Chapter 2: The Skinsaw Murders

Map

The stairs end in a limestone cavern. The walls drip with moisture, and swaths of black and dark blue mold grow in spiraling, tangled patterns on the floor, ceiling, and walls. Rubble and broken bones clutter the floor, and a rhythmic sound-like the breathing of some immense creature-echoes through the cave from three tunnels, one to the north and two to the west. Of the two western tunnels, the southernmost one seems to be a relatively new creation.

She stops and the bottom, looks at the tunnels and then picks the northern passage and begins moving in that direction.

You can't seem to figure out what exactly is causing that noise, but it doesn't make you feel comforted as it continues.

Viktor is having a hard time getting a read on Iesha, as she seems to be filled with a single-minded determination. As you begin to follow, you hear a loud scuffle. Peering down the tunnel, you see that Iesha has handily dispatched a trio of ghouls that tried to block her path.

She doesn't even stop long enough to clean her now-bloody hands as she moves down the tunnel. You can tell you are getting close to the sound of the breathing.

When you enter the next chamber, you realize the source of the noise. The cramped tunnel opens into a vertiginous gulf here, a cathedral-like cavern with a roof arching thirty feet overhead and dropping into a sloshing pool of foamy seawater fifty feet below. The surging of the water echoing through causes the sounds. A steep stone ledge winds down to these surging depths, its slope glistening with moisture and mold. A stone door stands in the northwestern wall about halfway down the slope.

Iesha begins moving down the slope alongside Urthask and stops at the door, placing her hand on it and closing her eyes before smiling and opening it.

The air in this damp cavern reeks of a horrific stench - a foul combination of decay, brine, and mold. The cave contains a rickety table, its damp surface cluttered with all manner of what appears to be garbage: empty bottles, bits of clothing, crumpled bits of paper, and more, lying in neatly organized rows. A painting leans against the far side of the table, facing a large leather chair that sits nearby. This chair's high back and cushion are horribly stained by smears of rotten meat and its arms are sticky with blood. A smaller table sits against the southern wall, its surface heaped with plates and platters of rotten, maggot-infested meat. The horrific stench of the room seems strongest to the west, where the cave's wall has been overtaken by a horrific growth of dark green mold and dripping fungi. At the center, a patch of black tumescent fungus grows, its horny ridges and tumor-like bulbs forming what could almost be taken to be a humanoid outline. What appears to have once been an exquisite puzzle box the size of a man's fist lies smashed on the ground at the fungoid shape's feet.

Sitting in the chair is a familiar figure to some of you, Aldern Foxglove, though he is gaunt and pale. His fingers are tipped with claws and sharp teeth fill his mouth. He appears to have been transformed into some sort of ghoul. His mouth drops wide open when Iesha steps through the door.

Aldern tries to stand, but his legs can't hold him and he crawls forward on the ground, reaching hesitantly for Iesha. "I'm sorry, my love," he sobs out, "I failed you and I hurt you so badly. Please forgive me!"

Iesha smiles and stretches her hand out to caress his cheek lovingly, "Of course, my love," she replies, "I will of course forgive you."

What do you do?

Viktor tries to figure out what the fungus might be, but can't recall having seen or heard of anything like it before.

As you watch Iesha and Aldern in trepidation, Iesha suddenly pulls her arm back and strikes Aldern across the face. As he falls to the floor in shock, Iesha screams angrily at him, "You killed me! I loved you and you betrayed me!"

Aldern looks shocked, but then there's a sudden shift in his demeanor. Where it was scared and ashamed before, it is now angry and slightly crazed. He climbs to his feet and smiles maliciously, "I suppose I'll have to kill you again then, won't I?"

He looks for the first time at the party and his eyes lock onto Urthask, "You!" he shouts with a crazed glee, "You live! Well and good, for now I shall have the reward of tasting your heart while it is yet warm. Be patient, I shall get to you next!"

His expression turns to rage and he begins attacking Iesha, war razor in hand now. He scores some nasty hits on Iesha, but she barely notices.

Iesha: 8 damage taken
Aldern: 6 damage taken