MALCHOR'S DARK HOUSE - SESSION 2

The party moved around the busted-out floor and into hallway and north, in twenty feet busting open a door on the west wall, and propping it with a spike. They flood into the room, and as the lantern sets within the 30' x 30' room (58) fully, it reflects on a 10-feet-in-diameter sphere on sawhorses in the center of the room. Three sections are on the floor. Gilleegan gets up inside the sphere, which has a crimson felt lining. He wedges himself up in there, as Leif and Arnor pick up the three missing sphere pieces on the floor, and replace them, with Gill still inside.When the last piece snaps in place, the sphere starts to hum, then it rises a bit and the top starts to open, flowering out, rising in the middle, and where Gill is sitting now still among the unseen machine works, pops and drops 300 sp, 1000 gp, a gold bracelet, and a brass ring with a curvy glass design on the outside. After collecting the treasure, the party tries the door to the south, but ultimately can't get it opened, so they go back to the corridor to the east and then move northward.

Places explored so far by party on Level 2 of Malchor's Dark House. This write-up starts at top right (53), and ends in room at bottom right (78). Note that on this map, up is south, down is north.

The party continues north where they can see a room opening up ahead after 20', but then go down a corridor to the west and then further down this corridor north where they come into a room occupied by two Bugbears (69). As if caught in the act of something, the Bugbears seem surprised as the light of the party's lantern hits their faces. They stand, huge, pumpkin-headed. The party looks about the room and sees long, white robes hanging on the walls, some hooks and stands about, chairs, a few cots. The Bugbears stare, their heads flaming.

Bugbear, as drawn in OD&D supplement, Greyhawk. Drawn by Greg Bell.

The party moves toward the door on the north wall, and the Bugbears leave the room to the SE. As the Bugbears are leaving, and before the party totally exits, a number of the white robes are snagged. On the back of the robes is the symbol of the Dawnbringer. Opening the north door, our heroes come into a room that's in a Furthermoor way, a Planetarium (71). There's a long flat table/model at center that holds a topographical map of Furthermoor, and also, in a gravity mobile Calder-style the Seven Kushy Moons are slowly revolving around it, held by a mechanical arm at the middle. Leif takes an interest in the moons, and studying them, notices how one is painted red, while the other six are grey. The most interesting part of the map, other than the moons, is the fact that the map not only shows known Furthermoor, but also has a bit into the land of Kush, west of the Wall of the Endless Edge. Many in Furthermoor have heard of this land's existence, though few believe it actually does.

Next, the party bust their way through the east door and spike it, and as they moved into the room (70) the atmosphere changes, as suddenly they're in a tropical setting, looking north at a beach, sand, waves lapping in... A bit suspect, the party sends Bogwater, on a rope, to enter the water, and after wading in a bit, Bogwater drops down about five feet under the water, and on the floor of the drop is a floor of bones, animal and humanoid. He picks about the bones for about ten minutes or so, but finds nothing of interest.

As others enter the water they do not feel the water, just the drop-off to the bones (except for Leif), so a rope walkway is made to make it to a door on the north wall, that originally looked suspended above the water. Bogwater, the first there, is able to push the north door open, and as the others arrive, and they open it further and light the way, they see into a 30' x 30' room (76) with two tables, both stacked with maps. Most of the party is eager to move on, either through the door at north or east, but Leif holds them up so he can study the maps, and after a good looking over, is able to surmise how each table carries similar maps surrounding a different location: that is, two main theoretical locations of where the Dawnbringer once landed, perhaps bringing Orcs to Furthermoor. The party snag a map from each table, and then bed down in the room, and decide on a watch at 8:40pm. Leif studies his spell book for two hours within this time, as the others fall asleep.

With no intrusions over the night, the party wakes and moves at 5 AM, relighting the lantern, and passing through the door to the north. They spiral about the corridors to the north a bit and Leif exclaims in Elvish, "This place is huge! (for a house)," then moving NW they come into a 30 x 30' room that has shelves lining the walls, all filled with trophies displaying a dog on the top. In the middle of the room (78) is a large version of what is seen atop each trophy, up on a post of about four feet: a gold-painted dog with big ears flopped down. At the base of the post, it reads: Toby.

Next thing the party knows, three Orcs come busting into the room from a door at the NW. Gilleegan attempts to lure them from the room, perhaps to chase him, but the Orcs stay put, perhaps over-confident, but sizing up the party and standing their ground with machetes. Gill then wraps around as if to talk with one, and then surprise slices an Orc, and battle ensues.

The second Orc blunders after swinging at Bogwater, missing, its machete sticking into the dog statue at the middle of the room. He is then promptly slain. After that it was number three that took Leif's "White Knife" to the throat, decapitation style, quick and easy and terrible, blood spewing all about the nearby dog trophies.

The party searches the three Orcs and finds 29 gp, a letter in orcish, and a fish w/ a green eye wrapped, as if for delivery. 

It's 6:00 AM.

