Sat Jan 7 17:55:29 EST 2023 Ed DMing. Me, Anthony, Scott, Steve. Last time (back in October!) we teamed up with the golemologists to try to speed run under the mountain, and ended the session after killing a bunch of bandits in a cave. We're through the mountain! We level up! Zoozeki advances to level 9 (though we don't stop the session to rejigger our characters). We found the notebook from the one-shot(s) group. It has a map that shows a lake in the mountains and a dungeon map. We scout around, and go there. Smudge falls on the stairs and gets weird moss stuck to his hands. Zoozeki takes a sample of the paralytic moss. We explore. We check out the four metal statues (which the one-shot party did not, apart from determining they radiate transmutation magic). Smudge tries twisting the bronze statue a little. Steve and Anthony help, and they're able to rotate it on its plinth. Martin casts _reduce_ on the short sword held by the statue, and they're able to remove the sword. The kitchen, etc., are unoccupied not dusty. There's no fresh food in the pantry, but scullery shoggoth is here! Zoozeki introduces himself to the shoggoth. The shuggoth is Oog-Liquer of the Outer Wasted. The shuggoth is not entirely content with the new masters. The new masters are young-looking and have not aged since they arrived 90 years ago. Zoozeki invites the shoggoth to join the party. The shoggoth tell how Ansel and Becka of the forest folk (the human-appearing childred) took over after the dinner party disaster, after the old master's (the kenku) brain went feeble. Ansel and Becka have been trying (and failing) to figure out Volkmar's (the kenku's) machine ever since. The shoggoth has only stayed because it has no experience of the outside world. We decide to kill the evil kids before we leave. We go to the bedroom, then into the vault, both of which we found unlocked. Smudge leaves his familiar outside to keep watch. Smudge decides we should block light as we open the door with magical darkness. Apparently, we all become stupidly clumsy and fall all over each other while trying to walk three steps in darkness. JFC. Zoozeki take 7 accidental damage from someone's sword. Sigh. Anthony's orc charges out of the darkness to engage the two evil children. Both of the children have two joysticks hanging around their necks. Steve/Christabelle charges in and deals massive damage. The evil boy is dismembered, but he hits some buttons on his joystick as he goes down. Smudge's familiar reports that the silver statue is quickly approaching. Zoozeki shuts and _arcane locks_ the vault door. She shoots a lightning bolt at Smudge, Christabell, and Anthony's orc. Anthony's character kills her. Christabell picks up the boy's controller, and mashes all four buttons. The pounding from outside the door diminishes. He does the same for the other three controllers. The pounding stops. (These are clearly controllers to summon the statues.) Zoozeki casts _identify_ on one of the controllers. Pressing all four buttons is an emergency stop/start/summon function. The buttons can be pressed individually or in various combinations to perform certain moves, not all of which are clear from _identify_. Looting time in the workshop. Zoozeki grabs a brazier that radiates summoning magic. There's also a shield with a mechanical mount faintly radiating evocation. Also a helmet with enchantment magic. We burn the bodies of the evil children.