First of, thank you to Len Lakofka for all of the information and modules he has provided. Also, thanks to everyone else that has added ideas to this island for me to mine for this campaign. I will try and do it justice.
Backdrop: The adventure group is leaving the area of the Pelisso Swamp after having adventured in the Forbidden City (see previous posts). They think they are heading to Restenford to meet Pelltar, a friend of their captain, for aid and hopefully spellbook supplies. They think it will be a layover before heading back towards the Wild Coast/Pomarj area. They thought wrong. The adventure starts are they are leaving the basecamp in the swamp. They plan to overload a magical folding boat (overly kind DM).
The group consists of:
Ledego (NPC) - male 1/2 elf mage - Captain of the ill fated Nir Nen
Peylae (NPC) - female 1/2 elf mage - First mate and daughter to Ledego
Ship Crew (NPCs, Comus, Larrig, Ersan, Varze, Ment, Nedwyn & Tiz)
The next few days pass slowly and with much discomfort. Ledego remains in his tent under the care of Peylae. The Nir Nen crew assist with your needs. The party donates some money and gems at Hashoven’s request to Osprem.
As the effects of the medication wears off and the group regains their strength, the group begins to fall into routines.
Ide Otneaux and Southar remain in bed for most of the days, slowly recovering from their near death experiences.
Ewan and the Nir Nen crew remain to assist with the wounded as they recover; closely watching Kuba and Ide to make sure the curse has been driven from their bodies. Keeping himself busy helps him with the pain of losing his traveling companion, Siohbon.
The elves, Cirdan Saralonde, Grimlock, Aratheas and Tathar, spend much time in Ledego’s tent. Grimlock and Peylae taking many walks to gather jungle plants and herbs to foster the healing packs Berry Hairycheeks started.
Kuba cleans his weapons and armor and practices his combat skills.
Speck is nearly always at Kuba’s side tinkering with this or that, practicing his fighting or talking walks around the compound to chat up whoever will listen.
Breymeer cleans his gear and spends time taking walks in the jungle where he finds peace and quiet.
Grom, whenever possible, spends time conversing with Hashoven about religion and the region around the Pelisso Swamp and Xaro Mountains.
Tathar remains quiet and spends long hours in what appears to be a trance or meditation. He spends some time examining his cobra styled staff and asks Hashoven if he knows anything about it.
Tarstar spends time fixing his gear, dancing at odd times and looking out across the water, dreaming of his days on the open sea.
During one of the evenings together, Cirdan Saralonde gathers the party together and asks each member to place the recovered items of interest into a pile so that he can attempt to detect any magical fields around them.
The group complies and Cirdan reports:
The brass ring recovered from the yuan-ti has a weak protection aura (Cirdan),
The yuan-ti dagger has a weak enchantment (Cirdan),
The language elixir is magical (Cirdan),
The platinum snake necklace from the yuan-ti does NOT radiate magic (Cirdan),
The statuette of the yuan-ti god does NOT radiate magic (Ide),
The golden shield radiates a strong enchantment (Southar),
The rope recovered in the yuan-ti temple radiates some type of alteration magic (Southar),
The potion given to Southar by Peylae is magic,
The bone knife recovered by Tathar near the wildman compound has mild enchantment,
The yuan-ti cobra staff has moderate enchantment (Tathar).
The platinum necklace and the statuette, although not magic, have obvious value.
You spend the first week of Reaping recovering. Southar and Ide Otneaux continue to increase in strength and appear back to normal.
Horan has not been seen since arrival at the basecamp. Hashoven comes and goes checking on your recovery. Once he senses your recovery is near complete, he delivers you a message, “Horan has become too busy to bid you farewell. He assumes you will soon depart from our company. He thanks you for your service and assistance. He advises you seek me out with and questions or concerns. You are all free to leave as you wish.” Hashoven returns to the camp after delivering the message.
Ledego begins to speak of setting sail down the river and back out to sea. He has been working with his magical boat and claims to have command of its magic. He claims the boat can comfortably haul 15 passengers. There are 22 of you remaining; Ledego, Paylae and 7 crew members and 13 adventurers.
Ledego calls a meeting and offers the group the following options, “I intend to leave shortly for the Spindrift Isles to our east. I have an associate there that I believe will take me in. He lives in the small town of Restenford. I am willing to take any of you with me. I can take up to six people comfortably. Any more than that and we shall suffer the burden of overcrowding but I am willing to pack the ship like rats if need be. No offense is meant to you dear Grimlock.”
He allows a few laughs at Grimlock’s expense and continues, “You are all free men and women. Chose as you wish. If you wish not to come with me, the Suel ship material and receive supplies to and from the mainland on a regular basis. It may be possible to get passage on one of these ships. Finally, if you want to stay with the Suel, I wish health and safety for you. I shall leave at daybreak the day after tomorrow. Be at the docks if you wish to travel with me and my crew.”
The day prior to Ledego’s departure is spent in thought. The group meets for conference after the serving of the evening meal. Tathar spends the whole day in trance.
Cirdan Saralonde speaks of the plunder. If we split, we should discuss what to do about the statuette and the platinum necklace. Maybe the Suel would be interested in buying or bartering for them.
Grom, normally quiet, speaks boldly, “I intend to gain passage upon the Suel ships. I intend to get to Dullstrand and head overland to my home in the Glorioles Mountains. My patron, Brightmantle, has served many of you well. I only ask that I am provided enough for room, board and passage on my way home.”
Breymeer speaks next, “I am very concerned about the wild men and how they fared. If we stay, I would like to head back and check on them. But, I have had enough of cities and buildings. I will travel with Ledego if the group is leaving the swamp.
Ewan McDermott stands with Breymeer, “I am fond of the wild men. I will stay if you need company Breymeer. I have an axe to grind with the Bugbears. If we do not stay, travelling east gets me closer to home. I am a large man on a small ship though. Maybe passage on another boat would be better for me.”
“Tarstar will also travel with Ledego,” is his vote.
Cirdan Saralonde hands Grimlock the magical language elixir, “Here, maybe this will help you communicate next time. Do not use all of it, we should try and have more made if we can find and alchemist. I shall travel with Ledego.”
Southar makes his opinion known, “I would like to get back home myself. I would like we should be back to Highport in time so I may hunt down those how enslaved most of us. I will do what it takes to get back there. I will travel with Ledego for now.”
Kuba says "Wherever our paths may lead and whatever dangers we face I feel confident with you my companions. But next time let’s loot the place a little more. Oil and water don't mix, but blood and gold go hand in hand."
Speck looks a little surprised at Kuba's poetic statement. "Well said, but I prefer my blood mixing with itself; inside my skin.”
“I have no family and you are my only friends. You have brought me back from the grasp of death. I will stand by you for as long as you stand by me. Count me in. Restenford sounds comfortable to me.” Ide is in.
Grimlock also votes to leave with Ledego.
Aratheas bids farewell, “I shall travel with Grom. I also seek to return to my homeland.”
Reaping 9th, 577. The day breaks hot with no wind. It is very uncomfortable.
Ledego rises early. He and Peylae visit while the group eats breakfast. Some type of egg with bread and the standard fruits; mangos, bananas, etc.
Ledego informs the group he has chosen against attempting to sail across the Oljatt Sea directly to Restenford with an overstock of occupants. He does not trust the small vessel in the event the seas turn against you.
He has revised his plan. The group travelling with him will take passage to the port of Duxchan in the Lordship of the Isles. Here, the group will load onto the small magical craft and sail along the shorelines of the chain of islands as it leads to the Spindrift Sound and the Spindrift chain of islands. Your destiny is the southernmost island. The northern islands are inhabited solely by elves and all uninvited guests are dealt with unkindly. The southern island contains a motley mix; mostly human with a few demi-humans. The humans are mainly of Suel blood worshipping Suel deities.
Ledego plans to bypass Loreltarma for reasons unspoken and travel directly to Restenford.
In the small fishing port of Restenford, Ledego has an acquaintance named Pelltar. Ledego warns you that Pelltar is very imperious and highly independent. It is wise to show him respect in his home. Also, the island’s inhabitants are very independent and there is a very loose rule of law. There is no strong central government leaving the local barons in charge. Be careful. Most people are of good nature but much of the land can become lawless quickly. Finally, Ledego admits he had originally fled the islands for fear of a growing humanoid threat. The hobgoblins and others were gaining in strength and he feared a local invasions, at minimum, if left unchecked.
“I have met with Horan to discuss this arrangement. He has agreed to the terms. With your consent, noble Saralonde has given me the platinum necklace and the statuette. I have traded them to Horan for this.” Ledego holds out a velvet bag. Opening it, he spills numerous sapphires, emeralds and topaz. He hands one of each stone to each party member. The sapphires are the largest (approx. values; 500 gp), the emeralds are next (100 gp) and then the topaz (50gp).
“Horan has taken his fees for passage. You will be fed up to the point of disembarkment. I have also taken some of the value for procurement of supplies for our trip on the ‘Ungolhing’. It means ‘spider’s gift’. Since the magical boat was recovered from the spider, I thought we could honor its gift.”
The group packs what is left of its equipment and heads down to the docks while the wild Suel tribesman begin to take down the tent that has been home for the last week.
Upon the shore, near the docks, you are greatly surprised to see Neras, who guided you through the jungle. He had been thought lost to the storm. Neras approaches Breymeer while holding something wrapped in cloth in his hands. He nods to Breymeer respectfully and unwraps the cloth revealing an arrow with an obsidian tip. Breymeer is nods back as a show of respect and takes the arrow, placing it in his quiver.
Hashoven is on the docks wearing his usual blue robes. There is a multitude of canoes being loaded with cargo. The crates are manufactured similar to the warehouse crates you saw in the ruined city. Hashoven is blessing each boat as it is loaded. A small fleet of nearly two dozen large canoes is finally assembled and ready for travel. The group is split between two boats; the Nir Nen crew in one canoe and the adventurers in the other. Both will be travelling side by side.
“Do not forget the blessings of Osphrem! Give your offerings to the sea when you see it and surely Osphrem will watch over you!”
“Speaking of offerings,” says Ide Otneaux, “Grom, please take my emerald and Ewan my topaz in the name of Brightmantle and the blessed nature of the Ffolk.” She hands them the respective gems.
“I am just glad to be taking a large ship to Duxchan,” comments the oversized Ewan, pocketing the gem.
Grom thanks her with a heartfelt handshake and a smile.
Two extremely hot, calm days later, the group clears the waterway through the swamp and arrives at the sea. The smells of the swamp give way to the salty sea air. The openness of the sea is refreshing. A large single masted cog is anchored a bit off shore. Its sail is a solid scarlet color.
The remainder of the second day is spent loading the craft with all of the crates from the canoes. It quickly becomes evident each character is expected to assist with the unloading. This task is made easier by the small crane engineered about midship on the starboard side.
Thus ends Reaping the 11th, 577.
With horrors of the slave ship still on the minds of some of the party members, and the overwhelming heat, the group sleeps on the deck.
Reaping 12th arrives hotter and more miserable. The only salvation is a mild breeze that picks up to a nearly 20 mph by mid-day. The cog, The Crimson Wave, makes excellent time. Travelling west along the Hepmonaland coast, you leave the Pelisso Swamp behind you by nightfall, turning north towards the Lordship of the Isles.
The day is otherwise uneventful.
Reaping 13th brings the same hot weather and clear skies. The wind dies down as the day progresses to the chagrin of the captain.
Reaping 14th boasts clear skies and very little wind. The grimness of no wind is offset by the “Land Ho” called out from the crow’s nest as the sun rises upon the horizon. Landmasses appear ahead on both the port and starboard with a channel between them. Both islands covered in tropical growth excepting the peak of the central volcano that is a mainstay of this archipelago. On the left, the Duchy of Ansaba, home to the capital of Duxchan. On the right, the Duchy of Ganode. Both islands populated by the Suel. By mid-day, The Crimson Wave is docked at Duxchan. Here, some cargo is offloaded and other supplies taken aboard. No one is allowed to disembark other than Ledego and company.
Ledego, fearing a watchful eye, leads the group to a seaside tavern, the Brass Anchor. It is here that Ewan McDermott informs the group he will seek passage upon a different ship and rejoin the group at Restenford. If he should miss them there, he plans to sail back to east to him homeland.
Ledego buys everyone dinner and refreshments. He informs the group he plans to sneak out to the docks after midnight and launch his magical boat. The Lordship had a history of piracy before undertaking more legitimate, duties and tax based income.
At the end of the meal, Grom and Aratheas bit farewell and seek their own passages to Dullstrand and then inland to their homes.
Nearing bar close, the group departs; staying close to the docks and warfs. Taking several turns and alleys in order to shed light on anyone tailing the group, Ledego leads the group to an isolated dock with very little activity. Once convinced all was well, Ledego walks out and drops his box into the sea. Looking around one last time, he speaks the magic words triggering the change. To your amazement, the box begins to unfold rapidly into a sailing vessel. The boat has a deck, single rowing seats, five sets of oars, a steering oar, an anchor, a deck cabin, and a mast with a square sail. It is 24 feet long, 6 feet deep and 8 feet wide. The group assembles about the deck, finding it very crowded. A boat meant for no more than 15 now holds nearly two dozen.
Once Ledego is confident the boat will hold everyone, he sets watches and waits for morning to purchase supplies.
Reaping the 15th brings the same heat wave. Today there is a slight relief of cloud cover. The cloud cover brings a light rain for the duration of the morning. Ledego sets out with his crew, minus Peylae, to purchase supplies. As those remaining behind guard the ship, they cannot help but notice Grimlock continues to take any given opportunity to chat up Peylae. Prior to leaving, Ledego asks if there is anything anyone wants purchased for them. Ledego assures you armor and weapons may be purchased in Restenford.
Ledego and crew return within a few hours and the ship is loaded with several crates of food and other miscellaneous supplies. Several extra crates are placed aboard ship. “I intend to continue on after landing at Restenford,” explains Ledego. “I do not know if I can get some of these supplies there.”
Ledego clears the deck as best as possible. Ledego and crew remain on the deck with the company of Tarstar considering his sailing background.
Tarstar cannot stop dancing to be back on the waves and working upon a ship. Ledego allows Cirdan Saralonde, Grimlock and Tathar into the cabin. Tathar finds a quiet spot and goes into a trance. There is very little room in the cabin to move about.
Ledego has the rest of the prior slaves, Ide Otneaux, Southar and Breymeer take watches for danger above deck; taking pains to stay out of the way.
Kuba and Speck head below deck to sleep. As the crew tires, Ledego substitutes others being careful not to thin his crew too far.
With clearing skies and little wind, the crew begins to row out to sea.
Very little progress is made this day. The ship skirts the northern shore of Ganode.
Reaping the 16th brings more heat and a steady rain with no wind. A second day is spent rowing with everyone, except Speck, taking their turn. The ship continues to pass the northern shore of Ganode.
While travelling, Ledego recites a bit of history for the Lordship of the Isles.
The night of the Reaping 16, 577 is spent anchored between a few small islands on the north side of the mainland of Ganode.
The ship’s log for Reaping the 17th records no wind and continued rain. Miraculously, the Ungolhing crosses a small channel and arrives at the County of Mirim. A small island with the port of Tos-Ile located on the southwestern shore. Here Ledego takes on fresh food and water. The crew remains aboard ship but Ledego sees to it tavern rooms are acquired and everyone sleeps in a bed after a fine meal and a bath. The tiredness of the slaveship seems to have returned. After the meal and bath, none are able to stay awake in order to explore the small port city. All are back aboard ship soon after sunrise.
Departing Tos-Ile on the morning of the 18th of Reaping, the Ungolhing heads to the southern shores and wraps around Mirim next finding the Dutchy of Diren.
As the ship moves away from land, Ide Otneaux is joined by Cirdan Saralonde and Tathar Surion at the front of the ship. Both of the elves drop a handful of gold coins into the water and Ide Otneaux drops her sapphire. “To Osprem! May we have a sailor’s wind, calm seas and reprieve from this rain.”
In an unusual moment, Tathar speaks further, “If we do not honor the gods that heal us, they will stop blessing us with life.”
The island of Diren boasts the original Oeridian capital of Sulward on its northern shore.
The Ungolhing nears the eastern edge of Diren by the end of the day. Not wanting to face the expanse of sea between Diren and the next island, the County of Jehlum, in the darkness, Ledego weighs anchor in the relative safety of a large inlet on the southeastern tip of Diren.
The sun rises on the 19th of Reaping. Ide Otneaux and the two elves cannot help but wonder as the rain breaks with the exception of an occasional brief shower. The heat wave continues but a slight breeze picks up allowing the sail to be hoisted. The ship clears Diren by late morning and faces the widest expanse of ocean it has yet been tested against. Adding to this, not long afternoon, a warship bearing the Lordship of the Isles banner comes into view from the north, traveling south. It begins to bear down upon your little craft.
In a private moment, Cirdan asks Ledego why he is planning on moving past Restenford when that is where his friend is. Ledego answers, “There is much trouble to be found upon the island. Pelltar finds them yet safe and wishes to remain there. But he is Suel man. I will be staying for a short time only. I have similar needs as yourself and Pelltar has facilities that will help me. We shall see what arises when we get there. You must not mention my name on the island. Some questionable authorities in Loreltarma have an arrest warrant for me.”
Cirdan responds with a smile, "I am liking you more and more, my friend. Let us see where this next adventure takes us."
He answers, "You have my trust as well noble Saralonde."
“It is no use attempting to flee from this vessel.” Ledego looks towards the eastern horizon. “It is much faster than us and we are only about half way across the archipelago. There is no point in needlessly causing ourselves to look like pirates.”
Weapons are made ready but Ledego advises against the wearing of heavy armor, “We do not want to appear hostile. Besides, in the event you find yourself overboard, you will sink like a stone.” Southar, who has kept his shield covered with cloth, keeps his shield leaned against his leg.
The ship sails within hailing distance. A small craft disembarks from the warship and rows over to the Ungolhing. A crew of a dozen sailors man the craft. Two of them climb the rails and stand upon the Ungolhing’s deck. Ledego shows them the hold and the cabin. They examine his paperwork showing what supplies he took on at Duxchan and Tos-Ile.
Ledego pays a few gold coins for an ‘inspection fee’ and the men climb back into their rowboat and head back to the warship. It sails off; heading over the western horizon along the southern shores of Diren.
By the end of the day (19th), Ledego has navigated the ship around the southern shores of Jehlum; again finding shelter near shore for the night. During the voyage, especially at port during the evenings, Ledego has been and continues to brief everyone about Restenford and its environs. His descriptions include many of the local’s names and businesses in town.
Reaping 20, 577 finds a steady breeze and scattered clouds with occasional showers. The intense heat has subsided; finally dropping out of the 100+ range and settling in the mid 90s.
This day finds the ship moving past Jehlum and arriving at the County of Luda. It is the second to last island of the chain and only slightly bigger than Mirim.
In the early afternoon, the ship passes an open bay on the southern shores of Luda. It prepares to wrap around the eastern peninsula that makes this bay a safe harbor from the eastern winds.
With an enormous splash, the good luck that has blessed the Ungolhing expires. A sea creature, having stalked the boat successfully, has risen from the depths. In a surprise attack, a long neck darts out of the water from the port (left) side of the ship. The creature’s head resembles that of a snake. Its mouth displays numerous sharp teeth.
The creature skillfully grabs Ledego in its maw, lifting him off of the deck and plunging him into the depths. Blood quickly stains the aqua water.
The neck, roughly 25 feet in length, is quickly followed by its body. The body displays a significantly wider girth. It has four fins and is followed by a slender tail. In total, the creature is nearly 50 feet in length. Its mass is quickly realized as the creature slams into port side of the ship near the aft. The several thousand pound impact causes the ship’s rear to lurch starboard (right). This disrupts everyone on board but does not appear to cause any structural damage to the Ungohling.
On the deck at the time of the attack are:
Breymeer was bow guard. He is able to maintain his footing, bracing himself with the railing.
Comus, the crewmaster, Tarstar, Larrig, Varze and Kuba were attempting to sleep along the sides of the rowing station. They all stays aboard but are jostled awake rudely.
Grimlock is the port side guard; standing next to the cabin at deck level. He is throw into the railing but remains on board (2, 21/23).
Southar is the starboard side guard; also standing next to the cabin at deck level. He is thrown violently onto the deck (2, 39/41). His shield skids across the deck and lies in front of the cabin door.
Cirdan Saralonde is atop the cabin on the bridge. He is thrown to the deck violently.
Below deck are:
Ment, Nedwyn, Tiz, Ide Otenaux and Speck. All are jostled awake but unharmed.
In the cabin are:
Peylae, Ersan and Tathar. They, too, are awakened rudely.
Grimlock pulls some canvas out of his pack and covers himself with it, lying flat on the deck in front of the cabin. Within a few moments, he has blended himself into the railing, appearing to be no more than cargo or equipment.
From the bridge, Cirdan Saralonde yells, “Everyone off the deck! It might come back for more!” Heeding his own advice, he gets off the bridge and meets Peylae as she is exiting the cabin. With as much respect and sincerity he can muster on short notice, he breaks the news of Ledego’s demise.
The sea boils red for a moment where the sea creature dove back under water. There is solid evidence that Ledego will not be coming back. Peylae attempts to hold out hope but when he hasn’t surfaced within a few minutes, she attempts to compose herself, “I am now captain of the ship! Comus, you are my first mate! Larrig, you are crewmaster!”
Cirdan Saralonde stands in the doorway of the cabin.
The ship remains intact. After the impact, the sail refills with air and the ship continues on. Peylae continues to bark orders, adding, “Ledego would not approve of all of us dying because we stopped to mourn over him. We shall mourn later.”
The dark shape appears again behind the ship, closing fast. Its speed in the water is impressive. The shape continues to grow in size indicating it is rising quickly from the depths.
The massive creature bursts forth from the surface of the water on the starboard side of the ship. Again, the ship is jarred by the force of the ancient beast.
Kuba, string drawn on his bow, arrows the creature as it breaks the surface (3, 54/57). As the ship is tossed, Kuba is flung backwards. Tripping on the center rowing seats, Kuba slides across the deck and over the rail splashing into the waves alongside the boat. As the boat is moving forward, Kuba is quickly passing by, nearing Grimock’s location as he goes.
Breymeer, still at the front of the ship, remains standing as the creature surfaces. His bow string sings as he speeds two arrows towards the beast. Both arrows strike the creature in the neck (6, 48/57) (3, 45/57).
Southar, on the starboard side, near the cabin, also keeps his feet and sends two arrows towards the sea creature in rapid succession. Both his arrows find their mark (7, 37/57) (4, 33/57).
Comus is shouting orders, “Protect the mast and sail!” as so forth.
Larrig draws a dagger and moves towards the mast.
Varze keeps his balance and is about to follow orders when a spray of water falls upon his shoulder drawing his attention to the creature bearing down on him. The ancient beast drops its head down upon him, consuming his entire body down to his knees. Varze, trapped in the creature’s maw, is lifted off the deck.
While the creature is pulling Varze from the deck, Tarstar draws forth his cutlass and penetrates the creature’s neck to the hilt (3, 30/57).
The gruesome image of Varze death is suddenly blackened as Grimlock rolls from under his burlap sack, some type of scroll in hand. He reads from it rapidly bringing forth the blackness that encompasses the creature’s head.
Peylae can only shout, “Kill that beast before it takes us all!”
Cirdan Saralonde remains in the threshold of the cabin doorway.
Tathar and Erson remain in the cabin and Speck and the rest of the crew remain in the hold with Ide Otneaux.
The beast, appearing to be injured and bleeding, drops below the water and begins a decent away from the ship; heading west. Kuba continues to float to the rear of the ship. He will be out of reach past the end of the ship within moments.
Grimlock hears Kuba’s calls for help as he is drifting past Grimlock’s location. Acting decisively, Grimlock quickly removes a coil of rope from his pack and drops a loose end down upon Kuba. Kuba grabs on but by the time the rope goes taut, he is dragging in the wake of the boat, about 15 feet to the rear, like a piece of chum.
Cirdan Saralonde moves portside along the edge of the cabin and grabs onto the rope with Grimlock. They begin to drag him in.
Tathar steps out of the cabin and braces himself in the doorway. He has a rope tied around his waist. He appears to have tied himself off to something in the cabin. Tathar had his bow in one hand while he strings an arrow with the other.
Breymeer, seeing the rescue well in hand, remains at the bow, watching the waves.
Southar, on the starboard side, removes his magic rope from this pack. The rope feels very lightweight in his hand and is slender for a rope; only having the thickness of a thin wand. Southar begins to swing the rope as if to throw it towards Kuba. Someone, as if the rope sensed Southar’s intent, it begins to slither, like a snake, out of Southar’s hand, down upon the deck and over the siderail. It continues to uncoil itself, now swimming like a snake towards Kuba behind the boat. It gets to within about 10 feet when Cirdan and Grimlock begin trolling Kuba in.
As Kuba is slowly dragged towards the ship, Southar’s rope reaches Kuba and ties itself around his waist. Southar is on the opposite side of the side but the rope climbs the back of the ship as Kuba is brought up the port side. In this way, Southar’s rope stays tied to Kuba while climbing the backside of the cabin, rolls across the bridge and lands on the ship deck, all while staying taut and tied to Kuba.
Grimlock and Cirdan get Kuba to the side of the boat. With the aid of the two ropes, Cirdan and Kuba are able to reach each other’s hands. The strength between them is more than adequate to pluck Kuba from the grasp of the sea and deposit him back aboard ship. Kuba’s relief and thankfulness is expressed.
The sea creature, having felt the sting of many arrows and Tarstar’s cutlass, does not return. Nor does any sign of Ledego or Varze.
Tathar unties himself and re-enters the cabin. He sits and goes into a deep meditation.
Ment takes Varze’s spot on the deck and Peylae takes over her role as Captain of the Ungolhing. Peylae takes her place on the bridge and Cirdan Saralonde rejoins her. “My father respected you a great deal Noble Saralonde,” she comments to Cirdan as they correct the direction of the ship and continue to sail into the eastern horizon.
Those on the deck remain vigilant for other dangers.
A gentle rain begins to fall as the skies weep for Ledego. The steady breeze blows throughout the day and much progress is made by nightfall.
The evening of Reaping 20th finds the ship anchored off the northwestern tip of Temil, the final island in the chain. During the afternoon, the ship passed by the southern shoreline of this island; not much more than 60 miles of land. The jungle growth hiding much of the upward sloping inlands.
At an evening meeting, Peylae announces an early start the following morning. “With luck, we will have a good wind. We will have to start at first hint of dawn and go until after sunset if we are going to have any hope of sighting Lendore Island by the end of tomorrow. If we do not reach the island in one day, we will be adrift overnight at the mercy of the sea.
Tathar, the moon faced elf, speaks. To hear his voice startles everyone and grabs their attention, “Peylae, if you trust in Sehanine Moonbow, please listen to me for she has revealed to me our safe passage. In a few nights time, Luna, the great moon, will be full. We followers of Sehanine call this the ‘lunar hallowing’. From now until this evening, with Sehanine’s guidance, I will perform the Ceremony of Recovery to find and guide Ledego’s lost soul to its home.”
This brings tears to Peylae’s eyes and she seems greatly relieved as Tathar continues, “As Luna sets, it will bring up a wind for us to sail by the following day. But the wind shall lead a storm. We must reach landfall by the evening of the 26th.”
Peylae appears to believe the elvish mystic. She orders the ship to remain at anchor until Reaping the 25th. The days are passed cleaning the ship and gear. The crew tells many stories of Varze and all lament the loss of Ledego. Peylae continues to talk of Restenford but it is obvious she knows far less than Ledego did. She does her best to recite much of the details he has already informed you of. All survivors with injuries received from the encounter with the sea creature heal normally.
Reaping the 21st arrives with rains and cooler temperatures. The wind is mild. Tathar Surion takes a position on the bridge, sits and begins to meditate. He continues on in this position for the next four days.
Reaping the 22nd is more of the same.
Reaping the 23rd the rains stop and the wind remains calm.
Reaping the 24th brings clear skies, calm winds and beautiful temperatures.
Reaping the 25th brings absolute calm with clear skies and temps in the 90s. It is obvious the crew and party members nervously await the outcome of Tathar’s prediction.
Luna rises full in the evening, dominating the sky. Tathar sits upon the bridge in meditation, now with his eyes open. His pupils have dilated to the shape of crescent moon; the ‘moonbow’. Throughout the night Tathar meditates. As Luna passes the midnight sky, Tathar closes his eyes. Upon opening them, his pupils have returned to normal. He stands, stretches and begins to dance under the bright night sky. He continues to dance until dawn without speaking or acknowledging others around him.
Tarstar, thinking he has finally found someone with his own interests, dances as well down upon the ship’s deck.
When Tathar finds Ledego, he is overjoyed. He becons Tathar to tell Peylae the following information. Ledego asks that him tell her alone. He thanks Tathar for rescuing his soul and for his receiving of Sehanine's blessings.
Ledego is a grandchild of a man called Delcartis, one of the founders of Kroten on Lendore Isle. The current Duke of Kroten had an arrest warrant signed for Ledego and any of his kin. The Duke bought his title and is set on destroying any that may have an honest claim to the title. The title is recognized in both the Great Kingdom and Loreltarma. The Duke is also an offspring of one of Kroten's founders so he would have an honest claim to the title. Ledego believes if arrested, he and Peylae would be put to death in Loreltarma. Pelltar is a trusted friend beyond question.
Reaping 26, 577. As Luna sets and the first shades of color paint the eastern sky, Tathar speaks to Peylae, for she has not slept all night, remaining on the deck watching Tathar and the sky. Tathar tells her Ledego has been guided home and he was accepted by the elves. Peylae is overjoyed.
Peylae orders the ship ready to sail, guiding it into the sea, pointing east. Before the sun appears, a breeze picks up. It gathers strength until a moderate breeze blows the ship eastward. The wind comes from the northwest, blowing the ship to the southeast. The wind is in violation as generally the prevailing winds blow from east to west.
The ship occupants remain busy throughout the day attempting to keep up with the steady pace of the ship. The skies area clear and the temperature in the 90s.
At midday, dolphins appear around the ship; dancing and jumping from the water. The dolphins remain with the ship the remainder of the day.
By evening, small islands begin to appear off the port side. Peylae estimates the ship is passing the area of Loreltarma.
As the sun sets and Luna rises again in her majesty, Peylae moves the ship in closer to shore. In the greyness of Luna’s light, the ship follows the shoreline eastward until a large island, several miles in diameter rises out of the darkness on the starboard side. Peylae finally gives the cry, “Anchor away!” announcing the ship in near the small town of Farmin. Peylae sets guards strangely. “In the wee hours, we shall continue into Restenford.”
The crew gets some well needed rest.
Tathar has his private council with Peylae in the cabins quarters at her request. She thanks Tathar immensely and promises to aid him and gift to Sehanine once they are ashore and safely settle in. Tathar informs her of Ledego’s final comments. Peylae was unaware of the arrest warrant and asks you not to share the information with anyone. She wants to have council with Pelltar.
The ship occupants get very little rest. As Tathar has prophesied, dark clouds begin to boil on the horizon to the east. It appears a storm is brewing. Having sucked in the west wind all day, the rising clouds promises to feed it back with a vengeance.
Peylae orders the ship back under way. Staying close to the shoreline, Peylae guides the ship further east, using the wind as it yet blows into the coming storm.
For several tense hours, Peylae guides the ship eastward. The geography of the island protects this area to some degree as the land juts south into the sea, to the east of Restenford, forming a peninsula lined with hills and mountains.
As if guided by Osprem’s will and Sehanine’s promise, the ship rocks and bobs its way along the shoreline until it reaches a small town nestled in on the banks of a river. “There is Restenford on the banks of the Restin River!” The town is near dark as people have shuttered their windows ahead of the approaching storm.
Peylae has the ship dock at the first large dock it comes to. The dock is on the northern side of the river. It is the first of three large docks. The docks are positioned in front of three stone warehouse looking buildings (#23, 24, 25). The warehouses are roughly 75 to 100 feet from the river. Additionally, a fourth stone (#26) building lies down the path to the east about 125 feet from the easternmost warehouse.
As you are tying the ship to the dock, Peylae gives orders, “Comus, you and the crew guard the ship. Ide Otneaux and Tarstar, please remain behind also in case of trouble. If anything happens to us ashore, and weather permits, set sail back towards Farmin and we will meet you there as soon as we can. Set one guard and get some rest as you can.”
As she is finishing up her commands, dogs begin barking to your northwest. A man in studded leather armor comes out of stone building to the east of the warehouses. He carries a hooded lantern in his left hand and a broadsword in his right hand. The deep barking is coming from two very large and vicious looking dogs at his heel.
Peylae moves to the shore to meet him. She remains on the dock with Grimlock and Cirdan Saralonde following her. He hails her, “What business do you have hear at this hour? Your ship is not familiar to me. Who are you?”
She answers matter-of-factly with a calm steady voice, “I am Peylae, Captain of the Ungohling, and this is my crew and companions. We seek shelter from the storm and an audience with Pelltar for I am known to him, although he is not expecting me.”
“He be taking no company tonight Captain. This storm has everyone battened down tight for the night. Pray, let me guide you to an inn. The Tavern of the West Wind is just over here.” He points to the northwest (#20). “In fact, it is straight away from Pelltar’s house (#21). You can seek him should the sun rise again tomorrow.”
“You are kind, sir. We accept your offer.” With that, the crew finishes securing the ship and secures the sail and items on the deck; fearing the incoming wind. Comus and Larrig take positions in the cabin and the rest of the crew enter the hold with Ide Otneaux and Tarstar.
