Day 23.3: Why you don’t play with black sand…

Mutu shows up just in time to take over being the meat shield (I have got to get some more armor!) and engages Albert and the PPP still murking about behind the mystical lines. (We really ought to contain that thing before it realizes there is an out on the south side.) Albert – I guess not liking being ignored – throws a black sand glob at the stair group causing black sand spikes to appear and damage people. Dodging out that one I head towards Albert – the one thing I can hi., While Mutu deals with both Albert and the Purple Putrid Pustulant. Adelhind doesn’t seem to understand that we are trying to help her and Him is forced to knock her unconscious to protect her from herself.

The party then turns to Albert, eventually killing him (a mercy he thanked us for) and Mutu realizes we could maybe reactivate the trap on the PPP by replacing the gem. Charles and Diane send damaging spells into the creature while I keep it distracted from Mutu. Mutu grabs the spare purple gem and reactivates the mystical line trapping the creature Him grabs Alberts body – he does deserve a decent burial according to Diana -(and has some good shit on him). A few more damaging spells and the PPP is no more than a stain on the floor.

Once able to examine Adelhind, we realize she is suffering from a form of black sand poisoning that we have seen before. Diana realizes gossamer is being ripped from her and if we had a dream stone for it to feed on instead of her, we might be able to save her. Unfortunately, the only dream stone we currently have is cursed. It seems they were experimenting with black sand and alchemical crafting. What they didn’t realize was how much black sand added to the alchemical regents and it blew out the wards.

We hear the thunder of people rushing to the lab and decide to withdraw and not be caught here with two bodies. I grab what notes/journals were in the lab and we leave Albert’s lifeless corpse and take Adelhind with us. Managing to pointing out exactly where to step for the rest of the party, we get out of the area quickly and more importantly quietly without drawing any attention to ourselves. I even sent them more help (and befuddle without lying no less), the other scholars we meet in trying to escape.

Not sure who to trust, I decide to take them to the disused university room 379 where I spoke to the Rauch Feen. The notes we scavenged made mention of a trader from Leng who gave them a before unknown distillation to help them form nightmares using alchemical and black sand mixtures. Even more surprising was the name – Rylar’op. The one taken by the flying monkey bats. Whether he is a prisoner or a willing advisor is yet to be seen.