The party moved down the stairway and finally arrived in the cellar where the chanting was the loudest. As much as they tried, they could not understand what the chanting was saying – the words just seemed to be just out of their understanding. Tess cast Mage Armor to prepare for whatever waited in the dungeon.

The party first came upon a series of crypts with stone sarcophagi. Engraved on the lid of the sarcophagi were the names of those that this was to be their final resting place:

• Gustav Durst
• Elisabeth Durst
• Rosalind Durst
• Thorn Durst
• Walter Durst

All of the sarcophagi were found to be empty so they moved on

Dymos decided to send Wolfie ahead south to scout and he soon came upon what looked to be a dining area with bones on the floor. Wolfie went east to explore an alcove and was attacked by a Grick! Dymos recalled Wolfie and the party all moved forward to attack the Grick. The Grick was a devious threat that attacked with it’s beak and tentacles, but the party was able to defeat the Grick after a pitched battle.

The party continued exploring west and came upon what looked like quarters for cultists with a well in the centre of a common room. They examined the beds and lockers and discovered the following items in the lockers after they successfully picked the locks:

• 11 gp and 60 sp in a pouch made of human skin.
• 50 gold pieces
• 30 gold pieces
• 50 gold pieces
• a silvered shortsword(worth 110 gp)

In their haste, the party accidentally set off a trap in the last chest which engulfed Tess in a thick cloud of poison gas.

Tess then cautiously approached the well and peered down. A swarm of bats flew up an attacked! The party was able to dispose of the bats but not before Dymos was bitten deeply by a bat.

Tess went back to examining the well. First Tess turned the crank and brought the bucket up. Tess found that it contained a black leather eyepatch with a carnelian sewn into it. Tess pocketed the eyepatch and then threw a stone down the well to see if there was any water. Tess was somewhat disappointed to only hear a solid thunk of the stone. Tess cast Sacred Flame to explore the bottom of the well and found it was indeed dry and provided no further items of interest.

Tess discovered that the Sacred Flame spells burned an odd purple colour.

The party then explored some other quarters that were more well-appointed but had no items of interest – they cautiously moved on.

They returned to a passage that led south that they previously left unexplored. They bravely strode forward. Too bravely it turned out, as they neglected to check for traps and a spike pit opened up under their feet!

Dymos was able to react quickly to avoid falling but Tess and Aldrick fell into the spike pit. Dymos and Doc pulled them up and they continued south. The party soon came upon a stairwell that took them down even further. As they descended the stairwell, the chanting got louder and louder.

The stairwell soon opened up into a large room with 13 alcoves all around the room that contained various relics:

• A small, mummified, yellow hand with sharp claws (a goblin’s hand) on a loop of rope
• A knife carved from a human bone
• A dagger with a rat’s skull set into the pommel
• An 8-inch-diameter varnished orb made from a nothic’s eye
• An aspergillum carved from bone
• A folded cloak made from stitched ghoul skin
• A desiccated frog lashed to a stick
• A bag full of bat guano
• A hag’s severed finger
• A 6-inch-tall wooden figurine of a mummy, its arms crossed over its chest
• An iron pendant adorned with a devil’s face
• The shrunken, shriveled head of a halfling
• A small wooden coffer containing a dire wolf’s withered tongue

The party sensed no residual magic in any of these items and took them all.

They noticed that to the south there was a portcullis in a pool of water. As they approached they could see a room beyond the portcullis with an altar in the middle of the water. Above the altar were two shackles to hold sacrifices. Dymos was able to Wild Shape to get beyond the bars of the portcullis and reach the lever on the other side to lift the portcullis.

Before they all entered the room with the altar, the party explored some prison cells that appeared to be used to hold sacrifices for the dark rituals. Finding nothing but skeletons, all the party members entered the altar room.

Once everyone had entered the room the portcullis slammed down and the chanting became loud and clear:

“One must die, one must die”

Suddenly a Shambling Mound shambled out of a cave. The chanting got louder and louder until it was almost unbearable. The party tried to determine how to satisfy the chanting before they resigned themselves to attacking the Shambling Mound. Through a concentrated attack they were able to reduce the Shambling Mound to mulch but not before Dymos was felled. They quickly healed Dymos and set themselves to escaping the house.

Almost immediately, the house itself started to fall apart. Stone and timbers fell around them and on them. As much as they tried, the party could not raise the portcullis. In an act of desperation, the party examined the altar and pulled down on the shackles.

Suddenly the portcullis raised and the party raced up the stairs while the house fell apart around them. They made their way up to the attic avoid the falling debris and encountered the ghosts of Rose and Thorne who directed them to jump out of the window.

The party dove out of the windows landing in a ledge below. They looked back and saw the Death House in flames.