Hut of Diramball-Ak-Ralikar
| Type | Dungeon |
|---|---|
| Status | Explored April 824 TA |
| Location | near Teufeldorf |
| Hex | 0811 |
| Campaign | Third Age of Man (very early) |
| Adventure # | 11 |
Legend: Diramball-Ak-Ralikar
It is said that in the mid-sixth century of the First Age, Diramball-Ak-Ralikar was born into a noble family in the growing western empire that would become Rembia. He soon learned that he aged much slower than his fellow humans. He also discovered that he had great control over living animals. Therefore, Diramball set forth to build a menagerie to collect strange and wild animals for study. His cause was a noble one, and he soon became totally engulfed in his work. So much so that he realized too late that his own race was destroying the world he sought to protect. In 1353 FA, man was destroyed by The Great Plague.
Diramball lived, but he lost most of his collection. In addition, he was badly mutated. He traveled the world during the ensuing ages in his magical hut, hating those clever men who threaten his private world of rare creatures. The hut of Diramball-Ak-Ralikar appears as a small wooden shanty supported by eight sturdy oaken poles. A landing and entrance are easily seen from the ground. The hut becomes visible with the rising of the morning sun, and it slowly fades with the twilight of the evening... only to reappear in another land the next morning.
In 804 TA, the Archdruid Meadowflower was taking the diamond statue of the Albatross to Teufeldorf when she stumbled onto the hut in the clearing. She entered and was never heard of again. The Albatross, capable of controlling the weather, still lies somewhere within the hut of Diramball-Ak-Ralikar.
Reports of a strange hut near Teufeldorf prompted a hurried adventure sponsored by King Gregory on April 1, 824 TA to recover The Albatross. A successful campaign was made by Zachary (later Sir Zachary, Knight of Virtue), Treadway (later Lord Treadway), Condor the Cleric, Father Guido Sarduici, Hylax the Barker, Count Demoney III, and Ikcin Namffoh in which The Albatross was recovered, although Diramball-Ak-Ralikar and his hut escaped.
The Hut of Diramball-Ak-Ralikar
With the Realm under attack from the recently loosed demons, The party had little time in which to adventure for their own gain. It seemed as if at every turn, King Gregory had something else for our heroes to do. And this adventure was no different. This is the tale of the adventure in which the party quested to recover the Diamond Statue of the Albatross, a Druidic artifact capable of controlling the weather, from the elusive hut of the collector, Diramball-Ak-Ralikar. King Gregory, hearing the legend of the Archdruid Meadowflower, decided that the Diamond Albatross was an artifact that would prove helpful in fighting the demons. And so it was on April 1, 824 TA that the adventure began....
When dealing with wizards and supernatural beings, it is sometimes proper to begin at the end and work towards the beginning. And this is what we will do.
As the party dashed up the hill away from the perusing orcs, they began a frantic search. They knew that somewhere in the cliff face stood the door to their escape. Suddenly, the keen eyes of Lord Zachary spotted the portal, but alas it was locked and sealed by the magic of Diramball-Ak-Ralikar himself. Thinking quickly, Hylax cast the counter spell, opened the door, and the party entered. What they found was a set of extra-dimensional stairs. By this time the orcs had arrived, so the party had no choice but to climb. Imagine the surprise when the party dashed up the stairs, through another magical portal, and into the study of the Collector himself.
The room was a small rectangular one which should have taken up the entirety of the small hut. Diramball-Ak-Ralikar was not there, so the party quickly searched for anything of interest.
What the party found was a fabulous miniature golden dragon, Wu Ling Mien. Thought to be the last of its kind, the dragon must surely be priceless. Also, the party found a large snowy owl named Solomon. Disturbed by the intruders, Solomon called loudly for his master. Quieting the bird, the party thought that they had escaped unnoticed. But it was not to be. The party barely had time to snatch a book, grab some papers, and purloin a small chest from the Collector's desk before they were interupted. Diramball-Ak-Ralikar was there. Running out the nearest door, the party found themselves in the entrance of the hut. The sun was just beginning to fade, and with it the hut would fade too. Jumping through the portal, only Ickin Namffoh was hit by the spell that the Collector cast. A powerful hold spell froze the adventurer where he stood. Thinking quickly, the Hylax cast a push spell and Ickin fell to the ground just as the hut faded away.
