2026.01.31: Beneath the Charcoal Palace

When last we met...

The Freaky Gray Company found themselves deep beneath the Charcoal Palace, seeking a dimensional anchor that maintains the Sultan's Forbiddance spell. Their mission: destroy it, allowing Gaushroth and his imprisoned children to finally challenge the Sultan and complete an ancient deal made by Erash's ancestors. Armed with determination, questionable decision-making skills, and two gallons of mayonnaise, they pressed forward into the unknown.

The Puzzle Begins

"It is a historic work of cultural significance for these people, though, so..." "So we should take it." "Clearly. We'll take better care of it."

The session opened with the party catching their breath after a previous encounter, examining three platinum arm bands recovered from battle—each thick, valuable, and decidedly non-magical despite their precious metal composition. After brief debate about the ethics of looting (spoiler: the ethics lost), the bands were distributed among the party (Erash, Khoraka, and Valgara) with Khoraka self-enabling accepting one after a short theological debate with his roommate, establishing that Avandra, goddess of merchants and trade, would probably approve of wealth acquisition.

The other yet-to-be-identified magical and magic-adjacent loot included a smoking bottle (Phelan), a flashy necklace with pendulous beads (Khoraka), a diamond worth ~1,000 GP (Ferric, and good for two resurrections…. Which we hopefully won‘t need), a giant sapphire (?), an iron sphere (Snow), a ring (Snow), and an assortment of valuable jewelry (?).

Before venturing beyond the chamber into a new passage open before them, the party turned their attention to the twelve stone golems. Using his stone, Erash ordered them to mobilize. The constructs were loud—grinding stone-on-stone with every step—and stealth seemed increasingly valuable in the unexplored depths ahead.

What followed was an extended tactical discussion about reducing friction and noise. Suggestions ranged from practical (leather pads, oil) to creative (levitation spells) to... mayonnaise. Phelan's alchemist's jug could produce two full gallons of the stuff, and the volume-to-viscosity ratio was, technically speaking, superior to the mere quart of oil available.

The debate continued. Plans were proposed. Calculations were made. The party was this close to attempting the world's first large-scale mayo-based golem lubrication initiative.

Then someone tried to move one of the newly-activated constructs.

It took exactly one step outside the room before collapsing into inert stone.

The golems, it turned out, were bound to the room itself—guardians that could be commanded but never removed. All twelve of them. The party's extensive planning session about lubricants, spell slot economy, and optimal noise reduction had been rendered completely moot.

Their first challenge revealed itself in a rotunda featuring a stunning mural of the City of Brass—a mixed-media masterwork with gold-plated towers and tiny rubies forming the Sea of Fire, all framed in polished obsidian. While the party admired the craftsmanship, they also debated the merits of cultural preservation versus, well, just taking the whole thing. The philosophical discussion ranged from genuine concern about historical significance to "clearly we'll take better care of it" to "who knows what's gonna happen tomorrow?" In the end, practicality (and the lack of appropriate tools for art theft) won out.

The real puzzle lay not in the mural itself, but in an adjacent volcanic ash "zen garden" sitting atop a basalt pedestal. After Snow's investigation revealed subtle patterns in the mural's rubies—certain gems shining less brightly than others—the party worked together to identify a glyph-like shape formed by the dimmer stones. Snow sketched the pattern into the ash, and with a grinding sound of stone on ancient stone, the door shuddered open, revealing the passage beyond.

The Room of Six Statues

"We have all these unidentified magic items, guys. We should just throw them at each other and see what happens."

Beyond the mural room lay their next challenge: six towering hooded statues arranged in alcoves around a central table. Each statue faced inward toward an array of oversized stone objects—a scythe, a dagger, a spear, a hammer, a crown, and a book. The puzzle seemed obvious: match each item to its corresponding statue.

