a page in Lungorthin’s journal
The haul of treasure we collected in the sewers makes me hesitate to complain. I alone was able to lift some magical boots (they have exceptional traction) from a hidden tomb, a tight-fitting black leather armor, and an alchemical flask of a dark liquid that seems to be corrosive. I know this because some of the Kobolds the party encountered chucked them at us, repeatedly. Not before we were harrassed by rats, bats, more kobolds, and a trash hulk. By this time Orn had gone missing – later we learned he had jumped into another pit- we had very few healing potions, and after barely defeating a small horde of ghouls, we decided enough was enough. After locating a hidden switch that controlled the door blocking the way we came and setting a magic alarm in the hallway ahead of us, we hunkered down and took a much needed rest. Thankfully, by the time we awoke Orn had managed to catch up so, made confident with renewed vigor, we ventured further into the maze of tunnels…straight into a pair of gelatinous cubes. What curious and dangerous monsters they are. Having never heard of them before, I never saw them coming. Literally. One good thing resulted from that encounter: I realized how useless I was when unable to flank with my allies and resolved to find a way to avoid being grabbed in the future.
Following the flow of the rotten river, we came into an open chamber. Seeking to redeem myself to the party, I volunteered to explore the perimeter of the room because all we could see was a large pool in the middle where multiple drainage pipes met in a cyclone. I had just spied the small mouth of another tunnel entrance when I heard a loud gushing noise coming from somewhere. The next thing I knew I was swimming in shit, having been sent reeling by the blast of sewage that spewed from a pipe next to my head. The party seemed to brace itself at the entrance to the chamber, apparently unconcerned about the filth fever I was contracting. Suddenly, a slimy, brown tentacle rose out of the water, followed by five more attached to a large beast with a gaping mouth. It seemed upset we had disturbed its home as it grabbed my leg and pulled me closer, suffocating me with a somehow even more unbearable stench. Seeing their scout in actual danger, the party sprang into action. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, a second Otyugh appeared above us. After an exhausting battle and many upheavals, I had contracted so much filth fever I though I would die there. However, I noticed my hot blood had stiffened my new armor in critical spots, and that I was less hurt than I appeared.
The rest of the creatures we encountered were no match for us, and we soon smelled sweet air and found a ladder to the surface. But without those damned rocks we couldn’t leave yet. Orn spotted them resting on an altar near the opposite wall of a large cavern filled with kobolds. When we slew them, one wearing a headdress became excited and an eerie glow issued from the altar. What happened next was horrifying. The dead reptiles re-animated and began to attack us again with sluggish determination. Finally, after slaying most of them twice and retrieving the stones we returned to a surface abound with fresh air and moonlight. Wanting nothing more than to bathe and sleep, we traveled back to the Split Shield, which does not smell as terrible anymore.