¶ Session 034 - The Toll of the Bell and the Belly of the Beast
¶ The Ghost and the Doll
Returning to the sunken depths of the Drown Yard, the Soots—Nitro, Clutch, and Otto—revisited the flooded ruins seeking a path forward. As the reentered the school, they encountered the weeping spirit of a little girl, Cassiel, separated from her beloved stuffed animal, "Little Tony". Realizing the "creepy" poppet was in their stash, Nitro reluctantly returned it to the child.
In exchange for the reunion, the party asked about portals. While the girl offered only vague riddles about portals being "in your heart" and gestured toward the upper floor, Nitro turned to the doll itself for answers. When asked where the portals were, the doll's eyes eerily drifted toward the Drown Yard's front entrance. Satisfied with her toy, the ghost girl retreated into a side room, leaving the party to push forward toward the Bell Tower.
¶ Shadows in the Lecture Hall
Before reaching the tower, the group navigated the Lecture Hall, where they were ambushed by lurking Shadows. The incorporeal entities proved dangerous, with one managing to steal a portion of Clutch’s shadow, leaving the tengu Enfeebled.
The party rallied quickly:
- Otto Delivered a crushing blow with his light hammer.
- Nitro utilized her Great Axe to slash through the body of the spirits.
- Clutch used a smoke bomb to conceal the party and finished off foes with his fists.
After the skirmish, the group took a brief respite for Clutch to recover from the enfeeblement while Otto crafted acid flasks and Nitro passed the time by demolishing walls.
¶ The Diabolic Bell
Locating the submerged Bell Tower, the party utilized their giant clam for water breathing and dove into the murky depths. They found themselves in a flooded chamber dominated by a massive brass bell. The acoustics proved deadly; the mere presence of the bell inflicted sonic damage, a situation Otto exacerbated by striking it with his hammer to "test" it, causing a bone-shaking clamor that critically injured him.
Clutch saved the moment by casting Dispel Magic, silencing the diabolic instrument. Upon inspection, they found:
- The bell was embossed with the Tri-Towers School emblem.
- An inscription etched inside the rim: "When tears are shed and dusk sloths light, call forth the name and bind to the blight".
- Loot: A magical chain dislodged from the clapper (capable of dealing mental damage and casting Command).
¶ The Worm of the Chasm
Following the stairs downward, the party emerged into a dry, subterranean cavern air pocket. A ghostly figure appeared briefly, pointing them East before fading away. They arrived at a 30-foot chasm. Nitro attempted to create a bridge by hurling a javelin tied to a rope across the gap, but the impact disturbed something ancient.
A Huge Worm burst from the earth, separating the party.
- Nitro managed to scramble across the rope to the far side, barely escaping the tremor.
- Otto executed a daring maneuver, zip-lining down the rope using his crossbow and firing a bolt tipped with an acid flask mid-slide, critically striking the beast.
- Clutch attempted to grapple the massive creature but found it too large. Despite delivering a powerful flurry of blows that softened the creature's hide, the monk was seized by the worm's maw and Swallowed Whole.
Cliffhanger: The session ended with Otto hanging from the rope, Nitro isolated on the cliff, and Clutch trapped inside the belly of the beast.