What followed was a methodical investigation worthy of any detective novel. Phelan examined the first statue, noting its ink-stained fingertips—clearly a scholar or scribe. Snow investigated another, finding boots crusted in mud. Erash discovered a third with hands wet as if freshly washed, while others noted bloodstained fingers, soot-covered palms, and finally, one statue with pristine, clean hands.

The party debated their findings: muddy boots suggested a farmer (scythe), bloody hands indicated violence (dagger), wet hands implied fishing or water work (spear), soot pointed to a blacksmith (hammer), clean hands denoted royalty (crown), and ink-stained fingers belonged to the scholar (book). One by one, they placed each item into the waiting hands of its corresponding statue.

The final piece—the crown—settled into place with satisfying precision, and the circular door at the room's far end rolled open with another shower of ancient dust and debris, revealing a dark passage sloping downward into the depths.

Scouting Ahead

"I didn't get close enough to tell, guys. But there were two glowing red eyes... lights? Round shaped... and very big." 

The party split briefly to scout the descending corridor. Snow, utilizing her superior darkvision and ceiling-walking abilities, crept upward along the sloped passage, while Phelan hugged the shadows and ventured downward. After following a passage that bore relief sculptures depicting the Sultan's various conquests and victories, both returned with concerning reports: Snow had spotted two glowing golden orbs in the darkness—possibly eyes, possibly something worse, possibly dragon-sized. Phelan, meanwhile, had encountered what appeared to be a humanoid figure wreathed in hazy blue light, standing motionless in the hallway below.

After quick deliberation, the party opted to investigate the blue figure first, reasoning that whatever lurked in the upper darkness could wait.

The Pristine Hallway

"It's clean. Kind of like it gets burned down on a regular basis. Casually."

As they descended, multiple party members noted something peculiar: the basalt corridor was immaculately clean. No dust, no debris, no cobwebs—nothing. The 20-foot-wide hallway was pristine, as if regularly maintained or... scoured clean.

The implications became horrifyingly clear moments later.

Birth of a Barbarian

"Just giving birth to a barbarian."

What they had mistaken for a glowing humanoid figure was, in fact, something far worse: a gelatinous cube filling the entire 20-by-20-foot corridor. The "blue figure" they'd seen was merely the dissolved remains of some unfortunate soul, their armor still visible within the translucent mass, along with a faintly glowing blue gemstone.

The cube attacked with shocking speed, utterly disregarding Erash's attempts to control it with his orb. Pseudopods lashed out, striking Snow and Khoraka with devastating combinations of bludgeoning and acid damage. Worse still, the cube surged forward, its transparent bulk crackling with internal lightning as it engulfed Valgara entirely.

What followed was a desperate battle. Phelan and Snow peppered the creature with projectiles (some of which actually penetrated the gelatinous mass), while Khoraka unleashed Eldritch Blasts that carved temporary voids in the cube's structure. Erash channeled devastating elemental magic, boiling and freezing portions of the creature in rapid succession, creating a visible gouge in the cube's mass.

But the true drama belonged to Valgara. Restrained, blinded, and taking continuous acid and lightning damage, the barbarian nevertheless maintained consciousness through sheer stubborn will (and Ferric's timely healing magic). With a strength check that would make legends, she literally fought her way out of the cube, emerging from its front surface like a warrior being born from the earth itself—smoking, acid-burned, covered in translucent goo, and absolutely furious.

The killing blow came from Khoraka, whose triple Eldritch Blast barrage finally disrupted the cube's cohesion. It burst like an overfilled water balloon, flooding the hallway with acidic slime and revealing its treasures: a set of ancient, acid-degraded black adamantine armor (which crumbled at touch but might be salvageable with significant artificer work) and the mysterious blue gemstone that had been glowing from within.

The Chain Lightning Gambit

"I deserve that." [The hand flips off the entire party] "I deserve that too. Come here."

Pressing forward, the party discovered a small, seemingly empty 15-foot cubic room. Snow's investigation detected runes. Valgara's investigation also detected other runes.

Then Snow stepped into the room.

