As my companions and I ventured forth from the entrance hall to the dungeon, we walked through a magic-emanating waterfall into a room with a giant chess board as a bridge over a 30 foot drop into some sort of water flow.
As we stepped onto the giant chess board, we became subject to an enchantment, causing to only be able to move in turn and in form as if chess figurines. Any of us that were lost to the strategy of the enchantment of the opposing side, were flung from the board and subject to great pain.
We managed to slowly eliminate the opposing pieces, and ventured across the hall into a cylindrical room. At the far side of the room was a ladder, up which the ninja attempted to climb. Unfortunately, he failed to check if the ladder were trapped, and as the ladder's rungs collapsed beneath him, he vaulted up the poles, and the column in the middle of the room began to rotate.
The ninja determined that the apparent exit at the top of the ladder was merely an alcove designed to trick someone into climbing the ladder. I used magical webs to slow the rotation of the column, which appeared to be attempting to deploy spinning blades, but our way of entry had sealed itself. The ninja lept down, and then managed to notice a hidden door beneath the ladder, leading downward. Using more of my inherited sorcerous ways, I shrunk our centaur companion such that he would fit through the door, and then we entered the final room of this menacing dungeon.
Set atop a pedestal at the far end of the room, was the staff we sought. The staff that could control the serpent of the mighty river on the side of the mountain around us. As we approached the far end of the room, I discovered an arcane barrier designed to prevent crossing by creating a wall of fire. I easily dispelled a small section of it to allow us to pass.
On both sides of the pedestal was a statue. One of a basilisk, one of a manticore. My companions had the bright idea to attempt to destroy the statues before they could potentially be animated against us. This act, in and of itself, caused the statues to begin awaking. As they smashed at the basilisk statue, both began to turn to flesh. I quickly used more of my sorcerous power to subdue the manticore with webs. I eliminated further magical trappings of the pedestal, and removed the staff for safe keeping.
The manticore attempted to take flight, but I subdued it with further webs. Meanwhile, the basilisk was enduring onslaught from all of my companions except for the centaur. (I had thought of centaurs as being noble, but he clearly was not capable of combat, despite being well armed.) The basilisk began to turn the ninja to stone, which I quickly countered with more dispelling force.
(I have become weary of attempting to dispel stone form from accursed creatures. Each time I have done it, I become more aware of the powerful nature of the curses I am countering, and it is possible that I may fall to the same fate as the necromancer that freed me. I shall be more careful in the future...)
As the basilisk was slain, we all focused attention on the struggling manticore, and quickly slew it. We exited the room, back into the cylindrical one, to find that the trap within had reset, and so we passed through.
As we crossed the chess board we became aware of the possibility that more statues within the dungeon had animated themselves. The ninja snuck to the threshold to the entrance all, and saw the now-alive giant spider within, making food of one of its weaker neigboring now-alive statues.
We decided to venture down into the water-way beneath the chess room. We determined that we needed to go upstream to find our way back to the myconid colony. However, the river was blocked by a grate of thick metal bars.
Using gunpowder from the ninja's flintlock rifle, we crafted charges to break the bars free of the concrete. I used magical acid to weaken the bars. Overhead, the giant spider had heard something, and was crossing the chess board. I quickly distracted it with disembodied sounds from the far side of the room. We went back to work. After we had detonated all of our charges, we apparently managed to attract the attention of the now-alive minotaur from the entrance hall. As it began to charge at us, I put it into a deep sleep.
We pried the bars from the wall, and slipped into the tunnel. I had to shrink the centaur, once again, so that he could come along. I cast a magical alarm around the entrance of the tunnel, such that if the minotaur awakes, or the medusa or the beholder attempts to follow us, at least we will know that death is near, for we are weak.
I know not why the spear, for which this staff will be traded, is important. But if it is as powerful as an artifact as my companions believe, it may be useful in pursuading this "Gregor" into revealing how I came to be in this land, when and if, we ever catch up with him. And then, only then, shall I find reason for why I am doing, what I am doing. If there is any at all.
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