Peylae has the rest of the ship occupants accompany her. They pour onto the dock like rats from a sinking ship; overjoyed to have their feet on solid land. The looming clouds bear down upon the town. Lightning strokes lighting the sky and the thunderous responses getting closes and louder with each passing moment. The wind has switched; blowing from the east and gaining strength. Small leaves and whatnot begin to blow around.
“Captain Peylae, I am Welcar. I watch over the docks and warehouses here,” he points to the three docks and warehouses. Sensing the group means him no harm, he sheaths his broadsword and orders the dogs back to the house. They comply. His sword, surprisingly, looks to be of very good make and well taken care of.
Welcar guides you to the Tavern of the West Wind. It is a two story structure. The bottom floor is stonework while the upstairs is wooden framed. There are numerous windows in the stone blockwork as well as a front door near the center of the wall facing the street.
“The owners and their families have their private residence upstairs. They are Zelmar and Harkie. The only way up is the exterior stairs around back. Do not bother them as they have an innkeeper on staff,” warns Welcar.
After much knocking and making of noise on the front door, a tired voice answers from inside. After a quick exchange with Welcar, the door is unlocked and opened. A tire looking elderly man stands in the common room. After short introductions and some exchange of gold and silver from Peylae, rooms are made available to you. Afterwards, Welcar returns to his residence.
Peylae takes the largest room for her and her crew commanders. The second room is offered to those of elvish decent. The other four rooms are split up among the rest of the group.
The innkeeper warns they serve no food here, only booze (hence the open rooms). The innkeeper warns that rowdy behavior will not be tolerated before retiring back to bed and locking his bedroom door.
At the stroke of midnight, Reaping 27th, the storm reaches town with battering winds and heavy rains.
It appears Pelltar was notified of your arrival after all. At the first signs of sunrise, the entire group is summoned downstairs to the common room.
Standing in the common room are four men and a dwarf. One man and the dwarf stand ahead of the other men. The men, having formed a semi-circle behind the lead man, stand silent. An aura of confidence surrounds them. A step behind and to the right of the lead man is the dwarf.
The lead man, obviously Pelltar, is dressed in dark green. His bloodlines are hard to guess; possibly Oeridian. He has a long sleeved loose fitting shirt and trousers. Over that, he has a dark green full length vest trimmed in a lighter shade of green. The vest is pulled together at the waist with a wide brown belt. A dagger sheath adorns his right side and a think wood wand is tucked into the belt on is left. He has soft leather brown boots. He carries a wooden staff with a thick knot at the top. From the knot protrudes a small, naturally formed, wooden spike. His hair and eyes are brown, showing no grey. The lines on his face reveal more about his age than anything else. You guess him to be in his 60s.
To Pelltar’s left is a bronze skinned man similar to Comus, the crewchief. This man must also be of Flan decent. He also wears a similar color of green. His clothing consists of a short sleeve robe than ends at his knees. He has a bone necklace formed of some type of vertebras. He has numerous bracelets of various metals around each wrist and gold bands on his left bicep. He also has a belt with a dagger sheath in addition to several scroll tubes and component pouches. He is balding; keeping what remains of his grey hair shaved very short. He has a short trimmed grey goatee/mustache. Oddly, he is barefooted.
Behind Pelltar is Suel man wearing a brown hooded robe. He is young, maybe in his late 20s. He has the symbol of Wee Jas upon a necklace. The necklace hangs exposed upon his chest. It is very similar to the one Horan the Wizard wore. His robe is tied at the waist. As most Suel, he is pale. It appears he has purple eyes. He wears brown leather boots and a staff.
To Pelltar’s right is a second Suel man. He is also pale of skin with near platinum blonde hair and ice blue eyes. He has a long, pointed platinum beard but no mustache. He wears a very formal looking grey/gold robe over white pantaloons. His robe has many adornments upon it. Over that, he wears a red velvet cloak with broad supported shoulders and a brown hood. He wears some type of soft leather, fur lined shoe with several straps. The wooden staff he carries is topped by two crescent moons, each facing the other and slightly overlapping to form a complete circle. Atop the moons is a large star.
The dwarf is thinner than any other previously encountered; standing under four feet tall and weighting roughly 160 pounds. He appears young for a dwarf but his brown eyes speak of many hard years. He leans forward upon a bastard sword, hilt in the air and tip resting on the ground. The weapon is very clean and well oiled. He wears leather armor with a breastplate. His black mustache lays upon a thick black beard. His head is bald. Runes and whatnot decorate his armor, breastplate and weapon.
Pelltar introduces himself, “I am Pelltar. I understand that you have arrived by craft just ahead of the storm and are seeking me. By what means do you know me?”
Paylea steps forward and get down upon one knee; bowing her head, “Dear Pelltar, I am Peylae, daughter of Ledego Starchaser.” At Ledego’s name you see recognition in Pelltar’s eyes but he betrays no more as his poker face returns. “My father, crew and friends have sailed here from the Pelisso Swamp seeking your assistance for we have lost our previous ship, the Nir Nen. And now, it grieves me to inform you that we have lost our captain. Captain Ledego Starchaser, friend of Pelltar the Mage, has been taken by a deep diving sea creature and freed to Arvanaith by Tathar Surion.” Pelltar looks to the Tathar Surion as he must recognize him as a Priest of Sehanine.
Pelltar’s gaze remains on Tathar Surion for an extended period of time as if studying him. Heeding Ledego’s warning about this man’s personality, all in the group remain patient and respectful. Finally, Pelltar speaks, “I am indeed the Pelltar you seek. Ledego is known to me and it saddens me to hear of his loss. May Arvanaith bring him peace. Please, rise Peylae.”
At his command, Peylae rises.
Pelltar continues, “This is Abracus (blond Suel), Fliban (brown robed Suel) and Gristla (Flan). They are my pupils. And the dwarf here, this is Dalic Steelcoat. There are many threats on this island. Dalic is kind enough to make sure none of them disturbs our studies . . . ever.” The tone in Pelltar’s voice is clear, skullduggery will not be tolerated by Pelltar. “Peylae, bring the elves and come and visit me for supper this evening. I have many questions. As for the rest of you, enjoy Restenford but obey the rules. I will have no one under my care causing a ruckus or drawing attention to themselves. I will inform Baron Grellus and Baroness Fairwind of your presence in town so they may inform the town guard. You will be allowed to remain armed but do not bring forth your weapons unless defending the town from humanoid raids or similar. The drawing of weapons against anyone in town will be dealt with harshly either by the authorities or myself.”
With that, he turns and he and the other mages walk out of the tavern. The dwarf remains stationary watching until Pelltar has left the building. In a flash, the dwarf adeptly spins the bastard sword, sheathing it in the blink of an eye. He turns and walks out of the tavern without saying a word.
Meanwhile, Ewan McDermott spend much of his time around Duxchan seeking out and aiding homeless animals within the city. He also spent time aiding he poor and homeless. After several weeks, he was finally able to secure a ride on a Lorship of the Isles ship heading to Restenford. It was named the ‘Island Bobber’. It appears that ships to do often make Restenford a port of call. The Island Bobber appears to be a relatively local merchant that makes this route every so often to help keep Restendford supplied as requested. Ewan arrives in Restenford just prior to the group heading out on the next adventure.
On Goodmonth the 13th, 577, after two weeks in Restenford, the group assembles at the Tavern of the West Wind to discuss future plans. Each character was located throughout the week and advised to meet here at sunset this day. Since it was at Pelltar’s request, you felt obligated to make the appearance.
During the prior two weeks, Breymeer has spent much time in the woods; occasionally being spotted with a gorgeous red headed female. They appeared to have spent much time scouting the surrounding lands together. She did not appear at the tavern with him tonight.
Cirdan Saralonde spent most of his free time at Pelltar’s residence.
Ewan McDermott arrived by ship just a few days prior to the meeting.
Grimlock also spent most of his time at Pelltar’s house. Any free time he had he spent with Peylae.
Ide Otneaux spent her time in equipment preparation and training. She purchased a new set of studded leather armor and sharpened up her great axe.
Kuba and Speck cleaned equipment and purveyed the local bars. During the daytime, they practiced swordplay, etc. Speck snuck out and plied his trade a few times just to keep his skills sharp.
Southar spent the two weeks resting and taking walks in the nearby apple and cherry orchards. Southar longed for home and mentally healed from his near death experience. As the days wore on, Southar cleaned up his armor and weapons and did a little shopping for supplies. At least that is what Southar thought he was doing. In reality, his skin has dried significantly and is hardening, like a callus. His tongue is beginning to fork and his eyes have narrowed; the corneas have turned yellow. He finds himself eating meat raw and swallowing big chunks with ease. To catch a small rodent and eat it whole would please him greatly. To cover his changes from himself and the others, he purchased a great helm; keeping the visor down. He also purchased leather gloves. If asked, he claims the new additions to his armor are to protect himself as he does not want to be hit in the neck again or be poisoned by a snake bite. In addition, Southar has discovered his shield appears to have saved him from the poison on the dagger; at least to some degree. Also, he woke up one morning, having dreamed of hiding in the woods from a mysterious creature. His shield was upon his chest, he noticed that the shield, his clothing and skin had all blended into his surroundings like a chameleon. With practice, he discovers by remaining motionless for at least one minute, the chameleon powers render him nearly imperceptible. The longer he hides, the harder he is to see. He cannot get the power to work more than once per day. His shield has become very ‘precious’ to him. He is fond of it.
Tarstar remained aboard the ship and visited the taverns. He became friends with what remains of Peylae’s crew on the Ungohling.
Tathar spent his first week with the fletcher and the second week with the bowyer. Any free time was spent by himself in meditation.
Now, two weeks after arrival, you stand in the Tavern of the West Wind awaiting Pelltar. As the last rays of sunlight dip below the horizon, Pelltar enters the tavern.
Pelltar arrives with his henchmen, Dalic Steelcoat. The dwarf has a scowl on his face but Pelltar appears friendly. “Dear Peylae and friends of Ledego Starchaser,” Pelltar begins, “I have summons you here tonight at the request of Baroness Fairwind. It is not often we have such a capable group of explorers as you come into Restenford. We would be remiss if we did not at least offer to you the opportunity to assist us in a persistent problem. In speaking to many of you, I have discovered our little town has something to offer many of you if only you had greater purchasing power. I think what Baroness Fairwind has in mind will be beneficial to all involved. Therefore, at the Baroness’s request, Baron Grellus has requested your immediate attendance to a supper at his castle.”
The door to the tavern’s common room opens and a man in his 40s of average build enters the room. He has brown hair and eyes. He wears chain mail armor and has a long sword in a scabbard at his side. He wears the badge of Captain of the Guard.
Following him in are two other men. The first has reddish-brown hair. He is in his 30s and slightly smaller of stature than the captain although he appears to be physically stronger. He wears chain mail armor and is equipped with a long sword and a crossbow. The second man is of average build with brown hair. He wears chain mail armor and has a broad sword and a crossbow.
The captain speaks, “I am Gelpas. Please accompany me to the castle as requested by Baron Grellus.”
The walk to the castle is a short one. Sitting upon a low rise, the castle rises well above the Tavern of the West Wind; being only 500 feet or so to the northwest.
The area around Restenford is generally hilly. The town itself lies at a lower elevation for the area. The Xerbal Mountains climb to the north. Before them is the hill named Bald Hill for its lack of cover at the top. Two multi-peaked hills rise to the west and northwest. Behind the southerly hill can be seen the much higher Bone Hill; climbing nearly 1400 feet in height.
The group passes by a small wooden structure advertising the sale of preserved foods. Just west, past the corner where the party turns north for the final uphill climb to the castle, is the local carpenter’s shop. It is also a small framed building.
As the group approaches the castle, each can’t miss the most striking feature of the castle. A single tower rises from the SW corner. The three level tower has an open walkway at the third floor. The tower roof crests over 40 feet in height; higher than any other structure within the castle grounds.
The outer walls of the castle are 20 feet high and embrasured. The front gate is in the lowered position (like a drawbridge) and the portcullis is raised.
Captain Gelpas leads the group through the threshold and into the courtyard. Several trees, consisting of cherry and other flowing varieties, adorn the courtyard, one on each side of the gate and several near the entrance to the castle itself, one on the south side of the doorway and four on the north. They are well manicured. A paths lead both left and right to ladders at the southwest and southeast corners. The ladders lead to the walkways on the inside of the castle wall embrasurements.
There is a small stable to the immediate left. The smell of hay and horse fills the air.
A wider path leads north into the courtyard. It has large gardens on both sides. To the left is vegetables and to the right is a beautiful and fragrant flower garden. The path leads to the guardhouse in the northwest corner and the castle building itself in the northeast corner. The castle building is canted 90 degrees to the path. The main entrance is to the west of the building on the southwest corner.
A butler meets you at the door and the captain greets him warmly, “Good evening Gevies.”
“Good evening Captain Gelpas. Our supper guests I presume?” Gevies opens the door. “Baron Grellus requests an audience in the Throne Room.”
You enter the castle into a small meeting hall. It is adorned with a table and a few chairs along with a mirror. The family crest is displayed upon a tapestry hanging on the southern wall.
Pelltar speaks to Gevies, “Is everyone here?” Gevies nods in the affirmative before Pelltar continues, “I will take my place then. Dalic, please accompany the party inside when directed.”
Dalic gives a near imperceptible nod and then eyes the group making no attempt at niceties.
Pelltar and the guards enter the throne room. Within a few minutes, Gevies’ opens the door and leads you into the room. Directly after walking through the door is a nearly 30 foot long, high arched hallway. It is lined on each side by alternating decretive banners and shields on the outer wall and portraits on the inner wall. The portraits appear to be male figures of the Grellus bloodline.
At the end of the hall is a small throne room, twenty feet deep by fifteen feet wide. The ceiling remains a high arch. A broad dais of three short steps is against the eastern wall. On the top step are two chairs. Occupying the first chair, to the group’s left, is Baron Grellus, a man in his 40s of large build (over 6 feet and 200 lbs). He has brown hair and a brown beard. His eyes are blue. He wears chain mail underneath a royal robe. The second chair contains Baroness Fairwind. She has long brown hair and brown eyes. She is also in her 40s and is tall and slim (5-8 and 110 lbs). She wears a royal gown. Over the gown, she has a golden necklace with some type of pyramid shaped object attached to it. The bottom 2/3 of the pyramid are yellow gold while the top 1/3 is white gold.
On the second step are two more chairs set farther out than the baron and baroness. The chair on the group’s right is a young lady. She is obviously the baronette. She is in her late teens, of similar build as her mother with the same long brown hair and brown eyes. Like her mother, she is dressed in a royal gown. To the group’s left, sits Pelltar.
On the third step are two more chairs, again set farther out than the baronette and Pelltar. To the party’s left is an older man, possibly in his 50s or 60s. He appears to be strong and in good health. He is dressed in a simple rust red tunic over brown leggings. To the party’s right is an obvious religious man. He wears chain mail armor and has a light robe over his armor with a symbol depicting a winged human silhouette. He appears to be the abbot from the nearby Abbey of Phaulkon (the second largest stone structure in town).
The group enters and forms to lines in front of the dais. Cirdan Saralonde gives a bow. Other members of the party give their own form of royal acknowledgement. Once the captain sees everyone has given respect to the throne, he and the guards move to the hallway entrance and stand guard behind the party.
Baron Grellus, appearing somewhat annoyed, welcomes the group, “Welcome to Restenford. It is a pleasure to have your company.” His words do not carry any warmth. “Baroness Fairwind, having the needs of our town in mind and with my blessing, has a task that is suited for a group such as yourself.”
Baron Grellus looks to the Baroness and she takes up where he left off, “Our town has always faced threats from humanoid invaders. We have always met those challenges and overcome them. Our town has never fallen. We employ many talented scouts and guards but we do not have the resources to send out strike forces against known enemy compounds. Abbot Qualton,” she nods towards the man in front of the baronette, “has grown concerned about increasing rumors of hauntings near the ruins on Bone Hill. In addition, Pelltar has studied what history exists for the ruin and has concerns a necromancer may be establishing a stronghold in the castle. To top it all off, travelers are reporting sighting large orcs upon Bone Hill. A necromancer with orc henchmen, I will not stand for that sort of abomination taking root so close by. It would endanger our moral little town. ”
The captain walks down the hallway to the outer hall. He returns leading a man in chain mail armor walking with a staff. The man displays a necklace and with a golden triangle shaped symbol. It is the same as the one the baroness wears.
The man identified as Yalta walks into the throne room and bows deeply, “At your service Baron Grellus and Baroness Fairwind. May Restenford be peaceful and the days of your rule be many numbered.”
Baroness Fairwind addresses Yalta, “Priest of Jascar, Abbot Qualton has been a most wonderful moral guide and protector for Restenford and he and his clerics deserve the thanks of all.” With than, Abbot Qualton looks back and the baroness and gives a thankful nod. As Baroness Fairwind continues to speak, it appears Abbot Qualton steals a brief glance at the baronette before returning his gaze towards the occupied hall, “The protections and healing powers of Phaulkon have never been withheld. But at times like this, we must turn our attention to the strength of Jascar.” Yalta bows.
Baroness Fairwind now addresses the invited guests, “Dear visitors, you have nothing yet invested in our town and have no obligation to assist us in our problems. Understanding that, I ask you to undertake a quest in the name of the Baron. We have long been plagued by orcs and other humanoids. Having a threat established so close to town is unacceptable and action must be taken. I ask that you travel to Bone Hill and investigate the rumors we have heard. If you encounter orcs, you shall order them to leave in the name of Baron Grellus. If they refuse, remove them by force. If they prove to be too large of a force, return at once and we shall send runners to nearby communities for aid. Should you find a necromancer has indeed established a lair within the ruin, eliminate any living dead creatures you encounter and either kill or capture the necromancer.”
Baroness Fairwind outlines the contract, “Should you accept this offer, you will each be paid 100 gp for the abandonment of the orc camp or the sundering of said camp should they refuse to leave. In the event there is a necromancer, your group shall be paid 5gp for each undead put to rest. The necromancer shall net your group 500gp dead or alive. Your bounties shall not be subject to tax. In addition to the bounties, you may keep any treasure you find with the understanding it is subject to 15% tax for the Barony of Restenford and our liege in Loreltarma. Please be warned, any tax evasion will be considered treason and be punishable by death.”
Baron Grellus speaks again, “Priest Yalta, should the party accept, take Carlton, Weber, Fraunk and Villie as men at arms along with one of the Restenford Rangers. Lead them to Bone Hill and set up a basecamp. Ensure the colors of the barony are flown at the basecamp. From there, you shall keep a tally of their bounty and receipts for taxation.”
Baron Grellus asks the group, “Accept or decline, each of you speak your answer, how say you?”
Dalic Steelcoat looks to Pelltar who tips his head in approval.
As Dalic and Pelltar are exchanging glances, Tathar is the first to voice his thoughts. In fact, Tathar Surion speaks in a bold voice which catches those that know him by surprise. "Undead creatures are an abomination to Sehanine! I will go myself, if I must, but if I know my companions, I will not be alone!"
“Aye.” And with that, it appears Dalic has volunteered.
Cirdan Saralonde gives a low bow, "Tathar Surion, priest of Sehanine, after how you have served this party, and Ledego, I could not dream of letting you go alone."
Kuba addresses the Baron, "My lord. Thank you for all your hospitality. The peace found here in Restenford has been much enjoyed. I accept these terms and will do what I can to rid your Barony of this threat."
Speck listens to Kuba's words and nods. "I have found security with my large friend here. Where he goes I go." Not wanting to forget his manners, Speck adds, "Oh, and thank you my lord and my lady."
Breymeer accepts readily.
Grimlock, using as much grace and etiquette as he can muster, points out, “My exalted Baron, the undead are of the most vile creations, having more strengths than weaknesses. As much as I am excited about the challenge of this foe, I dare say I am completely ill equipped to dispatch them by any means other than normal steel. In your great wisdom, surely you already know the durability of the undead and have acquired the necessary empowered arsenal in which to dispatch them. All I ask is that my companions and I be granted access, as payment or simply to use, this arsenal so we can service these vial creatures in your honor. They would most assuredly be returned upon completion of this quest if desired. The matter of the orcs is of a routine task for us.”
Grimlock’s request is not well received. The Baron's face flashes anger and remains flush. He controls his tone and answers coldly, "My arsenal is of no concern of yours." He continues to regain control and more politely offers, "I am certain the Abbot or the Priest of Jascar would be able to secure some holy water for the group."
Both the abbot and the priest answer in the affirmative.
The rest of the party accept the Baron’s offer.
The Baroness now speaks, “Yalta and I calculate you can make the journey to Bone Hill within one day if you don’t tarry. You shall embark on this mission at first light tomorrow. Meet in the castle courtyard. Take the south road around the Pebble Hills and through Kelman Pass. You should be able to reach the Dead Forest just after nightfall. At your discretion, you may either continue on that evening or await morning. The castle guard will await your return at the edge of the Dead Forest until noon the following day. For their safety, if you have not returned by then, they will begin the march back home; camping at Kelman Pass that second evening.”
The Baron closes the evening, “You are now invited to dine. Alas, the Baroness and I have business to attend to and will be unable to join. Our daughter, Andrella, shall be your host.”
Andrella escorts the group to the dining hall where she takes a seat at the head of the mahogany table and each of you takes ranks along the long excepting Cirdan Saralonde. He is given the table end opposite Andrella. The table is set with silver. The Captain of the Guard remains at the door. He keeps a keen eye on the Baron’s possessions; most especially the daughter. None of the other dignitaries join the meal and Andrella keeps the conversation light, not speaking of anything other than the weather and how pleasant the town is. If anything, she gives away a few ideas she has to improve some of the civic items in town when she becomes baroness; each of them hinting at a more orderly and structured approach to things.
Doing as instructed, you return and prepare, packing gear, etc. On the way back to the tavern, you pay a visit to the preserved food shop, purchasing a week of food. At the tavern, you may fill your waterskin with wine or water.
The day of departure is Goodmonth 14, 577. The wind is mild and the temps are in the 70s.
The group rolls out before sunrise and meets at the castle courtyard. Large torches burn marking the front gate as well as the interior walls. Within, the four castle guards are mounting their war horses. Each horse protected by leather armor and wearing a saddle blanket with the Baron’s crest. The castle guards are as follows:
1. Carlton, a human male wearing chain mail. He carries a broadsword and has a very well made longbow. He appears stronger than most men.
2. Weber, a human male wearing chain mail. He has a broadsword and a longbow.
3. Fraunk, a human male wearing chain mail. He has a long sword and a longbow. He also appears strong but not so much as Carlton.
4. Villie, an elven male wearing leather armor. He carries a long sword and long bow.
Brett, a stablehand, is mounted atop a cart attached to a draft horse. On the cart appears to be a tent, foodstuffs and couple of chests. A true government operation.
The abbot stands next to the cart. He removes the lid on one of the chests. It contains vials of holy water, one for each of you. He hands them out, “I will not be accompanying you on this quest but may Phaulkon bless your journey and may his water destroy the living dead.” <Add a vial of holy water to each of your possessions.>
Yalta is present. He wears his chain mail armor and carries a shield and staff. At his hip is a warhammer.
Dalic Steelcoat arrived prior to the group. He is dressed in his leather armor with a breastplate. He has his sword and shield. He holds the lead rope of a pony.
Breymeer appears to be peering around as it looking for someone or something. Not appearing to find what he desired, he looks glum.
The Baron and Baroness bid you well wishes and fare the well.
The mass of men, horses and a cart moves out of the castle and over the stone bridge nearest the lake. Along the way, the common folk, fisherman and farmer alike, appear in the street and wave you on.
Passing the abbey, Abbot Qualton drops off and he waves goodbye and godspeed.
Leaving town, you cannot help but smell the fish merchant (#27) before passing the final two shacks.
The group pauses at the guardpost and wooden palisade that surrounds the south and west edges of town. The guardpost appears unmanned. As the party walks through the palisade, a female voice greets you, “I am Belina of the Restenford Rangers. I shall be your guide.” She is an extremely attractive red headed Suel woman. She wears studded leather armor and carries a shield, scimitar, sickle, small axe and a short bow.
At the sight of Belina, Breymeer’s glum face glows with happiness, “Belina!” he can’t help but exclaim. He quickly blushes but continues to smile at her. Belina in return appears happy in his company.
The south road first travels north around Kelman Woods and the Pebble Hills section of the Kelman Hills. The hills are quite rocky and boulders are common. Grasses grow in clumps as do the bushes. Large sections of the hills are sandy or rocky with no plant growth whatsoever. There are a few small corpses of trees. Kelman Woods consists of evergreens, oaks and laurels.
The sun is still behind the eastern mountains as the group passes the edge of Kelman woods. Quickly the woods surrenders to the more barren hills.
Belina scouts ahead of the group out of sight with Breymeer. He refused to let her go alone drawing suspicion from the castle guards.
Southar, usually wanting to travel with Breymeer, instead takes rear guard, dropping behind the group.
The castle guards lead the caravan, one of them unfurling a banner and raising it upon a standard.
Following the guard is the stable boy and the cart. Walking next to the cart is Yalta.
Behind the cart is Dalic riding his pony.
The rest of the group ambles behind with Southar by himself in the rear.
The road follows the Restin River until it splits in the eastern and western branch. From here, the road parallels the western branch. Yalta occasionally gives out information in regards to the area geography or politics. According to Yalta, on the north side of the river is the road to Kroten, home of Duke of Kroten. He is the next closest nobleman other than the mayor of Farmin outside of Loreltarma.
The first leg of the day’s journey is uneventful. The group takes a lunch at the base of the Kelman Hills, just east of Kelman Pass. Here the group is able to look upon the river and Dweomer Forrest beyond.
The Dweomer Forest consists of oak, beech, elm and ash with a few laurel leaf trees on the southern border facing you. Yalta informs you there is a church within the forest dedicated to Norebo, the Suel god of chance. He informs you they are peaceful but it is best for good moral folk to avoid such uncertainties. He adds, “But in time of great need, they could be an ally.”
The group takes the southerly turn after noon, passing through Kelman Pass. The hills and depressions to the north are all grass covered with some bushes and rock outcroppings popping up every so often (about every 50 to 300 feet). Small stands of trees dot the hills. Several larger stands of trees do exist on the hills; the largest being Reddy Forest. This forest is similar to others. One notes there is a stand of walnut trees near the base of Low Point Hill.
Evening is setting in by the time the group comes upon the small woods south of Low Point. Clouds have set in and them temperate has dropped into the 60s. The wind has picked up to a steady breeze that carries a light mist.
The clouds have darkened the sky but within the trees, it appears much darker. “Just beyond this corpse of trees is a clearing before reaching the Dead Forest. We can camp there for the night. The clearing is nearly a mile wide and should provide us with adequate warning should something strike. It is then only another mile into the Dead Forest where the trail heads uphill to the old ruins. From there, you are on your own.”
The small woods, only about two miles square, appears much bigger as darkness sets in. Yalta takes a lantern from the gear and lights it. He hands it to the stable boy who mounts it upon the cart.
A lone wolf howls from the vicinity of Spring Glade. By the sounds, it is some mile or more away.
“There is a small spring fed lake up there,” informs Yalta. “See those really tall trees? The lake lies at their base.” He points to the valley between Tri-Top and the next hill north where the trees reach a height of nearly 100 feet on the eastern side of the lake. Although you cannot see the lake, the trees are a given landmark.
Dalic to Grimlock - Dalic approaches Grimlock privately and offers, "Grimlock, of tha Ungohling! I share your concern of tha living dead. From me preparin's I bring another vial of tha magix water. It sha' be yours, Grimlock Ungohling, should ye offer this humble Dwarf one favor for the morn shou' he need it. I be sent to aid you and yours but hab' tasks assigned to me from me master and may wan' some help. Take it and remember tha gif' kindly should ye find me in need."
Grimlock to Dalic - I would accept provided u do not challenge my honor with any request that would be dishonorable to my companions or put them in unnecessary peril.
Dalic to Grimlock - I would not do such a distasteful thin'. I have been given a task to retrieve a book for tha great Pelltar. I may indeed call upon ya shou' tha task prove more difficult than I expect. I warn ye an' ye may inform the others: do not open or read tha book. It be bound with black leather an' be dangerous. <confidently hands the vial to Grimlock>
Grimlock to Dalic - Fair enough.
Breymeer and Belina enter the forest first and continue their scouting. The rest of the caravan follows suit. The forest is dark and foreboding. The wind is less and the trees are protection from the drizzle but the closeness feels stuffy.
The energy level of the group is waning after the all day march. It takes nearly two hours to get through the forest. The feeling of relief is shared amongst the group as the trees give way to the clearing between this little forest and the Dead Forest. The wind and the misty drizzle return immediately upon leaving the woods. Because of the rain, camp is set at the edge of the trees.
Dalic volunteers to take first watch, ‘I be guessin' the best vision at night be mine. I will take tha first hour's watch whil' tha clouds darken tha camp most.” His voice is as kind as you have heard it, if not thoughtful.
Tathar also volunteers but Dalic cuts him off with a very stern voice, cold and near a whisper, “It is done! I watch first, or note further disagreements to mem'ry.”
Tathar, not feeling the need to push the testy dwarf, agrees to take second watch. Tathar instead sets about meditating.
Ide Otneaux bids for third watch and Villie bids for fourth. As such, the remaining watches are filled and everyone begins to make camp.
The soldiers set up a tent and a fire is built. The horses are relieved of their loads and allowed to graze. A spike is driven and each horse tied on a long rope.
Dalic ties his pony to the cart and begins his watch by foraging for food around the perimeter of the camp. Finding nothing overly appealing, he sets himself near the trail watching the surrounding forest. Once his watch is complete, he rolls his blanket out under the wagon and goes to sleep as Tathar collects some rocks and climbs a tree overlooking the camp and trail.
The occasional wolf howl is all that is encountered during the night. Each time, the cry comes from the east in the Srping Glade or Tri-Top area. Each time, it sounds far off.
The morning of Goodmonth 15th arrives. It is still in the 60s but promises to climb back into the mid 70s. The moderate breeze has blown the clouds and rain away.
As the group has a breakfast of preserved foods, plans are made. Yalta advises it is only about two miles to the trail that leads to the old ruin. Since camp is already formed, this will be the basecamp. The Restenford Ranger, Belina, and the baron’s soldiers will be remaining at camp along with Peylae. In addition, Peylae requests Ide Otneaux to remain behind for extra muscle in the event of problems. Peylae’s crew remained at the ship although Tarstar ventured with her here.
Yalta addresses the adventurers, “I share your dislike for the undead, Tathar Surion. I will accompany you to the ruin in Ide Otneaux’s stead. In this manner, I can vouch for your accomplishments. Should there be walking dead and a necromancer, I shall be giving them no quarter.” Yalta taps his hammer at his side. It is a beautiful item, obviously made for combat with mountainous landscapes etched into it. “If the orcs refuse to leave in peace, they shall receive Jascar’s fury as well.”
Once gear is packed and prepared, the group sets out. It is yet early morning, near 0800 hrs.
It is a short and uneventful trek across the one mile wide clearing. The Dead Forest rests at the foot of Bone Hill and climbs the southern end of it for several miles. The forest is as the others you have passed through except there appears to be none of the normal forest critters. Here, the occasional buzz of a wasp or slithering of a snake is the norm.
Bone Hill itself rises over 1400 feet. On top, on this clear day, the remains of a ruined castle can be seen, especially by the keen eyed elves. The hill is rocky with several large boulders scattered about every 1/8 to ¼ mile or so. Many of these boulders reach diameters of 10 feet or greater. The top of the hill near the keep appears to be relatively flat. Once clear of the forest, the hill appears to have wild grasses and shrubs. Near the top, the vegetation stops.
Breymeer spots the old trail that once lead to the keep. It wanders up the hill through the forest. The trail is now unkept and difficult to see. The forest itself has very little signs of animal trails or paths other than the old trail Breymeer is attempting to follow. The forest has some underbrush and bushes but movement looks to be relatively easy albeit uphill. Visibility is limited in the forest to between 50 and 300 feet depending on ground cover and tree density.
The group moves slow but steady up the hill. Ewan McDermott struggles and the large man pants slightly during the continual uphill climb. Ewan, upon seeing a small slithering snake, whispers to it in what appears to be a hushed hissing sound. The snake studies him and moves on. <Ewan is able to speak with a snake momentarily. Your kind have not passed here to its knowledge. Very rarely it has seen very tall two legged dogs similar to your kind nearer to the road. Good food is scarce (ie mice, etc). It does not know anything about the top of the hill.>
Breymeer takes advantage of the slow moving group to take extra time to study what the forest may tell him. He keeps generally to the trail so as not to lose it. It appears the trail is not often used. Breymeer keeps about 100 feet ahead of the group often moving with stealth among the trees and brush.
Yalta attempts to follow Breymeer’s guidance. If Yalta appears to be veering off too far, Breymeer appears long enough to correct his course.
Yalta walks with his staff and shield.
Just behind Yalta walks Kuba, carrying his sword and shield, and Speck with his short sword.
Ewan walks next. He appears very happy to be out of doors.
The elves are next with the full blooded elves just ahead of the half-elven Grimlock. Tathar, with his bow, Cirdan, empty handed, and Grimlock, crossbow, all walk generally together. Dalic, the dwarf, walks to the left of them, seeming to stay somewhat near Grimlock.
Tarstar walks behind the elves and dwarf. Being more fleet of foot than Ewan buys Tarstar amble opportunities to give a little dance here and there.
Southar brings up the rear. His shield hung nearby at his side and his bow in hand. He moves behind the group in similar fashion as Breymeer; only occasionally appearing to confirm the rear is secure.
