In Fair Cuccagna (Session 1)

I decided I wanted to run a dungeon that was kind of a redo of one I did for my Cuccagna setting some time ago. Some of the Nightwick Regulars agreed and I decided to use the version of the isle of wizards set in the World of Nightwick.

Characters Present

Cristobert 1st Level Karslish Mountebank

Cruart Staig 1st Level Karslish Fighter

Jules Mozarin 1st Level Averois Magician

Maglor 1st Level Changeling

Hirelings

Homobon - depressed cheesmaker turned linkboy 

Pippo and Rizzardo - Cuccagnan bravos (who died this session)

Tibio - Fellow bravo who managed to stay alive

Events

• The characters have heard rumors of the disappearance of Prospero the Blue and the vacancy of his infamous manse - the Lapis Vaults.
• Feeling this wizard's abode is ripe for looting, they hired a number of hirelings (described above) and set out on a worm-driven ship form the Great Wen to explore the smaller island which holds the Lapis Vaults.
• Landing on the southwestern shore of the smaller island, they made their way inland and quickly found that it turned into a formal garden at the base of a large cliff. Set into the cliff was a large, blue structure consisting of walls abutting the cliff and a squat, round tower.
• Approaching closer Cruart was challenged by a voice from within the squat tower. He claimed to be the king of this manse in the absence of Prospero the Blue, and demanded the party leave. The only clue to his identity was that his eye was visible through an arrow slit and - indeed- took up the entire slit. Cruart deduced the creature to be at least 15' tall.
• After accosting him, the unknown giant seems to have felt he was threatening enough and left his vantage point to do unknown tasks, allowing the party to enter unseen.
• But before they managed to make it to the doors, they found a number of statues set about the garden. All were in hyper-realistic mode and making pleading or frightened gestures. Cruart stated it was as if they had been turned to stone by a Medusa.
• Approaching the large, bronze doors of the tower - as at the time these seemed the only means of egress - Cruart was the only one foolish brave enough to enter initially. He discovered a large hall decorated with satyrs frolicking with women. Cristobert soon joined him and they noticed the number of present satyrs was seven, and speculated that these must in some way represent the colored wizards of the island. When Cruart pointed out that they were all blue, Cristobert asserted that this was some means by which Prospero the Blue had meant to show ownership of the others.
• The satyrs' eyes turned out to be peepholes through which guard chambers could be viewed. After looking through several of these the party found that one contained a number of dead, one-legged men.
• At first Cristobert asserted that Prospero the Blue had chopped off the legs of these men to make them into monopods (the legs, not the men), which are known to inhabit the island. However, investigating their wounds showed that they did not have their legs chopped off or, if they were, it was done far in advance of their deaths as they mearly had a flat piece of flesh over the legless side of their pelvis.
• The guard chambers beyond the satyrs eyes contained a number of arrows, which Cristobert grabbed up.
• Jules cast detect magic in hopes that he would reveal much within the manse, but was flustered until they came to a large room dominated by a fountain and fanciful floor tiles. The fountain was not magical, but rather there was a small alcove which contained a magic mouth.
• The magic mouth, glowing within the Averois magicians eyes, suddenly announced "I am unable to come to the door right now, but someone will be with you in a moment."
• The party debated the meaning of the mouth, and whether it could be interrogated, when a creature suddenly appeared within their torchlight. It was a serpent but bore strange ear-like protrusions from its head, vestigal wings, two tiny arms, and scintilating, opalescent scales.
• These scales quickly mesmerized most of the party, with only Maglor and the three Cuccagnan bravos free to act.
• They rushed in to do battle with it, the bravos hitting it about the head and body with their clubs. They wounded it severly but in its death throws it was able to grab Rizzardo in its serpents mouth and crush his body with its enormous bulk. It died soon after with blows from the changeling.
• With the creature dead its hypnotic pattern seemed to cease. Cristobert skinned the thing, for the scales still held an irridescent beauty, but found its body was strangely warm - especially for a serpent and especially for a creature gripped by the icy hand of death.
• Exploring the corridor from which the serpent had come, the party quickly found that it branched off in many directions. Choosing the nearest, they saw dark shapes moving distantly in a large room, but decided to explore a door - closer than the shapes - anyway. They left Homobon in the hall to watrn them of encroaching danger.
• As they entered the room, they narrowly avoided a trap consisting of a sack of stones held up by a trip wire mechanism. Cristobert observed this was likely not a trap made by a wizard as puissant as Prospero the Blue.
• The room held a number of tools and materials used in the making of various items, but nothing that looked particularly valuable.
• Suddenly. Homobon called out and shortly so too did the dark shapes in the large room - for they were those sinister fungi men call shriekers. Cristobert observed that if there were shriekers they must surely be on the lookout for piercers and other such strange dungeon creatures.
• The party rushed forward to destroy the shrieker only to find the room filled with them. They also found the fungus to be more resilient than they would've liked, and its screaming could not be shortened before creatures came to investigate.
• The creatures were largeish - but not necessarily giant - white rats. These rats called out in crued voices "Kill them! Kill them!" as one leapt at Pippo's throat and tore it open with its rodent teeth.
• The party engaged the rats in "social combat," though I unfortunately do not remember the barbs that were thrown back and forth. I am reliably told that the party "won" this exchange, but since they fled in terror from the rats out of the dungeon they received no experience for this.

Monsters Defeated

1 Scitalis, Some Rats (at least rhetorically)

Treasure Gained

Some arrows

XP Per player

75

*Called the "King Fish" by illiterate foreigners