Paul DMing; Scott: Smudge (shadar-kai rogue 8 / barbarian 2) and Martin (duergar cleric 10); Jake: Draxx Sklounst (human rogue 10); Sophie: Dill (hobgoblin sorcerer 10) and Scruffly (talking goat familiar).
Last time, the party defeated Shadeduzzaman and looted his corpse.
Smudge opens each of the doors leading out the round disco-beholder-illusion room.
Dill convinces the ogres in the southwest room to leave, since Shaheduzzaman is no longer alive to pay them.
Smudge opens the interior door and convinces the money-counting imp to take off (with one of the five treasure chests).
Smudge and Draxx pour some of the thick, battery liquid from the vat in Shaheduzzaman's workroom into the little figurine molds.
Draxx mage hands the lever in the long haul to the south of the round illusion room, and witnesses a lightning bolt crack at the end of the haul. Smudge plays with the lightning trap, vaporizing one of the little fungus statues. Draxx marks another of the figures ("X") and strikes it with lightning (to see perhaps find out later if the lighting is actually a teleporter to somewhere else).
Smudge examines two ledger books ("ACCOUNTS" and "REAL ACCOUNTS") in the money counting room, along with 20,000 gold pieces in chests. Smudge notices a false bottom in one of the chests, like a Chinese puzzle box. It will take a couple hours to open. Smudge empties the chest and takes it with him.
The party leaves Shaheduzzaman's lair and meets with the satyr village chief, Mr. Tumnus. Mr. Tumnus tells them that a legend among his people mentions a secret passage into the castle. He could show them the sacred texts.
Everyone decides to take the treasure and go back to the surface, briefly. They meet with Ootherion and report on their progress. Ootherion gives them a score of crabmen to take underground to excavate the sunken castle.
They visit Zoozeki in his under-construction tower, in a ring of standing stones south of Apemen City. Zoozeki knocks open the puzzle-box chest and finds a lavishly illustrated book with little text. Zoozeki suspects it's a protracted visual allegory that will take a long time to decode. They give Shaheduzzaman's spellbooks to Zoozekeki.
Zoozeki identifies all the magic items they found (see the treasure list from last session). Dill takes the Wand of Paralysis and a Potion of Healing (Greater). Smudge takes the "SHAHED-UZZEMAN" knuckle dusters of defense.
The party descends to the dungeon, taking the crabmen workforce with them.
Enemies defeated: none
Treasure: four treasure chests containing 20,000 gp and an illuminated manuscript
