Stackman's Adventures (Chapter five)

[bsftcs]

Mean Means of Treatment

Being the fifth chapter of Stackman’s adventures

In which Stackman gets his first real stack and in which the valkyrie performs her solemn duties as a valkyrie.

From the statue room the path lead to a round room with fresh dirt in the middle (The room south of room I at Xignal’s Site). Rising from the ground there five skeletons attacked the party. They were quickly killed, and the party turned to the right and walked south. Here they came upon another, similar room. To the east of there they came upon the mausoleum. In the rooms that lay in connection with the mausoleum the party came upon the local inhabitants: The Crypt Lord together with his entourage of skeletons and the haunted, always respawning spectre Rumphy whose respawning ability some distinguished Forum members have exploited to gain additional experience points (As explained by Crescent on Page four).

Back at the first round room the party went north to yet another round room (room I). After finishing off the welcoming committee the bard picked the level one lock on the door leading to a room on the left and looted the treasure there. The party then went to the east where there were two groups of interlinked rooms leading to two secret rooms

The two groups of interlinked rooms were connected by yet another hallway from which another hallway leads to the east. At the end of that hallway two flights of stairs descend left and right. These lead to the fabled rooms of the wizard and the warrior. The party soon met the spirit of the warrior wich, they knew from previous encounters, could not be hurt by magic but only by mélée attacks. When killed it dropped the crystal of the warrior. Then came the spirit of the wizard which could only be hurt by magic. It dropped the crystal of the wizard. Walking south to the warrior’s room (room K) the flight of stairs leading to a ledge there started descending into the floor. The assassin placed the crystal of the warrior in a receptacle on the wall to the right. This rendered the crystal of the wizard superfluous since only one of the crystals can be used. Comforted by the fact that their benefactor, Stackman, probably knew a workaround or two for that problem the warlock created a portal at the intersection between the wizard’s room and the warriors room while the barbarian walked the stairs to the small ledge and retrieved a small jindol situated in a pyre on the ledge. The party then paused for a while amused by an inconsistency made by the otherwise impeccable D.W.Bradley: It was the wizard’s jindol that had been placed in the warrior’s room (and vice versa).

The party then walked to the urn room (room L) where the wizard’s jindol was placed in the right urn thus opening the warrior’s path. Walking down the path the party came upon a room in which burned magic fires. Having been singed by the fires on several occasions the party recalled the smell of burning flesh that would normally saturate the room once they had finally come all the way through. Being of a magical nature the fires would still hurt characters with 100% fire protection. Knowing from the Tome of Legends the path one had to take through the fires (the walkthrough on the Wizard’s and Warriors CD 1 (D:\d6run\help\walkthrough)) the party yet chose another approach. Running full speed down the middle of the room they managed to wedge a carried crate underneath the portcullis before it closed. They went on and encountered a spectral knight which was no match for the barbarian’s two-handed axe. They also found the usual ankh of strength in a chest. Falling through a small hole the party found themselves on a small dock.

Not lingering long the warlock cast the teleport spell on the party, and they found themselves back at the intersection. (Usually a party would not have the sufficient level of moon magic to do this and would be forced to wait with the following procedure until after having completed the crypt). In a few minutes the party had gathered crates and barrels from the surrounding rooms and the members congregated in the wizard’s room (room J). Perched on the ledge in the room sat Stackman. He supervised the creation of a makeshift ladder of crates delighted by the fact that the party chose to stack their way up (As explained on Page seven (reply named ”Walking both the wizard's and the warrior's path in the crypt”.)) rather than simply walking over to the side of the room, looking straight up, pushing the “forward” button and jumping to the ledge (As explained by legendary Loumistro on the same page) which they had more than sufficient athletics skill to do. They reached the ledge and aquired the warrior’s jindol.

They walked the wizard’s path where they encountered a room with magic fires very similar to the one mentioned above. They also encountered a shrieking horror and founs an ankh of intellect.