Breymeer, his attention focused on the forest floor for a moment too long, looks up to see he has mistakenly identified a large bolder. Just 150 feet in front of him is a mammoth sized wasp nest, roughly 15 feet around. It is strung between several trees giving it the initial deception of sprouting from the ground behind the trees. He only now identifies it correctly as a giant wasp, all of three feet long, walks out of the hive and begins to fly in Breymeer's direction at a fast rate of closure. The high pitch of the whirring wings reaches the remainder of the group behind Breymeer catching them by surprise. Southar is yet too far back to be cognizant of the danger facing the group.
Breymeer, very quick on his reaction to the wasp, stops and raises his arm to the group in attempts to prevent their attack. Unfortunately, several members of the group are also reacted very quickly and the sound of bowstrings being released fills the air.
Grimlock’s crossbow snaps forward sending its bolt into the wasp’s thorax (7, 12/19).
Tathar, having his bow in hand, fires two arrows at the wasp with blinding speed. The first strikes the wasp at the same time as the crossbow quarrel (4, 8/19). The second flies clear and sails out into the woods.
The wasp flies up to Breymeer, somewhat clumsy now, for a wasp, as it has a bolt and an arrow sticking out of it, and lands on him. It attempts to bite his head and neck but Breymeer, with his right arm, was able to hold its head back far enough to avoid injury. The wasp attempts to jab Breymeer in the guts with its stinger. Breymeer, no stranger to woodland creatures, was able to parry the blow with his bow.
Speck stows his sword and goes for his bow. By the time Speck has his bow out, the wasp is upon Breymeer. Speck holds for a clear shot. Speck, with arrow nocked, holds his fire, watching the nest.
Breymeer attempts to keep the stinger away with his bow while groping for his axe with his free hand. Finding it, he hacks the creature in its belly (3, 5/19).
Dalic moves up to the front of the group, next to Yalta, and prepares for a defense.
Grimlock the sniper, takes a slow, careful bead with his crossbow. He inhales deeply and lets it out slowly. The moment he runs out of air, he pulls the trigger. The bolt flies true, striking the creature in the head just six inches above Breymeer’s head (7, -2/19). The wasp flips backwards onto the ground and quivers on its back then stops moving altogether.
“Bralm what do you hinder us so?” exclaims Yalta. “Jascar has a higher purpose here. We mean your wasps no harm. Please call them off.” He raises his shield in defense and grips his hammer. <The characters that were at the Suel basecamp in the Pelisso Swamp remember a pretty female priest named Noli that gave you the healing medication to clear you of flukes, etc. She wore robes with bees on them. Bralm is the Suel deity of insects and industriousness, etc. Revered by laborers, etc.>
Ewan McDermott pleads with the group, “Back away and move around this nest. Get far enough away and they will not harm us.”
The remainder of the group, alert and prepared, wait to see what happens next.
Breymeer turns to the group as if to say something. There is blood on his abdomen where the wasp has stung him deeply (2 damage sting, 15 damage poison, 6 hrs paralysis 17, 30/47). Breymeer is unable to speak and goes limp as a boned fish. He falls to the ground unmoving. Breymeer feels the sting from the wasp just before it is shot dead off of him. He turns to tell the group not to attack the animals when the poison kicks in, shooting pain through his body. At the same time, Breymeer realizes he has lost control of his limbs and he falls to the ground paralyzed.
The wasp nest breaks into a frenzy. Several wasps begin pouring out of it and flying around then nest. It appears there is at least four that came out with others to follow.
Grimlock throws some powder into the air ahead of himself while speaking to himself, a long column of mist gathers ahead of the group. It continues to grow dense. Thickening from transparent, to translucent until finally blocking all vision through it. The column begins directly ahead of the front rank and extends nearly to Breymeer.
Grimlock instructs, “Use the fog for cover. The wasps should avoid it.”
Dalic charges forward into the fog, “Fall back! I will retrieve Breymeer!” Dalic disappears from view as soon as he enters the thickening fog.
Cirdan Saralonde and Tathar Surion both move forward into the fog and quickly fade from sight.
The wasps continue to fly frantically in the area of their nests. Some of them are aloft and some are simply moving about the exterior of the nest. There now appears to be over a half dozen wasps outside of the nest. The ones flying appear to be moving in arcs farther and farther away from the nest. They have moved about 25 feet from the nest so far.
The group splits.
Grimlock moves to his left and takes cover behind a low bushy tree.
Ewan, Tarstar and Yalta begin to flank the hive to the right. Ewan’s intent is to take a wide berth and hopefully avoid any more encounters with the wasps.
Kuba and Speck join Cirdan and Tathar in the fog. The human and halfling find the elves who report Dalic is going for Breymeer.
The wasps are staying on the far side of the fog; towards their nest. They are not attacking Grimlock, anyone in the fog or the flanking group.
Dalic moves out to Breymeer and hoists him onto his shoulder. As Dalic plods towards the safety of the fog, a wasp comes diving out of the air striking Breymeer. It bites Breymeer in the right arm (5, 25/47) and buries its stinger into his right side (6, 19/47 plus minor bleed, poison 13, 6/47 plus paralysis for 4 hrs). Dalic carries Breymeer into the edge of the fog at which time the wasp departs. Here, Dalic sheaths his sword, re-grips Breymeer and begins making his way back towards the group at the edge of the fog. <Breymeer’s bow and axe were left behind.>
Ewan McDermott, now puffing as he moves to the right flank, calls one more time to the group, “They should not follow us far from the nest. Breymeer has been recovered! Fall back and move around the flank.” Yalta and Tarstar are with him.
Kuba, Speck, Cirdan and Tathar are yet standing in the fog near each other on the end farthest away from the nest. The whir of wings is in the air but it appears to be on the far edge of the fog, towards the nest.
Dalic, it is assumed, has Breymeer and is in the fog somewhere as well.
Grimlock remains near the scrubby low tree.
Those not in the fog can see the wasps are still frenzied but are mainly staying by the hive with a few venturing out as far as the end of the fogbank near where Breymeer once laid. Breymeer has been recovered. Dalic appears to have darted out and retrieved him at some point during the confusion.
The elves, Kuba and Speck hear Dalic’s approach as he is grunting his way along. In the heavy fog, Dalic passes by closely but unseen.
Cirdan, Tathar, Kuba and Speck, guarding against any possible attack, break out of the fog behind Dalic. Grimlock also breaks cover, heading for Ewan’s location.
There is a collective disbelief for a moment at it appears Breymeer’s body, being face down and slumped in the center as if being carried in the wounded soldier “Fireman’s carry” position, floats about three feet above the ground. Only, there is no body below Breymeer carrying him.
Breymeer floats his way towards Ewan McDermott who has stopped moving. Tarstar and Yalta wait with Ewan.
Grimlock, Cirdan, Tathar, Kuba and Speck all overtake Breymeer as they reach Ewan.
Breymeer is lowered to the ground and placed on his back. Grimlock begins searching for injuries, finding two large punctures to his abdomen. One injury looks as if it only just stopped bleeding. Grimlock breaks out some bandages and herbs; using them to bandage Breymeer’s wounds.
Breymeer is alive, stable and breathing. He is, however, limp as a boned fish and completely unresponsive.
The wasps have begun to retreat back to their nest and dart to and fro near it. No further attacks look immanent.
Tathar kneels next to Grimlock and lays hands upon Breymeer, praying for some healing (+8, 14/47). His injuries close some but he remains unresponsive.
Cirdan Saralonde thanks Tathar Surion and then, speaking to the open air for he cannot yet see Dalic, thanks Dalic as well.
Grimlock, after assessing the wounds, predicts, “He will need a day to recover. He is at greater risk with us at this point. We should return him to base camp. We can head back out after we drop him back at base camp. At the very least, we can scout the region until he is well enough to get back to his bill in an alchemist shop again.”
Footsteps approach and Dalic, still unseen, voices his opinion in his stern thick dwarven accent, "It be not far back to camp. Someone ta drag him back whilst tha rest ta outpost nearer tha ruin. I be recon tha p'rimeter whilin' not be seen. Nae mor'in threes ta 'company the fallen ta camp. Return ta outpost fer'n regroupin' as soon be realistic. We needn't take tha ruin this day if'n it be dark soon at regroup. Hab' we a sneakin' archer ta 'company yer Dwarf on recon? It be daft me goin' alone from tha outpost."
Speck, appearing to understand him, volunteers to scout with Dalic and translates for the group, “I think he said he wants a few of the group to drag Breymeer back to basecamp while the rest of us move up and set up an outpost near the ruin. From there, the dwarf wants a sneaky archer to accompany him on a recon. Once we are all back together, we can head into the ruin; today or tomorrow.”
Cirdan Saralonde’s opinion is to head back to base camp and rest today; heading back to the ruin early tomorrow.
Yalta puts forth his opinion, “I will not waiver. One man is not the party and he yet lives anyway. Sending him back to the basecamp will lesson our burden. We are only two hours out from basecamp. Send someone back who can track our progress and catch up again. We can hold at the edge of the Dead Wood for this hill is cleared upon the top. Dalic’s recon idea is sound, especially since he cannot be seen. I have no doubt the little halfling can sneak along with him in near invisibility himself. The Baron’s men are only waiting until tomorrow and then they are leaving. I would like to sack this ruin and accompany them back with the necromancer’s head as a trophy for Jascar! The Baron did not hire a bunch of bold warriors who waiver in the face of danger, pray tell. Who is with me?” The priest of Jascar appears to have a bit of a fanatical look about him at the moment.
Tarstar chooses to continue to the ruin.
Grimlock as well.
Tathar offers, “I am as quiet as any other elf, and as handy with a bow. I will not turn back now, with the filth of undead possibly so near. I will accompany Dalic.”
“You have my sword!” responds Dalic to Yalta.
Cirdan addresses Kuba and Southar, “I am freakishly strong for an elf. I will help carry Breymeer back to camp if Southar, or some other with the skill, will lead the way there and back.”
Southar consents to lead the rescue element.
Ewan will continue on with the scout group as long as it promises to take a more cautious demeanor towards animals. The wasp attack, in his mind, could have been handled a little better but Ewan is very thankful the group retreated when it could.
So it is that Kuba and Cirdan take turns bearing the burden of Breymeer as Southar scouts the return to basecamp. Their return trip is uneventful; arriving back at basecamp just before the passing of the noon sun. They brief Peylae of the injuries and the setback. Peylae reports it has been all quiet at camp. The away team returns to woods to relocate the scout team. The return trip in uneventful as well as Southar correctly finds the forest trail and the wasp nest, safely guiding around it. The away team rejoins the group in the early afternoon, approximately 1400 hrs.
The remaining members of the group circle widely around the wasp nest attempting to return to the old forest path. The group is unable to reacquire the path but does find the forest edge within about one half hour. The group sees they are near the northern tip of the Dead Woods, having strayed a little too far north. The ruins are due west of the group.
The scout team, Dalic, Grimlock, Speck and Tathar move quietly away from the woodline and sneak among the boulders, scrubs and bushes as they ascend the hill. The half-elf, halfling and elf are near silent as they move stealthily among the grass, shrubs and rocks. Dalic finds it easy to see why elves are so hard to defeat in their woodland homes. They move like assassins. Dalic, although unseen, sounds like thundering cattle to the elves and halfling although in reality, he is moving near silent to the his dwarven ears. Near the top, Dalic moves off by himself to scout the ruins.
He returns safely to the scout team and they return to the group, arriving in the mid-afternoon, near 1530 hrs.
The away team reports all is quiet and well at the basecamp.
The scout team reports the hill continues to be rocky with occasional boulders and rock outcroppings appearing at roughly one-eighth to one-quarter mile intervals. Many of the boulders and outcroppings are large enough to hide a mounted knight. The hill itself is covered with wild grasses and shrubs growing from its base to nearly 1200 feet. Above the 1200 foot mark, there is no vegetation. The keep is at about 1400 foot elevation. The hill levels off around the ruin and the flat area is devoid of boulders, shrubs, etc. The flat, clear area extends a little more than one-half mile around the ruined keep.
Further, Dalic reports the keep itself has several areas of outer wall that have collapsed or been compromised. There is one weak point or hole per side. The keep appears to have one large tower on the outer wall in the northeast corner. The keep is built along the western side of the keep with the open courtyard on the eastern side. There are several rotting siege engines near the keep. A burned tower is outside the northern wall, a battering ram near the hole on the eastern wall and a catapult sits about 400 feet south of the southern wall; directly south of the hole in the southern wall. The only activity Dalic noticed on his quick perusal was a lone bugbear hidden in the rubble of the damaged north wall. It was actively watching the northern slope.
Yalta reminds the group that undead may not react the same to your weapons as the living, “One must bash skeleton’s bones and cut zombies to pieces. If we find something more sinister than that, may Jascar help us.”
Kuba begins rummaging for a study cugal. Speck, seeing this as a good idea, follows suit. Each of them finds a sturdy enough club in short order.
Southar proposes, “We need to take out the ssscout. We could sssend a group to capture the bugbear for information. An invisible mage armed with a sssleep ssspell ssshould work. We could sssend a couple of rougesss for protection in case sssomething happensss. Sssounds like a good idea?” Southar has a discernable lisp.
Ewan McDermott suggests the group sneak up among the grasses, bushes and rocks until they get as close as they can without fear of being seen. From there, the mage and rogues can be sent forth.
Dalic proposes his idea, "I ken sneak up on yon scout and dismiss 'im outrigh'. I be 'frai tho, I yud lose mine edge of invisibility. I'd be needin' cover for the return to group after dispatchin' said ssscout." His lisp at the end clearly mocking Southar. "Tha buggybear be near to an entry we may well use immediately. Tha simple way dis simple dwarf sees it be take tha ruin hard or pick it off sneaky-like. We hab a sniper here. Mayin we be take that buggybear out from afar an' I leadin point wher'n I yet can't be seen. Them walls be holdin' a buggyboo or two or'n maybe a army a'dead thins. Aren't be knowin' 'till I gets inside. I be yet corrected by tha spittin Southar. A sssleep ssspell mayin' yet be a good'n. I, for me, say tak'er 'ard. Yet Pelltar be far mad iff'n ya all be dead walkin' home."
Yalta offers his services, “By the power and blessings of Jascar, I can take a few of you with me unseen. No more than three. Everything will seems distorted but you must have trust. You will be able to move and remain unseen. When we get to the castle, you will be able to walk right through the castle wall as if it didn’t exit. Just do not tarry there, for if my power fades and you are within the wall, you will be lost to us . . . maybe forever. Who wishes to go with me?”
Grimlock, Kuba, Cirdan and Tathar all volunteer.
Tarstar says he will, “Dance his way through the shadows.”
Speck will join Tarstar.
Grimlock, seeing too many volunteers going with Yalta, bows out and joins the Tarstar and Speck.
Ewan, not being fit enough for a half mile sprint, will remain hidden until it is clear the group has reached the castle. He will then attempt the crossing.
Southar, having some skill at sneaking himself, is torn between joining Tarstar or staying back and protecting Ewan. He finally decides to stay back with Ewan. The cover available on the approach to the castle is minimal and he fears he may draw attention to the group as they sneak forward.
The group has a quick meal and refreshes itself. Several members collect up a few wooden cudgels and Tathar grabs a makeshift staff before moving away from the edge of the Dead Woods and sneaking its way up the hill; hiding among boulders, scrub and grass.
From the woodline, it appears to be about four miles to the keep, all uphill. The group moves at the speed of the Dalic and Speck’s short legs making Ewan very happy. The group reaches the base of the hill quickly and begins its climb. A little over an hour and a half, the group is half way up the hill and still finding good cover. After a little less than 3 hours, the group reaches the edge of cover and rests; now just over half mile from the keep. Their slow speed and stealth appears to have gotten them here unnoticed. There appears to be about 3 hours of sunlight remaining in the day.
The castle walls are crenulated, as well as the main tower upper level. The castle walls likely have a walkway behind the upper wall. The walls appear to be about ten feet thick.
The large tower in the NE corner has open windows on the third floor facing each compass point.
The smaller tower in the center of the east wall has a window facing east.
The castle itself is partially hidden by the outer walls. The main floor has a sharp sloped and tiled roof that covers the main hall (on the west end). The east end of the castle raises into a second and third level. The entire structure is made of stone other than the roofs. The second floor is the width of the first floor (110 feet) but only 60 feet deep. The second floor has three windows facing east, one north. Dalic remembers seeing one west and one south as well. The third story rises out of the center of the east end of the castle and is square shaped; 40 feet per side. The third floor has one window per compass point and a flat roof.
There is a siege tower, lying on its side, outside the northern wall west of the hole there. There is a battering ram lying with the ruined portcullis at the front gate and there is a catapult about 400 feet south of the castle, directly south of the hole in the wall there. Finally, there is a hole in the northwest wall of the large tower at ground level and Dalic said there was a hole in the wall on the west side of the castle opening into what looked like the main hall.
The group is prepared to move out. Dalic first. He plans to sneak up on the bugbear in the rubble and take him out. Once Dalic has enough time to get into position in the hole on the northern wall, Yalta and company will charge under Jascar’s protection. Leaving at the same time as Jascar, Tarstar, Grimlock and Speck will begin their slower sneak towards the castle. Remaning behind is Southar and Ewan until the sound of battle is clear or it is obvious all have arrived at the castle.
By mid-afternoon, Breymeer begins to regain use of his muscles. The paralysis is replaced with intense pain. He has two punctures and a bite still evident on his body but it is the wasp’s poison that causes his pain. Gritting his teeth, he begins to stir and finds he can regain his feet, albeit unsteadily. The presence of pretty ladies steels his resolve and he tries to put the misery behind him. Peylae breaks out some food and wine and Belina and Ide Otneaux see that he eats and drinks some. Within a half hour, Breymeer has regained his balance and determines to set back out after the group despite his injuries. Belina offers to accompany him to the hill. They set out by late afternoon, reaching the wasp nest by 1700 hours. Breymeer recovers his lost axe and longbow without another encounter with the wasps. Breymeer tracks the party around the nest and through the woods. He quickly realizes the did not re-discover the forest trail; instead forging ahead blindly. About 45 minutes after circling the wasp nest, Breymeer and Belina reach the edge of the Dead Woods, near the northern point. The ruin is visible to the west, sitting atop the hill. Belina bids Breymeer farewell and he continues on without her, still tracking the party. Breymeer estimates he still has over three hours to find them. He begins to work his way up the hill. He can tell the party snuck their way up the hill; hiding behind bush, scrub and rock. He continues to climb the hill, making as quick time as he can without risking losing the trail.
Speck requests a slight modification to the plan, “I think the sneakers should start right away as their journey will take the longest. Then Dalic. The runners should leave about ten minutes after Dalic.”
Dalic just wants to make sure he has enough time to get there and deal with the scout before he can spot the others.
The group acquiesces to Specks suggestion.
The sneaks break cover and begin to slither and low crawl their way forward. Grimlock has covered himself with some type of makeshift gown. It is cut strips of neutral colored canvas rubbed into the dirt giving himself a near matching color as his surroundings (think guile suit).
Grimlock quickly takes the lead and heads out at his own pace while Tarstar stays near Speck.
Dalic gives them a few minutes before he departs.
After about fifteen minutes, Yalta commands Tathar, Cirdan and Kuba to each touch him and hold on. Yalta advises he will be the last to arrive and he will cancel the spell upon arrival. He advises each of you to make sure you get through the wall immediately or else do not try and enter the wall. You cannot be in the wall when he ends the spell or you will be lost forever. Yalta begins his spell. He mutters a quiet prayer and near instantly, the group fades from sight and no sounds of them remains.
Just as the two elves and two humans fade from view, a familiar whistle is heard from behind the group. Southar instantly recognizes it as Breymeer.
Sure enough, Breymeer slips up next to the group. He carries his wounds and is in obvious pain but he has made the trek back to re-join the group.
Ewan McDermott, seeing Breymeer in pain, lays his hands upon him and eases some of his pain (+4, 18/47).
The four of them separate from the world into a strange misty grey realm in which the outside world is still completely visible; only reduced to shades of grey and shimmering as if looking across a hot grey dessert. Vision is reduced to that of a football field.
Yalta, having faced himself in the direction of the keep, begins to run at a jog and the others follow suit. The four of them retain the ability to see each other even after they have faded into this misty state. Tathar quickly passes by everyone else, his uncanny dexterity adding to his running ability. Cirdan Saralonde is next, nearly keeping pace, Kuba Cyvlorandau is considerably slower than the elves but he remains ahead of Yalta.
Tathar is the first to see they have strayed a bit too far to the west as the siege tower comes into view. Tathar corrects and the others follow as they move towards the castle wall. They can see there are a few bugbears gathering in ambush.
Dalic arrives on the outer side of the rubble pile. The bugbear that had been there is gone but several others are present. A large bugbear in splint mail armor, armed with a morning star, is directing four other bugbears into ambush positions just inside the wall among the rubble. The four bugbears are wearing scale mail armor and carry maces.
The remains of the siege tower are fallen and rotting, with many sections burnt away. The ground around the tower shows some signs of being scorched long ago. There is some darkening of the castle wall just south of the siege tower as well. The charred remains of three large humanoids can be seen amid the ruin.
Breymeer shares his plan with Southar and Ewan, “I am going to head for that hole in the northeast tower. Once the group reaches the castle, they will be creating a diversion. I want to get up in the tower and find a good lookout. From there I can use my bow and maybe see where my help is most needed. I welcome any company.”
Southar and Ewan agree to accompany him with Ewan adding, “You are still injured. Let me help you further. We will be in danger crossing that clearing.” Ewan cures Breymeer a second time (+5, 23/47).
Southar adds, “Grave danger?”
Breymeer finishes, “Is there any other kind?” Breymeer refocuses on the castle’s north wall, looking for any activity at all that would hint the battle had begun.
Less than ten minutes after Breymeer arrived, Dalic’s thick dwarven voice can be heard across the clearing. Dalic curses a string of taunts at the bugbears that would make Tarstar the sailor blush. His thick dwarven accent evident as he berates the “five bugaboos” with endless dwarven threats and profanity.
Dalic begins a string of taunts that would make Tarstar the sailor blush. His thick dwarven accent evident as he berates the “five bugaboos” with endless dwarven threats and profanity.
The bugbear become obviously angry and begin looking out across the rubble trying to see the offender.
The shaman makes some guttural vocalizations. Dalic suddenly goes deaf.
As Dalic is regaining his bearings from the sudden loss of hearling, he sees the bugbear’s attention drawn to their left (west of the rubble pile). They are looking at something inside the castle wall. Whatever it is, they sneer and raise their weapons.
Seeing the bugbears peering over the pile of rubble, Yalta assumes Dalic has made his appearance. Yalta cancels his spell. A world of sudden colors invades the misty dull grey landscape, pushing it from your minds. With a suddenness, color, sounds and the feel of the ground below your feet returns. The four of you are standing in a 20 foot wide side courtyard to the keep. Five bugbear are just east of you among the rubble. The rubble pile begins near the corner of the keep where this narrow courtyard opens to the large courtyard in front (east) of the keep. Immediately you hear Yalta calls out to the bugbears, “I am Yalta, Priest of Jascar, in the name of Grellus, Baron of Restenford, you are hereby evicted from this keep. Leave now or face the wrath of Restenford!”
The bugbear just sneer and raise their weapons.
Grimlock hears Dalic’s distinct dwarven accent when Grimlock is still about 200 feet from the castle tower. Dalic curses a string of taunts at the bugbears that would make Tarstar the sailor blush. His thick dwarven accent evident as he berates the “five bugaboos” with endless dwarven threats and profanity. About fifteen seconds later, Grimlock clearly hears Yalta’s voice, “I am Yalta, Priest of Jascar, in the name of Grellus, Baron of Restenford, you are hereby evicted from this keep. Leave now or face the wrath of Restenford!”
Tarstar and Speck hears Dalic’s distinct dwarven accent when they are still about 1600 feet from the castle tower. Dalic curses a string of taunts at the bugbears that would make Tarstar the sailor blush. His thick dwarven accent evident as he berates the “five bugaboos” with endless dwarven threats and profanity.
The bugbear shaman croaks out a foul order to Yalta, “Pheel da wrath da Hruggek!” Yalta turns white as a sheet with fear and flees down the narrow courtyard towards the western wall where he cowers in the corner whimpering to himself and hiding his head.
Cirdan Saralonde attemps to counter, "Please, as a friend, let me help you! You have no need of weapons against us! Come, let us talk."
The shaman commands his men, “Kill ‘em ‘n eat da elves!”
Tathar takes offense to the shaman and fires two quick arrow as Kuba charges forward to meet the bugbears in melee.
The arrows strike the bugbear shaman, gracing his neck (7, 20/27) and left arm (2, 18/27).
Kuba, in a flash of steel, meets three bugbears in the narrow courtyard, stopping two of them from advancing. His bastard sword leave a nasty slash across the lead bear’s chest (9, 13/22).
The lead bugbear, reeling in pain, misses Kuba but the second one smashes Kuba’s right knee with a wicked blow from its mace (10, 26/36; critical hit, knockdown, ½ move). The blow crumples Kuba as his knee gives out and Kuba collapses to the ground. Kuba frantically flails with his sword and shield to parry incoming blows. He is able to deflect a final blow as a third bugbear runs past him towards the elves.
Grimlock stands and sprints. He reaches the outer wall and Dalic moves into position outside the rubble of the north wall.
Speck and Tathar rise and begin to move towards the wall.
Breymeer, Southar and Ewan move out towards the keep.
In a flash, Tarstar nocks and fires his third arrow. The arrow buries into the shaman’s right thigh as he cries out in pain (8, 10/27).
The shaman yanks the arrow out of his thigh, lays his hands upon the wound and begins to pray to Hruggek. His prayer is cut short as his head rolls off the top of his shoulders and lands at the feet of a now materializing dwarf (16, -6/27). Dalic’s sword is coated in blood and the dwarf bears a sinister grin.
Cirdan Saralonde removes a small leather loop from a pouch. He walks to the edge of the wall and begins an incantation. Within seconds, he is beginning to rise up off the ground reaching the height of 10 feet. He is nearly level with the walkway.
A bugbear continues to charge past Kuba, heading towards Tathar. Tathar greats him with a quick arrow from his bow. The arrow deflects off the armor on its left leg. The massive creature brings its mace down upon the lithe elf. Tathar moves gracefully just enough to avoid the blow.
The three bugbears on Kuba attempt to overbear him. Two of them pounce upon him while the third covers them.
Near the east gate, a second squad of bugbear are watching the fight unfold. One, appearing to be a second shaman, orders two of the bugbears forward to join the fray. They charge forward with their maces held high crying out tribal war cries. The remaining three continue to guard the gate.
The two bugbears charge the battle and direct their attacks at Dalic as he appears from nowhere, slaying the shaman. The lead bugbear bashes Dalic in the left arm (5, 27/32) but the second bugbear steps on the shaman’s morning star and loses his balance for a moment causing his swing to fly wide. The second bugbear regains his balance before Dalic recovers from the initial blow.
Southar and Breymeer begin to sprint toward the sounds of battle. Southar’s feet tear at the ground as he increases his speed faster and faster. Breymeer cannot match his pace; pain from the wasp injuries wracking his body. Through the pain, Breymeer runs on only to watch Southar continue to distance himself. Southar reaches astonishing speed; nearly doubling Breymeer’s run. Ewan quickly falls back but maintains a steady jog (like a lineman running for the endzone after a fumble recovery).
Tarstar and Speck continue their journey forward.
Grimlock begins his ascent of the outer castle wall.
The bugbear facing Tathar attempts to crush him with its mace. By the time the blow falls, the nimble elf has begun a series of back hand springs ending in a back flip. Tathar, already half way to Yalta, runs to his side to encourage him out of his fear induced catatonic state. The bugbear can only stare awe-struck.
Cirdan Saralonde pulls a rope from his possessions, keeping it in hand. While doing so, he spots a collection of bones on the rubble pile assemble into a full skeleton. It animates and begins to move silently towards Dalic. It approaches him from the rear. Cirdan shouts a warning to Dalic and then announces to all his allies, “I have a rope should you need to escape up the wall.”
Kuba manages to fend off the overbearing weight of the two bugbears as they attempt to pin him to the ground. Kuba slashes a bugbear across the face (8, 6/22) adding to its misery from the slice on its chest. The blow causes the bugbear to step back giving Kuba a chance to stab at the second bugbear on him. That blow missed but the second bugbear also released him. Kuba springs to his feet, spinning a tight circle, he uses the momentum like an uncoiling spring. His sword flashes through the neck of the uninjured bugbear cleaving its head off (26, -4/22). The heavy seven foot frame crumples onto the courtyard. The final bugbear facing Kuba also fails to deliver a telling blow.
Kuba is rushes a second time. This time he fails to keep his feet and goes over backwards. In doing so, he brings his sword up to the belly of the bugbear on his left. The sword pierces the creature to the hilt (26, -9/17). The dead weight of the creature drives Kuba to the ground. Making matters worse, the second bugbear also pounces on top of Kuba. Kuba is lying supine with two bugbears on him; one dead and one alive.
Meanwhile, Dalic’s grunting and cursing continues. He puffs out his chest. His eyes go bloodshot as he lets out a roaring dwarven battle cry. Suddenly, the underweight dwarf, who stood less than four feet tall before, now stands nearly six feet tall. His mass has grown as well. He is man sized with a dwarf’s thick chest. The first bugbear swings clumsily at the sudden beast in front of it, now looking the pesky dwarf nearly eye to eye. The second bugbear slams his mace into Dalic’s head. Dalic is able to turn enough to only get a glancing blow across the cheek (9, 18/32). The dwarf spits his own blood upon the ground and grins to the bugbear. Dalic appears to almost enjoy the painful exchanges as he begins to taunt then anew.
Tathar, calling upon the power of Sehanine, attemps to sooth Yalta’s fears, assuring him the bugbear shaman has died. Yalta, shaking and white with fear, will not even look up. He is near catatonic.
A bugbear charges Tathar and takes a wood splitters swing at him as he is aiding Yalta. Tathar quickly side steps the blow and the mace bounces off the hard packed courtyard. The head of the mace breaks off the weapon and the bugbear throws it to the ground in disgust, “I gut elf now!”
Cirdan reaches out to the walkway on top of the wall and pulls himself over to and then onto the walkway.
The bugbear on Kuba, using the weight of the other creature, easily pins him. Kuba is unable to break the pin and now lies supine and unable to defend himself. The bugbear grins a sharp toothed sadistic smile.
Dalic, hearing Cirdan’s warning and sensing himself getting surrounded, charges the rear bugbear using his bastard sword as a makeshift lance. Dalic, spit and curses flying, thrusts his weapon clean through the bugbear’s chest and spine (26, -4/22). The creatures attack falls limp. The bugbear Dalic moved past hits him in the right leg with a glancing blow that knocks Dalic’s foot out from under him (4, 14/32). Dalic falls to his knees as the skeleton moves up behind him with an old rusty mace. The skeleton hits Dalic on the left arm with a weak blow (1, 13/32).
Grimlock summits the wall and quietly drops over the outer battlement and
onto the narrow walkway. He can hear some bugbears grunting nearby on the inside of the wall. One sounds as it if is nearly below him, just off to Grimlock’s left. The others are even farther away, sounding as if they are on the south side of the gate.
The other party members continue their advance on the keep hoping they will not be too late.
As the bugbear attacks Tathar and Yalta, Cirdan Saralonde had pulled himself over to the wall, rights himself and conjures up two mystical bolts that he sends flying into the back of the bugbear (2, 16/18) and (3, 13/18).
Tathar orders the same bugbear to, “Die!” It drops to the ground in a cataleptic state, stiff as a board.
Cirdan turns his attention to the skeleton facing Dalic. Cirdan puts to glowing missiles into it (4, 3/7) and (5, -2/7) as the same time Dalic, from his knees and roaring like a lion, hits the skeleton at the pelvis, with his sword, sending chunks of bone flying through the air. The skeleton comes apart and what remains falls to the ground lifeless once again.
Dalic turns his attention towards the bugbear. Laughing maniacally, Dalic attempts to slash the bugbear but the blade bounces off its armor. The bugbear facing Dalic swings errantly.
Kuba struggles to gain his freedom but is held fast by the bugbear. The bugbear gives Kuba a massive head butt (2, 24/36, knocked out).
Grimlock sneaks along the top of the castle wall, slowly moving behind the southern bugbears stationed there.
The bugbear shaman at the front gate orders one of his two remaining companions to charge Dalic. It complies and crosses the courtyard at a run. It closes the distance on Dalic and joins the melee there.
The bugbear shaman continues speaking. He appears to be yelling something in bugbear. Grimlock peaks over the side and sees the bugbears orders are directed to the north.
Southar continues to close the distance, now only about 30 seconds from reaching the wall.
Breymeer and the others continue forward as well but they are yet minutes away.
Cirdan Saralonde takes his rope and walks to the crenellations at the outer side of the wall. He ties off the rope to a merlon, allowing enough rope to reach the ground to the courtyard side of the wall. While doing so, Cirdan happens to catch sight of the basecamp at the bottom of the hill roughly five miles away. With his elf vision he can see the camp remains in place as evening sets in. The baron’s banners clearly mark the camp. The sounds of battle return him to the task at hand. Turning, he holds the rope coils intent on dropping them to those who want to get atop the wall. From his peripheral vision, Cirdan Saralonde catches movement from the hole in the northeast corner tower. Out of the base of the tower walks a mix of human and bugbears. They are stiff and clumsy. They walk with hands out, unarmed. They bring with them the smell of death and visions of the grave. The bodies are in poor shape being in various conditions of rot. The dead saunter forth.
