Book 2, Chapter 3, Verse 2 - I Hate Clean Passageways

Mona and the Disaster boys find themselves inside the rumored dangerous wizards tower.  Will our heroes be able to make it through the tower unscathed? Why do Mona and Anisette smell like BBQ? Is this wizard for real?

\*\*SPOILER ALERT\*\*

We rejoin our heroes after they've solved the riddle and headed into the tower. They see the immaculate hallways stretching off in front of them, a door to the right, another to the left and the door behind them that they came in... oh no. that's gone now. Lol. They find themselves in a maze... a maze of The Blind Rat's design, which means a skills creative challenge. Here we go!

Ani starts with an Echo Location with his trumpet, an hour passes and although Ani thought he had it (23), they found themselves back in the same hallway. Next up is Mona who wants to stealth away (28) from the cube (CUBE?? Not again!!) and makes some progress. Sabux is up but first they stumble across a person in the maze lost and dying of thirst, they give food and drink to a crying Santiago. They inform him that there is no way back and invite him to join them. Sabux gets diplomatic (33) and we get along further along crazy corridors. After a time (42/100) we start to hear strange chirping and fluttering noises and 40ft up is an entrance. Ani gets curious about light in this tower and checks it out (29), finding it's super magical with crystal and glass tubing.

Thoughts on what to do next is interrupted by visits by cute monkeys with wings. One of them snatches a dagger and a bolt and flies off. For some reason the party is very afraid of these, or maybe just James/Ani because they don't want to go forward? Mona steps up to do a drive/run-by to check things out and manages to dodge monkey attack. Running past we see a monkey wing generator machine room. Bizaarre. haha.

This time they find a dark-haired woman called Rachel who thanks Tecanos they found her. They feed and water her too and bring her along as well. Sabux tried to convince The Blind Rat about a crafting check and backs out when it's too hard and tries a nature check (16) instead but throws the DM a tasty HP to try again getting a nope (20) again. Instead of finding their way they hear a horrendous cacophony of noise and Sabux is confused by the abhorrent jelly creature of many blinking eyes and waving tentacles that comes around the corner.

With a "Not today Satan" Ani throws an Acid Flask at this jelly thing and follows it with an Alchemists Fire which sails past down the hallway. Rachel isn't impressed and Ani further disappoints her and Santiago with a third attempt, sending Alchemists Fire again, which also misses. Sabux clicks the Black Pearl and his head spins as his body explodes open in a Flame Strike attack and summons a pillar of fire down on the entire party. It hits Mona and Ani for serious damage (48d) and incinerates the two villagers (oh no! Poor Rachel and Santiago). Mona is furious with him as she runs to attack slashing with her scythe (19d) and slashing again (12d) and she shakes off it's will attack.

The jelly eye monster reaches for Mona but can't get a hand on her. Ani does more acid as he grumpily throws a Frost Vial for a critical hit (14d), an Alchemist Fire misses again and AGAIN causing Santiago to raise up from the dead to be disappointed. Sabux coughs up a bunch of ice cream cones covered with blood as Ray of Frost fires for a critical hit (23d) and fires his bones out of his body to meld into a shield in front of him. (\*Julz: Serious question... Does that mean Sabux is a pile of jelly on the ground right now? How is he standing if his bones are all his shield?) Mona swings again and yells because she's powerful (20d) and swings again for a critical hit (at least 34d) to finish it off.

Straight afterwards there was a wee argument about Sabux attacking everyone and Mona gets flowers out of nowhere to lay on the villagers bodies. It dawns that they still don't have any consecutive success to navigate this maze. Ani tries to use thievery to find a short cut thru the maze and succeeds, finding (98/100) two piles of ash and a carved up pile of jelly. Ok. That's a bad roll. Got it. Mona uses intimidation on the Disaster Boys because it's been 7 hours and they need to keep moving, causing (96/100) the same thing to happen but now it's been 8 hours. Sabux tries to stealth through the maze to find a new path, and a door (32/100) opens leading into a new part of the maze. That's 2 in a row! So they decide to rest and as they start to settle (6/8) they hear a slurping sucking noise as an ochre mass of waving tentacles goo comes around the corner. They're tired but they're up again.

WAIT WHAT? Stop everything... LAURA DOESN'T LIKE DONUTS? :0

Ok, back to combat. Ani's firing potions again, first up is an Alchemist Fire for a critical hit (21d) and persistent fire. Next is Acid Flask for zero damage as it's immune. Sabux is up and creates a Pelvis shield as it dances out of his body to Mona's sweet song, as well as turning his veins green and bubbly as he becomes resistant to acid. Mona Baywatch runs up to 'attack check' to critically cut off tentacles ... doing zero damage and making it split into two. (OOHHHH S#@T) Mona stows her scythe and draws daggers and the creatures stretch out but don't reach Mona. Ani runs up a bit and throws an Alchemist Fire at the one behind and critically hits (21d) and persistant again with some splash (4d) for the other. With the next it's more damage (22d) and some splash (4d) again. Sabux is up but he seems sleepy, casting divine fire from a black tunnel above. Orange gets a crit fail (48d) and Cube fails (24d) and dies. Seeing that Sabux throws up a yeti human centipede casting Ray of Frost, it freezes into shards and dies.

They decide to go to sleep again, it's like they haven't figured out that is what causes the random encounter? oh look.. The Blind Rat prompts them of that and they decide to go on instead. Ani goes back to basics with the Trumpet Echo location. The horn blast goes out (29) and it comes back fainter in one loaction so they go that way. It's been 10 hours and they're exhausted but there it is! The staircase. They start walking up, checking for traps, and reach a black onyx doorway carved into the wall of the tower. The doorway has a skull on it and a doorhandle that looks like a bone claw reaching out. Mona knocks and the skull mouth opens up "Begone!" and doesn't scare the heroes off. She twist the bone claw door handle and the door opens, revealing a well appointed study with bookshelves lining the walls.

There is a tall elf standing in the room, wearing blue robes with stars and moons all over them. He says, "Greetings. Welcome to my castle, my tower."