Back at the dock the party looked around. Old crates and barrels were scattered around in no particular order, indicating that the dock had only been intended as a provisional storage facility. For some reason the goods inside the crates had not come any further. A small, partially collapsed jetty revealed the fact, that the crates and barrels had most likely been intended for a destination further down the moat. The adventurers started swimming in the moat. Some way down the stream they came upon two inlets to various basins. They also came upon a ramp, where the boats would have landed their cargo. End of the line. And not only for the packed up cargo, but also to people who had suffered from all sorts of mental illnesses and people who had been incurably ill with contagious diseases. This was the asylum. Here they had been left to rot with only each other and of the rats to keep them company in the dark and dismal sorroundings. Forgotten by the world of the living the inhabitants of the asylum – not really dead, not really alive – had had all the time in the world to get on each other’s nerves, indefinitely quarantined, not allowed to see the sun. And when the sickness had come upon the cemetery outsiders had begun to shun the asylum. With the crypt keeper’s dropping his keys on top of that, the constant supply of food and medicaments had suddenly been cut off. Confined by cold stonewalls and murky waters the inhabitants had been forced to feast on each other’s corpses.

Distraught by the plight of the last (living) inhabitants of the asylum the valkyrie woved to send their haunted remains to the great beyond. Walking through the asylum she had plenty of chances to do exactly that. Ghost, spectres, and ghouls were everywhere. In a corridor a rat skull was found. Together with a rat skull held by Rethpian this skull was the only one of its kind in the whole Gael Serran, and yet it served no purpose. This fact was what had sparked of an ancient myth that the lands of the Gael Serran and the events taking place therein had originally been intended to be more extensive, but was later limited by the almost almighty creator D.W.Bradley. The party pondered this theory for a while - dumbfounded by the thought that their universe could in any possible way have been bigger - not knowing they would find more evidence to support that theory later on.

The party went through the different levels of the asylum disposing of the undead they encountered. The party eventually came upon a stone bridge on which lay several skulls with burning candles on top. Puzzled they investigated further. It was well-known that the undead could cause damage to the living, but lighting candles… (A gesture which was known to ward off the undead) That seemed highly unlikely. The party turned right. There was a pool of water there. Seemingly a sewer. Any hope of exiting the asylum that way seemed thwarted since any advance that way was barred off. In the corridor leading from the bridge to the pool they party noticed a small button on the wall to the right of the remains of a skeleton hanging from the walls in shackles. Pressing the button produced a scraping sound.

To the left of the bridge was a ramp. Walking up the ramp and down a corridor, the party noticed an otherwise sealed up corridor to the north. The small button below had revealed this hidden area. Further down the corridor they came upon a room with a poisonous fountain. Curing the unfortunate bard of poison the zenmaster heard a sound emanating from the next room, which confirmed to the party that something other than the ghosts did indeed inhabit the asylum. Moving closer to the doorway the phenomenon became clearly audible. It was a short of breath voice murmuring: “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes”.

Secret rooms encountered:

The four interlinked rooms with coffins to the left of room J: In the third room clockwise (the room furthest to the northeast) there are two crates stacked in the northeastern part of the room. Pushing these crates aside reveals a button on the wall. Pressing the button reveals a secret room to the east next to the button. (The room just left of room J on the map).

The three interlinked rooms to the left of room K: On the easternmost part of the north wall in the room furthest to the right there is a button. The room just left of that there is also had a button hidden behind two crates on the south wall. Both these buttons open to the west a secret room with a similar shape as the secret room mentioned above.

In a corridor to the right of the stone bridge (on Scabban’s side of the bridge) there is a corridor with a shackled torso of a skeleton hanging from the wall. To the right of the skeleton there is a button. This button opens a secret passage to the north in the corridor leading from the east into room P.

[whiteknight]

way to go bsftcs....riverting to the end..keep it up m8..


whiteknight...