Tathar pumps two quick arrows into the heart of the board stiff bugbear. The body goes limp as death overcomes it. “Gut me, will ya? I think not!”
The surviving bugbear on Kuba pushes the dead one off of him. He rises, throwing Kuba’s limp body upon his shoulder as he does so. The bugbear turns to leave the courtyard.
Dalic’s problems increase at the incoming bugbear attempts to trample upon him. Dalic takes a desperate swing at the incoming bugbear but misses in his haste to roll to his right to avoid being knocked prone. The remaining bugbear pounces down upon Dalic. Dalic brings his sword up slashing a large gash in the bugbear’s side (15, 5/20). The bugbear survives. Roaring in pain and anger, it drives Dalic onto his back. Laughing now, the bugbear that tried to overrun Dalic pounces onto the pile. Next to the struggling and cursing dwarf lay the headless body of the shaman and an old pile of broken bones that moments ago was an animated skeleton.
Grimlock sneaks to the very edge of the curtain wall. He positions himself behind the remaining bugbear shaman, readies his long sword and prepares to make the leap.
Southar is closing fast upon the northeast corner of the keep, near the tower. He has about 900 feet to go when he sees a little more than half dozen stiff and awkward looking large man sized figures exit the tower and begin moving along the wall to the west. With his feet pounding the ground like a drum solo, he will be upon them just after the reach the rubble and the hole in the north wall near Cirdan.
Breymeer, Tathar, Speck and Ewan continue as best they can.
Tathar puts his hand on Yalta’s shoulder and again prays to Sehanine, “Yalta, they are mortal. We are defeating them. Rise and be free of this horror upon you.”
Yalta blinks a few times and looks up at Tathar and then around at the battlefield, “I have shamed Jascar. I must regain honor. Bless the elves!” He rises, secures his staff to his back, tighten the shield straps, grips his hammer, and prepares to charge into the fray.
Cirdan conjures up two more magical arrows and sends them into the bugbear fleeing with Kuba on its back (2, 3/22 and 4, -1/22). It drops face first onto the ground and ceases to move. Kuba’s body crashes hard to the ground and remains limp among the dead and shattered bodies of three bugbears he helped bring down (2, 22/36).
Dalic snickers wildly, "Feeble beasts! Taste tha blade tha' devours ye! HrrrrRRAAAAAA!!!" Dalic bellows his deafening roar again. Pulling his sword from the first bugbear directly above him, the beast succumbs to the wound dealt by the sneering dwarf entirely (damage adjustment from previous round, forgot to add enlarged damage adjustement 6, -1/20), the limp body rolling from between the dwarf and the still living bugbear. Dalic, thrust neatly to his knees a midst the tussle and facing the remaining foe's attempt to grapple, slashes deeply into the beast's chest, felling it instantly. Dalic releases a triumphant battle cry, "Tha right han' a' vengeance! Aye, death incarnae! Many die ta-night!" then stands and moves into position to attack Kuba's would-be kidnapper.
The would-be kidnapper drops dead as Dalic rises from the pile. Dalic continues to Kuba and kneels next to him finding Kuba still alive. Kuba has a lump on his forehead and a badly injured right knee but the injuries do not appear life threatening. He simply appears to have been knocked unconscious.
At the gate, Grimlock moves silently up to a squat position. He leaps forward off the wall and drops downward upon the back of the bugbear shaman. Holding his long sword point down, he drives the blade into the bugbear where its shoulder meets its neck. The sword continues into the bugbear until the hilt impacts the shoulder (39, -18/21). Grimlock releases his blade and hits the ground feet first. He tucks into a summersault to release the energy of the fall. He springs to his feet unharmed but without his sword.
The sole remaining bugbear flees towards the keep reaching the large double doors. The door cracks open at his arrival and he slips inside. While doing so, Grimlock can see it is a man sized bugbear that opened the door. The door shuts behind them.
The zombie apocalypse reaches the rubble of the curtain wall. They bring with them the smell of decay. They trudge forward, slow and jerky, seeking the living.
Dalic scoops up Kuba and moves to the wall below Cirdan. Standing a few feet from the base of the wall with Kuba, Dalic calls up to Cirdan, "Drop tha' rope and pull up tha' fallen Kuba, I be securin' it"
Cirdan drops down the free end of the rope saying, "We need to burn the bodies before we proceed. We don't want them being reanimated and having to fight them again.” Checking to make sure it is secure, Dalic nods to Cirdan indicating he heard Cirdan’s request about the enemy dead and confirming Kuba is ready to be lifted.
Tathar and Yalta move east from the back wall along the narrow courtyard. They reach Dalic and Kuba. Tathar tells Cirdan, “Bring him up, I will see about healing him atop the wall.”
Dalic faces out from the narrower section near the keep, eyeing the rubble ahead for the approaching dead. Calling over his shoulder, Dalic's voice is low and grizzly, "We take tha' dead here wher'n it narrows. I may ne'er look it, but Dalic hab tak'n a hit or three. Yalter, I petition your aid.”
Yalta answers, “You shall have it! You appear to be in dire need of it. In Jascar’s name, I will help you hold them back!”
Grimlock recovers his sword from the shaman’s body and returns to the base of the wall. He also removed a dagger, coin pouch and seized the bugbears morningstar.
Southar has closed the distance at an amazing rate. Now, only 200 feet away and closing fast, he has his shield and sword ready.
Breymeer, Speck, Tarstar and Ewan continue to close the distance as fast as their feet will carry them. Tarstar is staying at Speck’s pace.
The walking dead have reached the rubble of the northern wall. Three of them lumber across and begin their sorrowful march towards those in the narrow courtyard.
Tathar helps to lift Kuba up the wall while Cirdan pulls on the rope. The dead weight of Kuba makes the process a little difficult. It is everything Cirdan Saralonde can do, even with Tathar pushing from below, to get Kuba up the wall. Only do to the elf’s uncommon strength did he manage to get Kuba’s body atop the wall. Cirdan goes immediately to untie Kuba so that he can get the rope back down to Tathar Surion. Tathar awaits it.
Yalta lays his hands upon Dalic and prays to Jascar for healing power (+7, 20/32).
Dalic, feeling the refreshing energy, steps forward to meet the undead horde. As the first of the zombies reaches Dalic he begins hacking away at it. His first blow separates the left leg from the torso (10, 6/16). As the zombies falls, it lands a blow upon Dalic’s breastplate. The breastplate protects Dalic from harm. Dalic responds by cutting of the offending arm (10, -6/16). The zombie returns to the dead.
Southar arrives upon the field of battle. He reaches the last zombie as it begins to climb over the rubble pile. Not slowing down, Souther puts his shoulder into his shield and drives his weight into the back of the zombie sending him hurtling over the rubble and landing flat on the ground (2, 11/13). Southar steps up to the top of the rubble and surveys the battlefield through his great helm.
Grimlock jogs across the courtyard along the wall to the smaller tower in the eastern wall. He has the dead bugbear shaman’s morningstar in hand. He begins to inspect a door at the base of the tower. The door appears to be relatively solid despite its age.
The runners continue to close on the keep. Breymeer is the nearest, being only about one minute away (5 combat rounds).
The zombies continue to close on Dalic, Yalta and Tathar.
Cirdan lowers the rope to Tathar. Tathar quickly scales up the wall and climbs atop the curtain wall.
Cirdan begins a vigilant watch for movement around the keep and the grounds.
Dalic confidently states, "I be countin' no more than we ken handle. There be no time ta flee. Attack now lest we lay deader than these walkin' dead". He slashes at the incoming zombie, opening its abdomen exposing extremely smelly entrails (15, 1/16). The zombie, mindless to the injury, attempts to pummel the over-grown dwarf, but misses.
Yalta moves up to Dalic’s side, his warhammer in his right hand and shield strapped to his left arm. Yalta hammers the next approaching zombie on the top of the head breaking bone (3, 12/15) with a blow that would have put most men to their knees. The zombie is only phased. Having been spun slightly to its right from the blow, it turns its fury on Dalic. It gives Dalic a five-finger death punch to the abdomen, catching him off guard (10, 10/32; wound ½ move, stunned one round). Dalic can feel cold chill of death in its touch.
Yalta’s swing exposed his right side as one moved in to his right flank. It batters his extended right arm with a chopping blow (7, 11/18).
Southar leaps off the rubble to engage the zombie he knocked down before it can rise. He steps on a loose stone and nearly tumbles. His awkward blow misses completely.
The zombie lunges forward from its knees but fails to deliver a damaging blow.
Grimlock moves across the courtyard coming up behind the zombie attacking Southar. He stops short and examines the battle before him.
Ever closer the runners come.
Grimlock stows the morningstar and draws his long sword. He moves up to the rear flank of the zombie fighting with Southar and hacks the left leg off of it (6, 5/13) as Southar hacks off the right (6, -1/13). Southar blasts the torso with his shield sending it skidding to a stop in the courtyard (4, -5/13). It perishes.
With more volume and feeling than anyone has ever heard out of Tathar, he yells at the undead with his moon-shaped holy symbol thrust out before him. "YOU ARE AN ABOMINATION TO SEHANINE! I COMMAND YOU TO FLEE!" The entire horde turns, hissing, and begins to withdraw from the battle towards the hole in the north wall.
Cirdan finishes up tying up a slip knot at the end of the rope.
Dalic holds the line and grunts through the pain in his abdomen, "Yalta, up tha wall! Ya don't wan' ta be here for what happens next!" His veins boil and eyes have changed entirely to crimson. Dalic lets out a blood curdling cry penultimate to the full realization of his rage, "ALL THA' REMAINS BE DUST 'NEATH THA STEEL OF DALGURRRR!" Dalic infuses his proper name into his cry, donning his bastard sword with the name now and hereafter. Thunderous cries fill the hilltop as Dalgur Steelcoat attacks with all his might the two zombies within his reach. Dalic cuts through the left thigh of the one he previously struck, felling it (18, -17/16). His second blow cuts through the right arm of the zombie in front of Yalta as it turns to leave. The blow severs the arm and cleaves deep into the ribs. The second zombie also succumbs to the blow (15, -12/16).
Yalta, seeing the injury to Dalic’s abdomen, lays hands upon him a second time, praying again for Jascar’s healing energy (+5, 15/32), “Your body can take a lot of punishment dear dwarf.” The discomfort of Dalic’s wound eases and his full movement returns. Yalta then moves towards the wall, motioning for the rope.
From the top of the keep roof a voice reaches your ear. It carries on the air like driving sleet, piercing and cold, “You have sealed you death coming here! Relax," said the necromancer, "I are programmed to receive. You can check-out any time you like, but you can never leave!"
The figure of a man stands on the roof of the keep. He wears crimson red robes with brown leather belt. A brown leather strap rises from his belt over his right shoulder. A brown hood covers hides his face in shadow. He holds a wicked staff; the dark wooden shaft ending in a spiked circle of blackened metal.
The necromancer’s icy voice continues, “Restenford shall pay for this intrusion!” as he throws a small chunk of black substance in the direction of the north wall verbalizing arcane magics. The bat guano and sulfur glob arcs downward towards the narrow north courtyard. As it does so, it begins to glow and then catch fire appearing like a small shooting star. About five feet above the wall it suddenly expands, engulfing the north courtyard, the wall and the outer area near the fallen siege tower in an inferno of heat and flame. The flaming hell last for but a brief moment before consuming itself; wisps of smoke dance into the air.
The party members survive the carnage. Kuba, unable to defend himself from the heat, takes the brunt of the flame (21, 1/36). Grimlock, running for the shelter of the north wall of the keep itself, dives to the ground and covers himself from the heat. Tathar attempts to defend himself from the heat but is burned badly and he lies prone on the walkway (21, -2/19). Five of Tathar’s arrows had the feathers burn off them and the shaft badly damaged. Cirdan reacts quicker and is able to avoid the worst of the blast (11, 12/23). Luckily, Cirdan’s backpack containing his possessions survives the flame. Yalta dives to the ground just before the fireball expanded. He covers himself with his shield as he goes fetal (11, 0/18). Yalta remains fetal under his shield after the blast; he is unmoving. His hammer ruined as its handle continues to burn on the ground next to him. Dalic, oblivious to the flames, charges forward after the zombies, emerging from the flames burned but undaunted (11, 9{4}/32).
Dalic, his breathing heavy and jagged, stalks the zombie horde with rage emanating from behind his teeth. His face is streak with soot and his hair and beard are singed. He appears numb to anything but his prey and attacks the nearest abomination with exacting berserk destruction rarely seen except by those who have fallen victim to it. He reaches the ranks of retreating zombies and cuts one in half just above the waist (16, -1/15).
Southar runs up on the rubble pile and swings his long sword at a retreating zombie catching it in the neck (5, 9/14). Its head flops to the side and bounces up and down off its left shoulder as it continues to flee.
Cirdan rises from the wall, pulls a spider out of a pouch, and eats it. He takes off his boots; kicking them off the wall. Cirdan throws Tathar upon his shoulder and climbs down the exterior side of the curtain wall. His hands and feet sticking to the wall like he has suction cups. Once upon the ground, he slips his boots back on and begins to run across the open field towards the approaching party members yelling to Ewan and he runs, “Ewan, we need your healing powers!”
The necromancer hisses an evil laugh, “Fools! You shall all die before this day ends!”
Grimlock, seeing the Jascarian priest unmoving, runs into the line of fire and drags him back to the north keep exterior wall. Out of the line of sight of the necromancer, Grimlock applies first aid to Yalta. Yalta regains consciousness (+1, 1/18, house rule, made rolls to regain immediate fighting abilities (system shock and save vs death)).
“Grimlock, Jascar has smiled upon us. We shall yet defeat this evil corruptor of the dead.”
Yalta rises, weak at first. He gains his feet, burning with fury and smelling of burned hair, he shouts with his fist in the air, “Death to the necromancer!”
On the north side of the curtain wall, just north of Grimlock’s location in the courtyard, Cirdan attempts to keep Tathar alive. He works frantically to stabilize Tathar.
The necromancer issues an order from the top of the keep. His voice falls upon the courtyard like a cold fog settling upon a swamp, “Rise! Rise my minions! Bring death to the living!” The zombies immediately stop and turn with renewed hatred.
Southar doesn’t stop to ponder the change of events. His next blow finishes severing the head from his previous target (9, 0/14).
Dalic, oblivious to all but the prey he stalks, follows the zombies over the rubble. His movements are sharp and precise. He unleashes hell upon the remaining zombies. He runs down the nearest zombie and his first blow severs the zombie just below the rib cage (11, 3/14) and the second blow takes off its head (19, -16/14).
The final zombie climbs up the rubble pile and clubs at Southar with its forearm. Southar easily blocks the blow with his golden shield.
Those fighting in the keep do not yet see what frightens Breymeer. Now less than 300 feet from the NE corner of the keep, Breymeer hears the necromancers call to his minions. Those outside the curtain wall see bones collect and form into figures at the eastern gate. One skeletal man and three skeletal canines come into being just outside the gate from the area of the battering ram and portcullis.
Worse than that, out in the field to the south of the keep, a very large skeleton rises from the ruins of the catapult. This skeleton is a giant; nearly 3 times the height of a normal man. It carries a beam of wood from the catapult as a club. It takes long strides as it closes towards the keep. It is only a long minute before it arrives at the castle outer wall. <That is to say, 5 or 6 combat rounds>
Finally, in Dalic’s blurred rage, he barely acknowledges three human sized skeletons rising from across the courtyard in the rubble pile that resulted from the hole in the southern wall. Southar, although within sight of them, currently has his back to them.
The necromancer begins to laugh and it echoes down the hill like rolling thunder.
Yalta prays for healing and feels somewhat restored. His burns lesson (+7, 8/18).
Grimlock moves to the west and begins to climb the inner keep wall.
Cirdan carries Tathar to the hole in the wall and climbs the rubble pile, entering the courtyard and heading for Yalta, “Sehanine delivered you from the fear of the shaman’s spell. Let Jascar return the favor. Bring Sehanine’s priest back!”
Dalic and Southar melee with the last zombie. Southar slashes its left leg (4, 9/13).
Dalic, hearing the necromancer’s taunt, shouts back with equal fervor, "You send toys and throw hot air. What cowardous bring ye next? Has tha great necrophilic 'master' of tha keep misplaced his stones tha' he ken nae face his death like a true master? Face me now if ye hab' en true power, coward!" With that, Dalic lays his blade to the final zombie splitting its head in two. He laughs maniacally up at the wizard, unmoved by the outcome of his onslaught as he calls into the air, finalizing his challenge, "Face me and me alone an' ye may yet prove ye'r not but a feeble apprentice. Tha blade of dalgur thirst fer ye blood if ya wish ta disprove yer a talentless frock."
The necromancer dismisses the dwarf as an annoying fly, “I will enjoy having you serve me in death!” Three missiles appear in front of the necromancer. He points to the dwarf and all three fly unerringly into Dalic’s chest (5, 4{-1}/32 and 3, 1{-4}/32 and 2, -1{-6}/32). The dwarf flops forward onto the rubble pile amid the carnage of zombie parts.
Southar and Cirdan see the next wave coming across the courtyard. Four skeletons and three skeletal canines have reached the middle of the courtyard; rising from the rubble in the southern wall and the eastern gate.
Breymeer is now a little over 100 feet from the NE tower. Having recovered it from near the wasp nest, Breymeer has unslung his bow from his shoulder and is eyeing a place of cover to engage the necromancer. Seeing a straight shot at the necromancer, he angles for the north side of the tower.
Tarstar, Speck and Ewan continue to move forward towards the battle.
Grimlock begins climbing up the curtain wall where the keep and the curtain wall meet.
Cirdan carries Tathar out of sight against the north keep wall. Yalta heals Tathar (+3, 1/19).
Southar moves slightly east and puts his back to the curtain wall. He readies his shield and long sword for the onslaught of skeletal dread.
The necromancer removes rose petals and lets them fall into the breeze while addressing Southar, “Oh great warrior. What an amazing run you had. Sleep now and recover your strength.”
Southar, suddenly realizing how tired he has become, eyes the incoming skeletons. Realizing the wizard is trying to put a spell on him, Southar calls upon his inner will and fights to stay awake. The feeling passes as Southar overcomes the narcolepsy.
Breymeer reaches the northeastern tower. Pulling an arrow from his quiver, he sneaks along the outer wall of the tower until the necromancer comes into view. Breymeer takes aim and lets the arrow loose. It streaks flawlessly through the air towards the necromancer’s heart. The arrow tip cuts through his robes but fails to pierce the skin.
The necromancer wails with cruel laughter as he throws down the arrow, “Welcome to the fight archer. Dare stick your neck out again, I shall return your favor!”
Kuba begins to feel again. Still unmoving, Kuba’s head begins to throb. Kuba realizes he is not dead yet.
Dalic’s damaged body lays still on the rubble pile.
The runners continue to run. Tarstar gives a few quick dance steps to encourage Speck along.
Grimlock continues to shimmy up the wall.
Yalta moves forward to attempt to assist Southar and sees Dalic down on the rubble pile. Yalta runs up on top of the rubble pile and digs for his holy symbol.
<Tathar dreams of a dark night sky, separated by the rays of a full moon. The beam reaches down and shines upon his face. He hears a voice telling him, “I am not ready for you yet. You have much more to do for me here.”> Tathar returns to consciousness and the vision passes. He is extremely weak and lethargic. He grasps his moon shaped holy symbol and prays to Sehanine for healing energy (+7, 8/19). His burns subside substantially but he remains very weak from his near death experience.
Cirdan Saralonde removes his footwear and pulls a spider from a small jar removed from his clothing. He jabs it into a small amount of bitumen pulled from another fold in his clothing. He eats the combination and vocalizes the incantation.
Southar, waiting for the attack at the wall, unleashes upon the first canine skeletons to reach him. He bashes the first one with his shield (7, -3/4) and cuts the next down with his long sword (5, -3/2). The mass of moving bones slams into Southar but he is able to maintain his position and protect his back against the wall. He dodges a sword thrust and parries a second. The remaining canine bites him but only gets a mouthful of studded leather armor. Scampering over the bones of the fallen, the final two skeletons move in on Southar but they too fail to deliver a damaging blow.
The necromancer conjures up three more glowing arrows and sends them streaking towards Breymeer. All three find their mark (5, 13/47 and 3, 10/47 and 3, 7/47).
Breymeer fires his bow again. This time, he pulls the obsidian arrow from his quiver. He draws the string back and lets the arrow fly. It initially appears to drift slightly off but it maintains it course. Despite the long range, the arrow finds its mark, sticking him in the right thigh (11, 7/18). The necromancer screams in shock and pain. His second arrow flies wide, bouncing off the clay tile roof and skidding out westward.
Grimlock reaches the top of the curtain wall and moves south along the west side of the keep. He begins to climb up the west wall.
Cirdan moves with spider-like agility up the side of the wall, his hands and feet sticking to the stone and mortar as he goes. He reaches the soffit where the second floor roofline begins to slant towards the flat top of the third level; intersecting the third floor wall about 7 feet below the feet of the necromancer. From there, he begins to move south along the east wall of the keep; trying to stay out of the line of sight of the necromancer.
Tathar displays his holy symbol to the skeletons fighting Southar, “By Sehanine, I command you to leave!” All but the one on Southar’s right flank turn and flee. Southar hacks at them as they rout, turning one into a pile of bones.
Southar bashes a second skeleton with his shield sending bones flying in multiple directions (8, 0/8). He chops ineffectively with his sword at the sole remaining skeleton.
Yalta bends down and prays over Dalic. Finding him barely alive. He heals him (+7, -1/32) but Dalic remains unconscious even though some of his injuries look improved.
Kuba begins to see light. Is this the end? The pain that shoots through his body tells him otherwise. The world is about to welcome Kuba back.
Breymeer draws back his bowstring and fires another sheaf arrow. The necromancer casts another spells and vanishes from sight. Breymeer’s arrow flies straight and true and hits something where the necromancer just stood. However, as with the first arrow, it stops suddenly, seemly in mid-air, and drops to the ground.
Grimlock jumps off the wall, landing into a roll and regaining his feet. He quickly passes the opening in the western wall and ascends up the rubble pile. Climbing back onto the curtain wall, he prepares to ascend the western wall of the keep to the clay tiled.
Cirdan Saralonde also moves south along the eastern wall, opposite Grimlock.
Tathar takes a moment to meditate and assess the situation. Tathar prays for and receives healing (+6, 14/19).
Kuba opens his eyes. The sun approaches the horizon and he hears the sounds of battle nearby. His last memory is of the courtyard and a bugbear upon him. Now he rests upon the wall and is burned and badly wounded. He finds he is able to move and control his body and appendages. All is not lost.
Dalic continues to lay motionless upon the rubble pile. Yalta continues to pray for him but has done all he can.
Southar blocks a thrust from the last skeleton and brings his sword down upon its shoulder cutting down through the shoulder and into the ribs before severing the pelvic bone. The skeleton comes apart and drops into a pile.
Breymeer, hugging the wall, moves up to assist. He peeks out here and there watching for the return of the necromancer.
Over the rubble in the southern wall a depressing sight comes into view. The skeletal giant has nearly reached the southern wall. He rises above the rubble, nearly 3 times the height of a man broken wooden beam in hand. Surely he will be within the keep courtyard in mere moments.
The other skeleton and the skeletal canine continue to flee from Sehanine’s priest.
Speck and Tarstar are closing, only a little over a minutes away (7 combat rounds).
Ewan is huffing and puffing his way across the field.
<The necromancer moves down through the trapdoor into the observatory and locked and barred the trapdoor above him.>
Cirdan reaches the third floor and pauses to listen. He watches carefully for any sign of movement. He can hear sounds from the third story window positioned in the center of the east wall.
Breymeer moves a few more feet and sets up behind Dalic and Yalta. Not seeing any more close foes, Breymeer draws back an arrow and fires at the approaching skeletal giant. The arrow deflects off of its left femur, taking a small chunk of bone with it (2, 20/22).
Southar prepares to meet this newest challenge.
The fleeing skeletons split. The canine exits out the east gate and the other returns to the rubble in the southern wall and un-animates.
Yalta asks, “Is anyone able to help poor Dalic? I am unable to further assist him.”
Tathar comes over to help Dalic.
<The necromancer goes through the trap door in the floor into his bedroom.>
Tathar arrives to help Dalic, having heard Yalta’s pleas. Yalta lays his hands upon Dalic and Sehanine blesses the dwarf (+5 4/32). The dwarf opens his eyes.
Yalta presents his holy symbol towards the giant and shuns it, “Retreat you foul spawn!”
The giant, having moved over the rubble wall without problem and entering the courtyard moving towards Southar, does an about face and the southern courtyard and begins to retreat.
Cirdan holds his position, being attentive to his surroundings. He hears a ruckus from the 2nd floor center window now.
Grimlock crosses the southern edge of the tiled roofline. His sure footedness allows him to navigate the unsure footing of the roofline. He moves at a fast walk and reaches the stonework of the 3rd floor.
Breymeer sends two more rounds downrange. The first sails through the ribcage without striking bone. The second strikes it in the spine at the neck (2, 18/22). It leaves a mark before deflecting off the thick bone.
Southar moves up to the corner of the keep and prepares to keep the giant from the rest of the group.
Kuba holds on the wall.
The runners keep running.
<The necromancer begins to pack items for retreat.>
Cirdan Saralonde climbs over the battlements on the rooftop. He is joined
shortly thereafter by Grimlock. The rooftop is 40x40 feet. There is a trapdoor in the floor in the SE corner. There is some blood droplets that lead from the north wall across the rooftop to the trap door. The blood trail ends there. Cirdan makes a quick look but sees no concealed or secret doors.
Dalic appears slightly confused for a moment and then addresses Tathar, "A brother on tha field of battle ye be. I am in yer debt. Me mind be blank... Is tha battle won?" Looking up he sees the giant skeleton. "Aha!" Dalic’s hand finds his sword. He charges into battle not waiting to hear Tathar's response.
Dalic passes Southar in the courtyard and Southar gives chase with Dalic. Breymeer gives chase as well but hangs back slightly with his bow at the ready.
Dalic and Southar run down the giant about 25 feet from the southern wall. Dalic lays into it with his bastard sword. He takes a knocks the fibula bone across the yard (9, 9/22).
Southar slashes the tibia of the opposite leg (6, 3/22).
The skeleton’s legs fail it and it crashes to the ground. Southar and Dalic pounce upon it and bash the giant into shattered bone.
Breymeer attempts to organize the others, “We need to regroup and mend wounds!”
Gassed, Ewan slows from a job exhausted. He continues to plod along as fast as he can walk.
Tarstar and Speck are closing, they are only about 120 feet from the curtain wall (4 combat rounds).
<The necromancer gathers his treasure from the hidden compartment in the wall and puts on a travelling cloak.>
Round 23 - Rooftop
Cirdan checks the trap door, finding it secured somehow. It is easy to see the door should open downward.
Grimlock offers an idea, “We should get everyone on the roof and hang out for the night. We can drop a rope for the others. If we choose to go after him, this will be the best entrance as he is unlikely to expect us to enter here.”
<The necromancer casts wizard lock on the bedroom hallway door>
Round 23 Courtyard
As the battle ends and the giant skeleton falls, Dalic begins to search the bodies of the fallen enemy.
The giant skeleton has no treasure, just a broken beam from the catapult.
The shaman that Grimlock killed has nothing of value other than his armor. He does not even have a weapon with him. From there, Dalic moves across the courtyard to the bodies of the rest of the fallen enemy.
Cirdan answers, "He is injured and has used much magic during this battle. You know as well as I he will regain his magic strength if he rests and studies tonight. I say we pursue and try to end him now."
Cirdan tries the trap door but it is locked. He intends to try and break it. okay with you or do you have a different approach.
Round 24 rooftop
Grimlock answers Cirdan, “Do not smash it as the noise will alert all. Let me assist you in pulling and hopefully the latch will pull free with little noise.”
Grimlock and Cirdan both take hold, using Grimlock’s sword as a pry bar. With great effort, the two work together. A sharp crack is heard as the lock fairs. The duo re-grip on the door as a small crack forms when the pry. A second tug results in the popping sound of a wooden bar snapping in half. Finally, the hinges fail as the door is pulled upward against its designed motion. The noises echo slightly in the room below.
Below, lit dimly by the fading evening light through the windows on all four sides of the room, is a 40x40 foot room. There is a crude instrument on a tripod. It is a tube, narrower on one end than the other. A large drawing table sits in the middle of the room. It has several parchments on it. A dart board adorns the southern wall. It has four darts in the board.
Directly below the ladder is a vertical ladder fastened to the wall. There is blood on the ladder. The blood trail leads across the room to the NE corner where there is another trap door in the floor.
Other than the four windows and the trap door, there are no other exits from the room.
<Necromancer moves into his workshop through the secret door (north center of wall, through the standing wardrobe cabinet>
Round 24 Courtyard
Dalic moves from the body of the shaman Grimlock killed towards the main battle area along the northeast and north side of the keep.
Breymeer retrieves one of the bugbears maces in order to have a bludgeoning weapon.
Kuba carefully climbs down from the wall and retrieves his sword.
Round 25 Rooftop
Grimlock says, “Cirdan, let us clear the lower room and secure the second trap door with the table weight. Then, we can advise the others. This looks like a possible treasure trove for you and I. Let’s tell the group to hold and prep for entry to the door the bugbear entered. Signal the group with hand gestures from the roof. We can tell them to hold for five minutes and then make entry.”
Cirdan takes a rope from Grimlock and heads for the roof.
Grimlock searches the room.
<Necromancer retrieves his spellbook>
Round 25 Courtyard
Dalic claims the spoils from the 3 bugbears and the shaman he slew. He collects coin purses from each of the four dead. Dalic does not appear to be trying to be greedy. He simply believes it is his just reward for wading into the battle.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party collects the coin purses from the remaining five bugbear. Added up, it total 52 pieces of gold. Judging from the size of the coin pouches, Dalic collected two or three times that amount; mostly from the shaman.
Nothing is found among the skeletons and it takes a strong stomach to attempt to search the zombies. They appear to have nothing of value as well.
Round 26 Rooftop
Grimlock searches the room. He finds star charts and astrological maps of the heavens. On the ceiling are strange runes and marks appearing to show the movements of celestial bodies. The dart board and darts appears normal. The strange tubular item is a telescope.
Cirdan Saralonde ties off Grimlock’s rope and drops it down to the courtyard.
<Necromancer collects the four toxic poisons>
Round 26 Courtyard
Tarstar and Speck come jogging into the courtyard, sweaty and winded.
Kuba checks himself over and sheaths his sword. He discovers he is burned over much of his body but, more importantly, he finds his right knee is damaged and he cannot move effectively. He is no faster than Speck for the time being. Kuba is in much pain and misery but he is able to continue.
While the searching of the bodies continues in the courtyard, Cirdan’s voice is heard from the rooftop, “Send up a warrior, we are going after the necromancer while he is weak and injured. He has fled into the keep.”
Southar goes to the rope and tells the group, “I am unhurt. I will go with Cirdan.” He goes to the rope and begins to climb. It will take him 90 seconds to complete the climb (rnd 34).
Cirdan instructs further, “Enter the keep as soon as you can and prevent the necromancer’s escape.”
Round 27 – 28 Rooftop
Cirdan returns to the observatory and assists Grimlock in the search.
Grimlock is working on the lock of the trapdoor, triggering it open. He finds the door still stuck shut. Believing it to be barred, he prepares a spell.
Grimlock commands the trapdoor to open. The sound of a bar sliding is heard. The door drops down and swings on its hinges. Through the portal, Cirdan and Grimlock can see a bedroom. It is about 40 feet north/south and 30 feet east/west. There is one window facing east about 15 feet south of the north wall. The trapdoor opens in the very NE corner. Opposite the room is a door on the west wall on the far south end of the room (kitty-corner from the trapdoor). Within the room has a large bed against the east wall just south of the window. A portrait of the necromancer hangs over the bed. A padded chair is in the SE corner. A footlocker is at the foot of the bed. A standing enclosed armoire is against the center of the north wall. A four-drawer chest is against the center of the west wall.
A blood trail leads from the trapdoor to the bed. There is blood on the bed. The trail continues to the footlocker and then ends at the standing armoire.
<Necromancer casts Magic Mouth on the secret door “Intruder!” repeated 10 times loudly (rnd 27). Necromancer removes the obsidian arrow and throws it on the table causing him to give a muffled cry of pain. He bandages his leg (28).
Round 27 – 28 Courtyard
Dalic finishes checking the last of the bugbear bodies and the rest of the party finishes collecting their items, checking the bugbears are deciding the zombies aren’t worth the look. Dalic approaches Yalta and Tathar. He presents them with a bag of gold each and states, “Let not this superficial totem refle’ on ye poorly. I be endebted to ye both far beyond the spoils ab’ war. Hab’ we en plan fer the keep?”
Tathar takes this time to rest himself. He is slowly recovering strength.
Tathar will say to Dalic (quietly) "Dalic, we have all fought hard, and the spoils of our battle should be shared evenly by all. I feel the battle is not over. This may just be a lull in the action. There are still enemies about. Let us finish this necromancer, then divvy the loot!" He will give him a wry smile and point to the door.
Dalic's reaction is a bit frustrated, clearly hesitant to relinquish any gold that he once deemed as 'his'. Moreover, having not thought through the division of loot from anyone's perspective other than his, his embarrassment presents quickly as anger, albeit stifled. The growing sense of battle ahead eases some of his pain as he gives a cold, controlled responses through gritted teeth, "treasure be a mighty reward fer a warrior such as I, but ta hab' brethren in steel and spill't blood I shall take in kind. If ye split tha bounty thi'n ways, Dalic follows". He then awkwardly begins to retrieve the treasure and stops short, realizing he has no clue what to do with it.
