Tof-240131-eric

We remember that the cultists had implied that they might be hiding in the basement area beneath the castle
- We head that way to investigate
  - Milhouse asks why we're going after the cultists instead of The Kraken
    - I explain that they stole some very powerful magical artifacts, and we think they might be hiding out under the castle
      - Milhouse says something about a candy factory, and agrees to go
When we get there, Quartermaster Blood-Dribble is running around with a clipboard yelling orders at people
- We tell him we're there to check out the basement, he agrees
  - Just then, the building shakes
    1. Quartermaster Blood-Dribble tells us to check the foundation, and that the shaking was the sound of the eastern wall collapsing
      
      We can't take the stairs, so I tie a rope off and lower it down into the dark pit
    - Below, we are in ankle deep water
- Milhouse has some sort of magitech shoes that keep him above the water
  - There are some bones down here; mainly humans, elves, and dwarves
    - We can tell that someone has been regularly traveling through these bones, disturbing them
      - They were traveling to the west, so we head that way too
Crawn smells some old, stale blood from the south
- We find the corpse of a Crockagator down in the water
  - It has been murdered, but it's been rotting down here for some time
    - We decide to leave the corpse and check out the door to the north
      - Fish-Kicker checks to see if he can hear anything on the other side of the door before we open it
        
        He doesn't really hear anything
        
        I try to open the door, but it's locked
        
        It doesn't look like this door has been used in a while, so it's unlikely that the cultists would have come through here
We explore some more, and find a stone door standing in the middle of a room by itself
- We open the door
  - There's nothing, it doesn't seem magical at all
    - The masonry does look newer than the surrounding walls, and there are some smudged chalk outlines nearby
      - Ell uses magic to move some of the water to help us investigate
        
        I have Milhouse come help us investigate
        
        He notices some scorch marks around the ceiling, and surmises that the water might have been unleashed to close or cover up the door, and that the door might be controlled through fire
Fish-Kicker uses some magic to create some fire, and we begin experimenting
- Eventually, we realize that if you have the fire on the north end of the door, there is some magic on the south wall that activates in the shape of a door
  - I draw a door handle on the wall and open it, and we discover a secret hallway
    - The scent of sewage is much stronger here
      - We find a crack in the south wall
We get into the sewers
- It's eerie and stinks
  - Milhouse claims to have blue poops
    - As we're exploring the sewers, I hear music and the clank of mugs, almost like a tavern
      - As we head West, the smell starts to clear up as well
        
        Then, we randomly find some people drinking at a small bar that is just bizarrely set up in the sewer
The bartender asks what we want
- I ask if anyone else has come through here in the last few hours
  - He says only his patrons
    - His patrons, upon closer inspection, look wrong
      - One has a nose that isn't centered on his face, the other has an extra finger (almost like they're AI artwork)
        
        We realize that they're an illusion, Milhouse shoots crossbow bolts at them and they don't seem to react
Drex says his scales are tingling, we're about to get attacked
- I cast Magical Weapon on myself as we all get prepared
  - A weird tentacle monster appears as the illusion disappears, and it begins attacking us
    - The thing picks up Fish-Kicker and tries to abscond, we chase him and continue attacking
      - It drops Fish-Kicker and disappears
        
        We ready actions to attack if it comes back
        
        Milhouse and I manage to finish it off when it comes back
        
        Milhouse and Ell harvest some tentacles from it, and we decide to take a short rest
After resting, we continue exploring the sewers
- We find an odd bit of pipe, I crank the wheel and it opens a hidden door into some tunnels
  - One bit of the tunnels leads to another secret door into the sewers, the other leads to a sort of gate / door, with something loud screeching behind it
    - It sounds like a dragon, but the dragon sounds hurt and/or scared
      - There is a mirror behind the gate, but there are some small gaps
        
        Ell transforms into a rat, and squeezes through the gate to check things out
Ell comes back and reports that there is an emaciated younger dragon, 2 goats, 2 displacer beasts, and a mangey sad puppy with leaches on it
- There are also cultists in there, sleeping
  - There was something about how to open the door, a poster that said something about “loving yourself,”
    - I step up to the gate, look in the mirror and say “I love you,” and the door opens
      - We start devising a plan, we think if we can free the creatures in there that they might help us kill the cultists
        
        Ell mentions that there are crates of food in there, even though the creatures seemed malnourished
Drex is going to sneak in with Ell and talk to the dragon, to see if it is on board with helping us kill the cultists
- They work out a squeak code:
  - One squeak for all clear
  - Two squeaks for hide
  - Three squeaks for run
- They come back, the plan is a go

session, TOF