To the Portal we go
Party: Tashina, Freyja, Dexter, IronAle, Blue DM: Seph
This was my first adventure and so I followed the first group that gathered. This particular party was full of ambition, it was clear that they were quite excited at the prospect of completing this quest. The objective was simple, we would return to a magical red door, go through, clear the dungeon and bring back the large chest that was spotted on a previous adventure.
Within about half a days travel we approached an unholy altar. The sandstone structure had a solid sheet of red energy on one of its sides, this was the red door. Apparently it normally would oscillate and so the fact that the energy field was whole worried us.
Nonetheless, we stepped through appearing in a dungeon. The door instantly disappeared as red runes inscribed on the wall before us started glowing. We were trapped. Dexter began trying to translate the inscriptions in the hopes of finding a way out. I went further down one of the long corridors to stand watch.
Suddenly the ruins stopped glowing. The only thing illuminating this small dark space was the phosphorous mushrooms. A chimera ran out of the dark winding hallways to attack me. Its heads roared. Terror took a hold of me.
I dodged to the other side of it and began beating it from behind. My allies squeezed through the small hallway and engaged it. Rather quickly, Freyja dealt the final blow. Through DeeDee’s eyes, Dexter saw a threat further down the hall. His familiar was in trouble and within an instant he told us it was killed. I ran down the hall but was significantly faster than my allies. I made it too far from them and was surprised to see a troll towering above me as I rounded a corner.
The troll knocked me out. I saw stars for an instant before everything around me faded, collapsing.
Doe an Ogre, a Male Ogre..
I woke to see an Ogre towering above me, its hands moving away having just been in my mouth..
Although I was prepared to fight, seeing Dexter sitting 20 or so ft away I slowly backed up. It could easily kill me and it seemed as though hostile action was unnecessary. The party joined us moments later. IronAle and the beast began speaking a common language. It turns out the Ogre named Doe was friendly. It simply wished to join its siblings Dee and Dum. He healed me because I was cute and he enjoyed my hair.. In an odd turn of events I ended up giving it a trim.
Chest and Exit
We explored the dungeon further after fully translating the entrance message. It was a warning of sorts. The corridors in this dungeon were constantly winding and turning. It seemed like an endless maze! We found a room that led to many other places but our desire to explore was null. Luckily this is where the chest had been abandoned by the previous party.
In a room parallel to the room with the chest we found a red crystal in a heart like shape. The crystal hummed and glowed in a fashion similar to that of the door. We were right in assuming that this was a key, it served as a sort of handle but alas after turning it it shattered. It seems like it reopened the door ephemerally as a quick exit. We wasted no time and promptly left, carrying the chest on Dexter’s floating disk.
To Broc’s House
We exited in a different location than where we had entered. Confused we began making our way towards Broc Lee’s property so that Doe could be reunited with his siblings. During our travel we encountered a Lion and a Wolf, Blue the druid studied their shapes. We also met an alchemist who turned invisible as a result of a complex experiment. He may be invisible permanently.. He helped us open the chest at a price of 10% of the contained treasure.
The chest contained many gems and coin. We made it to the Bugbear’s estate shortly after, paying his fee in copper. He is terribly ill but gathering a beholder eye stock could heal him. Doe was extremely angry after finding out his siblings had been killed by adventurers because they were infected. He kicked Jerry over the wall enraged. We rested here safe behind the walls.
Homeward
We journeyed back home rather uneventfully, encountering battle fields where Kobolds and Gnoll had fought. We also spotted a burning building some miles away at night. The most worrying of our finds was the discovery of sacks filled with door knobs and other door building material. This was a clear sign of the presence of Eziekiel the mad door master.
We made it back safe and sound.
-Antonio