Opening the chest, revealed a magical potion. The book was a ledger of all the exhibits found in the legendary Hut of Diramball-Ak-Ralikar. This book has the names of the Party members listed as the last entry and can be found in the Royal Library of Teufeldorf. Finally, the papers were found to be a discourse by Diramball himself. They describe the actions of his new "specimens" and are included to bring the telling of this adventure to a close.
| Report Number: 2120 Common Date: April 1, 828 of the Third Age My trap of food was set out in order to capture a specimen of the rare carnivorous ape. This was to replace the specimen that had recently died. However at about noon on the date above, a group of seven human adventurers wandered into the hut. At first they seemed interested in the food, but soon after I surmised that they had another plan in mind. Intrigued, I let them enter and meet Max the Spider Crab. I thought that perhaps I could determine how the human mind had developed in deductive reasoning and logic over the last fifty years. Max gave them the usual speech, "Welcome specimens of Middle Earth (the one they call Hylax seemed repulsed at the idea of being called a 'specimen'... perhaps it was the suggestion that he was being manipulated or studied), we of the collection of Diramball-Ak-Ralikar wish you a pleasent stay in the hut. You will find the collector very generous and kind, and his creatures interesting. Follow the stairs and the master will meet you." The adventurers (as we will now call them) questioned Max, and, getting no response, left to explore the hut. Perhaps, the violent tendencies of the human race are slowly being conquered. As the group first entered into the sea entrance, they were met by the first basic reasoning test. They could see the water beyond the glass door, but they could not get to it. It took the one that they call Lord Treadway only a few minutes to figure out that the lever must be thrown in order to drain the water before the door could be opened. Here I wish to note a strong racial tendency. When faced with swimming through the water tunnel, the gnome seemed to be very hesitant. This is strange since he was shown that the water contained enough air to allow normal breathing. Following the tunnel downward, I was pleased to note how they logically decided an order in which to descend. The maze at the bottom of the stairs proved to be a little tougher for the group. The general tendency of man to be afraid of being lost seems to still be a strong trait even today. Too bad. The two they call Lord Zachary and Count de Monet seemed to do most of the fighting. The former of these two seemed to be the strongest physically. Perhaps this is why they called him "Champ." The group killed three white sharks and a giant eel. After that first killing, the group seemed to undergo a dramatic psychological change. They seemed to become outraged and began to kill before they thought. However, our seven humanoids made it through the maze and into the cage of King Sahuagin and the mermen. This should prove to be the final test as to the adaptability and social advances of the human race over the last half century. As is the usual behavior of the mermen, they met the new humans at the perimeter of the waters of King Sahuagin of the Court of the Trident. Using a typical threat, the mermen greeted the party, "We don't want to have to send the Sea Lion after you. Come quietly." The new party seemed to show great restraint as they followed obediently. It looked as if the two tribes would cooperate. I then added an external agitator. As the party came near, I sent a messenger fish to the Princess of the Court telling her that if she helped the new party against the king, great rewards would be sent. I knew her inferior mind would accept the bribe. Thus, as the human Lord Treadway tried to bargain with the king (who showed his pomposity while enjoying superior numbers), the Princess convinced the party to do otherwise. The conversation that followed was very muddled, but in the end primitive human traits prevailed and the king and many of his court were slain. Strange that these humans killed most of mermen, but they did not pilfer the potions, magical rings, gems, and gold that were found nearby. They also left the mighty trident of the king. I have a feeling that fear was now their dominant emotion. I then set several giant pike to neutralize the humans before they did any more damage to my collection. These pike were killed with remarkable ease. Here, I must admit that I seriously underestimated the power of these adventurers. However, they were travelling towards the "Nixie Raider." They must be after the Albatross. But how did they know it was there? Perhaps the princess told them during the battle. At this point, the emotion of rage took over from fear and it becomes pointless to describe their actions in any more detail than a list. However, these adventurers did manage to have the presence of mind to search their victims.
* I wondered where this specimen had gone to. His only words were, "You won't get me...you...collector." Fear again. I must go into the water world myself. The humanoids have gathered the following treasures:
I think that these adventurers are heading for the lair of the Stonequeen. None have passed through her gates. It is here that I will catch up to the adventurers. It is a pity that the harmful and violent nature of mankind has changed so little in the last fifty years. Perhaps I will try to save some of the adventurers for scientific research. If their basic brain structures were altered, maybe their behavior patterns would change. Report Submitted by Diramball-Ak-Ralikar. |
But we know that the Collector didn't trap the party. In fact, the party proved to be more cunning than Diramball could have ever expected. And here is how our story ends...