Tathar responds "Hold it, keep it safe. We'll all settle up after the necromancer pays for his crimes. Know this, friend Dalic...In my travels with this party, which has been brief, if you find interesting equipment, weapons, or armor, it seems possession is 9/10's of the law." Let him know he can handle those things as he sees fit, as far as I'm concerned.
Dalic voices his opinion to the courtyard occupants, "We know not what lay en here', keep. Say I, we take en a captive an' turn some troops ta our favor. Havin' seen the demise before 'em I be wonderin' if tha rest fear more than they wish ta fight. *chuckles* But if they really wan' ta divorce tha air en their lungs, I be more than happy to oblige!"
Ewan is still some distance out in the field. He continues to plod forward.
Rooftop Rnd 29
A ladder is attached to the wall from floor to trapdoor. As Grimlock climbs down the ladder, both he and Cirdan hear a muffled cry of pain from behind the north wall.
Grimlock hurries to the standing wardrobe and opens it. There are four robes and three cloaks hanging there. It is otherwise empty. The blood trail stops there although there is some blood on the clothing and one of the cloaks appears ripped.
Grimlock checks the trunk and the bed while Cirdan descends the ladder and checks the wardrobe, “I imagine there must be a hidden door here somewhere.”
Cirdan cannot seem to find the door although he is certain there must be one.
Meanwhile, Grimlock opens the lid on the trunk. It appears to contain clothing. The bed is made and nothing is located underneath it.
<The necromancer drinks 1/3 of the potion of extra healing (+5, 16/18)>
Courtyard Rnd 29
A muffled cry of pain drifts down to those in the courtyard.
Southar, being partially up the rope, thinks it came from the 2nd floor. From the area of the northern most window on the east side.
Dalic vocalizes to the troupe upon hearing Cirdan's call, "I be yet healing, and may be yet in need of a healer. I be willin' ta face tha keep after I catch me breath an' ease me wounds". Dalic then leans into Yalta and states, "Me mind fell to black in battle. Where be this necromancer?"
Yalta replies, “"Grimlock and Cirdan Saralonde have apparently chased him from the keep rooftop. He must have entered some portal atop the keep."
Dalic, hearing the cry of pain from above, continues, "I yet feel my wounds. I shall instead follow Southar up. We may yet find something to mend me wounds up top. I fear I may be carried out if'n I be entering tha keep where ta the bugbear likely lay waitin'". Up he climbs.
Yalta looks upon Kuba, Tathar, and Breymeer, “Tarstar and Speck, although winded, are not nearly as injured as we. Do we dare enter the keep as we stand or shall we await Ewan McDermott? I fear for our fellow companions as precious minutes will pass before Ewan arrives. I fear for us if we do not hesitate.”
Rnd 30 Rooftop
Grimlock tosses the clothing out of the footlocker but finds nothing else of interest.
Grimlock approaches Cirdan in the wardrobe armoire. Cirdan is obviously frustrated, “I know there is a door here. There has to be.”
Grimlock suggests, “Go to the window and see how close Southar is climbing up the wall and I will see what I can find in the armoire.”
Grimlock enters the armoire but has no more luck than Cirdan.
Cirdan reports Southar is half way up the wall.
<The necromancer ends his invisibility and casts Monster Summoning I; four kobolds appear armed with javelins and short swords>
Rnd 30 Courtyard
Tarstar readies his cutlass and watches attentively for any dangers, “I will cover you until Ewan arrives or we enter.”
Southar and Dalic continue up the rope. Southar is about half way up.
Cirdan’s face appears in the 2nd floor center window for a moment. He appears to be checking the progress of the climbers.
Grimlock commands the back of the armoire to open knowing there must be a door there. Upon his utterance, there is a click and the back of the armoire swings slightly into the next room.
Grimlock and Cirdan leap into the room attempting to surprise the occupants.
The room is obviously a workshop. There is a large table in the center of the room with beakers, flasks, and general lab equipment. A series of shelves on the north and south walls hold nearly four dozen bottles and flasks.
Flanking the table are four scaly rust brown skinned creatures. They have glowing red eyes and small white horns. The have dull orange tunics on. They have non-prehensile rat-like tails. They smell of wet dogs and they yip as the duo comes through the wall. There are two on each flank of the table.
The necromancer is just a little over 20 feet to your left, standing next to an open door on the southern wall, in the westerly part of the room.
The room is 30 feet north/south and 40 feet east/west. Grimlock and Cirdan have entered the room on the southern wall just east of center.
All five of them appear surprised. The necromancer is pointing in the duo’s direction and making hacking motions. He appears to be encouraging the three foot tall scaly creatures to attack.
Rnd 31 Courtyard
Southar and Dalic continue to climb.
Upon seeing his friend in such a horrible condition, Speck is rather shaken. He has never seen him in such a vulnerable state. "Are you going to be ok?" He asks. He feels anger welling inside. "I will do whatever it takes to make whoever did this pay." He also says, "Hang in there, Ewan will be here shortly."
Speck finishes by saying, "I am willing to go help rid the world of this necromancer if that is what the group decides to do. I am also concerned for my friend here. I'd hate to leave him unattended.”
The courtyard crew continues to hold position as Ewan closes the gap. He remains about six minutes away. Ewan is so exhausted, he is down to a walk. He does not stop though.
Rnd 32 Rooftop
Cirdan Saralonde has a very quick reaction and he throws the yuan-ti dagger at the necromancer, striking him in the guts. (7, 9/18; missed poison save – Dead).
The necromancer dives out the doorway as Grimlock pulls a bit of spider web from his belongings and utters a spell. The western 1/3 of the room is encased in thick, sticky spider webs. They spill out the door into what is beyond. The webs catch one of the small scaly creatures like a fly but the other one on the west side of the table is able to jump clear.
Cirdan levitates off the ground until he is near the ceiling and out of the reach of the small scaly critters.
They throw javelins at Grimlock and Cirdan but all three javelins miss and bounce of the stone wall behind the duo. They draw short swords to close for melee.
Rnd 32 Courtyard
The sound of a melee suddenly fills the air. It appears to be coming from the second story. The sound seems to be coming from the window on the eastern wall, farthest to the north (There is three windows on the second story facing east).
Southar and Dalic are scaling the rope just north of the middle window and 15 feet south of the window where the battle appears to be starting.
Southar is a few feet above the window and 15 feet to the south.
Dalic is just below the level of the 2nd story and also 15 feet to the south.
Speck begins climbing the rope to join the fray. He is faster than the other two at climbing despite his small size.
Rnd 33 Rooftop
Cirdan fans out his fingers from his vantage point near the ceiling, pointing them towards the doorway. A burst of flames shoots forth from his spread fingers. The magical webs immediately burst into flames. Flame and smoke choke the western portion of the room and begins to boil across, filling the room with a moderate amount of smoke.
<Necromancer is burned but his spellbook survives the flames. One vial of poison cracks and breaks in the heat and the remains of the potion of extra healing poor out onto the floor>
The scaly creature caught in the webs is yelps in fear and pain as it is burned to death (3, -1/2).
The three remaining minions charge Grimlock. Waiting for them, Grimlock smashes the first one with his shield (4, -1/3), killing it. He slices through the other two with one stroke, cutting them both in half (22 dam on a critical hit). They yelp as they are hit. The minions failed to strike a blow.
As each of the scaly creatures perish, they disappear into a puff of smoke that blends into the smoke filled air.
<The flash brings one of the bugbears up the stairs where she discovers the dead and burning corpse of the necromancer. She turns to flee back downstairs>
Rnd 33 Courtyard
Southar reaches the roof and pulls himself over the battlements. He finds nothing on the roof save a destroyed trap door in the NE corner of the roof.
Speck catches up to Dalic and climbs over the top of him and continues to scurry up the rope very nimble-like.
Dalic continues to ascend, slow but sure.
There is a flash of light from a sudden flash of flame in the 2nd story window where the melee continues. Yelping, like that of a whipped dog, accompany the flash of light.
The sound of swordplay and metal upon metal impacts is heard along with additional yelping.
Smoke begins to billow lightly out of the window.
Rnd 34 Rooftop
Southar enters down through the roof trapdoor. Climbing down, he follows the blood trail to the trapdoor in the floor of the 3rd level observatory leading to the 2nd floor. The trapdoor hangs open. The blood trail continues down into the 2nd level. In the observatory is a crude tube on a tripod. There are parchments on a center table and strange runes on the ceiling. The runes appears astrological in design.
Cirdan and Grimlock walk carefully among the smoldering ruins of the western half of the room. The air is relatively thick with smoke and each breaths into his clothing to keep from coughing. Grimlock, voice muffled by his mouth covering, gives an opinion to Cirdan, “We could have waiting a little to light the web. If he’s caught he’s caught. I was hoping not to light his robe, studies and knowledge ablaze. I did enjoy the effect though.”
They reach the doorway and find the body of the necromancer. He is laying in a hallway on his side with a dagger sticking out of his belly. His cloak has burned. His inner clothing is still intact. His staff has fallen to the floor next to his. A broken vial lays ahead of his in the hallway as if he dropped it.
The hallway runs south to a set of stairs. A smaller statured bugbear is just disappearing down the stairs. It appears to be grunting out something in its language.
Cirdan removes his dagger from the body.
Rnd 34 Courtyard.
A bit thicker smoke continues out the 2nd story window. The flame appears to have all but disappeared. There is no more sounds of combat carried on the smoky breeze. In fact, the room has fallen deathly silent.
Tathar starts his way up the rope. He also appears to be a fast climber on account of his nimble elven dexterity.
Speck continues up the rope eyeing the 3rd story window (arrival rnd 36).
Dalic, tugging and grunting, also appears to be eyeing the 3rd story window (arrival rnd 39).
Yalta looks to Tarstar, Breymeer, and Kuba, “Tarstar, are you going up the rope? The rest of us are in poor shape to be climbing the rope. I fear we may have lost a few companions in that short melee. I think we cannot afford to congregate here any further awaiting Ewan. Gentlemen, will you follow me into the keep? I must make an attempt before I wait here further.”
Rnd 35 Grimlock & Cirdan
Grimlock grabs the necromancer’s limp body and drags it back into the room. Cirdan grabs the staff from the floor and follows Grimlock into the workroom. They shut the door. Once shut they find no way to lock or bar it.
A quick search of the body reveals, in addition to numerous spell components and a slightly singed spellbook, are a sheathed dagger and three vials. A fourth vial is broken. He has a pouch containing platinum pieces (about four dozen) and nearly a dozen small gems (50gp or less type).
Grimlock shouts towards the window, “The necro is dead. You can come up or come through the ground level doors. The leader is dead!”
Rnd 35 Southar & Dalic
Dalic bends on the rope as much as possible to get near the center second story window. He reaches out and is able to grasp a bar. He pulls himself over and takes ahold of the bars with both hands, stepping onto the window sill and releasing the rope. With a red faced grunt, he pulls at the bars, trying to spread them apart. They submit to the overgrown dwarf and bend apart creating a hole big enough for him to enter the 2 ft side by 4 ft high window.
Inside, Dalic sees Southar climb down a ladder built into the wall below a trapdoor in the ceiling leading to the 3rd level.
This room appears to be a bedroom. It is about 40 feet north/south and 30 feet east/west. There is one window facing east about 15 feet south of the north wall. Dalic is entering the room through that window. The trapdoor opens in the very NE corner. Opposite the room is a door on the west wall on the far south end of the room (kitty-corner from the trapdoor). Within the room has a large bed against the east wall just south of the window. A portrait of the necromancer hangs over the bed. A padded chair is in the SE corner. A footlocker is at the foot of the bed. A four-drawer chest is against the center of the west wall. It lays open with clothing strewn about the floor near it. A standing enclosed armoire is against the center of the north wall. The front doors of the armoire stand open displaying some cloaks and robes. The back wall of the armoire is also open, leading to another room. Smoke sifts into this room through the open ports.
A blood trail leads from the trapdoor to the bed. There is blood on the bed. The trail continues to the footlocker and then ends at the standing armoire.
The sound of a door shutting in the room behind the armoire is heard followed a few seconds later by Grimlock shouting, “The necro is dead. You can come up or come through the ground level doors. The leader is dead!”
Rnd 35 Couryard
Breymeer counts himself in and puts and arrow to his bowstring. He joins Yalta at the front door, “I would like to wait for Ewan but we have not time to spare.”
Tarstar stands nearby as if undecided.
Kuba says, "I am in no condition to get involved with any battle right now. I may be able to defend myself but not actively engage any opponent. I will wait for the portly friar." Kuba puts his back to a wall where the rope meets the ground and watches the holes in the north and south curtain wall in addition to the eastern gate.
Kuba nervously awaits Ewan who is yet five minutes out.
Speck is just below the third story window (30 feet up).
Tathar is nearly to the floor of the 2nd story (12 feet up).
Grimlock’s voice carries down from the smoking window, “The necro is dead. You can come up or come through the ground level doors. The leader is dead!”
Kuba and Speck both volunteer to join the group heading around the keep.
Grimlock, looking at the setting sun, advises, “I can easily jog back to base camp by dark but who is interested in clearing this place out now and then holding up here safely. He can hold up in the necromancer’s study. It appears there is only the one door in to the study and one door into the bedroom. The windows are barred,” Grimlock looks at Dalic, “with the exception of the window in the bedroom. It could be easily guarded for the night.”
Dalic, ignoring the half-elven know-it-all, proudly checks his equipment. He grips his sword, double checks his beltpouches and daggers sheathed on his belt, adjusts his armor and backpack, and finally straightens out his cape. The cape is really just a robe that he hacked down to his size and cut the sleeves short. On top of that, a blood sack with a head sized object rests at his side, tied to his belt.
Dalic walks over to Ewan, gives a little belch and as politely as he can muster, asks, “If ye be no stre’ch’in thin, mebee ye cud less’n me wooonds a bit.”
Ewan abliges him (+7, 25/32). The smell of Dalic’s belching doesn’t seem to phase the overly large sweaty man who just ran ½ mile in the evening sun. Dalic looks greatly refreshed, suffering only from a few cuts, bruises and scratches.
Dalic, feeling spry now, proposes the group investigate the two towers on the way around the keep. Dalic wants to enter the small tower and climb on top of the curtain wall. He wants to enter the large tower as a sneaky type enters the main floor of the tower. They could search it together for anything of interest. The rest of the group would remain close by for support in case of traps or ambush.
Grimlock proposes the group split up to try and finish searching by nightfall then shore up in the study for the night, “But be quick we must.”
Kuba maybe feeling a bit exasperated by Dalic's words and actions chimes in, "Maybe iffen ye take yer big head an smash a hole in yon tower walls we be gettin this done even more quick like."
Cirdan adds, "Brave Dalic, I am fond of your Dwarven exuberance for battle, but I feel the towers can wait until morning. Let us clear the keep and rest for the night. I will be of little or no use in a fight. I can tell that my ability to use magic is depleted, and I still need healing from the fireball. Others need rest also. This book you are looking for will be here tomorrow."
Cirdan then turns to Breymeer and present him with his obsidian arrow.
Tathar, ignoring Cirdan’s noble deed for the moment, questions Dalic as well, “I would like to know more about this book. My people have charged me with searching out ancient magics. I am also interested in knowing why none of us were told of this book prior to embarking on this quest."
Speck, showing the uncanny upbeat halfling spirit, nearly volunteers to join Dalic, “I will search and loot whatever is here. When night falls though, I would like to be together as a group inside somewhere safe.”
Cirdan shows concern, “Since not everyone can climb the rope to the second floor study, we must find a way to get there from within the keep. That is, if we can even open the door when we get there. I propose we clear the keep as a group, quickly, then camp in a safe room and explore the rest of the keep tomorrow before heading back to basecamp.”
Grimlock agrees with Cirdan, “We need to clear the inside keep building before we hold up for the night. If this book does exist here, we may lose it if one of the bugaboos, having lost their leader, flees the keep and takes it with. It would make little sense for the outer wall towers to hold the book.” Grimlock begins to prepare his gear and ready himself, “Dalic, after you.”
With the eyes not on Dalic, he turns to Kuba, "Me head or yours maybe do the trick. I prefer the latter." Dalic sneers with a smirk, almost jovial at the presence of even verbal conflict.
Next he turns to Cirdan, "I may be near but a brute ta ye comrads who be fightin' along each side for a time, but aye, I know there be more'n a few ways in ta a ruined hold an' a tower may be yet a risk ta leave unchecked. Where in ye think them undead rose from?"
Tathar gets his attention next, "I have now been with arm with ye most an' is more'n can I says once we started. I hold no secrets, only my tongue ta those I yet not know. Knowin' ye now an' havin' spoke ta some early on 'bout tha book," looking to Grimlock, "I hab' ta them I spoke said yet it need not be private knowins. I know little for I ask little o' me employer. Dalic had said all he know. It be black and leather and dangerous. Nae open nor read it. Bring it ta Dalic.”
Each address is said loud enough for everyone to hear. Once done, Dalic appears to realizing he has sounded more apologetic than his usual tough demeanor. He adds as a near apology for his apology: "And... ta... any who infer Dalic be untrusted agin: There be a sword wit' which ta meet." Dalic pokes his sword unconvincingly into the ground at his feet, still adjusting to his normal height.
It appears obvious the dwarf is struggling socially with the group. It doesn’t take a sage to realize this dwarf is used to being alone and fighting alone; relying on his own brute force over a silver tongue.
After his belabored speech, and clearly uncomfortable with the amount of public speaking, Dalic nods to a thought in his mind, "Tha towers may be a point ta breech but say we attack tha west an' Dalic will lead tha charge. A compromise ta battle be no compromise at all!" He smiles almost gleefully.
Cirdan Saralonde also petitions Ewan McDermott for some relief from his burns. His request is granted (+3, 15/23). Ewan warns he is getting low on strength.
The party sets out for the western wall. They walk out through the hole in the northern wall. After crossing the rubble, the group moves close to the curtain wall to the western side of the keep. They pause at the large hole in the western keep wall.
Southar and Breymeer immediately inform the group of evidence they see. There is much evidence of a mass exodus from the hole. Nearly two dozen creatures fled according to Southar and Breymeer’s interpretation. The tracks appear to be the size and weight appropriate to female and young bugbear.
Just in case there is a male contingent of bugbear left, Dalic removes the necromancer’s head from the bag and rolls it into hall. “Break’n dems fight’n spirit,” Dalic grins.
The party walks cautiously into the throne room. The room was once a grand hall. Six pillars line each side of the hall holding aloft the 25 foot peaked ceiling. The back wall was destroyed in the previous siege. When the wall caved in, it destroyed the throne. The room was decorated by frescoes of men and elves fighting together against bugbears. Now, these paintings have been defaced and partially destroyed.
A quick survey of the room reveals nothing unusual. The room appears to have been plundered long ago.
There are two doors leading from the room. One in the north wall that has been nailed shut and one in the south wall. The door in the southern wall appears to be locked and possibly barred from the other side.
Tathar makes a sweep of the room perimeter checking behind paintings and along the walls.
Dalic sweeps the other way checking behind pillars and in the shadows.
Grimlock looks at the lock on the south door and then tries to jimmy it open. The door fails to open and the lock remains in place.
Meanwhile, Dalic had reached the north door on his sweep and reports all clear. He takes his sword to the door and starts to pry the nails out of the door. After working on the door for nearly 10 minutes, Dalic sheaths his sword and draws his dagger. He walks over to the necromancer’s head and picks it up; holding it by the hair out in front of him with the face pointing forward. “Fear lantern” he calls it with a smile upon his face. He returns to the door and motions his his knife hand for the rest of the party to fall in behind him. He chuckles to himself and mumbles again, “Fear lantern.”
Since Grimlock was unable to open the southern door, the group falls behind Dalic and he pulls open the door.
The room behind the door (room “S”) contains a large table. The table is marred and partially rotten. The chairs are also badly marked and damaged. The room is otherwise empty. The only other exit is a door on the north end of the east wall.
The party moves into the next room (“R”) and discovers it is the old kitchen; 20x20 in size. Doors are mounted in the southern wall and the eastern wall. After clearing the kitchen, the party investigates the door and reveals the door to the east enters the pantry (“Q”) and the door to the south enters a hallway running to the east then turning south.
After standard precautions, Dalic, still holding the severed head out, opens the pantry door. Behind the door is a 20x20 room that appears to have once served as a pantry. There is some reserved food here, otherwise most of the food appears to be getting rotten. Even the preserved food appears to be badly cured meat of unknown origin. It appears pretty obvious this is the bugbear’s doing. A quick survey of the room reveals nothing unusual.
The hallway turns south at the pantry door. There are two doors mounted on the eastern wall at a distance of 30 feet and 60 feet. The hall turns east after the southern door.
The first door to the east in the hallway is opened after normal precautions. The door leads to a 30x30 room (“O”) with a door in the north wall. This room appears to be a bedroom of some kind. There is a pile of old grubby furs that appear to serve as a bed. There are several candles in the SE corner of the room. They appear to represent a small prayer area.
Tossing the bedding, the party finds a small iron chest. It has a lock and appears to be locked.
Grimlock advises to take the chest with and he will look it over after a good nights rest.
Speck, on the other hand, volunteers to pick the lock on the chest.
While he is doing so, Tathar begins to examine the door in the room.
Dalic takes one of the furs from the beds, folds it and stows it. He then moves out into the hallway and south. He takes a position where the corridor turns east. He has the head and his dagger ready.
Speck examines the lock and the chest carefully. He then takes out a few picks and works on the lock. Within moments, there is an audible click and Speck smiles with satisfaction. Speck opens the top revealing 10 small blocks of insense and a small leather pouch. Speck pours the pouch into his hand revealing seven small cut quartz gems (10 gp variety). Speck puts the gems back in the pouch, shuts the lid and stows the chest in his pack.
Tathar reports nothing unusual about the door. Dalic opens it revealing a 20x30 room (“P”). This room appears to be a second shaman’s bedroom. It, too, has a bed of old furs and a small crude desk. The desk appears to have been made into an altar. Candles, similar to the previous room, adorn the top of the desk. Under the desk is a small wooden chest. This room has no other exits.
Repeating the process on the chest, Speck begins to examine it. After a visual examination, Speck seems reluctant to touch it. “This one seems different. I do not see any mechanical traps but something is amiss. I do not trust to open this one.”
Cirdan asks, “Is it actually locked? Could we throw a couple of furs over it and open it from behind?”
Speck does not believe it to be locked. That is part of what worried him. He thought he detected evidence of a magical trap. He saw nothing mechanical.
Grimlock, not having a rope of his own anymore, suggests dropping a loop of rope around it and then backing out of the room. Once clear, pull the rope to jostle it a bit and see if anything happens. If it doesn’t go kaboom or have a gas cloud pour out of it, we can stow it for later.
Tathar pokes through the furs of the bed and then sits upon the floor in meditation.
Breymeer and Kuba, looking down the hall to make sure Dalic is out of earshot, have a conversation the rest of the party can hear. Dalic, at the south end of the hall, is just rounding the corner in the hallway heading e/b toward the end of the hallway.
Breymeer starts it with, “Certain actions are getting to me. If he does one more outright evil act or disrespecting action, I am either leaving or challenging him.”
Kuba, appearing uneasy with Dalic himself, “If there is a book of the dead somewhere in this keep, that is very dangerous. I don’t think we should be brining the head of the one who used it anywhere near it,” motioning down the hall towards the ‘fear lantern’. “Maybe its power will bring him back in an even more dangerous form.”
Yalta chimes in, “I am not sure where Pelltar found this fella. A might dangerous with the sword, I will give ‘em that. He is every bit savage as he is brave. Foolhardy even. I have never met such a dwarf. The only two I know, however, are the bar owners in Restenford. A couple dwarves own Falco’s Tavern. When we return, I will speak to Pelltar about ending his service to the group. First, we have to last the night.”
Tathar volunteered his rope to use. Grimlock ties his loop and places it around the chest. Everyone vacates the room.
Grimlock set the rope so that a tug would pull suddenly on the bottom of the chest, hopefully tipping it backwards. What really happened, no one will know. As soon as the rope is tugged, a large explosion rocks the north bedroom.
Post explosion inspection of the room reveals the table has been blown apart. The chest is completely gone. The furs from the bed are messed a bit. Gold pieces have been scattered about the room. Scraps of leather are located. Some of them have some type of writing on them. It appears a few scrolls or letters or similar were blown apart and are completely unreadable now.
Dalic, feeling as if the party is turning against him, walks down the hallway to the south. These lesser beings have the gall to question his battle tactics. They would all be dead if not for Dalic. But for now, he needs them to help find the book of Pelltar’s quest. He will have to play along to keep them in the fold.
Suddenly, a voice comes to him, “Dalgur Steelcoat!” The voice calls his name. It appears to be coming from the severed head Dalic holds before him. He turns the head slowly and to Dalic’s surprise, the eyes are open and focused and the mouth moves, “Dalgur Steelcoat! You must return my head to my master. You shall receive his blessings!” Dalic can’t help but like the sound of someone appreciating him. After all the alienation, this is welcome news. The fact that he is being addressed by the severed head of a necromancer is lost on Dalic’s wisdom at the moment.
The head seems to pull Dalic eastward down the hall to the door to room “J”. When he arrives there, to his amazement, the door opens into the hallway. Opening the door is the bugbear that had fled the courtyard from Grimlock earlier in the evening. The bugbear appears completely subdued and has a “thousand yard stare”; not focusing on Dalic at all. It merely allows Dalic to pass and then shuts the door, setting the security bar back in place.
This 20x30 room used to be a guard post. All the furniture has been removed. It now sits empty. Dalic sheaths his dagger to free his hand. He unbars the door on the eastern wall and enters room “I”.
This 20x20 room is the keep’s entrance hall. The furniture here is damaged but appears to have been of fine quality in its day. A large bar sits in place on the northern double doors. The possessed looking bugbear unbars the doors and opens them.
The sun has set a while ago and darkness has crept over the eastern courtyard. Luna, the larger of the visible moons, is new, hiding her silvery light, and Celene, the smaller bluish moon, is waxing; only a quarter of its size. The courtyard remains dark and dreary. A coolness has mixed into the air brining some forming fog in the courtyard.
The head guides Dulgar Steelcoat directly across the courtyard towards the large northeastern tower that he petitioned to enter just before nightfall. The mindless bugbear follows in stride. The dead in the courtyard, being touched by the fog, begin to stir ever so slightly.
During Tathar’s meditation, he is troubled by the everpresent evil in this place. He concentrates harder until the silvery light of the moon enters his mind. Luna, the larger silvery moon, is new this night and Celene, the smaller bluish moon is only just waxing to a quarter. He locks onto this image and focuses his thoughts. Sehanine Moonbow’s voice comes to him warning of some vile evil but a sudden explosion shatters his concentration.
As others pick up the scattered gold, Tathar returns to his thoughts. Tathar prays for guidance and receives a series of visions:
1. Behind a heavy wooden door reinforced with metal bands lay a dark decending stairway.
2. A large bookshelf, with dozens of books on it, against a wall in a dark, damp bedroom.
3. A second dark stairwell down behind a larger than man-sized stone statue of a bearded man.
4. A set of ironshod double doors mounted in the wall of a small dark natural cavern area.
In Tathar’s vision, the ironshod doors open. A sense of evil so complete strikes him as he is roused by his companion’s departure of the shaman’s bedrooms.
Kuba becomes suspicious Speck is stealing from the group, his paranoia grows.
Speck, in turn, begins to feel Kuba distancing himself and starts to grow sad. The though of the loss of Kuba's friendship strikes the Halfling hard.
Tarstar has a compulsion forming. He feels the need to get rid of Dalic. If given the opportunity, Tarstar's compulsion will overwhelm him and force him to backstab Dalic.
Tathar is compelled to find out where his visions were leading him.
Dalic completes his move across the courtyard as the bodies of the dead continue to stir. The fog appears to rise up directly from the ground, seemingly drawing the warmth from his very body.
The mindless bugbear, upon reaching the northeast tower, opens the door and enters. The tower has a roughly 20 foot radius. A set of stone stairs are built into both the north and south walls. The north stairs goes up and the south goes down. The inside of the tower, including the ceiling above Dalic, is very old and rotten. It threatens to collapse. The floor is strewn with a few boards that have fallen. It is otherwise uninteresting.
“Down, Dulgar Steelcoat. Take me down.”
Dalic does as commanded by the head. He walks down the stairway into the basement of the castle. His dark vision showing the basement level of the tower has the same footprint, a 20 foot radius circle. Here, another stone stairwell leads further into the earth from this otherwise unnotable chamber.
“Down further, Dulgar Steelcoat.”
Dalic continues his descent. The air becomes damp and clammy. The walls glisten and are moist to the touch. The air is stagnant and foul.
At the bottom of the stairs, the corridor turns south and proceeds only 30 feet before coming to an old wooden door. “Press on Dulgar Steelcoat, we are getting closer,” is the sinister hiss in Dalic’s mind.
Cirdan, Grimlock and Speck go about picking up coins while the others keep guard.
Tathar, having been disturbed by the explosion, goes back to meditating.
“Let’s put some pep in our step, gentlemen. Night has set in and we have a couple areas yet to check. Grab all the valuables quick and let’s finish this search and get back to the necromancer’s study,” encourages Grimlock.
The group quickly checks the last door on the east wall at the southern end of the hallway. It leads into a 30x30 room that was obviously a barracks for the bugbears. Numerous furs lumps are scattered on the floor. It is in general disarray. It appears the room was vacated very quickly. A sweep through the room reveals nothing of interest.
Continuing down the hallway as it turns to the east, the group quickly discovers Dalic is gone. The hallway ends with a single door mounted on the southern wall (leads to room “J”). The bar on this side of the door is not in place.
Trying the door, one discovers it will not open easily. It appears stuck or barred from the other side.
Tarstar mindlessly mutters, more to himself, “That dwarf will kill us all. He must be watched.”
Breymeer offers to go after Dalic, “I will split off and track Dalic down. Anyone wish to accompany?”
Tarstar, wringing his hands, joyfully accepts.
Southar, steps forwards with a simple, “Yessss.”
Cirdan points out the obvious, “We need to get through this door first.” Cirdan puts his shoulder to it but the door does not give.
A few others through their shoulder into the door without success.
Grimlock steps forward and places his hand on the door. With a command, a bar is heard sliding on the other side and the door relents. Grimlock pulls the door open towards him.
The room behind the door is a 20x30 room (room “J”). There is a set of double doors on the west wall and a single door on the east wall. The door on the eastern wall has been unbarred and remains ajar. The room used to be a guard post. All the furniture has been removed.
Inspecting behind the eastern door reveals 20x20 room is the keep’s entrance hall (room “I”). The furniture here is damaged but appears to have been of fine quality in its day. A large bar lays upon the foor, having been removed from its place on the northern double doors. The double doors are also ajar.
Outside in the courtyard, the sun has set a while ago and darkness has crept over the eastern courtyard. Luna, the larger of the visible moons, is new, hiding her silvery light, and Celene, the smaller bluish moon, is waxing; only a quarter of its size, giving little light to the night. The courtyard remains dark and dreary. A coolness has mixed into the air brining some forming fog in the courtyard. It appears to be climbing from the very ground, rising now to a layer several inches thick.
Southar looks out into the darkness, “Sseeemss he went to the tower after all. He sssshould be eassy to find.” Southar walks out into the night, golden shield and sword at the ready.
Southar has a sudden compulsion to head to the NE tower himself. He seems to have less concern for finding Dalic as he does for finding out what energy guides him to the tower.
Dalic opens the old wooden door and enters a generally triangle shaped cavern. He is immediately struck by very cold air; well below freezing. His breath easily visible. Under the power of possession, he ignores the change of temperature.
Each side of the cavern is nearly 40 feet long. The point of the triangle faces south. Dalic enters the room from a small alcove in the northwest corner. A couple skeletons and a zombie hiss at him as he approaches but fall back to the power of the necromancer’s head.
Dalic continues south through a short ten foot wide natural passage; the power of the head pulling him. He passes a side cavern on the western side. It also contains walking dead that hiss at him but do not molest him.
Dalic is pulled farther south into a much larger natural chamber. It is roughly 60x60 in size. An additional chamber opens to the northeast.
The head, still hanging by its hair, turns like a needle on a compass. It points to the southwest corner of the room, “Dalgur Steelcoat, the door.”
Dalic moves across the room, splitting another skeleton and two more zombies as he walks.
Dalic finds the door in the southwestern part of the chamber. It is an iron-reinforced wooded door. The iron has hints of frost upon it. “Bust it down Dalgur Steelcoat!”
Grimlock becomes concerned, “I think we should head up to the second floor and lock ourselves in for the night. If Dalic decides to pull out whatever is stuck up his ars and join us later, then that will be his choice. For now, I don’t feel like chasing this fool through this keep at night. He will either make it back or we will find what’s left of him tomorrow.”
Ewan, feeling an uneasiness coming over him, decides Grimlock’s idea be best.
Yalta, holding a torch he lit once the group entered the unlit first level, feels Grimlock speaks with wisdom as well.
Breymeer, also holding a torch, agrees with Grimlock, “Dalic has been gone a while now. There is no need to further split the party.” Breymeer steps out to check on Southar saying, “What is your intentions Southar? Are you okay? What causes your lisp?”
Southar, nearly half way across the courtyard already and moving at a jog, calls back over his shoulder, “Dalic isss the key.”
Tarstar, taking Breymeer’s torch, runs out into the courtyard to catch up to Southar, “We shall all dance in our graves tonight me mates.” Tarstar has his cutlass out. Both Southar and Tarstar quickly cross the courtyard and enter the door leading into the northeastern tower.