The ancient runes flared to life on three walls, and chain lightning erupted through the space with catastrophic force. Snow took the brunt of it in the initial blast. The lightning then arced to every party member within 100 feet (which was everyone), dealing additional damage and forcing multiple saves. When three or more party members failed their saves, the trap's secondary effect triggered: the lightning arced back to Snow for another devastating hit.

Battered but undeterred, the party regrouped. Phelan, ever the scientist, decided to test whether the trap had been expended or merely needed time to reset. The solution? Send in The Hand.

Yes, that hand. Erash's former appendage—severed by a fell fey curse, caught by Phelan, preserved in a jar, taught sign language—was deployed as an autonomous trap detector.

The hand scuttled into the room. The trap reset. Chain lightning erupted again, blasting everyone in range (again, just Phelan, for the sake of SCIENCE) and scoring the hand with electrical burns. The charred appendage stumbled back to the doorway and, in its first act upon returning, flipped off the entire party.

Phelan, acknowledging that he "deserved that" (and "deserved that too"), used his last first-level spell slot to cast Cure Wounds on the hand, healing it back to functionality while it continued to express its displeasure through aggressive sign language. After approximately five minutes of what can only be described as "hand therapy," the appendage calmed down enough to be returned to its jar, though it remained noticeably pouty about the entire experience.

The Glowing Eyes Await

"You got shot. Some of you twice. It was an interesting experiment."

The party limped a bit further forward, and scouting revealed another pair of glowing red eyes beyond the acidic hallway. Having expended significant resources—Erash completely out of spell slots, multiple party members below half health, and one tiny five fingered henchman with boundary issues—the group decided to retreat to the Room of Six Statues for a long rest. Ferric removed the crown from its statue, sealing the door and creating a defensible position.

As they settled in for rest, the eyes in the darkness above remained unexplored, the dimensional anchor still unfound, and tomorrow's challenges loomed large. The party had proven they could handle ancient puzzles and transparent oozes alike, but whatever waited deeper in the Sultan's vault would require fresh resources... and possibly fewer experiments.

Featured Character Moments

Snow demonstrated exceptional investigative skills in solving the mural puzzle, identifying the pattern of dimmer rubies that unlocked the first door. Her ceiling-walking reconnaissance also provided crucial early warning about the golden eyes lurking in the upper passage.

Valgara literally fought her way out of a gelatinous cube from the inside, emerging like a warrior born from primordial ooze. Her response to being freed? Immediately stumbling away while still smoking and accepting healing without complaint—a first.

Phelan experienced a dice rebellion of historic proportions (1-in-13,000 odds) yet still contributed meaningfully to both puzzle-solving and combat. More importantly, he demonstrated the true artificer spirit by using their last spell slot to heal his sassy disembodied hand after subjecting it to experimental trap detection. The hand's opinion of this choice was made abundantly clear through interpretive gestures.

Khoraka maintained consistent damage output with Eldritch Blast while taking repeated lightning damage, ultimately delivering the killing blow to the gelatinous cube. His ability to remain effective while literally getting shocked repeatedly showed impressive focus (or possibly stubbornness).

Erash provided devastating elemental combos and crucial knowledge checks. His single-turn damage against the cube created a turning point in the battle, and his involuntary contribution of a spare hand continues to provide both utility and entertainment.

Ferric provided crucial support throughout, from creative problem-solving (offering to silence the golems if they stayed close together) to massive clutch healing that kept the party functional. His 31-point healing on Valgara immediately after her gelatinous emergence likely saved her life, proving that every party needs someone who remembers that hit points are finite and that someone needs to actually keep the barbarian alive.

Questions Raised

• What are the glowing eyes in the upper darkness?
• Where is the dimensional anchor, and what guards it?
• Are Gaushroth's children actually down here, imprisoned as guardians? Are they friend? Foe?
• Will The Hand forgive them?
• How many more traps lie between the party and their goal?

The Freaky Gray Company will return...