MALCHOR'S DARK HOUSE - SESSION 1

Five characters congregated in the SE corner of Tino Rorschach's depot, that is, the namesake of the settlement, Nevergreen Depot. The characters: A human fighter named Arnor, an elvish ranger named Leif, a halfling thief named Gilleegan, a gnome cleric named Norman, and a gnome fighter named Bogwater. Gilleegan purchased a magic dagger from Tino for 50 gp. Otherwise, everyone gathered around the table while Kentley Oaks poured a few rounds of his brew, the Gremlin. Hilary Huckabee, a cabinetmaker who lives at the settlement, was also there. It was 4PM.

Speaking with Rorschach, Oaks, and Huckabee, the party hears stories of dark figures recently traveling through ND and down toward White Widow Abbey and Octopus Lake, also that undead have been recently seen more frequently outside of town to the west closer to the ancient barrows there. Ultimately however, the party becomes most interested in the historical figure of Malchor, a magic-user considered the founder of the settlement, and his now-abandoned house across the path from the depot (which sits next to the old stone tower, known to be the oldest structure here, dating back to the Great War with Fezco). Also, rumors have been going around the settlement that some orcs have been seen entering and exiting Malchor's Dark House.

After their second round, the party indeed decides to move out and explore Malchor's Dark House. As it is still light out, almost 5PM, the party eyes the double door entrance to the house, as well as boarded up windows, etc., and decide to move around the south of the house for a possible alternate entrance. As they are coming around the south wall, one of the gnomes (I believe it was Bogwater?) detects that the south wall here is unusually weak, though this cannot be seen. With this information, Arnor suddenly runs and jumps into the wooden wall with all his might, crunching through it fairly easily as it appears to give way, leaving a perfect hole where he traveled through it horizontally. He takes no damage (*20*).

As the others come through the hole, they see four dwarves in the room, standing there next to an altar, perplexed by Arnor and what just happened. Standing at a distance, the dwarves look on. The party tries to hire the dwarves, but are unsuccessful. The dwarves tell the party they have been here for some time, using this room as a base-of-sorts, and have made it down to the third level of the dungeon below the house. They also point out to the party, a mural on the south wall, now ruined by Arnor's hole. It was a mural of the Dawnbringer--related to an orcish religion--and therefore this room had been an altar room for worshipers.

Drawn by Randall (aka Bogwater)

Leaving the dwarves in peace, the party moves deeper into Malchor's Dark House, lighting Arnor's lantern. Moving into a spacious room with a few tables and some couches on the south wall, they notice some somewhat-recently prepared food rotting on a few plates atop tables, flies zipping about. The thought is that this ties back to the dwarves, and they move on to the east down a corridor. As it opens into another room they come upon 10 orcs, standing about, holding clubs and machetes.

While at first the party is fearful, and considers running, they hold their ground, and the orcs do not attack. Gilleegan decides to offer a few of the orcs a puff of his Rat's Meow weed, which ends up lightening the mood a bit, and while not making friends with the orcs, it does suspend any violent reactions, and eventually allows the party to move through the room without having to engage in combat. They move on to a hallway at the SE, which leads them to a staircase down.

Once down the stairs, and coming around a hallway into another room, the party comes upon five hobgoblins. The hobgoblins do not attack, and seem quite amused by the party, a few of them chuckling. Gill offers them a taste of his weed, but they seem to find it disgusting, and are not interested. They laugh, and look at one another as if they are in on a joke that the party is not privy to.

Leaving the hobgoblins, the party travels west down a corridor, where after a bit they come to a closed door. Opening the door, they enter a sizable room with a dusty statue at its center. It is a statue of a magic-user, in pose, and inscribed at its base, in human, reads: Malchor, the Greatest of All Magic-Users. Aside from the dusty statue, there is also a lot of mold in the room.

Noticing another door on the west side of the room, the party moves into another room, a library of sorts, with books broken up into various subjects: History, Alchemy, Geology, and Trees. Bogwater notices a book that interests him, The Dream of the Blue Mountain, pulls it down, and puts it with his things. Gilleegan finds and keeps, Creating Your First Potion. Leif takes Blisterwood Companion.

With doors at the north and west, the party moves west into a new room. There's an open hallway on the west wall, and strangely, there is a sizable bunch of mushrooms growing on the floor at the opening, but inside this room. Gill moves toward them, bends down, and investigates the shrooms, picks and pockets one, but ultimately, they appear to be common growth. Arnor, who has been leading the party, steps upon the shrooms moving toward the corridor, and suddenly the rotted floor gives way and he finds himself falling 10 feet onto a spike that deals 4 damage. Barely alive, the party pulls Arnor back up to the room with a rope, and then Norman casts Healing of Light Wounds on him, bringing Arnor a bit more health.

It's 6:40 PM

NEVERGREEN DEPOT

Nevergreen Depot is a small community in the southwestern part of Furthermoor. While its history goes back to a wizard named Malchor, its becoming a way station/supply station extends into now with Tino Rorschach and his amazing selection of supplies ("if you can think of it, we might have it").

In the SE corner of the depot building (1), Rorschach keeps an open tap going that's brewed by Kentley Oaks (9), who happens to be here now, hanging out. A woman named Hilary Huckabee is also here.

It's the 24th day of the month of the Hummingbird. 4PM.