The Mad Nursery

"Which way should we go?" Jorgen asked impatiently.

"We could see what is beyond the hallway to the east.  Maybe it leads to something interesting." Santrel said.

"I say we try the one to the north," Fanara countered.

"Stop the fighting you two," Casia suggested. "Lets take the door to the north."

Jorgen approached and found no traps but the door was locked.  He tried the three keys that he had collected but none of them worked in this lock.  He then pulled out his tools and began to attack the lock to open it.  It took several attempts but he was ultimately successful. Opening the door he found another tunnel with stairs headed up.

The party headed up the stairs as Jorgen could see the opening into a chamber in the distance he also saw approaching a miasmal cloud of black smoke or gas roiling across the floor at him.  Casia, always cautious headed back to Maraslova's room.

"Everyone back here lets not fight it in the tunnel."

Wisps of gas roiled the air around Jorgen as they approached.  Suddenly the very tips of the tendrils coalesced into razor-sharp talons and claws. These weapons attacked and grappled Jorgen drawing him into the central gaseous mass.

The rest of the party reacted, not in Casia's method, but by moving forward.  Fanara attacked with her hammer and Amadeo moved right up next to the gaseous mass. Santrel tried a magic missile but it fizzled leaving his hands.  Milos moved up just to provide healing if needed.

Casia moved to rejoin the battle, admonishing the party for not following her. Jorgen felt his blood, tears and other vital fluids being sucked out and Amadeo ended up in a similar fashion, being drawn into the roiling mass.  The battle continued as Fanara kept attacking, Santrel successfully fired a magic missile but no one else could get close to the battle.

Neither Jorgen nor Amadeo could break the hold of the monster which kept siphoning off their fluids and later the fluids splattered against the wall of the tunnel, expelled from the monster. Even with minimal offense the party was finally able to overcome the creature, though Jorgen and Amadeo were weakened.  Milos provided Restoration for the two as the party healed up before heading to the next chamber.

Milos moved first to the edge of the next chamber and was surprised to see half a dozen small children racing about the cavern, howling playfully. The chamber was formed from an impossibly huge natural 
chimney. A single staircase cut into the side of the chimney spiraled upward along the walls, disappearing into the darkness overhead. A tremendous stone stage crafted from a single massive stalagmite whose top was sheared off stood in the center of the room's boulder-strewn floor. An elaborate, concentric pattern of runes was carved into the top of the stage.

The children did not seem to notice the party so Fanara and Jorgen led them toward the spiral stairs. Just as they approached the bottom of the steps a huge spider appeared. The dark blue arachnid reared up on its six hind legs to raise its barbed and razor-edged front claws.

As Fanara moved forward she was bit by the spider as she neared it. Her attack did not succeed in full damage. Then the spider attacked Fanara with her claws.  In addition to doing damage Fanara was shocked as her armor was torn from her body and dismantled, falling to the ground. 

Next to the parties surprise one of the children transformed into a knobby-kneed, stunted humanoid, with a particularly thick beard and wild mane of hair that hid most of its body from view. It moved to position itself between Amadeo and Milos, attacking but missing Milos.  The long wild constantly writhing and twitching. The long hair reached out and began tugging at clothes and weapons, tangling feet and arms, tickling, and generally making a nuisance, toward both Milos and Amadeo.  They shrugged off the effect.

Amadeo then attacked the creature but again did not damage it to the full extent of the attack. Two more children transformed and began to move toward the party, one broke into hideous laughter which jangled in the ears of the party.  Jorgen began to move away from the spider but was bitten as he left, feeling a withering and weakening of his body. Another child transformed and moved toward the group. Casia moved toward the spider to attack but was missed from the opportunity assault. Milos' scimitar burst into flame and he attacked the hairy monster.  Santrel cast a fireball using his Intense Spell Admixture on the Spider and two nearby hairy monsters. One of the transformed children died in the blast.

Finally the final two children became monsters, they moved toward the party and one of them laughed and Santrel was stunned at the sound of it. Fanara kept fighting even though she was missing her armor. She now felt the withering and weakening of her body. The spider kept up its attacks now not having to strip Fanara's armor.  Casia attacked but the damage was not full. Finally Fanara identified the creature as a Bebilith which had damage reduction against all but good weapons. Amadeo and Milos were busy with several children and Santrel stood still. The children's attacks were of little effect and the hair was never more than irritating.

Later in the battle Casia was bitten and began to feel the weakening effect and then her armor and shield were peeled from her body and dismantled on the floor. Milos provided healing to the party, Santrel came to and cast a magic missile and then was stunned again at the laugh of a child.  The party's attacks against the children were being reduced somehow and Fanara finally identified them as Korred, fey creatures, that were fully damaged by cold iron.

The battle was getting dicey as Jorgen's body continually became weaker even as he kept charging the Korred and now using his cold iron dagger he was more successful. Amadeo's cold iron rapier bit into the Korred also. Even without their armor Casia and Fanara stayed alive to defeat the spider and the rest of the party finished off the Korred.

The group gaped as they saw the armor on the floor, it did not appear to be broken and Santrel was sure he could mend them. But they needed healing first. 

DM's Notes: This session earned the party 3,600 XP.