"I think I am otherwise ok" Leo scrapes off the remaining webs.

"Good to hear." Taldar says in reply to Leo.  "You were almost mincemeat back there."

"Which way to go?" the mage asks as he sees western and southern passages.

"Perhaps have a listen?" he adds as he moves closer to the western passage and spends a few seconds to see if he can hear anything.

Kahan looks over the cages with the giant rats. "Shae, can you talk to these rats, perhaps ask them if they know anything about this place or their captor?" he asked.

Shae attempts to link to the rats. She finds it hard to get anything coherent out of them because they seem to be mad with something approximating rabies.

You don't hear anything other than the squealing of the rats. You also see no footprints in the dirt.

Unsure which way to go Tahldar says "Let's go south.  If we have to double back and go west then so be it."

Going south leads you to a dead end alcove area. It appears to be where Haklara lived and slept. You see the remains of a campfire with a roasted spit. Smoke would have risen up through the many holes and small tunnels in the wall that were also in the other room, where the rats came from. Indeed, on the spit appears to be the carcass of a dead giant rat, and in a corner is a pile of discarded giant rat bones. You also see a straw sleeping mat on the floor made from straw atop a leathery blanket. Nearby, you also see a hollowed out stone the size of an anvil. Inside, it is filled with a clear liquid.

Kahan inspects the liquid to try to figure out what it is. He assumes its water but it could be just about anything.

While Kahan inspects the liquid, Tahldar quickly searches through the stray sleeping mat and blanket.

The liquid is just water.

Under the leather blanket, you find a tattered old page apparently torn out of a journal or other compilation. Handwritten and circled are the following words:


We have the stopper with the Djinni inside. All indications point to it being Hassan-Jihanni, a Djinn from the elemental plane of air. He allowed himself to be imprisoned for power and can grant wishes, as the lore goes, but he has an evil soul and will try to twist any wish against the person asking for it. Absolute discretion in any wish is essential. We do not know the number of wishes allowed, but we know his power is very limited. As he is from the elemental plane of air, his wishes are limited to moving things in space, manipulating and changing the essential nature of existing items, weather and forces of nature, and perhaps even time control, and maybe some others we have yet to discover. He cannot imbue or take away magic, or effect the essential nature of anything magical.

There is a key word needed to release the Djinn and obtain the wishes. We are searching for that word and believe it to be hidden in this labyrinth of catacombs. Using the wish requires the user to state, "Hassan-Jihanni, I wish for..." and then stating the wish with such particularity that it cannot be twisted. We believe each wish must also be twenty to thirty words in length, making the task even more difficult.

We had to leave Ophid to the ravages of the Black Death. I believe he knows something about the key word to release the Djinn, but is holding back from us for his own purposes. He is inside a cavern with healing pools that can only be accessed by putting the right gems into the right slots in the pillars outside. Then the door is only open for about one hour. We have one more set of gems and pray we don't have to use it again.

Signed,
Feshchul, Day 18 in Catacombs


This message was last edited by the GM at 01:22, Mon 07 Sept 2020.

Shae says, "I think we should head back around to the north. It looks like he is giving us the slip and I don't want to be caught in an ambush."

"Agreed.  Lets head back north and then take that western tunnel."

You move quickly up north and follow it around to the west. You see how it all interconnects with the rest of the area, but as you are leaving, you see a slightly ajar stone door. It is normally flush with the rock and hardly visible but appears to have not been closed tightly.

Forward, next to stone rafts, you see the crumpled form of Geebo. He is moaning slightly.

As you approach, Geebo looks up at you weakly and says, "That strange man. His name is Haklara. He kept demanding that I tell him the release word. I told him I don't know any release word. He said it's for the Djinn and I know what he's talking about, and I better tell him or it'll be big trouble for everyone. I told him I don't know, and he got mad and then he hit me on the head and took off in one of the stone rafts."

Geebo indicates near the lava river, and you notice now that there are only two stone rafts instead of three.

You also notice that the stone doors to the healing pools have also closed again.

From below, you hear Fingas yell up, "What's going on up there?"

"Come over and find out!" Tahldar shouts back to Fingas.

"I say we check the open door first, and if it does not bear any fruit, then try one of the boats and go after Haklara...Which I'm hesitant to do with the lava and all."

For reasons know only to him, Tahldar begins to cast a low level magic spell to produce a small light.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:18, Tue 08 Sept 2020.

As in the crude carving on the wall, you will probably only be able to fit up to three people per stone boat at a time, meaning you will likely need to take both boats. If so, decide who will be on which boat.



There are three sets of oars as well for each boat. The oars almost appear obsidian or some sort of glassy substance that can withstand the lava.

Another eerie thing about this area is that the constant movement of lava and its bubbling, as well as the movement of hot air throughout the area creates a low wind like sound, almost like a constant moaning accompanied by popping sounds.

Checking the hidden door in the stone, you crouch down and follow it down a narrow tunnel that leads to the underside of the westernmost "coffin" in the spider room just south of the door. This was how Haklara made his escape with Geebo and eluded you.

