session 5
Magical Physiologies class: Slaadi
- frog monsters – 5’ bulbous toady, round middle, muscular, blue, green larger, grey thinner but potbellied, - vicious intelligence, aggressive
- community lifestyle but not empathetic, harm others physically and magically, subjugate others, hierarchical caste system
- red and blue slaadi least strong
- red can use claw to implant egg in another creature – bursts out later as a full grown blue salad, metamorphic life cycle (red & blue insulting each other – guttural croaking language)
- Green – staff they create as magical focus, favour flame spells Death slaadi -greyish black, pattern on forehead & back white splotches like skull – deadly stench (like cloudkill spell)
- Green, grey, or death –experienced ones can shapeshift appearance into humanoid (sm, med)
- Purple slaadi – gormeel, highly intelligent (some students on campus) deviation at birth – can empathize – considered an aberration, hunted and purged, rare to survive to adulthood, tough, magically talented
- regeneration ability – cannot regenerate another being from part, but parts can regrow
- resistance to direct magical attacks, but not immune
- lifespan – short because aggression, cunning can life 25yrs
- tough, no obvious weakness, but reliant on staying moist – skin can crack and split if dry
- reproduce like other amphibians (frog-like)
The Search Party
After class, on the way to the alchemy building, Lazeah realized that she cannot contact Colonel. She is distressed but doesn't talk to the other companions about it.
At the alchemy building, it is still locked. The receptionist confides that the alchemy assistant has not returned. We ask for a description, dorm assignment and likely locations. The missing assistant is an orc student named Ersmitac. His skin is bluish, he wears spectacles, is very neat, even with neatly filed short tusks. He may be in his dorm, Mordenkainen Hall, or the library.
Hearing this description, Lazeah ran to the Biblioplex.
Thalia decided to check restaurants near the alchemy building, library, and dorm.
Ictalgor decided to check Mordikainen Hall.
Loji decided to check the library. We planned to all meet there after this initial search.
----------Thalia asked Ellina Tanglewood whether she has seen this bespectacled blue ork this morning. Ersmitac was seen getting coffee at 5:55 am, left on time. She described him as very reliable and punctual. Thalia headed quickly to Biblioplex.
Ictalgor found Raj'Mir, who admitted he wasn't resident there, but was there only to meet with someone. Inquiring of others, Ictalgor found out Ersmitac needed a book for his research and was more hurried this morning. He hustled back to the Biblioplex.
Lazeah started searching for Colonel in the stacks as soon as she arrived at the Biblioplex. She cannot feel him close to her. She doesn't find him in the initial search, but sees workers carrying automaton guides away.
Loji arrived shortly after Lazeah and finds the head librarian talking to his boss, Copperbeard. He is told about the automaton guides needing their network repaired and the second floor being without guides. They don't know whether the orc we are looking for is here, or maybe upstairs. They ask for assistance finding lost patrons on that level. Loji uses an automaton guide outside the Biblioplex to send a message directly to Lazeah, Thalia, and Ictalgor. Thalia and Ictalgor are almost there when a kobold postman hands them a letter from Loji urgently calling them to help. A postman finds Lazeah in the stacks to hand her the message.
Lazeah, at the circulation desk, finds out about the 2nd floor problem and the search party we are setting up and leaves for the 2nd floor immediately. Loji Ictalgor and Thalia search party find out about the L-space demiplane on the 2nd floor and how easy it is to get lost. Thalia suggests using rope, or long string to keep from getting lost ourselves, and the librarian arranges for her assistant, Drazameer Yonas, a shy-looking minotaur in a uniform, to bring a vase with an immensely long thread inside, for us to use. Loji stows the vase inside Ictalgor with the thread feeding out behind him to be sure we all have our hands free, and Thalia knots the end to the banister at the top of the 2nd floor stair landing.
Shortly after entering the 2nd floor, Loji, Ictalgor and Thalia find Lazeah, and then a grey-haired human named Couranthe who agrees to help with the search for other folks lost up there.
Up here, Lazeah can contact Colonel, who she sees, through its eyes, is merrily pursuing the orc we are looking for. She gets Colonel to grapple hold the orc to keep him from going further. Tripped at the knees, the orc falls prone, cries "help! It’s got me!" and Colonel settles his grip, purring at the back of his knees.
Loji hears the distant cry, some of us sort of hear something, We run left toward this faint voice, loop string, shout back.
Working our way through the labyrinth of library corridors, shelves, the space is not normal, maybe non-euclidean or something. A corridor opens up into large chamber with cylindrical structure in middle decorated in mosaic tiles. The room is full of nautical books, and has domed doorways of rippling water. Shouting from middle-ish of chamber. we hear a distant shout back, but also rustling, chewing noises. Our group is attacked by creatures coming out from bookshelves, three yellowed parchment-coloured serpents – bookworms about 2’ long. Ictalgor casts ice knife and kills one. We fight them with spear, pistol, dagger, mace, and firebolt cantrips. Damage doesn't make them back off at all, they keep attacking. It takes quite a bit to kill them. One book sustained a bullet hole and another burns, but we killed all 3 bookworms. Ictalgor pulled a neat trick, separating a portion of himself to form a bouncy smaller bubble of him as a distraction beside him. He pulled himself back together after the fight and cast mage armor on himself. We continue on, calling, securing thread, and searching. We enter a brightly lit hexagonal room full of thousands of puzzles (the enigma chamber). Each of the exits have branches. Colonel and Lazeah call to each other psychically, Lazeah wants to use her spear to go through a wall, but it’s made of stone. Lazeah uses message to Erzmitac to stay put and wait for us to find you. He hears chewing noises and is unarmed. Colonel releases and guards him.
Lazeah led us through the left doorway and a confusing series of corridors. It took quite a while. When we arrived in Room 6 we find a low doorway to an extensive chamber with a dragon skeleton above from one side to the other – nothing holding it together. The floor lowers into an open circle with pedestals with books. Erzmitac and Colonel are in middle of this room. Lazeah reunites with Colonel and we tell Erzmitac that we have been searching for him. He thinks he has only been there a few minutes, and is horrified to find out he is late for work.
We debate pressing on to find more lost students, but Lazeah tells us this room is not safe, more bookworms. We bring Colonel and Erzmitac and go back out of this room. There we find haggard-looking people following the thread to us. They have spent all their spells, are hungry and exhausted and really worried. We surround them and guide them back along the thread.
Partway back, 6 massive bookworms attack from both sides of the book-lined corridor we are passing through. It took even more to battle these. Loji used his gun and hammer, Lazeah used her spear, an entangle spell and Colonel his teeth, Ictalgor used firebolts, Coranthe used sparkly cleric spells and sizzling guiding bolts and Thalia used her dagger and a bane spell. Loji has one injury (4 hp), Lazeah has one (4hp) and Coranthe a (4hp) injury on his face, Ictalgor sustained a (6hp) hole right through him - that closed up but he's missing a bit. It's hard to get these things off you once they latch on. Once they were baned and entangled, they were easier to hit, and hit us less. The last 3 were ended all at one go by Couranthe with bolts of light. Crispy! The frightened students we were protecting applauded.
Then Mr. Haggart and some automaton guides walk into the corridor. Thanked us for dealing with all these worms and will take care of the rest of them with Voldrumon. Do worms have treasure???
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