Wanda in the Dungeons Session 4

This ep is going to be the last adventure using the colostle system, At least for now! Wanda will be adventuring on the surface or somewhere else. Still diving down into the debts of the colostle while also exploring the Roomlands.

In this ep, Wanda dives into a massive labyrinth to get the Goblet of Healing for Lisset. After getting this for her, Wanda will be free to return to the surface by asking the great Mounted Telenna for help.

Getting to the Site

The journey to the Labyrinth was a long one. Thankfully, Grale, a mounted in service to Lisset was happy to take me to the entrance. He explained that all who had entered this labyrinth have not come out. A party of 2 explorers had entered a few days back and still had not come out. He hoped that they where ok, but this was the last day that he was going to be coming over here to see if they had made their way out.

“I fear the labyrinth has consumed them” he said.

The entrance to this area was a 30 foot arch. It looked similar to an entrance to a small room, however, the arch was so overgrown that the stone making up the arch was completely hidden. Not a single stone was clean of moss or vegetation.

Starting the Exploration

Things started out pretty quick. It was only a short walk down the lush hallway of the Labyrinth before I ran into my first obstacle. A giant statue overgrown with moss and lichen. The monster was tough, but a few well placed swipes from my halberd where able to down the creature.

Looking along the floor, I noticed someone had left their explorers pack. Most of it was junk, but the pack had a map! It seems whoever had come before was able to map out a good amount of the structure.

The Garden

The next room was a great lichen garden. The green was so thick that the stone walls could not be seen. Navigating this section proved to be difficult since the plants had grown rampantly and I had to squeeze and push my way through them. The vines clung to my cloths and halberd.

The plants proved to be more than just annoying. A lichen rook was able to get a good hit on me as I was passing through the bush. The monster was completely hidden and I had no opportunity to react. Thankfully, this particular rook was very overgrown and slow. I was able to fell it without getting hit again.

As fortune would have it, I also found a chest. It held healing powder and a potion of weakness. I applied the salve right away, healing my wound. I strapped the potion on to my outfit. Knowing that it would likely prove useful in the battles to come.

Clearing

The garden seemed to stretch forever, but eventually the green started to give way. I was back to the only partially overgrown stone walls. I noticed a campfire not to far from me. Investigating it revealed that one of the lost adventurers was alive! He was overjoyed to see a friendly face and asked how I had gotten away from the Statue and the Rook. I told him they where destroyed and he was free to go now.

We exchanged a few more pleasantries and I gave him a ration. I also explained what I was doing here. He showed me a hall that lead deeper into the depths. Saying it would be faster than going down the main hall. Within the hour we parted ways and I continued my search for the Goblet.

The Collapsed Floor

The passageway I went down eventually lead back to a larger hall. I was very deep in the structure at this point and the only sound that I could hear was the occasional drip of water from the ceiling. Eventually, the hall opened up to a room. The room was very large indeed. The ceiling not visible to me since the luminescent lichen’s light did not reach that far. Another problem revealing its self to me. The center of the room had collapsed. Opening up to a 50 foot drop into another garden room.

It took some time but I was able to walk around the caved in area and get to the other side of the room. I found an unusually clear staircase that lead deeper down into the structure…

Worse for Wears

This section of the structure was damp. The humidity was palpable and it condensed on the moss and lichen covered walls. I heard coffing echoing off in the distance with he sound of falling water.

Going to the source of the noise, I found a flooded room. There was a small waterfall coming down from the far wall. A woman huddled next to a campfire, covered in lichen. She was the last missing adventurer. She had a bad case of Rook Rot. The vines making up about half of her hair and wrapping around all of her equipment. She explained that she was hopelessly lost after running away from a Rook. She also caught the sickness from being forced to hide in a garden for an extended period of time before ending up here. It was fortunate since she had easy access to water. The water made her condition bearable and she had been washing herself to keep the vines from completely covering her, but they where coming back again and again at a faster frequency. She hoped to be found by someone and did not want to risk getting even more lost.

I helped her clean off the vines in the water one last time and gave her the map I found in the first room. Instructing her on what paths I had taken to get here. Despite being sick, she seemed like she could make it back to the surface. Especially after her bath. I told her to find Grale and get back to Oubliette. Lissette could help her get back to good health. Of course, this means I would have to camp by the entrance since I would be stranded but waiting a day is not to much of an inconvenience.

The Guardian

After leaving the flooded camp and going down the hall, the walls started to become more lush once more. Eventually opening up to a circular room with a well kept garden along the walls. It was a strike contrast against the overgrown rooms of before. In the center of the room stood a circular rased platform. It was several steps high. In the middle of that was a pedestal with an Ornate cup sitting on it.

I walked into the room and started to climb up the steps but was interrupted by the course sound of stone. A truly massive Rook emerged from the other side of the room. Towering over the rased platform with the Goblet. Knowing that this was not going to be easy, I immediately prepared the potion of weakness and threw it at the monster. It landed right on the beasts frame and the effects where immediate. It stumbled and fell to its knees. Still moving but seeming to weak to rase its massive stone body.

The battle that ensued was the thing of legend. The rook might have been unable to move much, but its massive arms where more than able to reach every part of the room. The creature smashed stone wall and tree alike. Demolishing all in its wake. Thankfully, I was quick. I sliced at its frame and legs. Over and over each time I got an opening. The beast landed its own strikes on me. Nearly crushing me when one of its mighty blows missed me, but caused me to fall.

Ultimately, I eventually managed to topple the construct. The lights in its windows going dark and its body lying still. The Rook was dead.

Conclusion

The battle was intense. I was hardly able to hobble up the steps to reach the pedestal. When I reached the top, I got a good look of this artifact. The Goblet of Healing was a stone cup with gold rings around it. The gold itself held gems of red green and blue. Looking within the cup, a small amount of crystal clear liquid was present.

Lisset said that the cup could turn water into a liquid that could cure any malady. In my current state, my chances of reaching the surface where slim. I drank from the cup, the liquid was sweet and went down easy. Like honey but not thick. I felt a warm glow within and it radiated outward. My wounds stopped hurting. Looking down I saw that they had disappeared. I felt strong and vitalized. Like I had just eaten a good meal. The Goblet of Healing was all that Lisset had described and more.

With the Goblet in hand and my wounds healed. I was able to make it back to the surface. A few days from that Lisset had the cup and I was on Telenna’s mount. Riding up a sharply inclined cave to the surface. As it turns out, Oubliette was underneath the legendary city of the Roomlands, Bastion. It felt good to have the sun on my fur once more. I dont know where my travels will take me, but perhaps another expedition into the Dungeons would be possible. Or maybe a trek into the Roomlands. Who knows what the future will bring.