OOC: I tried to give some hints at this, such as when Shae's foot made the stone wiggle and move. Discovering that secret passage would have helped you catch up before Haklara left down the river. Instead, the delays let him get away.

Tahldar casts a light spell and approaches Geebo.

Fingas comes bounding up the stone stairs from below and then stops to catch his breath at the top. "What did I miss?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:26, Tue 08 Sept 2020.

Tahldar steps away from "Geebo".  "Haklara show yourself.  I know it's you." he says simply to what appears to be to all the senses, their Gnomish companion.

"Where is Geebo?  Did you harm him?" he adds with a touch of anger evident in his voice.

Geebo holds up one hand. You see that three of his fingers have rings on them and the fingers are slightly bulging. "No, it is Geebo. I am Geebo. He put these rings on me. I cannot take them off. He say it confuse them and stop magic. Then he leave me here."

Kahan scratches his stubbly chin and looks around. "Have you tried taking them off? I'm assuming they won't come off," he mentions out loud. He had no reason to believe Geebo wasn't who he said he was, at least not yet, but he wouldn't argue with Tahldar if he thought he was right.

Tahldar is not the wisest of men, but is still no fool and isn't entirely convinced of Geebo's story.  Knowing the duplicitousness of the doppleganger, he thinks of another test.  The mage begins to speak in the odd language of the Gnomes...
This message was last edited by the player at 01:43, Wed 09 Sept 2020.

Geebo says, ""

OOC: For those of you who may have forgotten, I made sure to include the details you know about the three doppleganger brothers here: http://wiki.rpol.net/?id=11516/Villains
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:17, Wed 09 Sept 2020.

Shae says, "I don't know who's who but I say we hop onto this raft and get down this current to see if we can finally get what we came for. We definitely need to keep an eye on this guy too." She glances suspiciously at Geebo.

Shae will suggest that she, Tahldar and Geebo go on one raft, and Kahan, Borimer, and Leo go on the other. Fingas can stay back and "guard" the exit from any giant rats that escape their cages.

Tahldar looks at Geebo.  "He's Geebo as far as I can tell.  Though why he cannot remove the rings I'm not sure.  Likely they are cursed.  In any event there's no time to deal with that now."

The mage looks at the boats dubiously.  "I'm terrible with such things.  This is going to end badly if you rely on me."

Thinking ahead he adds, "I think casting Fly on Borimer would be wise before we set off. Just in case.  We should have one person per boat with a Fly spell, but I only have one left."

OOC:  Tahldar and Geebo are the likely the weakest when it comes to steering the boat.  My guess is Shae and Borimer will be the best.  I will cast Fly on Borimer for safety sake.  If anyone else can cast a fly, I think one on Kahan or Shae would be wise.

I propose this order for the boats:

Front  Middle   Last
Leo,   Tahldar, Borimer
Kahan, Geebo,   Shae

Kahan checks Geebo for injuries, although he has a strong feeling he won't be able to cast any healing spells on him. "Make sure you stand away from Geebo when casting your spell, in case the rings are were these brothers are getting their anti-magic fields," the priest suggests. "If Borimer can fly, why not have him fly with both boats and bring Fingas with us to take up his spot?" he shrugged. It made sense, Borimer didn't need a spot if he could fly over it.

Tahldar nods in agreement to Kahan's idea.  "Makes sense.  Have Borimer hover around us and have Fingas join me and Leo in our boat."

"Sound good Fingas?"

Fingas looks with concern (and a hint of fear that he does not well disguise) at the river of lava and the two stone rafts. "If I must miss the action for the benefit of the group, then I will make that sacrifice and stay here. I can begin composing a ballad of these journeys while we wait." He seems a little reluctant to accept the offer to go in the boat, but then he looks at the dark tunnel behind him and remembers the rats and the attack from the doppleganger, and seems to reconsider. "Sure," he says. "I'll ride along. I'm pretty strong and can do some rowing." He takes Borimer's position.

OOC: As Tahldar and Kahan suggest, if one or more people are flying, you could theoretically fit Fingas in a boat while the other hovers nearby. I assume Borimer will keep some distance from the antimagic ring of Geebo to avoid taking an unwanted dip in lava. Like the dopplegangers, it has a 10 foot radius, as Tahldar gathered from his light experiment.

Also, as to Geebo's health, he looks the same as before. He is weary and weak from the raise dead spell and needs a full day to recuperate before healing will cure that. He is at 1 hp, and if he falls below that, future attempts to heal him can only bring up to that 1 hp again until the full 24 hours has passed.


The rings on Geebo are extremely tight, which is why his fingers are swollen and red. You can safely assume they are either cursed or have some foul magic in them.

Geebo says, "Do we even know what this special word is? He seem to really want it. If we give it to him, maybe he go away."

You cast fly (again) on Borimer, who comments, "I'm kind of getting used to this flying business. I think I've flown about once a day for the past week."

OOC: Anything else before you push down the river?