Breymeer sees movement in the dark. A skeleton moves slowly towards the keep entrance from the hole in the southern wall. A second skeleton, that of a canine, re-enters the courtyard from the eastern gate.
In addition, the skeleton of the slain giant begins to stir and reform slowly.
Other sounds in the courtyard seem to indicate the other skeletons are also reforming. The lumps of bugbear bodies slowly stir. Limp, lopt off during combat, move slowly in the growing fog. The severed head of the bugbear shaman forms an evil grin as it eyes begin to refocus, looking across the dark courtyard towards the open keep door. The light from his torch reflecting off its red eyes.
Breymeer physically shakes with fear. He returns to the entrance hall and shuts the door, barring it. He is white as a ghost, “The living dead have returned this night.” Breymeer lights another torch from Yalta’s flame.
Meanwhile, Tathar moves to the double doors on the western side of the room (“J”) and puts his ear to the door. Not hearing anything, he tries to open them. To his surprise, they open easily.
Behind the doors is a 20x30 room with a stairway up in the center of the north wall and a small alcove at the west end of the north wall. The door is barred from this side and likely leads to the throne room. Another door is mounted on the southernmost area of the west wall.
Tathar can’t help but stare at the western door. The door is reinforced with metal bands.
Dalic prepares to shoulder the door open when he notices a black, shapeless mass drifting under the door and forming in front of him. It has no true substance but displays what appears to be the upper body of a humanoid with arms and a head. Two evil glowing red eyes float in the darkness of its head.
The image turn towards the door and imitates keying the lock. An audible click is heard. The apparition looks over his shoulder and waves Dalic forward. It disappears under the door in the same fashion it appeared.
Dalic, trying the door again, finds it easy to open. He moves into the long natural passageway on the other side of the door.
Dalic is relieved the temperature returns to normal sub-terrain ranges as he steps into the hall. His beard had already frosted over and his hands stung with cold.
The creature walks ahead of him, no longer looking over its shoulder to Dalic as if it knows he will follow. The bugbear mindlessly follows Dalic down the hall. The head continues to give Dalic a steady pull forward.
Dalic moves down the southwestern passageway nearly 40 feet. While doing so, a strange sense of hope tingles across his body. It is a strange feeling to the grim hearted Dalic. As quickly as it came over him, it vanishes and Dalic puts it in the back of his mind, “It be da cold tis all,” he tells himself.
The passageway turns westerly and the structural integrity of the tunnel deteriorates. The walls and ceiling have begun to crumble but appear to yet hold in place. The deteriorated area of the passage is only about sixty feet long. As the hall continues, its condition improves but the dampness remains.
After a little over one hundred feet since turning westerly, the hall suddenly turns north and travels thirty feet before angling northwest and ending at an identical, well made, iron-reinforced wooden door.
The black mass flows below the door and disappears. “Dulgar Steelcoat, you shall be rewarded. Continue through the door.” Dalic, feeling an empowerment in the appreciation, opens the door and moves through the portal.
Grimlock reiterates, “I could care less about Dalic and the role he plays. If he had our safety in mind, he would not have left us behind. I say we fight out way back and not deeper in. Turn what you can but I would prefer to hold up in the necromancer’s study just the same. The skeletons have proven weak less the giant. The giant cannot get into the keep as he is too large for the hallways.”
Speck shows his worry, saying to Kuba, “We better stay close and stay with the group for safety.”
Kuba sneers back, “I got my own troubles and can well watch out for myself. You better keep your sneaky little thieving carcass away from me.”
The elves, Cirdan and Tathar, both agree the group needs to get upstairs in the keep and lock the doors for the night.
Faintly heard, carried lightly on the cooling night air, the sound of a horn reaches the keep. Blown from near the base of the hill, its shrill call raises concern. The call is quickly followed by the howling of worgs. It can mean only one thing, the basecamp is under siege.
The next thing heard is the scratching of the skeletal fingers upon the outer door. The dead rise in the fog shrouded courtyard.
Looking around the group, times are desperate:
Yalta is in near hysterics.
Breymeer, back pressed against the outer door, looks shook as well.
Ewan speaks, “Southar, that bastard, has led Tarstar off to his death!”
Speck and Kuba, are abnormally squabbling.
Strangely, the three elf-blooded, Grimlock, Tathar and Cirdan, remain calm and rational.
Southar and Tarstar reach the northeast tower, open the door and enter. The tower has a roughly 20 foot radius. A set of stone stairs are built into both the north and south walls. The north stairs goes up and the south goes down. The inside of the tower, including the ceiling above them, is very old and rotten. It threatens to collapse. The floor is strewn with a few boards that have fallen. It is otherwise uninteresting.
They walk down the stairway into the basement of the castle. The light of the torch shows the basement level of the tower has the same footprint, a 20 foot radius circle. Here, another stone stairwell leads further into the earth from this otherwise un-notable chamber.
Seeing no other option, the duo continues their descent. The air becomes damp and clammy. The walls glisten and are moist to the touch. The air is stagnant and foul.
At the bottom of the stairs, the corridor turns south and proceeds only 30 feet before coming to an old wooden door.
Behind the door, Dalic finds a small chamber that is really more of a four way intersection canted in the NW/SE/SE/NE direction. Dalic enters from the southeast. To the northeast lies a short passageway to a larger chamber. It is blocked by a closed portcullis. The winch for the portcullis is mounted between the NE and NW passages. To the northwest is a passageway that bends to the west. The main path leads to the southwest side and ends in a set of ironshod double doors. The doors are stained a dark color. Flies cover the doors, buzzing and crawling over each other.
“Dulgar Steelcoat, enter the doors and claim this keep.” The blackness disappears under the double doors. Dalic grasps the doors and pushes them open. Behind the doors is a large natural chamber roughly 40 feet deep (NE to SE) and 60 feet wide (NW to SW). The door is mounted in the center of the northeastern wall.
Near the center of the room, drawing all of Dalic’s attention, is an altar of black polished stone. The blackness of the altar meets the natural stone and veins into it like a tumor. The room is warm and lit by two braziers that bracket the altar.
“Place my head upon the altar Dalgur Steelcoat!” Dalic can refuse no such order. Dalic gently places the head upon the altar, facing toward himself and the mindless bugbear. The braziers seem to brighten and then flare up higher.
“I shall rise this night! You shall be blessed for your service. Dalgur Steelcoat, slit this bugbear’s throat and spill its blood upon the altar. Do this, Dalgur Steelcoat, and you shall be Baron of Bone Hill Keep. This title shall be yours and all in the keep will serve you in their living death. I, Telvar, shall surrender this title to you and instead serve you as chief advisor. Slay this beast as a sacrifice to he who calls for your service.”
Dalic, lusting for the power and title offered to him, cannot help but ponder who this altar is to and who calls upon his service.
“Do it now Dalgur Steelcoat! Become legendary! Fear nothing! DO IT NOW!” The bugbear has approached the altar and leaned forward and lifted its head, exposing its neck. Dalic finds his knife in his hand, stepping towards the creature. The brazier’s flames leap towards the ceiling.
Dalic feels his free will return to him and in an instant begins to focus his mind sensing the danger about him with his warrior’s instinct.
“Fer wut cen a mere lowly creature such as this do in a sacrifiss tha’ a true warrior’s spilt blood cannot ten fold? Great talkin’ head ye tempt me an’ Dalic be wantin to make beg power ever strong. Let me fetch a true warrior with many souls felled by their hand ta make ye richer in powr still!”
Dalic turns as he speaks, surveying the room. It is a natural chamber nearly void of content. The altar and braziers sit near the middle of the room, the prominent feature to those entering from the double doors. To the north of the altar lay several old and decomposed bodies. They were once dressed in rich white robes now stained dark in front. The bodies appear to have been a woman and children. On the south side of the altar are several other decomposed bodies of adult humans. They are also dressed in robes with similar stains. The presence of ropes with each body hints that they had been bound at the time of their sacrifice. Directly in front of the altar, now at Dalic’s feet, lay the body of a man in plate mail armor. The armor is rusted beyond repair. A shield lay next to the body with the crest matching that of some of the murals in the throne room. A rusted dagger lay near the body’s right hand. A sword remains sheathed on its belt. The sheath has rotten away some revealing the blade of the sword. It is miraculously free of rust.
Dalic’s mind attempts to piece together the evidence. One can only assume the baron, whose body is free of any bonds, killed his family and servants before sacrificing himself before the altar.
Dalic makes his decision. As his belt pouch turns away from the view of the head, Dalic palms one of his holy water vials in his free hand. Dalic turns back to the bugbear and places the dagger at the creature’s throat and his free hand at its chin to stabilize its head. Popping the cork of the holy water vial with his thumb, Dalic falsely draws the dagger across the bugbear’s exposed throat, dumping the holy water upon the head and altar as he does so.
As the holy water hits necromancer’s head and altar, a sound rises up like that of a hot frying pan doused in cold water. The holy water eats into the head and altar like an acid, small wisps of smoke rising from the contact points.
The head screams like a tortured soul and the braziers, for just a moment, darken to hot coals as dark smoke billows forth.
Dalic, grabs the bugbear by the head and attempts to snap his neck but an unholy energy fills the bugbear as his eyes become focused. The bugbear, being muscled and nearly twice the height of Dalic, merely stands breaking Dalic’s hold on its head.
Nearby, the apparition appears to have miscalculated Dalic’s actions. It realizes Dalic’s deceit. Its red eyes flare with hatred.
Grimlock ensures Breymeer barred the outer doors. Grimlock bars the door from the guard post “J” to the north hall and then proceeds into the waiting room “K”.
The waiting room contains six chairs scattered along the walls. The chairs are in a state of disrepair but stable enough to hold weight.
Noting the door to the throne room is barred, Grimlock heads upstairs, “Follow me.”
The remaining party members move up the stairs behind Grimlock. At the top of the stairs, Grimlock turns and open the door on the east side of the stairwell. Breymeer covers the northern hall, handing his torch to Kuba.
Grimlock and Kuba enter the room finding it to be a 40x40 room with a barred window near the center of the eastern wall. Judging from straw bedmats on the floor, this room served as a bedroom for the bugbear children. The room is otherwise empty.
As the trio clears the room, a muffled shriek echoes through the keep, rising from the very stones of the structure. A sudden wave of dread washes over the party. Upon its passing, the previous compulsions that pulled at the adventurer’s will vanish. A sense of relief fills Breymeer, Kuba no longer eyes Speck with suspicion, the foreshadowing of Kuba’s death leaves Speck’s mind, Yalta’s confidence returns and Ewan’s fear of the undead also passes.
Just before Southar opens the old wooden door, a muffled shriek echos through the cavern, coming from the southwest. A sudden wave of dread washes over the duo. Upon its passing, the previous compulsions that pulled at their wills vanish. Tarstar no longer feels compelled to hunt down Dalic. Southar, appears more at peace but wills to continue on. Southar opens the old wooden door and enters a generally triangle shaped cavern. He is immediately struck by very cold air; well below freezing. His breath easily visible.
Immediately two skeletons and a zombie begin moving towards Southar from the center of the room. Southar warns Tarstar and prepares for combat.
Dalic makes a play for the sword in the rotten sheath hoping it holds some sort of special property.
Dalic moves to his right and pulls at the brazier, searing his hands as he does so (2, 23/32). He guides the base of the flames towards the bugbear. The hot coals spill out in front of the altar as the bugbear reaches out to grab Dalic. The bugbear burns his feet on the hot coals (1, 16/17) and misses his grapple attempt on Dalic.
The coals continue to burn on the ground in front of the altar. The body there, acting as a dam, piled up a portion of the coals against it. The body begins to smoulder. The upright brazier also has returned to flame. The smoke previously belched out is dissipating in the large chamber.
The black spirit creature sweeps in towards Dalic and reaches for him. It fails to make contact with Dalic as he jumps to the area just to the left of the body. Here the avalanche of coals stopped against the right side of the body giving Dalic a small area of floor to reach for the sword. He rips it from the rotten scabbard. The old leather easily gives way to his strength.
The weapon is made of steel and has a ruby set into the grip just below the crossguard. The central groove running down the blade glows lightly with a red light. The pommel is engraved with some written words, “The bloodletter”. Dalic did not read the words, instead the name just comes to his mind as he grasp the grip of the blade.
The phantam moves in to strike Dalic. It narrowly misses and Dalic makes it pay. Dalic’s new long sword cuts through the creature’s head with a trail of crimson light following the swing. Black smoke boils off the contact with the sword and the creature recoils from the blow (7, 23/30).
The bugbear grabs at Dalic. It is able to grab Dalic’s sword arm and muscle it back painfully (2, 21(2 temp)/32). It maintains its hold and moves to wrestle the sword from Dalic’s grip.
As the bugbear moves for positioning on Dalic, he drives the blade of the sword into the bugbears left leg (12, 4/17). The bugbear loses its grip on the Dalic’s arm. Dalic pulls the sword from its leg and drives it through the creature’s chest (10, -6/17). It collapses upon the floor, its blood spills before the altar.
The standing brazier flares brightly and the flame from the brazier on the floor leaps and dances as the life force leaves the bugbear.
The necromancer’s head burst into flame. A deep and sinister laugh echoes in the chamber as the head is consumed by the fire.
In the distraction, the phantam reaches out and makes contact with Dalic’s left leg. The icy cold touch from the grave burns (3, 18(20)/32) and drains on his will (-1 wisdom) and his life force (3, 15(16)/29(32)).
Dalic recovers slightly from the twisted arm (+1, 16(17)/29(32)).
Grimlock moves up the hall to check the next door, giving orders as he goes, “Let’s check the remaining rooms upstairs.” He attempts to open the door to the necromancer’s bedroom (V) but it does not budge. “Everyone try a door we haven’t on this floor. Note whether they can be barred or locked as well if there is a window in the room. Quick, let’s get to it!
Breymeer, cover the stairs.”
Cirdan asks Grimlock, “Will you be able to open the door to the necromancer’s study? I would like to get to the roof and see if we can see our comrades; maybe lower a rope if need be.”
Kuba appears confused for a moment, "What happened?" Kuba appears to be shaking off some type of enchantment, "I was ready to throw little Speck out the window and let the walking dead have their way with him. I'm sorry my little friend."
Ewan opens the door on the western hallway, to the north. It opens to a 20x20 room (X). It is contains books, boxes, spare furniture, etc.
Yalta opens the western hall door to the south. It opens to a short hallway, twenty feet long, and then opens into a 20x20 room (T) with a window facing south. The window is barred. This room appears to be empty other than a chair by the window. It appears to be a watchpost.
Grimlock walks to the north end of the hallway where a door enters the workroom (W). Grimlock tries the north door but finds it still somehow stuck shut. He instead opens the door on the west side. It opens into an empty 40x20 room (Y). It contains a window on the western wall. This window is barred. A chair in front of the window hints at its use as a watchpost.
A chill comes over Grimlock as he peers into the large watchroom. He catches sight of his breath as the air temperature around him seems to suddenly dip. Now alert to some danger, he shouts a quick warning to the group as he backs away from the north end of the corridor.
As Grimlock backs away, an image materializes through the door and enters the hallway. It can be none other than the necromancer. The image is semitransparent. His head has been returned to the body. He carries an evil sneer on his face. A cold, whispery voice escapes it, “Now you shall join me, vile elves!”
In a flash, it is upon Grimlock, clawing at him with cruel clawed hands, as the rest of the group begin to react to his shouts of warning.
Southar slashes at the first skeleton to reach him. His blow is parried by the skeleton.
Tarstar moves up alongside Southar and pokes at it as well but the blow just passes through the empty ribcage.
Southar is able to block both the skeleton’s blows with his shield but the zombie gives him a gut punch (2, 39/41).
Dalic rips off his make-shift cape with one hand while retrieving his holy water with the other. He dumps the holy water onto the cape and tries to ensnare the undead menace with it. Dalic is unable to snare the creature but the contact with the blanket burns more black smoke from the creature (2, 21/30). Its eyes continue to burn with hatred.
Just as Dalic is recovering completely from his twisted arm (+1, 17/29), he feels the icy grip of death again as the creature strikes him a second time (3, 14/29) and his life force and will are drained further (5, 9/24 and wis -4).
Grimlock drops quickly rolling sideways away from the phantom necromancer, escaping its grasp. Grimlock rolls through the open door into the room he was examining (Y) shouting orders, “Turn him if you can! Holy water and magic should harm him in death! Retreat into a room where we have more room to fight!”
Cirdan Saralonde draws his yuan-ti dagger and pulls forth a scroll from his possessions.
Tathar steps forward, fearing no undead, his moon imaged holy symbol out before him, “Back! Sehanine shall be your bane in death!”
Yalta, trying to rebuild his confidence, steps around the corner displaying his snow-capped mountain peak symbol. Standing behind Tathar, Yalta commands the creature, “Back to your grave, this hilltop has been reclaimed in the name of Jascar!”
The phantom sneers a whispery threat, “Hill gods and moon queens shall not save you! This night you all shall die!” It turns and enters the room (Y) after Grimlock, “Starting with the web thrower!” It paws at Grimlock with its deathly cold hands. Grimlock again tumbles out of the way. The whispering dead predicts, “You shall all serve me!”
Breymeer and Ewan, standing near the top of the stairs, were unable to see the phantom but did hear its cold, dead voice.
Kuba and Speck, stuck behind Yalta, Cirdan and Tathar, stood by in disbelief.
Tarstar expertly begins removing bones from opposing skeleton’s rib cage (2, 4/6) while Southar bashes the other skeleton to pieces with his golden shield (6, 0/6). He follows the shield bash with a slashing strike across the zombie with his long sword (9, 3/12) hacking off its left leg. It falls to the floor but keeps up its assault.
The undead are unable to land an effective blow.
Reinforcements to the undead horde arrive in the form of four skeletons and a zombie. One of the skeletons wears a robe enscribed with runes.
Dalic withdraws the cape, letting it rest on his shoulder, draped haphazardly over his free arm and front. He takes a violent swing at the creature cutting directly through its rib cage. As before, a smokey blackness boils off the creature (11, 10/30).
Dalic suddenly hears pounding and scratching on the exterior side of the double doors. At the same time, the undead menace withdraws under the door into the winch room (BF).
Grimlock continues to escape and evade the vile apparition.
“To and fro you tumble and roll. Tired you’ll be when I steal your soul.” The necromancer points to the Grimlock and three missiles appear in the air and streak unerringly into his body (2, 23/25 and 4, 19/25 and 4, 15/25) wracking him with pain.
Grimlock shouts, “Your journey back to death will be because you are a fool to think I am a threat to you. My companions behind you are!”
As Grimlock dances with the foul spirit, Cirdan Saralonde sneaks up the hall with his scroll in hand. Once he sees the ghastly creature, Cirdan quickly reads off the scroll. Two missiles of his own appear and fly forward striking it (5, 29/34 and 2, 27/34). It screeches in unholy profanity.
Yalta, with a war cry, charges forward past Cirdan, "In Jascar’s name, I will smite you!" Yalta enters the room to strike the undead menace with his staff and shield but catches his foot on the door jamb and falls flat on his face; stunned for the moment.
Tathar takes his snake staff in hand along with a vial of holy water.
Breymeer arms himself with axe and sword. He continues to watch for surprise attacks as he moves to the corner, prepared to confront the undead devil if the others fail.
Tarstar picks away at the skeleton’s spine with his cutlass. He sends another rib flying (2, 2/6).
Southar smashes a second skeleton to bits with his shield (10, -4/6) and cuts down the wounded zombie with his long sword (3, 0/12).
The zombies and skeletons continue to press the attack without success.
The rotten robed zombie however, pauses and points at Southar. Two missiles appear in the air and streak at him, striking him in the chest (5, 36/51 and 5, 31/41).
Dalic switches weapons, drawing his bastard sword and replacing in the sheath the bloodletter. He retrieves his dagger from the ground where he dove for the bloodletter earlier, and returns it to its sheath. He searches the bodies for anything useful. Dalic finds 12 gp in a pouch on the bugbear and 11 pp, 22 gp, 17 ep and 44 sp on the body of the man in who had “Bloodletter”.
Dalic adjusts his holy cape to fit again as close to a cloak as possible, tucking the front edges into his belt so it wraps forward. He has thoroughly convinced himself that it provides the most protection.
Dalic rolls the dead bugbear onto the coals left by the fallen brazier and prepares for incoming combatants. The body begins to smoulder and burn in the heat.
The door gives way to the undead behind it. Five skeletons enter the room and move to attack Dalic. One of the skeletons is dressed in old rotten mage robes. The ghostly undead creature that battled him earlier is not to be seen.
Grimlock tumbles away to the northern part of the room and retrieves his holy water gift.
Kuba, again showing concern for his little comrade, advises Speck to hold his position as there is little they can do against such a vile creation.
Breymeer also holds his ground.
Ewan, however, pushes his body through the mass and moves up to attack. He has a wooden cudgel in his hand, “The power of nature is greater than the unnatural.”
Yalta gathers up his staff and shield and begins to rise but the undead necromancer lashes out at him. Before the necromancer can execute the Jascarian priest, Tathar douses it with holy water (5, 22/34).
Cirdan also splashes his holy water on the necromancer but only catches him with part of the vial (2, 20/34).
The necromancer cries out as if in pain, “Vile elves!”
Tarstar finally picks the spine apart on the skeleton facing him (2, 0/6). It crumples to the ground.
Southar bashes an incoming skeleton with his shield but fails to destroy it (4, 2/6) as he chops at another zombie (6, 6/12).
A zombie moves in on Tarstar and gut punches him (4, 27/31).
The other skeleton and two zombies fail to land a blow.
Dalic, wanting to drive back the horde and slay the robe wearing skeleton, finds himself having to hack his way through. “Hard way, eh?” he spouts as he hacks the skeleton in front of him to bone shards (6, 0/6). He moves into the mass of animated bones. The two on his flanks miss outright and is breastplate deflects the third blow.
Dalic now stands before the robed skeleton, aiming to drive him back. The robed skeleton waves his hand in front itself, spilling fine dust like material as it does so. Dalic’s vision narrows until it is overcome with an inky blackness. The last thing Dalic feels is his body striking the floor.
Tarstar pierces the zombie before him with his cutlass (2, 10/12). In return, the skeleton before him stabs its sword into Tarstar’s chest (10, 17/31 wound ½ move, -2 hit armor, damaged). The zombie next to the skeleton slams its fist into the pommel of the sword driving it deeper into Tarstar’s chest (8, 9/31 wound ¼ move -4 hit (total)).
Southar cuts the zombie facing him across the leg (4, 2/12) but fails to hit the skeleton with his shield.
Grimlock throws his holy water at the aberration but misses it completely.
Cirdan Saralone and Tathar Surion retreat down the hallway with Cirdan petitioning the others, “If you are going to stay here, fall back into the room and make a point of defense. Also, give us your holy water.”
The spectre reaches down towards Yalta as he rises. Yalta swings wildly with his staff but misses. It mutters something in speech unknown and grasps onto Yalta. An electric shock discharges between them and the smell of ozone drifts from Yalta (13, -5/18 from the shock and 4, -9/18 from the death grasp and 5, -14/18 life draining and -3 wisdom drain). Yalta drops to the ground, convusing and pale.
"Now you shall serve me, priest of Jascar," whispers the death spirit.
Ewan McDermott charges into the room in a huff. He swings his oaken cudgel at the form now hovering over the dying Yalta. Ewan, despite his intent, fails to hit it.
Tarstar takes a desperation poke at the skeleton. His cutlass damages its right femur bone (2, 4/6). The skeleton collapses, pulling its sword from Tarstar’s chest. Tarstar doubles over in pain. The zombie bashes Tarstar in the back of his head (4, 5/31). Tarstar struggles but stays conscious.
Southar hacks another zombie down (4, -2/12) and bashes the robed zombie with his shield as it moves in to strike Tarstar (5, 13/18). The zombie strives forward, through the shield bash, and delivers and uppercut to the bent over Tarstar (8, -3/31). His head jerks back and blackness envelops his mind. He falls motionless to the icy cold floor and it begins to pull the heat from his fading body.
Grimlock, with a growing concern showing on his face, splashes a second vial of holy water at the necromancer. The vial splashes on the dead spirit and it cries out agony (6, 14/34). It turns to face Grimlock, “You are next to die!”
Ewan’s club, a handcrafted oaken cudgel blessed by the living forces of nature, strikes the ghost of the necromancer in the mid section (7, 7/34). The large man’s swing displays he has strength in his mass.
The necromancer moves across the room with blinking speed and strikes Grimlock across his right arm. Grimlock feels the cold of death as it touches him (6, 9/25 from strike, 3, 6/22 from energy drain and -1 wisdom).
Tathar, having dug in his pack, realizes he has one more flask of holy water. He charges to the room and finds the necromancer upon Grimlock. Tathar splashes the water on the necromancer and it burns through it (5, 2/34).
Cirdan chastises the others, “If you are too struck with fear to fight, give me your holy water and I will do battle for you.”
Breymeer, realizing he has the holy gift, comments, “I will do as you advise Cirdan. I will secure the room for your retreat if needed. But I shall retain my holy water.”
Realizing they also have holy water, Kuba and Speck remove their vials and await the necromancer’s attack.
Cirdan secures no holy water.
Southar strikes to avenge Tarstar. His blow cuts the leg off the robed zombie (6, 7/18). He attampts to shield bash the zombie but it falls to the ground before the shield strikes it.
Southar easily dodges the remaining zombie.
Breymeer can’t hold back the offense he feels, “We thought we were moving to a more tactical spot. You think we are COWARDS?! That is disappointing to hear!” Looking disappointed that the plan of attack wasn’t followed, Breymeer charges forward with his holy water.
Kuba and Speck follow suit with Speck in the front, holy water at the ready. Kuba shouts over his shoulder, “You have a halfling’s aim, my friend, toss mine after yours and I will guard you.”
Tathar, with his snake staff in hand, holds his ground.
Cirdan follows the charge up the hallway.
Inside the room, the apparition moves back towards the open window while in melee with Ewan McDermott and his oaken cudgel. The phantom speaks, “Yalta, rise and slay the elves and their friends. The Lord of the Flies demands sacrifice! I will return and instruct you further.”
Ewan McDermott swings at the spirit with his club, “Back to the grave with you!” Ewan fails to strike a blow.
The necromancer touches Ewan on the chest, “You first!” Ewan nearly loses his breath from the dead cold touch (7, 3/10 touch, 2, 1/8 and -4 wisdom energy drain).
Grimlock reads from the scroll in his hand as Breymeer and company enter the room full of fury and war cries. The phantom moves to exit the window as Grimlock, having finished reading the scroll, steps forward and touches the necromancer, “Two can play your game. Go to hell foul spirit!” A bluish electrical charge leaps from Grimlock’s hands and pulses through the necromancer. The spectre’s non-corporal form fades and dispatches like smoke in the wind. Its voice also trails off, “NNNNOOooooooooooooo.”
Southar slashes a leg off the standing zombie (6, 4/12) and it drops to the ground. It crawls forward trying to bash Southar but he is too nimble and dodges the blows.
The robed corpse conjures up two more missiles and fires them into Southar’s chest (5, 26/41 and 5, 21/41). Southar, in turn, bashes it with his shield (5, 8/18).
Kuba and Breymeer stay attentive and keep guard.
Cirdan moves to Breymeer and put a hand on his shoulder, “Breymeer, my friend, I have seen you fight. I know that you are no coward. The same goes for you Kuba. And you, Speck, have courage far greater than your size. Breymeer, you were there when fear gripped me in the jungle and I fled, blindly, from the yuan-ti temple. I was worried that the necromancer had put some spell on you or that you were dumbfounded to see him alive again. Please accept my apologies.”
Cirdan continues, “Grimlock, it looks like we both have been afforded the opportunity to kill this foul creature. Let us hope it does not happen again.”
Grimlock attends to Ewan, applying first aid to his wounds (+3, 4/8).
Ewan, relaxes a bit and starts to catch his breath. Grimlock, also looking in sad shape, asks Ewan if he can ease his suffering a bit. Ewan returns the favor (+8, 14/22) and Grimlock looks greatly relieved.
“I could feel the cold dampness of the grave pulling on my will,” comments Grimlock as he joins Tathar and Speck at Yalta’s body. Tathar is kneeling next to Yalta looking for life. They find Yalta deceased and pale with a look of fear frozen on his face.
Yalta begins to look through the priests possessions, “He may have something useful against undead.” It appears Yalta has his armor, a shield, a staff, his holy symbol and a few miscellaneous pieces of gear.
Speck looks worried, “I hope the necromancer’s last command didn’t work.”
Grimlock suggests, “I am afraid, like the necromancer, he will rise and we will be back in the same fight we just finished! Use holy water on him, if it burns he is beyond our help and we must slay the evil that remains!”
Tathar seems to have gotten his second wind. Looking to make sure Grimlock and Ewan McDermott are both relatively healthy, Tathar stands up from checking on Yalta and says, “I think we should burn the bodies of Yalta and the necromancer. I will get some wood from the storage room.”
Tathar continues, “Sehanine, The Heroine of Death, has shown me the way. Our path to defeating this evil lays through a door downstairs and into the catacombs beneath this keep. I believe our friends may already be there, and be in peril. I am going there once we have burned the bodies. Will anyone accompany me?”
Cirdan answers, “I will accompany you to get wood and into the catacombs.”
Southar moves up to the robed corpse and slashes it with his long sword cutting it through the neck (12, -4/18). It is drops to the ground unmoving.
He bashes the remaning zombie on the ground with his shield crushing its head (4, 0/12). It also ceases to move.
Southar is victorious. He bends down to check on the fallen Tarstar. He finds his body lifeless. It is beginning to freeze to the cold stone floor.
Southar feels a pulling on his very being. It pulls him into the next chamber and towards a wooden door in the southwestern corner.
Breymeer volunteers to enter the catacombs once the bodies are burned. He double checks his belongings to make sure he still has the cudgel he picked up in the woods.
Speck dumps some holy water on Yalta’s face and it burns it like acid.
The party does not take the time to strip Yalta’s armor or clothing, fearing a spectral form of Yalta will be attacking at any moment. The only items recovered from Yalta are the medium shield and staff he was using in combat when he fell and a pouch of gold coins (48gp).
Grimlock still is apprehensive about going down into the catacombs while the group is in such a weak state, “I find it wiser to hold up for the night. We are a fraction of our strength and are down three companions. I vote we hold up when we are done with the burning.” Grimlock is finding himself in the minority.
Being still unable to enter the necromancer’s workshop, and wanting to retrieve his body, the group hacks down the door into the workshop. The bodies of the necromancer and Yalta are placed on the table and hay and broken furniture are used as kindling. The broken furniture is aplenty thanks to Dalic’s rampage through the necromancer’s bedroom and additional furniture found in the storage room (X).
Soon, the funeral pyre is burning strong and the bodies go up in flames. With it goes any chance of Yalta returning from the dead.
Cirdan Saralonde remains in the storage room sifting through books, wizard supplies and papers stored there in boxes.
Cirdan finds there are numerous books on different subjects of science and magic. General study and knowledge type materials. There boxes also contain papers, scrolls and scroll cases but none have writing on them. They seem to be stock supplies. Finally, there are some common spell components similar to the ones I mentioned to you before.
Southar spends no further time on Tarstar. The room is extremely cold for some reason (-15 degrees). Southar finds himself becoming sluggish in the cold temps. He picks up the torch that was dropped during the battle and continues on.
Southar walks forward, pulled by some force on his will. He crosses the first chamber and heads south into a larger chamber, passing two side chambers as he goes. He walks directly to the solid iron reinforced door on the southwestern wall; ignoring the door on the eastern wall. The southwestern door opens and he proceeds through the door. Southar is relieved to be greeted by normal subterranean temperatures.
Southar follows the passageway to the southwest and then due west. The passageway is in poor shape for nearly 100 feet but then improves again before turning north. He moves about 30 feet to another solid, iron reinforced door.
Southar opens the door and enters a roughly cross shaped chamber. The north end of the chamber turns east out of sight. The east is blocked by a portcullis and the west passageway ends in a iron shod double doors.
Southar turns, as if by instinct, and opens the double doors. He enters a large chamber (BG). In the center of the chamber is a jet black altar. A brazier on the left side burns brightly. The brazier on the right side has spilt over in front of the altar. There, a body of a bugbear burns and smolders. Directly in front of the doors, Southar finds Dalic lying on the floor. He body is heavily damaged, lying supine. Next to him is a pile of old bones. Surrounding Dalic are undead creatures consisting of three zombies and three skeletons. They appear to be binding his limbs with some chain under the direction of a corpse wearing a mages robes.
A voice comes to Southar’s mind, “Spill the blood of this dwarf upon the altar and you shall be master of this keep, controller of all those who reside here for eternity. Serve me and I shall give you power! The choice is yours.”
Southar feels his will return. He can see Dalic is still breathing but unmoving and unresponsive.
The robed zombie looks to Southar as if waiting an answer.
Ewan heals himself (+4, 8/10) and agrees to join the adventure into the catacombs, “Lead on, I am with you Tathar. These abominations must be put back into the soil.”
Kuba picks up Yalta’s staff to use for a bashing weapon, “We may be in a weakened state but we remain strongest as a group. I don’t wish to go marching around this haunt of the dead during the dark hours when they are roused, but if it is the group’s decision to go, I am with you.”
Speck agrees with his large companion saying, “You know where I stand on these decisions . . . next to the big buy.”
