With the death weaver dead and its webs unwoven, Alpha Company takes a brief respite in the altar room of the crystal key clutching bird. Rather than backtrack to Phlouwurz the Skeletal Necromancer’s lair to try out the three keys in the podium’s keyholes, the party elects to explore onward through a formidable door to the west. Nala botches her boots of lockpicking. Scram, always the imitator, suffers the same. Tango simply picks the lock, fortunately yet undamaged.
The door opens right into Phlouwurz’s lair. Too easy. Key bearing Snory inserts each key into its color matched keyhole. Snory, Nala, and Moth simultaneously turn the three keys while Tango and Ssatschia cover them in case anything hostile is released, or in case any key turner refuses his duty.
A click originates somewhere from the west end of the room. Nala follows the hint to a secret door which opens to a shiny red sword displayed on a stone table in front of a stone statue in a small room. Kenku Scram compulsively grabs the shiny sword so shiny.
Two angry specters pop out of the table. One considerable fireball pops out of Scram. When the specters do not immediately die, Scram pops out of the room. Ssatschia spiritually turns the specters, and Tango chooses the first take down with his short sword. They need not have bothered as monk Malcolm Moth finishes both with a double critical punch.
A greater wraith arrives to investigate the hubbub and drains life from Nala and Tango. Tango does not feel his usual vital self and is ready for bed but applies his short swords to the wraith anyway. Nala keeps the pressure on with her greatsword. Scram returns with the looted sun sword and wallops the wraith with surprising effectiveness. Ssatschia takes measure of the situation and blesses the party for better luck. The greater wraith chillingly touches Moth. Snory transfers some vitality to Nala who transfers her greatsword into the wraith. Scram removes the greater wraith with a vitriolic acid washing and hands the sun sword off to Ssatschia.
Ssatschia reckons the stone statue is not as attached to its stone plinth as it could or would be. Tango finds no traps on it and gives it an unproductive shove. Moth shoves it the reverse direction, but the resolute statue does not budge. Ssatschia gets low and notices a relatively thin pillar supports the statue at the center, leaving a gap all around the edges. Tango rotates the statue around and the table recedes to reveal stairs down. Feeling entirely accomplished for the day, the party secures the little chamber and crashes for the night. Responsible Ssatschia takes the first and only watch.
The rested party descends into the subchamber. Scram locates a switch on the wall to toggle the ceiling door from this side. Ssatschia and Nala probe ahead north where the stonework room enters a natural cavern. The soft flutter of furry wings and sonar squeaks augurs the arrival of a pair of bat swarms. Tango and Moth join the bat swarm melee while Snory and Scram launch spells from the chamber doorway. A giant bat bypasses the classic formation, swooping overhead into Snory. Snory gets in a parting punch as the giant bat next swoops over to Moth. The giant bat misjudges the injury incurred flying down Alpha’s opportunistic melee line. Scram prodigiously fireballs the room and that is that.
Ssatschia continues through the cavern and next encounters a waiting goblinoid sword wraith commander who commands the honorable presence of a couple of wraith warriors. Ssatschia anticipated more wraiths and received an overnight deific download of his aura of life spell to protect against any further wraith-induced life drains. The commander runs away from Nala’s greatsword and Ssatschia’s new sun sword. They pursue. Tango and Moth engage the two warriors. Scram scorches rays all over the place. The honorable wraith warriors are defeated. Jim’s magic missiles, normally problematic for Scram, actually hit on the commander. Tango’s sneaky crossbow bolts claim the final hit on the sword wraith commander.
The search resumes for the compass. A tendril from the darkness snags Tango and drags him across the ground toward a roper. Tango wriggles free and barely gets a belt buckle joke off before Nala and Ssatschia get got by a second roper hiding on the dark ceiling. Tango takes cover around a corner and sneaks in crossbow bolts. Scram splashes a vitriolic sphere of acid on the ground roper and follows up with scorching rays to really etch in the acid. Ssatschia inflicts wounds with the guidance of his divine host. Nala throws hand axes at the ground roper until the ceiling roper obliges her by lifting her to within greatsword range. Moth lands what punches he can despite the disadvantage of being restrained. The ground roper succumbs to scorching rays and sneaky bolts. Snory gets lifted to the surviving ceiling roper and conducts a fatal infliction of wounds through his moistened pinky finger. Ssatschia, Nala, and Snory fall 25 feet to the cavern floor.