D&D with Ed, Scott, and Steve ======================================== Sat 20 Feb 2021 06:10:48 PM EST Last time we found a flaming magic sword and pursued withdrawing hobgoblins. Back to banquet hall. Zoozeki reaches around inside fireplace chimnies. One of the chimnies turns strangely horizontaly; it's a fake chimney that narrows. Zoozeki sends spider familiar down chimney. Narrows for some ways and curves, like a musical instrument. No soot. Comes out into a 80x20 room filled with rotting torture implements. Ah, this is the same room the door behind the tapestry in the dining hall opens into. Smudge opens door, then opens door further north in torture room. Big black globe/orb (six foot) with truncated base in the next room. Highly polished black stone walls. Very cold. Human skins on walls. Smudge explores. The black orb is a throne. A human-ish figure wearing armor with a sword across knees with glowing eyes (undead?) sits on the throne. "I see you have my sword. Put it back." It starts to stand when Smudge tries to grab its sword with _mage hand_. Zoozeki vomits _web_ on the figure. It's not restrained by the web. The sword tells Christabell it isn't worth fighting him and we should just leave. We withdraw. He tries to magically command Christabell to leave the sword, but she saves. Zoozeki wishes he knew _arcane lock_. We retreat to dining call, and investigate double doors. To the east a small room with a carpet and curtains hanging over alcoves or doors to north and south. Under the carpet, Zoozeki finds a trap door. Behind north curtain, Smudge find stand for armor. Behind south curtain, a short passage to an iron-bound door. Delicious smells coming from trap door but not audible sounds. Zoozeki oils hinges, and open the trap door a crack. Ladder down to a passage that runs west. Smell of cooking chops. Smudge opens door to south with mage hand, and feels a prick to himself that bleeds. We leave, and go back to the river. The boat is not there yet. We go back to the village. Zoozeki find Reginald the one-legged knight. He'll make his own way to the Yellow City. We go to the river. Zoozeki casts _tiny hut_ near the river. Everyone rests while waiting for the boat. We get a full rest. The boat still isn't back. We head north on food. Zoozeki leaves a _magic mouth_ at the boat landing telling them to find us walking north. We take another long rest. Martin prays for _protection from poison_ and casts it on Smudge's nose. Smudge still feels like he has something in his face crawling near his eye. Zoozeki _detects magic_ on Smudge's head, senses something under his eye (enchantment). Zoozeki casts _dispel magic_ on Smudge's head. A glowing worm erupts from under Smudge's eye, then burrows back in. Zoozeki casts _displel magic_ on Sudge's head again, while Christabell stands by with a magic dagger to dig it out. It works. Zoozeki saves glowing worm in vial. We take boat north. Captain tells us what happened. Hina found her ex-boyfriend, and wants us to go kill him. So, we take the east fork. The next day, we arrive at the river-side town. A Wild West-like town. Bromwich is the name of the town. We find the boyfriend playing cards at the saloon. Zoozeki incapacitates him with Hypnotic Gaze, and Smudge stabs him. Shit kicks off. Christabell cuts one of the boyfriend's henchmen into two smoldering halves. One of the boyfriend's henchmen drags him out the back door. Zoozeki casts _dissonant whispers_ on him, dealing 23 damage. He survived, and ran away. Everyone gives change out the back of the bar (Zoozeki at a leisurely pace). Christabell chops his head off. A guard appears, but Christabell intimidates him into leaving. Back to the ship. We cut free the boyfriend's sleek black ship, and tow it away with us.