Grimlock goes to the roof and collects his rope. He is very happy to see the undead from the courtyard have not attempted to climb it. The courtyard is full of movement. It appears all of the defeated undead, skeletons and zombies alike, have re-risen and wander aimlessly. In addition, the bugbears have risen as well and wander about like zombies. Down at the base of the hill, Grimlock can see the fire from the basecamp. The baron’s banners still stand but there are numerous bodies lying on the ground, including those of very large wolves. There is movement and it appears the baron’s crew has prevailed but at what cost is unknown. Taking another look at the undead in the courtyard, Grimlock realizes there is little he can do from here. He returns to the group and reports about the basecamp.
The group moves to the main floor of the keep and stands in the waiting room (K) before the heavy wooden door that leads to what Tathar reports is a stairwell down.
Southar, dropping his torch on the floor, pulls a vial from his possessions that he had been holding onto for a long time. He quaffs the entire contents. Adrenaline courses through his body. Southar feels a rush of strength in his body. He pulls a second vial from his pack; the holy water given to him for this adventure.
The robed corpse appears to have comprehended Southar’s intent to strike. It spreads forth fine sand as it attempts to ensnare Southar in a sleep spell.
Southar, completely unfazed by the spell, splashes the robed corpse with holy water. It splashes him on the neck and runs down his chest burning his skins as it covers his torso (8, 8/16).
Southar, golden shield upon his arm, draws his long sword and wades into the mass of death, hacking and bashing with a strength not known to man.
Southar first strikes the robed corpse with his long sword (12, -4/16) taking its head clean off. With his shield, he bashes the zombie to his left. Southar’s strength is amazing. The zombie is crushed by the shield and flung to the side into the wall (12, 0/12). It slides down onto the floor in a dead pile of rot.
The skeletons move in to stop the insane attack. Two of them fail to land a blow but the third cuts deeply across Southar’s abdomen causing a wound (4, 17/41, minor bleed).
Southar continues his onslaught into the undead. He fails to strike one down with his long sword but bashes another into bits with his golden shield (12, -6/6).
The skeletons again fail to strike Southar as does the zombie that moves up to replace the destroyed skeleton.
Southar, with his newfound strength, splits a skeleton down the middle with a chop from his long sword (10, -4/6). It collapses into a pile of bones. He fails to hit with his shield.
A skeleton grazes Southar’s left leg with its sword (1, 16/41). The others fail to strike a blow.
Southar slashes a zombie in half across the chest (13, -1/12) felling it. He smashes the remaining skeleton with his shield sending pieces of it all over the burning bugbear and altar (11, -5/6).
Only two zombies remain on Southar. The first bashes its fists against Southar’s shield as he changes battle tactics; moving to defense with his shield. The second zombie, however, hammers a blow against Southar’s leg right leg (10, 6/41).
Southar, knows time is of the essence. He slashes one of the zombies down with a stroke of his long sword, splitting its head (14, -2/12).
Mindlessly, the remaining zombie continues to bash upon Southar’s shield.
He cuts it down with a final blow from his long sword, cutting through the abdomen and into the left leg (15, -3/12). It drops, once again dead.
Southar has defeated his foes. He know stands alone in the room over an injured and unresponsive Dalic.
In a private moment between them, Cirdan Saralone gives Grimlock one of the vials recovered from the dead necromancer. They both try a sip, each from their own vial. They both immediately spit it out. It is foul and the better part of wisdom tells them to not consume and more.
A foul smell reaches Dalic’s nose. A smell so absolutely disgusting, it pulls Dalic from his darkness. Looking around he becomes aware he is still in the large altar room. In fact, he is lying near where he fell. There is a smoldering fire in front of the altar. Atop the coals are three corpses and numerous bits of bones from the skeletons. The already rancid, decaying corpses now bubble and boil with the heat. The second brazier has been kicked over and its coals added to the pyre. The bodies are not burning well but it is evident they are not returning to life either.
Dalic finds himself bound; his arms together and his legs together. Part of his make-shift cape is in his mouth, stuffed there as a gag. He realizes he has not been plundered. His bastard sword lays nearby. The hilt of a second sword sticks out of his scabbard.
Peering around the room, he sees a familiar figure. Southar, the great helmed fighter is busy throwing the last of the zombies on top of the pyre. Surprisingly, he is tossing the large corpse as if it were a bag of dried leaves. Southar is freshly bandages in the mid section and he walks with a little bit of a limp with his right leg.
Southar notes that Dalic is stirring, the foul air caused him to recoil upon waking.
The two wounded warriors study each other with an air of caution. Both appears to have been through much today. Both are physically shattered and mentally drained.
They stare at each other in some type of psychological battle, each trying to calculate what the other is planning to do. Tension builds while trustworthiness is evaluated. Is he friend or is he foe? As the pressure in the room mounts, the coals from the braziers begin to burn a little hotter. The hellish glow from the coals lighting the area around the altar in an eerie reddish glow.
Grimlock petitions Ewan for healing. Ewan replies, “I feel my strength is waning my friend. I must save what little I have left for an emergency. I will be there for you if you shall fall.”
Cirdan voices his judgment of the door, “We were able to bash our way into the necromancer’s workroom. I see no reason we can not defeat this door as well.”
With that Cirdan and Kuba begin taking down the door.
Breymeer thoughtfully removes a torch from his backpack and unwraps the top of it. Immediately the room is filled with a holy white light. “Sorry, just remembered I had this.” He then helps with the dismantling of the door.
Tathar volunteers to lead the party into the catacombs. He has Sehanine’s moon shaped symbol in one hand and his cobra snake staff in the other. Breymeer, armed with broad sword and club, volunteers to take the front with Tathar. Kuba, not one to relinquish the front row, speaks up for the second row. Speck, as always, stays at Kuba’s side. Cirdan Saralonde and Grimlock take the third row and Ewan takes the rear spot. Ewan takes possession of the magic torch in order for Breymeer to have both hands free.
After ten or fifteen minutes, the door relents and the group enters the next room prepared to meet the living dead.
The room is generally 30x30 with a hallway that angles back and bends around to a stairwell leading downward. The room appears to have once been a barracks and weapons room. The remains of six beds are here along with six footlockers. A weapons rack is mounted on the angled southwestern wall. It holds 12 spears and 8 short bows. The foot lockers are opened and long ago plundered. The weapons are very old and suffer from rot; they are useless.
As the party makes its way down the stairs, the room reveals itself. It is roughly triangle shaped with 40 foot sides. There are two wooden doors exiting the room, one on the east edge of the north wall and the other on the south edge of the east wall.
There is no furniture in the room but several corpses can be seen on the floor.
An old blood trail leads from the center of the stairwell to the base of the stairs.
At the base of the stairs is what remains of chain mail armor; completely destroyed and torn apart. A blood stain encircles the armor. A small leather pouch lies among the armor. Also, a rusty short sword and rusty steel shield are nearby.
A dwarven sized set of plate mail lays face down at the center of the room. Bones can be seen mixed in with the rusted plate armor. Next to it lies a backpack, an unrusted steel medium shield and an intact warhammer.
The remains of two other sets of armor are between the one at the base of the stairs and the one in the middle of the room. One had been wearing chain mail, a battle axe near it, and the other leather armor with a couple of weapons in scabbards nearby; one dagger and one short sword.
As Tathar and Breymeer near the bottom of the stairs, they see several forms that move away from the light as it illuminates the room. They are shaped as dwarves. Death has been unkind to them. Their teeth have turned to sharp fangs and their fingers have grown claws for fingernails. Their tongues, nearly three times their normal length, stick out and lick the air as the creatures hiss at the invading light. Two of the foul undead move to the northeast corner and two move to the southeast corner.
Dalic sits still but spits the cape from his mouth, "Southar! What hab' ye
done ta me! An' how be we here..." Dalic looks around confused, "Ye were nae yet ta arrive when I fell in tha courtyard battle! Unbind me now!" Dalic shouts the last with a gleam in his eye.
Southar continues to examine Dalic for signs of possession. He finishes clearing the gag Dalic spit partially out. “I still do not know why you went off by yourself. I fear to unbind you until I get good reason that you are not possessed. Many in the group have been overcome by compulsions.”
Tathar lifts his holy symbol to the undead vermin, “Sehanine has power over you. Step back foul spawn.” The undead continue to press themselves into the corner, hissing and scorning the symbol of Sehanine Moonbow. Tathar moves forward to make room at the base of the stairs, stepping to the pouch upon the floor.
Breymeer moves forward to the ones in the right corner, giving room to those behind him on the stairs to move forward.
Grimlock, Kuba and Cirdan move among the bodies looking for anything of value. Cirdan heads for the backpack while Grimlock eyes the armor and weapons. Kuba moves toward the war hammer with his shield and sword at the ready.
Speck stays concealed at the very edge of the stairwell wall, watching.
Ewan remains at the top of the stairs.
From the corner behind the stairwell wall charges out three more of the ghoulish creatures. Two recoil from the sight of the moon symbol but the third lunges forward towards Tathar, clawed hangs grasping and teeth gnashing.
Dalic replies to Southar, “There be holy water gib me by da priests in me pack. Pour a drop on me iffn ye be coward.”
Southar removes the vial of holy water, recognizing to be similar to the one he received. He pours the contents onto Dalic. Other than soaking the dwarf, there is no adverse effect.
Southar, showing very little trust yet, breaks the shackles from Dalics hands and feet.
Dalic responds, “Why did you bring me ‘ere?”
Southar informs Dalic, “I did not bring you here. You came here upon your own bearing the necromancer’s head. I followed you across the courtyard and into the northwest tower. From there, I followed you into the catacombss. I fought off a horde of zombiess and ssskeletons to reach you. Tarstar, the ssailor, was felled. I had to leave his body. I located you here, in this altar room, sshackled and unresponsive. I ssslayed the walking dead that opposed you. That iss what I know.”
“Then I owe ye a debt Southar the Mighty. I be yet troubled by me not bein’ where I remember bein’. But let us find our comrades and be rid of this hell hole.” Dalic checks his equipment and discards his makeshift, and wet, cape.
Dalic grips his bastard sword and then notices another pommel sticking out of his scabbard. He slowly draws the long sword partially from the scabbard. He examines the hilt and base of the blade finding a ruby set into the handle. The groove of the blade glows slightly with a dull red light. “I know not where ou’ this come but I shoul’ be glad ta have it.”
Dalic returns it to his scabbard fully and arms himself with his bastard sword.
Dalic looks to Southar and nods towards the double door that exits the room.
Grimlock moves in to strike down the one upon Tathar.
Tathar clubs at the same creature with his staff. Grimlock’s sword strikes Tathar’s staff during the melee and Grimlock nearly loses the grip on his weapon; Tathar is unaffected. Grimlock is somehow able to retain control of his sword.
Tathar’s blow strikes the ghoulish fiend in the abdomen causing it to double over; oblivious to the pain, the force of the blow alone causes the result (3, 20/23, stunned).
Cirdan slashes at the creature with his daggers. He fails to pierce its skin with either blow. In addition, the silver dagger he held in one of his hands slips his grip and sails through the air and impacts the stairwell wall with a ‘clang’. It then bounces off the wall and lands at the feet of the two ghouls still cowering in the corner.
Ewan, seeing the battle beginning, moves to the base of the stairs with the light.
In the southeast corner, Breymeer engages the two cowering ghouls in melee. While moving into them, he stows his hammer with his off hand and draws forth his axe. He slashes the first one across the right thigh severing the leg (9, 3/12) and then drives his axe down into his left shoulder (7, -4/12). It crumples to the ground; finished.
The remaining ghoul facing Breymeer slashes him across the chest with its clawed right hand (2, 19/47, saved vs paralysis). It also attempts to bite him in the throat and claws at his neck but Breymeer is able to fend off the other two blows.
The remaining walking dead suddenly charge forward, nearly surrounding the group.
The two that were along the west wall move against Kuba and Cirdan. The first fails to strike and the second is cut down by a swift stroke from Kuba’s bastard sword (19, -8/11) before it lands a blow.
The two from the northeastern wall move against Grimlock. The first is unable to strike the nimble half elf. The second moves slightly past Grimlock and engages Ewan as Ewan nears the bottom of the stairs. The undead creature has never seen such a wonderful meal. Ewan is able to dodge two of the blows but catches a claw across his lower left leg (1, 7/8, saved vs paralysis).
Speck remains on the stairwell.
Southar opens the double doors. Thing seems not to have changed in the portcullis room. Dalic and Southar move in tandem south to the wooden door on the southern wall.
Southar opens the door and a wispy, phantom like creature is on him immediately, clawing at his face. Wishing to pull the life from Southar’s body. Southar, having cat like reflexes, jumps back and avoids the clawing hand.
The creature does not appear to be material, it floats upon the air. It has a vaguely human shaped upper torso. Its eyes burn with a red hatred for life. A shadowy crown sits upon its head. Below the torso, the creature fades off into nothingness.
It moves through the doorway into the portcullis room and engages the human and dwarf warriors in a battle for their very souls.
Dalic recognizes it as the creature he fought and drove off in the altar room.
Breymeer continues to hack away in the corner like a mad butcher, striking the ghoul across the torso with his broad sword (3, 0/3). It drops to the ground motionless.
Grimlock, now with enemy on three fronts, turns his back towards Cirdan and Tathar. Grimlock strikes at his new foe from the northeastern corner. He is unable to strike a blow.
Tathar brings his staff down upon the head of the bent over ghoul (2, 18/23). The strike damages the creature but fails to bring it down.
Cirdan draws another dagger to continue fighting with two weapons. Cirdan attack the one Tathar just skulled as it rights itself. He buries the Yuan-ti dagger deep into the creature’s chest (5, 13/23).
The ghoul on Kuba is unable to strike a blow on the skilled fighter.
The one facing Cirdan and Tathar reacts angrily to being hit in the head. Ignoring the puncture wound given to it by Cirdan, the ghoul lashes out at Tathar. One claw misses but the other punctures his armor upon his chest leaving a deep nasty scratch upon his chest (6, 12/24, avoided minor bleed , saved vs paralysis). Tathar is able to dodge the follow-up bite attempt.
Kuba cuts the second ghoul down with swift strokes.
Grimlock’s opponent claws and his armor and shield. Grimlock is able to deflect the blows. The ghoul’s bite catches him in the shoulder but the leather of his armor stops keeps him from damage.
Ewan is not as lucky. Even though he was unable to strike the creature, he was able to avoid the clawing grasp of the monster but it was able to bite him on the neck (5, 2/8, paralysis). Ewan collapses with the ghoul atop him. The ghoul continues to chew on Ewan’s neck, tearing and chewing at his flesh.
Speck has faded into the shadows of the stairwell and remains now unseen.
Dalic steps behind Southar and changes weapons. He brandishes the ruby sword and returns his bastard sword to his scabbard saying, "Southar, there maybe purpose in this here sword! bide his focus an' I shall dissolve this apparition!"
Southar slices through the creature with his sword with no apparent effect.
The creature attempts to claw the life from Southar but he deflects the blow with his shield.
The dwarf neatly steps forward and runs his long sword into the phantom (8, 22/30) and black smoke boils off of its shadowy form.
A sudden and very foul smell of carrion reaches those at the bottom of the stairs. It appears to be coming from the ghoul between Cirdan, Tathar and Kuba. Cirdan, Kuba and Grimlock all began to choke and gag, trying to get a clean breath. <Cirdan, Kuba and Grimlock all have -2 to hit from the smell; Tathar escapes the effect. There is nothing else adverse from it.>
Speck leaps from the darkness of the stairwell and drives his short sword down on the ghoul devouring Ewan. His sword does not pierce the skin as it is deflected to the side. He gags slightly at the overpowering smell but controls himself <Speck is unaffected>.
Tathar does a side cartwheel up a couple of stairs to break away from the melee and the horrible smell. The ghoul claws and snaps at him as he vacates but is unable to strike the nimble elf.
Kuba moves in behind the one facing Tathar and slashes it mightily across the back (12, 1/23) while Cirdan, simultaneously trying to keep from vomiting, hacks away at it with his daggers but is unable to strike a blow.
The creature spins on Cirdan ducking under his daggers, it bites him on the left leg (4, 14/18, missed save vs paralysis (5)). Cirdan collapses.
Grimlock battles with the ghoul facing him. Grimlock hacks a large chunk from its left thigh (8, 6/14). The creature lowers itself to one knee.
Angered the ghoul moves against Grimlock viciously. It rakes one claw down his right thigh (1, 13/22, saved) while biting his left thigh (2, 11/22, saved). Grimlock was able to parry the other claw attack. Grimlock smashes his shield down upon the foul spawn’s good leg (4, 2/14).
Breymeer, moving past Grimlock’s position on his way to save Ewan, splits the head of the ghoul on Grimlock (6, -5/14) dropping it dead before him.
Breymeer continues on driving his sword into the ghoul devouring Ewan’s neck (4, 4/8) but not before it has chewed further on Ewan’s neck (6, -4/8).
The wraith continues to attempt to murder Southar. It continues to be frustrated by Southar’s cat like reflexes and his golden shield.
Southar also cannot seems to cause harm to the undead menace.
Dalic continues to thrust at the wisp but fails to harm it this time.
The wraith continues to paw at Southar but he nimbly side steps it. In turn, he bashes the creature to the side with his shield (4,18/30).
Dalic pops up again and slashes it slightly (4, 14/30).
With each impact, the blackess rolls off of it.
Breymeer continues to hack away at the ghoul devouring Ewan’s neck. He runs his swords through its back and hacks off the right arm with his hand axe. The ghoul falls motionless on Ewan who also lays motionless (7, -11/8, dead).
Tathar asks for healing from Sehanine (+7, 19/24). The injury on his chest is removed.
Grimlock carves into the ghoul facing him with his sword (6, -5/23) felling it. He gives it final smash with his shield for good measure. It ceases to struggle and gives way to final death.
A quiet falls across the room again as the final undead are put back to rest. Ewan and Cirdan remain motionless on the ground. Cirdan’s injuries do not seem too dire but Ewan McDermott has a gaping hole in his throat. Blood seeps out from the injury. It is obvious the injury is not survivable.
Southar continues to try and shield punch the wisping death while Dalic jabs his long sword at it. The wraith avoids the blows.
The wraith catches Dalic by the arm during the melee, the damp coldness of the grave further draining him of energy (2, 7/24, plus energy drain 1, 6/23 and -4 wisdom). Its eye’s burn bright red with grim joy. Dalic, showing his unkillable spirit, fights on.
Southar and Dalic both strike at the wraith as it grasps Dalic’s arm. Southar strikes it with his shield (7, 7/30). The evil joy in its eyes turn to horror after Southar’s shield smashes into its incorporal body. As it releases Dalic and turns to flee, Dalic strikes it down with a mighty blow from the long sword (10, -3/30). The wraith’s body boils with blackness from the blow. Its eyes fade and blink out as the body gives way and dissipates into nothingness. The wraith is no more.
Grimlock hurries to Cirdan’s side and applies bandages and aid to him (+3, 17/26), “Damn these vial undead! Another one has fallen but it looks like Cirdan Saralonde yet lives. He is just limp as a boned fish.” Grimlock finishes his work and asks, ”Does anyone one yet have the ability to ease my wounds?”
Tathar retrieves Cirdan’s dagger and returns it to its sheath.
The party examines the previous adventurer’s bodies. Tathar looks at the leather pouch and backpack. Grimlock examines the intact shield and the armor. Kuba looks over the war hammer.
The examination reveals:
1. The armor is all junk except the dwaven sized plate mail. It is rusty and in deteriorating shape but appears to be of very high quality and may be repairable. The metal beginning to rust but is not rotted.
2. One shield was junk but the other is in fine shape and untarnished. Grimlock has gathered that up.
3. Kuba picks up the war hammer. It is flawless and untarnished.
4. The battle axe and short sword are tarnished but very usable and sturdy yet.
5. The pouch contains gold and electrum (30 gp, 13 ep).
6. The backpack contains gold, electrum and a decrative bone scroll case inlaid with silver that is sealed on each end with screw on silver caps. The screw threads appear waxed (77 gp, 70 ep, unknown value of case).
All surviving metal items appear dwarven made of master workmanship.
The battle axe and short sword remain unclaimed. Grimlock holds the shield, Kuba the hammer and Tathar the coins and bone case.
As the group is examining the items, the room and their general condition, Cirdan recovers from what had ailed him and he rejoins the group.
Breymeer comments, “If we're gonna clear out this God forsaken place lets get on with it. Who's able to continue on? We can cover up Ewan for now and we'll get him the burial he deserves on our way out.”
Dalic stands a bit wobbly from his encounter with the black mist creature. He looks to Southar for instructions. His eyes appear weary and posture is broken. Dalic stows the long sword and draws his bastard sword. “We should return to where the sailor fell and recover his body. Then, I must explore further.”
Southar questions his judgement, “I don't believe we are not healthy enough to check out any side chambers.”
The duo makes their way back east through the crumbling passageway. They pass through the door and re-enter the frozen four chamber area (BL to BO). They move past the unexplored door to their east, already shivering from the cold. They also bypass the two un-entered chambers (BM and BO). They make it north to the doorway that leads to the northeast tower (in chamber BL). Here, Tarstar’s body remains frozen to the floor with numerous skeleton and zombie bodies scattered around it. Most, but not all, appear to have fallen to Southar’s long sword.
Breymeer stows his hand axe and picks up the battle axe. He test swings it a few times. It is a finely balance weapon but he finds himself a little clumsy with the large off hand weapon. Seeing its potential, he secures the battle axe and arms himself with his hand axe again.
Speck gathers up the short sword.
Cirdan packs away the plate mail armor in a large sack and ties it to his pack, “I will hold this for the party. If no one claims it, I will sell it for what I can get and add the value to the party coffers.”
Grimlock straps the dwarven shield upon his arm and secures his old shield to his pack.
Kuba tucks the dwarven war hammer into his pack as well.
Tathar with Grimlock overseeing him, opens the bone case and finds a document written in dwarvish. “We will have to save this for later unless someone can read the dwarven language.” With no apparent way to translate at the moment, Tathar re-seals the tube.
Cirdan checks behind the stairs to see if there were a secret area underneath. Cirdan finds it to be solid wall with no cavity under the stairwell.
Tathar secures the coins found in the room and then checks Ewan’s possession; finding just standard gear. He gathers items that could prove useful.
Tathar moves to the north door near him, “Speck, will you check the east door for sounds beyond?” Tathar puts his ear to the door. Speck follows suit on the east door. Nothing is heard beyond by either sharp-eared adventurer.
Tathar and Breymeer look to continue. Cirdan and Grimlock wish to hole up and rest. Kuba and Speck remain neutral, finding wisdom in holding up but willing to continue on if necessary.
Tathar offers, “I may be able to hide myself from these foul walking dead. If so, I could try and scout ahead a short distance and see if it is logical to continue.”
Dalic looks upon the fallen Tarstar, “Gosh, what a place to fall.” Dalic seems unable to reason a good way to get him back out of the dungeon.
Southar grabs ahold of the body and Dalic follows suit. Between Dalic’s strength and Southar’s enhanced strength, the duo easily pries the sailor’s frozen body from the floor. The effort put into recovering the body is not enough to warm either of them. The room temperature is somehow well below zero. Much longer in this four chamber freezer and frostbite will soon threaten.
Southar scoops up the body and prepares to head through the door and into the tower; fully planning to ascend to ground level.
Dalic looks to Southar with dwarven stubbornness, “Ye can find yer own way out. There be a task yet ta be done.” Frost has already built up on his beard. With that, Dalic walks south out of the room (leaves BL and enters BN).
Southar leaves the deep freeze through the wooden door and travels the short passageway to the tower. He begins the ascent to the ground level. As Southar continues past the basement level to the ground level, he detects movement in his torchlight. Several zombies and skeletons roam around the interior of the tower. Detecting his light, they move towards him intent on his death.
Dalic moves from room to room finding nothing of value. They are simple bare chambers. All of the previous undead he encountered appear to have been slain by Southar and Tarstar by the door leading to the tower (BL) or in the altar room counter-attack that brought Dalic down.
The only remaining chamber this side of the portcullis is the single door in the largest chamber in the deep freeze (BN). The wooden door is mounted on the eastern wall in a shallow alcove.
Dalic can feel his body start to shiver. The draining of Dalic’s will by the wraith has confused his reasoning. Dalic fears no danger of freezing to death. Only his stubborn dwarven blood keeps him seeking the tome Pelltar requested. As if in a trance, with hypothermia threatening, Dalic tries to comprehend what to do next.
“You are brave Tathar,” comments Breymeer, “I’ll be here, ready to come running to your aid should you need it.”
Kuba adds, “Even though we are weary and beat, knowing a little more of what may lay ahead will be helpful.”
Tathar prays to Sehanine for protection while Speck works the lock on the northern door. Having defeated the lock, the party prepares for combat while the door is opened and Tathar steps through into a dark hallway, “Be back in five minutes.” The door is quickly shut behind him.
The party prepares for the worst while waiting impatiently for Tathar’s return.
Tathar waits a few seconds for his elven dark vision to adjust to the lightless hall. He stands at a 90 degree turn in the hall as it wraps itself around the room he just vacated.
The hall has two doors along the east/west branch. Peeking around the corner, he can see one door along the north/south branch before the hall again turns and heads east. Each of the doors stands partially open. The hinges causing the doors to open into the rooms. Outside each door is stationed two skeletons; each bracketing the doorway. They look towards the appearance of light as the door was opened but appear to pay no more attention after the door is closed.
Tathar starts on the west end and works his way east. He walks to the open portal. The skeletal guards pay him no notice. The westernmost door opens into an old 30x30 foot cell (AB). It is cold stone and empty. Moving east, Tathar notes the second room is also an old cell, albeit much larger being 30x50 feet (AC).
Tathar moves south down the hall to the third door, located on the eastern wall. It, too, is ajar into the room with skeletal guards. The room is an old guardroom of significant size (AD). The room in now basically empty other than a few pieces of old broken and rotted furniture. It is 40x50 feet with an additional door on the north wall near the eastern side of the room. That door is ajar into the room and appears guarded on the exterior side by two skeletons.
Fearing the possibility of a trap, Tathar moves east along the hallway. The hallway circles the guardroom. The hallway turns back north and enters a large storage room (AE). The room is 50x30 feet with a door on the northern wall, set in the easternmost part of the wall. This door is closed. Along the western wall is stacked old furniture. Most of it is in some state of disrepair but does not seem completely rotten. Some of it may well indeed be salvageable. The door to the north end of the guardroom (AD) is on Tathar’s left. Two skeletons stand guard outside the guardroom door and the door on the northern wall.
Dalic tries the door. It appears to be locked. Oblivious to the dangerous cold, Dalic puts his shoulder into the door. His blind dwarven stubbornness giving way to simple mindless action. He comprehends not his action but just his need. The focus of his mind has become a book. He is oblivious to anything else.
Dalic shoulders the door again and again. His falling body temperature sapping his strength and mind. Unable to direct himself out of the cold, he puts his final efforts into his task.
Dalic, having been nearly claimed by death before, is surprised to see a light growing in his mind. Instead of falling into a dark frozen death, Dalic is filled with a soft, warm, white light. It is then Dalic realizes he has opened the door. Or the door has opened for him.
Dalic finds himself standing in a natural chamber filled with an intense white light. His duergar eyes burn with pain. The temperature in the room has increased dramatically; even greater than normal for subterranean environments. The walls are bare and dry. The air is fresh and smells slightly of orange blossoms.
Dalic crosses the room without thought. His body is greatly refreshed but his mind is near blank. He continues forward nearly dream-like. He moves to the northeast corner of the room and opens the wooden door he finds there.
The room Dalic enters is another natural chamber, just larger than 30x30 feet. There is a large roll-top desk with six drawers in the center of the room facing east. It contains ten pigeon-holes and ample writing equipment and ink. On the top of the desk is a black leatherbound book. Along the western wall there is a large bed with down pillows. On the north wall, a large easy chair sits next to a rack of 100 books. There is a skeleton chained to the east wall.
Dalic walks across the room with comfort and ease. He takes a seat at the desk. He looks forward across the desk at the skeleton chained to the wall. He is still bathed in light, soft and warm. The bottom right drawer of the desk opens and a pitcher, platter and mug float upward as if carried by an unseen force. The platter is laid before Dalic. Next to it are placed the pitcher and mug. Appearing on the platter suddenly is perfectly prepared lamb. The pitcher fills with fine wine and it tips to fill the mug. Dalic begins to eat and drink. The taste is beyond compare. Dalic continues to dine, bathed in light and warmed by the room and food. Dalic looses all sense of time. Dalic looses all cares for the world.
While Dalic dines in comfort and pleasure, despite the overly bright light, a voice comes to him mind, "Dalgur Steelcoat, I presume. Great fighter of the gray dwarfs, do you believe in destiny? I know you have been badly treated by the Keeper. Are you strong enough yet to answer or shall I let you refresh and rest first?"
Tathar returns to the group and reports his findings. He takes a piece of Ewan’s clothing and, using Ewan’s blood, draws a map on the clothing of what he explored. Each of the doors has two armed skeletons standing guard for a total of ten skeletons. The party gathers around Tathar to examine the map and listen to his recon report. Kuba and Breymeer remain armed and weary of danger.
Tathar proposes, “We can do one of three things,” he demonstrates on the map as he speaks. “First, we can open the north door having one person can show themselves and comeback into the room quickly. If the first four skeletons bite on the trap and come in after that person, Speck can shut the door behind them and everyone can hack them up. We can do the same for the next two, then the last four, and have a lop-sided battle if it all goes to plan. Second, we can all go in and attempt to hack them all as they come at us. Or third, we can hole up here for the night and rest, pray, and study, if Speck can re-lock the door.”
Tathar looks to the group for responses, “Or, if someone has another suggestion?”
Southar calculates his only option at this point is to return to basecamp to regroup. If nothing else, he can inform the others as to what has transpired.
Southar makes a break across the rubble strewn floor of the tower; heading from the stairwell toward the hole in the outer wall. Several skeletons and walking dead, wretched in their smell, move in to put Southar in his grave. Holding Tarstar in his sword arm, Southar moves through the crowd bashing with his golden shield as he moves. Using his inhuman strength, he is able to keep himself from being dragged down and slain; bashing one skeleton to pieces in the process. He makes the outer wall and accelerates to a jog, heading back across the field he traversed just hours before.
Dalic answers the voice in his head in between mouthfuls of lamb and wine, “Weary I may be but answer I can. No other Dalgur exists with such destiny as I. Fer I be tha one ta rise above tha weak and seek a powr that makes a'me a great renown'd an' fear'd warrior. Destiny, aye! But what ab it fer ye knowin'?”
“A great warrior you have set out to be. Without question you are a warrior to be feared. Your strength of will is greater than that of the stoutest dwarves, shallow or deep. As for destiny, I know some things. Your destiny tore you from your clan. Your destiny gave you a warrior’s training; one that you excel at. Your destiny brought you to Pelltar, the wise and fair mage of Restenford. Pelltar sent you on a quest. That quest required you find a book. My book. In sending you on this quest, Pelltar had to know, if successful, you would likely have to defeat the powerful keep masters and their minions. This is where it appears our destinies have come together. Although, we did not seek this keep for the same reasons. For, you see, altruistically, I came here to put an end the evil you witnessed. The dark and vile altar growing like a wart from the stone of the keep’s foundation. Where I failed, you succeeded. Yet, you did not do such a deed for the betterment of others. You completed this task as a loyal hireling. However, your quest for my book is not without meaning in your destiny. Think on this Dulgar Steelcoat, what is a finer destiny? To be feared as a great and terrible ruler, such as the vile necromancer of this cursed keep or to be loved, respected and honored, such as Pelltar of Restenford?”
Dalic thinks back to the option the black figure gave him at the altar. Was it oppositional defiance or altruism that made him attack the wraith? Was it loyalty to Pelltar or greed toward his reward, if he should finish the quest, that pushed him forward. The dwarf pondered these things cynically. The idea that he, a duergar, would be something other than purely self interested was almost laughable and the suggested motives listed before that promote such an idea came first as a sarcastic muse over anything else. Beyond all this, his history tells a bloody tale of bodies and blackness: his blackouts in battle, his bloodlust.
Dalic's kin had spoken of the immortality of a conquerer. Dalic had kept this close to his heart and strived for it ever since leaving the Beard Biter's ownership. How could he be anything other than what he'd been trying to be lately? But yet, when tempted with the Barony of Bone Keep, he fought back against the evil. Dalic heard his voice before he knew it was his own, "I wan' ta be as he. Pelltar fer me warren me first compatriot. Fer that first time I needed not fight solely fer mine own: fer he did as well. A conquerer be immortal I be tol'... but I never seen nor felt I'd no a conquerer longer than I will be for thanks ta Pelltar. Iffen it be true... I see he be more immortal in me mind than any conquerer of tell. I wish ta be as he."
Dalic trails off almost as if not speaking to the voice at all but to himself. His eyes are distant and glazened with what someone may confuse with moisture. Dalic, of course, would relate it merely to the painful light on his underdark-eyes. Dalic spits a fatty bit of lamb from his cheek and clears is pallet with another swig of wine.
The voice in his head responds, “It pleases me to hear these words. Dulgar Steelcoat, may your wisdom continue to grow with your warrior’s prowess. Let us move forward together. Once you have finished your meal, you are free to take the book before you and return it to Pelltar. This will complete your quest for Pelltar. If you wish to complete our mutual destiny, you must convince Pelltar to assist you in setting me free. The choice will be yours alone. Good luck young dwarf.”
As Southar flees across the courtyard, a large bat-like creature deflects off his helmet. Just after that, Southar feels a stabbing in the back of his neck (2, 26/52, saved vs paralysis).
Southar drops Tarstar’s body and grasps fruitlessly at the bat-like creature on his back. The creature has taken a death grip of Southar’s armor and has stuck a large straw like appendage into Southar’s neck. It begins to draw blood like an oversized mosquito (1, 25/52).
