and earthenware piled on the floor beyond. Three small copper pots lie amid the debris.   As the party enters and sees the rest of the room, read:   A bench runs down the west wall of what seems to be a laboratory. On the bench are jars of powders and liquids and several pieces of chemical apparatus.   There is a table against the south wall, forming an L-shape with the bench. A book is open on the table.   Also on the table is a candlestick, with a tiny stump of unlit candle still in it, and a variety of other items that, even in the dim light, shine with the warmth of pure gold. One of these objects looks like a human skull.         Golden Objects. The objects on the table are made of pure gold—but were manufactured this way, not magically transformed. Although the characters might infer that they are the results of successful experiments with the philosopher's stone, the truth is that the alchemist had them crafted to deceive a potential buyer into believing that the stone was real.   The collection includes the following items:

• A human skull (20 gp)
• An apple (5 gp)
• A rose (5 gp)
• A set of five small discs (balance weights, 5 gp each)

    Treasure. The table holds small stacks of gold coins totaling 47 gp. Examining the table closely reveals a concealed drawer that contains the spellbook the alchemist used when he was alive. The book's contents include dancing lights, comprehend languages, Tenser's floating disk, and shatter. The chemical apparatus on the bench is worth 20 gp.      

• Cursed luckstone?
• Gold rib bone
• Golden human skull…
• Book -- secret of philosophers stone
• Alchemist spell book - bag of holding
• Gold Skull
• Gold apple
• Gold rose
• 5 small gold balance weight disks…
• 47 gold pieces
• Chemical apparatus (20gp)

    Go back up stairs --   3. Study This room was once a writing room or study. Against the wall under the windows sits a large wooden writing desk, partially broken and riddled with damp rot. There are three drawers in each side of the desk and a large central drawer; the latter is closed, but the others are all open—and two of them have been broken open forcibly.   The central drawer was locked. The drawer contained nothing but old, valueless documents, all written in Common—receipts for purchases of various chemicals and laboratory equipment. I uncovered a small secret compartment.   Treasure. Inside the secret compartment, wrapped in cloth, is a glass vial containing two potion of healing.   $$ 2 potions of healing $$   2. Library This room was once a library, with bookshelves around the walls. Most of the shelves are broken, and in many places they have come away from the wall. The few shelves still intact are empty, but a pile of books rests in the southwest corner. Dull history and poems.   The fourteen books in the heap untidily thrown into the corner are covered with cobwebs, vermin droppings, and harmless mold. All are partially ruined but are still legible. Most of the books are dull (histories, collections of romantic poems, and so forth), but three are quite noteworthy. These three books bear clear titles on their spines:   The Magical Properties of Gemstones by the archmage Tenser   The Magical Properties of Herbs and Flowers by the archmage Tenser   The Metaphysics of Mathematics by the mage Nystul   Inside the third volume lies a piece of parchment torn from a larger sheet, containing a few lines of handwritten text in the Common tongue. Dampness has spoiled it so that only two words are legible: "beyond skeletons."     $$ The Magical Properties of Gemstones. The Magical Properties of Herbs and Flowers. The Metaphysics of Mathematics 8 bolts of silk $$     We went back to town. The Snapping Line. Sold brandy for half. Sold 5 casks for 15 gp. I ordered a beer.   Eda Oweland returned and asked about Ned. We split 200 gp. The magical properties of flowers went to Ziva. We all got 2 bolts of the cloth.   Enda wants to discover what the big operation is. She offered a reward to figure out how to and where things are coming in. The plan was to take towns guard up and down the coast and they'll report to us. We are to stop ships. 400gp to stop the ship. Given 2 guards for convoy.   Some "potential" for philosopher's stone, but it seems the items were dipped in gold to give the illusion.