Lair of the Abhorroghast

Bit mucky in here, isn't it, Runner 5? Sam's noticed his shack is getting pretty filthy, so it's time for a spot of lockdown housework. Thankfully he's found an old Demons & Darkness game so with a few tweaks we can tranform a spring clean into a proper quest! Prepare your cleaning supplies and he'll roll the dice...

Sam is the Dungeon Master and you're going into the Lair of the Abhorroghast! Terrible fumes rise from the open maw of the cave! You must get rid of this awful miasma... which tend to hang around doorknobs and light switches, so make sure you concentrate on those. But wait! Someone is helping to dispel the fumes! It's Ameline the elf, and she's going to help you cleanse the ground and make your way to the master below.

You and Ameline enter the cave into the Halls of Decay, dusty with debris from time immemorial. But wait! Another voice calls from the darkness! A heavily-armed halfling, Kit, emerges from the gloam, skipping every third floor tile. This place is full of traps. They'll need clearing - get those dusters out and get cracking. There's treasure to be had: The Madman's Crown, with the power of making and unmaking.

Unworldly carvings and statues emerge from under the grime. Kit pries free a sapphire from the eye of a cyclops sculpture before Amelia can stop him. The floor gives way and the three of you are plummeted into a pit of slime, filled with the bones of other foolhardy travellers. It's a slaughterworm brood-pit! The floor seethes and Kit is grabbed by the grisly invertebrates. The whole area must be cleared of muck if you want to rescue him - sweep those floors!

Sweeping and sword-swiping, you rescue Kit from the slaughterworms. But your work isn't done - if you don't clear the remains, the foetid creatures will return! Arm yourself with a mop or you'll be worm food. You can't go back the way you came, but there's a crack in the wall...

Your small band of adventurers head to the crack in the cave wall and squeeze single-file down the tunnel beyond. The slaughterworms are close behind, but Ameline's staff glows a vivid blue, summoning a wave of water that sweeps everything away. Where is it taking you? Tune in next week to find out...