Session 48: Shutting Off the Fountain of Pestilence

The adventurers examine the books they retrieved on the previous trip and learn about the healers and the demons they fought. Returning to the Fountain of Pestilence, they fought its spawn and Breena figured out how to shut off the Fountain for good.

This write up is based on Kay’s notes from our January 22, 2025 session. Since our group is scattered around the country, we used Discord for our voice communication and Roll20 for our virtual tabletop. Thanks to JoJo for the screen shot and Kay for the proofreading.

Continued from: The Ghost and the Isolated Workroom


MAY 29, 3517:  6AM
We had breakfast at the castle and discussed going into town and visit Rasmus’s to identify the types of potion bottles we got from the cabinets in the workroom.

Sinis cast detect magic on the books, found none; and discovered two of the potions are magic healing potions. The 18 others are not and will have to be taken to town for identification. There are two red scrolls of lesser restoration. Sinis and Parahelia both took one scroll each. Elron, Breena and Blaze already have one each.

We discussed not taking all the potions into town to show people what we have. We determined there are four types of potions, so we will only take one of each type into town for identification.

Arty checked the locked books for traps and unlocked books from the cabinets # 2 and #5. One has a scary lock and one a simple lock.

The big scary lock one is a thick leatherbound book called the Tome of Draav. Breena took 30 minutes to skim it and learned it’s a book with names and descriptions of demons.

The second book is a handwritten book of notes, nearly all in code.

• At least five different handwritings could be picked out, although there are some passages here and there — all in the same handwriting — that are not encoded. These read as follows:
• “This is a terrible idea.” (page 1)
• “There is an error in the mathematics at this point.” (page 17)
• “Did you even read what the ToD [Tome of Draav?] says about this being?” (page 22) “I do not think this would be enough.” (page 23)
• “Because of the vow of silence, that’s why.” (page 25)
• “So are you.” (page 26)
• “Because no one is going to be left alive to read it anyway, that’s why.” (page 27)
• “We should stick to what we do; attacking demons is work for warriors, not healers.” (page 29)
• “I had a strange dream last night, and the god told me that my help would be necessary for this project. Although I still think it is ridiculous to write the notes in code.” (page 40)
• “Very well, but I still think it is ridiculous.” (also on page 40)
• There are no more non-coded comments in the notes, although they continue for another 103 pages, up to page 140. After page 140, the rest of the book is blank.
• On page 41, just after the last un-coded entries, a set of numbers begins to appear in the notes repeatedly (the first time it appears, it is in the handwriting of the individual who initially refused to write in code). 
• The numbers are: 1–26–9–18–1–24.

Meanwhile, Breena had been examining the Tome of Draav. It was filled with descriptions of various demons.  The parchment was thin and the book cracked open on five pages that were worn and covered with notes. The pages all dealt with demons of disease, and the notes were about their vulnerabilities and how to attack them.

She recognized one of them was the small plague demons we had been fighting. They are resistant to cold, fire, lightning, and bludgeoning, piercing, slashing damage; they are immune to poison, they have dark vision and telepathy, they can cast spells (teleport is one).

Blaze started copying down the information on loose sheets of parchment.

Sinis and Artie took one each of the two magic healing potions.

Artie brought up the subject of the sheriff’s people who we met, and killed, and that their absence may be noticed soon. Blaze reminded the group we had discussed going into other towns farther away to sell our more expensive items, so the locals won’t know about it.  Elron gave an accounting of the money he’s been handling. The castle maintenance for repairs and paying our minions is 150 gp per month.

10:30 AM
Back at Zelcor’s Ferry.  We gave Rasmus the 4 potion bottles for ID; he says it’ll take him a few days.

Blaze bought a small treasure chest with lock and key for 5gp to keep her gems and extra money in at the library in the castle.

After the town, we went straight back to the Mouth of Doom to the 3^rd level, Fountain of Pestilence, arriving at 3pm. We went down the stairs from the second level to the toxic pool room.

Inside the temple, Breena had Rocky climb up on the statue to chew through the necklace of hands; the cord is made of metal wire, so it took him longer than expected. As we’re standing there, four demon eggs rose to the surface of the pool.

Elron reminded people to not kill these things before they hatched because he wanted the gemstone eyes.

Blaze reminded him that not all the demons had them.

Elron, Sinis, Artie and Parahelia moved into better positions for casting. Blaze cast flaming sphere and pushed it into the second egg, scorching it. Breena stepped aside and attacked the first demon egg with magic missile, damaging it. Rocky gnawed through the necklace cord and it dropped to the ground. Elron hit the fourth demon egg, and his second sling shot hit the third demon egg, destroying it. The third sling shot hit the first demon egg for damage.

Sinis looked at the statue for markings like spells, but found none. He sprinkled holy water on the necklace on the ground; it seemed to clean it up a bit.

Artie cast fire bolt at the second demon egg, hitting it. Parahelia hit the same egg with guiding bolt for serious damage.

Blaze moved her flaming sphere to the east hallway to block any rats from coming up on us.

The remaining eggs all hatched and three demons appeared.  They looked diseased but were not injured. Demons #1 and #2 had tigers-eye gemstones as eyes like the others, but demon number 3 had no eyes at all.

Two more eggs floated to the surface of the pool. Breena cast magic missile on demon #1, who moved towards Breena and bit her, causing a poisoned wound. Demon #2 tried to bite Blaze, but she cast shield, protecting herself. Elron attacked demon #2 with a sling, a second sling shot on it made it stagger. Sinis moved toward the west side of the room and cast blur on himself. Demon #3 moved west and cast fear on Elron and Artie, but they were resistant to it.

Artie stepped back and up, hitting demon #2 with a fire bolt, and it died, falling into slime. Parahelia cast guiding bolt on her target and it died. Blaze hit the top egg with her flaming sphere, scorching it.

Breena hit the top egg with witch bolt, damaging it, but she sustained pestilence damage from a splash from the toxic pool. The egg got more fire damage from Blaze’s flaming sphere.

Elron hit demon #3 with a sling and killed it; it sank into the pool. His second sling hit the first egg and smashed it, the remains sunk into the pool. Artie cast fire bolt on the second egg, hitting it and cooking the slime on the surface.

Parahelia cast lesser restoration and cured Breena of the plague. Blaze moved the flaming sphere to the second egg, further damaging it.

Breena looked at the hands on the wire necklace, they were like zombie hands. She picked it up and threw it into the pool.

The fountain stopped!

The eggs dissolved into the suddenly still pool.

Elron pried the eyes out of the dead demons with gloves and sword and dagger, careful not to touch them.  The tigers-eye gems the demons used as eyes were worth 500 gp each.

The liquid in the pool began receding very slowly.

The group led by Blaze continued east down the hallway and it turned south.  In the center of the west wall were stairs going down.

At the south end of the hall, it turned east again for a short distance, and then south again.

3:50 PM
We arrived at the end of the hallway where there was another left-hand bas-relief.

 

Continued in Session 49: More Rats, More Experience