Finally, as the bat draws more blood from Southar’s neck (4, 21/52), he gets ahold of the devilish dart and crushes it in his superhuman grasp (8, 0/8). It pops like an overfilled balloon.
As Southar bends down to pick up Tarstar, he spooks a second creature from the body. The bloated, wretched bat flutters clumsily away into the dark night air.
Southar checks quickly for other threats. Finding none, he continues into the night trudging towards the basecamp and safety he optimistically hopes to find there.
Dalic nods respectfully. He finishes his meal, stands and grabs the book. Being absolutely cautious not to let the book open, Dalic secures the book in his pack and begins backtracking back to the tower. He moves quickly through the deep freeze rooms. He walks through the wooden door and down the hallway to the tower’s lower level. He climbs the stairs and passes through the basement level. Arriving at the ground floor, Dalic discovers several undead milling about the ruined level. Two skeletons and three zombies roam aimlessly. Outside, visible through the large hole in the tower wall, Dalic can see there is very little movement in the moonlit clearing.
Dalic makes a break for the hole in the wall. The zombies are too slow to react, but one of the skeletons makes an intercept. Dalic bursts through the room as fast as his dwarven legs will carry him. As he reaches the hole in the wall, the skeleton meets him and takes a chop at Dalic catching him across the buttocks as he disappears through the hole and into the night (3, 10/30).
The undead to not follow Dalic into the night and he finds himself suddenly safe. There are a few undead roaming near the rubble in the eastern curtain wall. They begin to amble towards him but Dalic is able to wrap around the tower and begin to dash across the half mile clearing around the keep. Dalic does not see Southar but the standing undead at the curtain leads Dalic to believe Southar has also made off into the night or otherwise avoided melee with them.
Dalic commits to his decision and begins a steady jog across the courtyard, the object of his exploration, a leatherbound book, secured and in his possession. A sense of satisfaction comes over Dalic. It is, somehow, shadowed by a strange feeling that Dalic is not used to. He finds himself concerned for the other members of the group. He secretly hopes they have managed to escape the keep themselves.
The group’s confidence to continue further into the sub-level of the keep fades. Speck gives a sigh of relief and re-locks the door. Happy to not have to face any more undead for the moment, Kuba sheath’s his sword and arms himself with the dwarven war hammer he picked up. Patting the hammer on its head, Kuba comments, “With skeletons on the other side of the door . . .”
Breymeer seconds Grimlock’s idea of backtracking to the necromancer’s bedroom and defending the position there.
Dalic and Southar move through the night continuing downhill. Individually they move ever forward. Once they traverse the clearing, they move carefully from boulder to boulder and bush to bush. Slowly and carefully they pick their way down the hill. Southar eventually returns to his normal strength making the burden of Tarstar’s body even more evident.
Both of them move down hill along a similar path although they never encountered each other. Reaching the dead forest, each of them navigated to the north of the forest knowing at some point they would reach the base of the hill and the road that bisected the clearing. Under no circumstance should they be able to cross the road and enter unsecured lands.
On top of it, the fire from the basecamp was often visible along the downhill route.
Both Southar and Dalic arrive at basecamp within a half an hour of each other. What they find shocks them.
Kuba looks to Tathar, “We cannot just leave Ewan or the powers in this evil place may have him up and walking again as our enemy. I don’t think we can take him either as he is more dead weight than we can carry. Is there a way to bless the corpse so it is immune to evil resurrecting magics?”
Tathar responds, “Based on my experience, no. I believe the only certain way to save him from that fate is to cremate his body. I believe we should do the same to these poor dwarves as well. It is not too far to where we burned the others.”
“Bind his body and take it with us. Bind it tight. Hands too. We do not want him waking up from the dead,” agrees Grimlock.
And so it is done without interruption. Ewan’s body is bound tightly and with great struggle Kuba, Breymeer, Grimlock and Cirdan carry the fallen druid back to the necromancer’s bed chamber. Speck and Tathar provide cover for the move back upstairs.
Once upstairs, the fire is maintained and Ewan is heaved upon the pyre.
Repeating the trip, the group brings each dwaven ghoul’s body up to the pyre and burn them as well.
The basecamp has been attacked savagely. Two of the king’s human guard are dead; Fraunk and Carlton. Weber, also human, and Villie the elf are both wounded but remain standing and functional.
Ide Otneaux is also badly wounded but remains vertical. She has a serious and grim look.
Belina, of the Baron’s rangers, suffers from several injuries. She remains gritty and attempts a resilient attitude.
Finally, Peylae lay badly wounded; possibly mortally so. She is unconscious and unresponsive. Her chest is wrapped with a blood soaked cloth. Her chest had been pierced by a halberd polearm. She clings lightly to life.
Around the camp, six furry man-shaped creatures with dog heads, gnolls by common name, are scattered around the camp. Four large worgs joined them in death and litter the area.
Belina, still scouting the camp’s perimeter despite her injuries, became aware of Southar and Dalics separate approach. Well before they arrived at camp, she became aware it was friend and not foe that moved towards camp. Both Southar and Dalic are met with great rejoicing.
Tales are shared and it is quickly realized that the rest of the group is unaccounted for and nothing is known about them since Southar chased Dalic into the dungeon.
Tarstar’s body is laid down with the fallen Baron’s men.
Southar volunteers to take over scouting duties for Belina to give her some rest. Belina is happy for the rest. She reveals her intent to backtrack the gnolls in the morning so as to report any possible danger to the barony.
Dalic speaks up, “Tha keep was kept by a dark spirit an' a necromancer. Both be dead. Few undead still walk tha grounds. I must meet wit' Pelltar but first be concern fer them elser tha' went wit. Southar an' I be weak as well as ye appear so. Tha' spirit hab drained me o-me wits. I feel it in me will and reason. I pray ye all and ye Southar, what ken be done?"
Weber answers, “With the death of Yalta, Carlton and Fraunk, I fear I am now in charge, although Villie and I and the stable boy are all that is left as Belina will be travelling on her own. My order would be to immediately return to Restenford as the first sign of sunrise to report to Baron Grellus. But, if what you say is true Dalic, then we shall wait until the noon sun. That should be ample time for the remaining group to clear the keep and return to camp. If they yet live anyhow. If by noon they have not appeared, then we shall travel together to Restenford.”
Weber continues, “I have no authority over either of you although you are under contract with Baron Grellus. You may do as you please but at noon tomorrow, we must head for Restenford.”
Tathar asks Sehanine for her healing powers for himself and Cirdan Saralonde. Each are blessed (Tathar +2, 21/24, Cirdan +6, 23/26).
Tathar finds he can not get to the roof as the trapdoor between the necromancer’s bedroom and the observatory has been shut and has magically secured itself again.
Tathar makes certain the windows are shuttered and locked and then begins to meditate.
Meanwhile, Cirdan verifies the door to the bedroom is closed and secure. The door to the workshop, from the hallway, was destroyed. The secret door in the wardrobe has relocked itself as well.
The group is locked into the necromancer’s bedroom hoping to be secure throughout the night. The bodies of the slain burn next door.
Kuba and Speck begin to rest and Kuba tends to his wounds. Kuba is beat up pretty badly but suffers no serious injuries. Speck is uninjured.
Breymeer peers out cracks in the window. The dead roam the courtyard but do not appear to have breeched the front door. Breymeer sits and attempts to rest. He is also hurt pretty bad but suffers no serious injuries.
Grimlock and Cirdan study the necromancer’s and their own spellbooks by torchlight. Cirdan is only lightly injured but Grimlock is more seriously hurt. However, Grimlock suffers no serious wounds.
Tathar meditates. He is also relatively healthy.
The night begins to slowly pass and the group begins to have some hope.
As they study, Cirdan asks Grimlock, He will ask Grimlock, "If we get out of here alive and back to Restenford, I propose we spend some time in a quiet room and swap spells. What say you?" With a wry smile on his face, he continues, "Maybe, by then, you will understand that I am one elf that doesn't think only of himself."
<Enter two new characters>
P'innr Bhut moved from Safeton to Hardby in search of better employment prospects. He had been working as a mercenary to help protect Safeton from ravaging pirates. P’innr Bhut, although not the most lawful character, was never one to steal another person’s money. Pirating was not an option to P’innr Bhut. Instead he made his money protecting the shoreline from the various humanoid tribes and raiding pirates.
In his move to Hardby, P’innr Bhut had a fortunate turn of events. He was soon to cross paths with the Norbelos family. His dual axe abilities were enough for P’innr Bhut to be hired on as a personal security guard for Aikari Norbelos, a young promising mage with a possible future in the Hardby leadership.
And so the odd duo began their adventure together. Norbelos was sent on to Restenford for further arcane training under the tutelage of Pelltar; Bhut was to travel with her as a paid guard. P’innr Bhut’s faithfulness was not questioned. The family treated him well and the money could not be made easier elsewhere. Besides, the blue haired beauty Norbelos was pleasing to be around.
Hugging the eastern coast of the Wooly Bay, they traveled south by ship from Hardby to the Sea of Gearnat. Travelling though Scant in the Dragonshead Peninsula, the made a stop in Irongate. From Irongate, they travelled to south past the Tilvanot Peninsula and into the Densac Gulf. Passing through the Tilva Straight, they made stops at Duxchan and Sulward before finally travelling to Loreltarma on Lendore Island. They ferried into the mainland and travelled overland. It was on their route from Lake Farmin to Restendford that they their fate would be changed forever.
<DM Note to Players: No one sleeps very well. This means no one gets any hit points back for rest and the spellcasters do not get much back for spellpoints. There may be other mild things I do to the characters but nothing drastic. Just keep in mind, they area going to be tired and sore.
So, no undead attack during the night and as we restart, you have not idea what time it is, what the status of anyone else not in the room is, etc etc. I will give you some details as we restart plus respond to anything special you might have your character do. Spell points will be added on right away as all spell casting characters said they were going to study and meditate already.>
After Southar replaced Belina, Dalic checks and rearranges his equipment in preparation for the night’s defense.
Dalic receives permission to get Fraunk’s scabbard from his long sword to use. Dalic leaves the sword with the fallen warrior. He shows Weber the long sword he found and asks if Weber knows anything about it. He does not.
Dalic stows some equipment in his pack saddle. He remains armed with his whip and bastard sword. The other sword he secures to his pack saddle and mounts his pony. “I will stand as mounted guard.” He rides to the south end of the camp and stands guard there.
The night passes without incident and the day breaks over the camp.
The night passes dreadfully slow; full of anxiousness and fear. The noises surrounding the castle and the continuous fear of further attack from the undead causes all to have mixed sleep. The elves, not needing sleep like the other races, faired only slightly better than their comrades. The group spends much of its time in study, meditation or weapons and armor cleaning as fits each character.
Finally, the morning sun begins to crest over the horizon. Happy to have survived the night, the group eats a cold meal of rations and begins to plan their day.
“Might be time to move out to the basement again,” Tathar exclaims, trying to be positive.
Breymeer seconds his motion, “Tathar had a good plan of luring em out....lets giver er!”
Cirdan Saralonde, pulls the shutter back from the courtyard window slightly. He looks out and comments, “There are still some of the dead bugbears gathered by the front door. The skeletons seem to have gone into hiding.”
Cirdan reports a clear, sunny day with a fair temperature (nearly 80 degrees F). A steady wind has come up, averaging 10-15 mph.
Speck shows optimism, “Daylight brings hope. I think we are strong enough to smash and hack our way through the enemy.”
Grimlock reports he will be unable to magically open one of the bedroom doors, “We shall have to bash it down. It can always be repaired later should we return.”
The hallway door is soon battered apart and the group makes its way back down into the ghoul room where Ewan was lost.
Breymeer volunteers, as usual, for daring duty, “I will be the first in line to bash the undead according to Tathar’s plan. Who is going to be the bait?”
Kuba has remained quiet on the way into the lower level. As the plan is being formulated, Kuba gives a slight counter point while still showing his fatigue from wounds and lack of good rest, “Fight our way through we will to the last but what assurance do we have that these creatures will not rise up to fight again? And where is that reckless dwarf? Where is the book of the dead? Our purpose is to rid this cursed place of the necromancer and all of his work.”
Daybreak brings a steady breeze (10-15 mph) with clear skies. The temps are warm, being just below 80 degrees F.
Peylae’s condition worsened overnight (1, -6/16). She yet lives but has not regained consciousness. In fact, she appears to be slowly slipping away.
Southar takes his leave from guard duty and rests on the ground near the wagon.
The group does its best to rest and recover. Belina, having slept after Southar took watch, rises and eats. She puts fresh bandages on her injuries, checks and cleans her gear and then sets out to backtrack the gnolls, “I will meet you back at Restenford in a few days. Do not fret about me. I will be fine. And do not follow, I shall be able to escape and evade as necessary. I do not want any of you to put yourselves in any danger. Head back to town as you have planned come the others or not. Fare they well.” With than, she crosses the clearing and heads off towards the Tri-Top Hills to your east.
The day passes slowly until the sound of approaching horse steps to the south raises the alarm. Looking south, one can see a pair of horses with riders approaching at a walk.
Aikari, travelling under the assumed name of Aikari Bestir, located a horse trader and purchased riding horses and gear for both her and P’innr Bhut when they disembarked from the ferry that shuttled them from Loreltarma to the main land.
After several uneventful days of travel and passing through the lake town of Farmin, Aikari and P’innr Bhut walk abreast along the eastern side of a large forested area. The forest itself was deathly quiet as it produced none of the normal animal sounds.
As the morning passes, being a clear day with a moderate wind and temperatures approaching 80 degrees F, Aikari and P’innr ride into the forest as the trail bisects a northern section of forests that trust itself across the road. The land rises to triple hill tops to the east. This makes the duo unwilling to ride around the forest.
Fortune smiles upon the duo and the area able to travel through the forest without encounter. Unfortunately, as the clear the woods, they see an encampment ahead of them. There appears to have been some type of battle. The local baren’s banners still flutter giving you hope. As you continue to approach, the camp begins to stir.
You can see a wagon and associated horses. There are nearly half dozen human sized creatures moving about. They appear to be either human or other friendly races such as elves. In fact, one appears to be a dwarf.
After the group began its decent, Grimlock held back and tested the strength of the trapdoor in the ceiling. Finding he was unable to break it open on his own, he followed the other adventurers into the dungeon.
Tathar replies to Kuba, “I believe the necromancer’s work was because of the book. It is an evil thing and does exist, Sehanine has shown it to me. It is down here, somewhere, as are our comrades.”
Grimlock decends the stairs, apparently having been slightly behind the group, as Tathar continues, “I will go through the door and look, then drop back if the skeletons are still there. The night seems to give life to the dead. Let us hope they rest during the day.”
Kuba readies his shield and the newly acquired dwarven war hammer.
Speck picks the lock on the north door. He struggles with it for some time before he finally succeeds. Speck backs up and tucks in behind Kuba with his dwarven short sword in hand.
Tathar prepares to open the door. Breymeer steps in behind Tathar. Grimlock readies himself at the base of the stairs.
Cirdan stands at the ready.
Tathar opens the door and finds the situation identical as the previous night. However, without the protections of Sehanine hiding him from the undead, they sense him immediately and begin to move forward towards Tathar.
Eight skeletons move in to attack. Two from the west, two directly across the hall from Tathar, and four from the southern hall. The carry a mix of short swords or spears.
The horses approach to within 1000 feet of the camp. There, one of the horses halts and the other rides forward carefully. The rider, obviously larger framed than his companion, has weapons stowed upon himself. The weapons are not in hand but quickly within grasp.
The horse comes to within 100 yards of camp and a man’s voice calls out, “Hail. Is there a leader among you to parlay?”
The horse rider appears to be a human male. He wears leather armor and a metal open faced helm. He carries twin battle axes and has a series of three knives sheathed along his belt.
In camp, a boy has ducked down in a supply wagon. Behind the wagon a man-sized warrior has risen. He wears studded leather armor and a great helm. He carries a rutilent shield.
A male dwarf sits upon a pony. The dwarf has very hard eyes. He has multiple sword scabbards and the look of a grizzled veteran of many fights. He wears leather armor and has a unique looking breastplate.
A half orc female, looking the worse for wear, moves to the center of camp. She is leather armored and has a gigantic axe stowed on her back. The half orc had been tending to a female half-elf. The half elf is obviously near death.
Two of the baron’s guards stand and eye the horse rider. One of them human, the other an elf. Both male. They are dressed as soldiers.
At the edge of camp are three dead humans. Two wear the garb of the baron’s men. The third must have been an additional member of the group.
A pile of dead gnolls and wargs are evidence of what caused the injuries to the group. Every one of those encamped here have some type of injury. Some much worse than others.
The horse rider repeats himself, “Hail I say. Will you not suffer a conversation?”
Dalic glances to Weber and he swallows hard, taking the hint. Weber addresses the rider, “Aye. We are from Restenford. We are here upon Baron Grellus’s command. This road is under his authority and I am duty bound to uphold his law. I am Weber of the Baron’s guard and I have command here. Who are you and your riding companion and what brings you to the road to Restenford.”
The horse rider waves to his companion. The second horse rider approaches. You find she is an attractive female with blue hair. Both riders are human.
The female greets the group, “I am Akari of Hardby. For those that do not know it, it is a port city in the Wooly bay within the Gearnat Sea on the Selintan River. I offer you peace and any aid as I can. My riding companion is P’innr Bhut.”
Tathar grasps his holy symbol and falls back into the room. Speck, remembering it was his duty to shut the door behind them, moves to hold the door open for Tathar and awaits his signal to shut it again. The skeletons begin to spill into the room.
Speck makes himself small, even for a halfling and secrets himself between the door and the east wall.
The skeletons pour into the room and are met with force by Breymeer and Kuba.
The first skeleton moves up to Kuba and pierces his left upper arm with its spear (6, 6/36) causing him much pain.
The second skeleton through the door wields a short sword and slashes wildly at Breymeer. The stabbing blow comes in low and cuts deeply into Breymeer’s right ankle (8, 11/47, critical, knockdown).
The rest of the skeletons push forward and keep pouring into the room.
Kuba returns the blow upon the skeleton head crushing it down upon its neck (6, 0/6). It crumples into a pile of bones.
Breymeer wails in pain as the skeleton’s short sword is retracted from his ankle. Breymeer nearly drops to his knees but is able to keep his feet. The injury causes a nasty wound. Breymeer grits his teeth, favors his left leg and swings at the skeleton with his broad sword and his cudgel. He hits with both, first cutting the ribs away along the right side and smashing the spine apart with a blow from the club. The skeleton also becomes a pile of bones.
As Tathar presents his holy symbol, Cirdan Saralonde orders forth three magical missiles he conjured. All three strike down the skeleton in the doorway.
Tathar orders, upon the power of Sehanine, the remaining skeletons to flee. They immediately do so; moving down the hall to the south.
Weber returns a reponse, “You are welcome to take rest here if you wish. It is yet a long day’s ride to Restenford. We will be leaving at midday. You may join our return to town if you wish.”
Ide Otneaux moves back over to Peylae and keeps her eye on the newcomers. She sits between Peylea and the horse riders. Peylae’s status continues to worsen.
Noting Peylae's condition, Dalic turns to Weber, "We may need ta bring Peylae back yet before Midday. I volunteer ta ride wit a small comp'ny back ta Restenford. Can ye spare a hand-er-two?"
Weber looks concerned, “I fear there is no answer that I can council in good heart. If we all stay, I fear Peylae will indeed perish. If we part company and the gnolls send a larger force we will surely be lost. If your company can leave behind the warrior,” he points at Southar, ”I will return with the dwarf and carry Peylae in the cart.”
Ide quickly responds, “I have learned to trust in the strength of will of the dwaven race. I intend to accompany you back.”
Weber looks to the horse riders, “If you be of good heart, I beg of you to stay with the camp and return with them when the time arrises. By the look of your sword arm P’innr, your presence here would be a great asset. Should you stay, I will inform Baron Grellus of your honorable deed.”
Breymeer hobbles over to the stairwell and sits down painfully, “I regret to inform the group, I’ve about had it and without rest of healing, will likely be unable to continue.”
Grimlock joins him, packing his wound and wrapping it tight (+2, 13/47). In addition, Tathar approaches and places his hands on Breymeer’s injured ankle, “By Sehanine, you shall be able to continue my friend.” Breymeer’s ankle improves greatly even though Breymeer can still feel a slight sting from the wound (+5, 18/47).
Next, Tathar places his hands on Kuba’s injured arm, “May the blessings of Sehanine be on you as well my brave friend.” Kuba’s injury heals over completely (+7, 13/36).
Cirdan walks cautiously out the door and looks down the hallway to the south. He verifies the skeletons all go that way. He reports all of them went east along the hallway.
Cirdan quickly formulates a plan, “The doors appear to open into the rooms. I have a plan to bypass the skeletons without further combat. Based on Tathar's recon there should be a total of ten skeletons in this area, this number now down to seven. We were attacked by eight. That means two remained at the door in area AE. If the other five fled to that area too, then there are five turned and two unturned in that area."
Cirdan pauses to make sure everyone is following his idea, "The plan is this: If room AD is still empty, we proceed to that room and close the doors. Spec will see if he can lock/unlock both doors. If so we will have both doors unlocked, but shut. Spec will hide behind the south door, with it open. Tathar will proceed out of the south door of AD and down the hall to AE where he will remove his turning and lure all the skeletons back down the hall to room AD via the south door. Spec will close them in at that end. The others will proceed out the north door when the skeletons follow Tathar, and leave the door open. When Tathar gets to the door he will turn around and keep them at bay with Sehanine’s power, making them huddle in the corner by the other door that hopefully Spec has locked. Tathar will then shut the north door on AD and we barricade it with old furniture. Looks good on paper. If it goes wrong, we can always do it the ‘other way.’"
Cirdan thinks to himself, "The DM shouldin give me lots of XP for thinking of that plan...if it works."
Southar agrees immediately, “I will ssstay. Battle sssoundsss good.”
P’innr looks upon the group, “I will stay as well. Good luck on the journey.”
Weber has the stable boy hitch up the horse to the wagon and the group sets off, leaving behind necessary provisions for the day’s travel back. The entire camp was packed up and sent along with the wagon. Dalic, Ide Otneaux, Peylae, Weber and the stable boy ride north along the road and disappear as they enter the small wooded section north of camp.
Aikari and P’innr take rest a bit apart from the others and engage in small talk with the group.
The warrior called Southar keeps to himself stating, “I will patrol the edge of the Dead Woodsss along the trail for ssignss of our friendsss.”
Villie, the remaining guard, is of elvish decent. He speaks, “Webers departure places me in charge. We shall wait until the noon day’s sun and then depart. It is now mid-morning. We will only be a few hours behind Weber and company. It remains possible that we may yet catch up to them by nightfall.”
Cirdan Saralonde’s plan works well enough. Both doors to the room are ajar into the room so Speck takes position behind the southern door. Tathar goes up the eastern hall while the others gather in the room (AD). Seeing Tathat with his holy symbol not in hand, the skeletons, now numbering nine, prepare arms and move at him. Tathar retreats back down the hall and enters the room with the remaining party members. Speck shuts the door and exits. He struggles mightily to lock the door. The mechanism is in poor condition. He remains at the door and continues to manipulate the mechanism. The other party members move through the north door and shut it. Because the door opens into the room, Grimlock quickly works the mechanism and locks the door sealing the skeletons within.
When Speck does not join the group in room AE, they return to the southern door via the hallway and find him working diligently at the locking mechanism. After twenty more minutes, Speck is finally able to loosen up the lock components enough to secure the lock.
The party regroups at room AE. The room is 30 feet wide and 50 feet deep. Other than the door in the southern wall that was just locked to contain the skeletons, there is one more door in the north wall. The door opens away from the group.
The room the group is standing in is being used for furniture storage. There are a number of pieces piled up along the western wall. Some of them look repairable while others less so.
Dalic rides immediately behind the wagon, weapons stowed to keep control of his animal. Dalic is tired but soldiers on.
Ide Otneaux, although more rested, is more injured than Dalic. She rides in the wagon with Peylae, resting when not tending to the half-elf. To see one of orc blood tending so caringly for one of elven decent is a testament to the close bond some of those in the group have formed.
Weber rides with the stable boy at the head of the cart. The journey is going well so far.
Aikari and P’innr talk with Villie to pass the time. They learn the barony consists of the town of Restenford and the general area surrounding it. Baron Grellus appears to be a fair man and does not overly burden the populace with heavy taxes. He is well liked but somewhat removed from the common folk. His wife, Fairwind, and daughter, Andrella, are much more likely to be seen out in public. Villie does not mind his service to the baron and appears to be faithful in his duties.
Meanwhile, Southar continues his careful recon of the woodline.
“I can recon with you Tathar,” volunteers Grimlock.
Breymeer adds, “I will guard your back with sword and axe, Tathar. I’ve got a fight or two left in me. Let’s proceed.”
Speck checks the door and finds it is locked, “I can get this,” he assures.
Kuba does not appear as well healed as Breymeer, “I will continue on as long as I can remain on my feet.”
Tathar faces the party, with a grave expression. "If I go alone, I can pass by most undead creatures invisibly, with Sehanine's grace and blessing. If everyone goes, we go into what lies beyond blindly and will have to fight what ever is there with no forewarning. Let me go alone. I will return in a few minutes and we will be better prepared."
The clip clopping of the horse and pony steps echo slightly off the trees as the group gets near the northern edge of the small woods.
Without a sound or warning, a figure suddenly stands in the road ahead of the trail. He is dressed in a light weight full length silvery/white robe over chain mail armor. He carries a silver shield upon his back along with a long bow. A long sword is sheathed in a silver scabbard at his right side. He has his hands on his hips. His long brown hair is held off his face by a thin silver headband before it drops over his shoulders. His features and size give away his elven heritage.
Raising his right hand, palm forward, he speaks, “Man of Restenford, I am Illianaro. I seek information in regards to an elf that has travelled this way. I believe he has been in your company but I do not see him among you.” The elf’s voice is stern but pleasant. “Please, share with me any knowledge you may have of his whereabouts or condition. The elf I seek is Tathar Surion.”
“You should also be aware, I am not travelling alone,” the elf advises; more as statement of defense than a warning of impending attack.
Speck works the lock for an extended period of time, “These locks are old, very old.” After nearing a half of hour and some ribbing from his companions, Speck frees the mechanism and the lock opens.
Speck backs off near Kuba while Grimlock and Breymeer prepare to face anything than may come through the door. Cirdan Saralonde fades back and prepares to defend the group with spellcraft.
Tathar requests Sehanine’s blessing; specifically requesting to be hidden from from the eyes of the dead.
Tathar opens the door. The quick peek past the door before Tathar shuts it behind him reveals a 20 foot by 30 foot room. It appears to be an old reading room containing a desk and bookcase.
The door shuts behind Tathar enclosing him in darkness. He remains motionless until his eyes adjust to the darkness as his elven vision clears.
The room is twenty feet deep and thirty feet wide. On the western wall, in the northern section, there is a wooden door. An old tapestry, now in taters hangs on the northern wall. It depicts the view from the tower overlooking the Dead Forest and the road from Restenford to Farmin. In the southwestern corner is an unlit brazier. In the northeastern corner is a padded chair. The chair is rotting and the desk is in poor condition as well. There appears to be no threats in the room.
Tathar moves quickly around the room giving everything a once over. Pulling the tapestry out reveals only stone wall behind. The brazier is long gone cold. It is loose from the floor and does not have any mechanisms attached to it. The desk has gone unused for ages. It is empty. The padded chair is old, torn and worthless.
Finding no matching bookshelf, Tathar tries the door on the western wall. It is unlocked. He opens it slowly. It opens with some creaking to a large room (40x40). The room once had excellent furnishings. They have unfortunately long since rotted away. A heavy dampness hangs in the air. A large canopy bed is centered on the southern wall. The canopy has collapsed down upon the bed. The bedding is rotted and damp. The bed frame is still somewhat intact. There is a book shelf containing nearly four dozen books up against the western wall pushed up against the northern corner. A desk and chair are in the southwestern corner. An armoire is centered on the eastern wall but it has collapsed upon itself and consists now of rotting clothing and chunks of broken and rotted wood. The room appears to be void of danger yet a cold dampness hangs in the air.
Tathar, moves into the room cautiously. He discovers the bed is rotted and clear underneath. The armoire is nothing but a pile of rotting wood and clothing. The desk and chair are bare wood and in poor condition. The bookshelf is intact and matches the one in his vision from Sehanine. The books are damp and moldy.
Not wanting to push his luck, Tathar begins to head back to the group.
Dalic rides up to the elf at a challenging speed but does not arm himself. He says quickly, dodging the elf’s inquiry, "We travel back ta tha city wit pressin' business. Block not our way lest ye can lend aid ta our injured. These woods be dangerous an' we must continue wit no delay." Dalic accents his statement by grabbing the hilt of his bastard sword although he does not draw it. Dalic motions Ide Otneaux to approach.
As Ide steps down from the wagon and begins to approach unarmed, the elf holds up his hand as if holding off others who remain unseen. “Yes dwarf, these are dangerous times. We mean you, nor your orc companion, harm for it appears you are also friends of the baron. Answer my question and we will aid your companions. Answer not, and you are free to pass lest the elves be accused of holding up the baron’s soldier on pressing business.”
Ide whispers to Dalic, “Peylea may not make it back to Restenford. The elves may be her only hope.”
Tathar, finding no other doors in the bedroom, returns to the others and opens the door. He then turns and moves back to the bedroom.
Breymeer, Grimlock, Kuba and Speck follow Tathar through the den and into the bedroom. As they pass through the den they take note of its contents. The room is twenty feet deep and thirty feet wide. On the western wall, in the northern section, there is a wooden door. An old tapestry, now in taters hangs on the northern wall. It depicts the view from the tower overlooking the Dead Forest and the road from Restenford to Farmin. In the southwestern corner is an unlit brazier. In the northeastern corner is a padded chair. The chair is rotting and the desk is in poor condition as well. There appears to be no threats in the room.
Passing through the door from the den into the bedroom, the party sees they have entered a large (40x40) room. The room once had excellent furnishings that have unfortunately long since rotted away. A large canopy bed is centered on the southern wall. The canopy has collapsed down upon the bed. The bedding is rotted and damp. The bed frame is still somewhat intact. There is a book shelf containing nearly four dozen books up against the western wall pushed up against the northern corner. A desk and chair are in the southwestern corner. An armoire is centered on the eastern wall but it has collapsed upon itself and consists now of rotting clothing and chunks of broken and rotted wood. The room appears to be void of danger yet a cold dampness hangs in the air.
Once inside the bedroom, they find Tathar facing a bookshelf on the western wall. Tathar speaks without taking his eyes off the bookshelf, “There is a secret passage behind this bookshelf. Somewhere in this keep there is a stone statue of a bearded man, and below him, a natural cavern. In that cavern, there is a set of iron-shod double doors. That is where we will find the book. I sense it is evil, complete and true. I know not what we will encounter there, perhaps our fate. Sehanine has compelled me, I must go. I do not ask you risk your own lives.”
Dalic speaks reluctantly, unsure if he can trust the elves, "I hab' fought along side one called Tathar. I hope he yet lives and ye mean him no ill will. He too be under command 'der Baron an' be 'spected ta return ta Restenford this day. We know not where Tathar be this hour but for our injured comrade, pray you, help us an' we will ta 'company ye ta Restenford where Tathar may be found shou' he make tha journey."
The elf motions to the woodline and says something in elvish, “Glaew nestedrin.” A second elf, dressed more plainly in common elvish woodland colors of browns and greens, walks out of the woodline towards the wagon. Ide Otneaux retreats to intercept the elf there.
The elf produces a jar of some type of paste. It applies liberal amounts of it. “Edhellen-sereg,” the woodland dressed elf answers the silver adorned elf. It then turns to Ide Otneaux and speaks in common, “She will soon stabilize.” He places a small amount on a bit of cloth, “Feed this to her when she returns to consciousness.”
The elf leader addresses Dalic again in common, “Journey to Restenford we intend not but wish you speed. Where is the last you have seen this moon-eyed Tathar?”
Cirdan assures Tathar, “I will see this through.”
Grimlock is less enthusiastic, “I will go if others go but the wisdom of continuing is questionable.”
The bookshelf is discovered to be mounted on a swivel. The right side of the bookcase is hinged to the wall and the hole assembly opens into the room and up towards the north wall. The bookshelf sags on its hinges from the years of exposure to the damp air. It must be dragged across the floor. Moving the bookshelf reveals a bare stone wall.
The group begins to check the wall for anything unusual. After about twenty minutes, a hairline cut in the stone is discovered. It is door shaped, nearly five feet high and two feet wide. Additionally poking, touching and examining the wall for another fifteen minutes reveals the opening mechanism. Tathar finds a small area within the door, near the top center, that when pressure is applied, a slight click is heard.
Cirdan Saralonde offers, "The night was accursed. Perhaps we can find rest during the day. If we rest, maybe we can recover our strength and be better prepared for what lies ahead.”
Dalic glances at the road ahead, longing to be done with the hell hole behind him. He is torn though by a nagging and unfamiliar sensation. For some reason he feels concern for Tathar and the strange elves. He looks to Ide and the apparently mute Weber, giving Weber a now seemingly commonplace grimace toward his lack of leadership. Dalic speaks to the elf while still looking toward Ide, "Let us wait 'till we see Peylae's improvement. I may then offer ta 'company ye back ta our camp. Your arrival there may be taken wit hostility otherwise". To Ide, "I think it be unwise to split tha party further from here. Shoul' Peylae be healed an' able ta return, we shoul' all ta basecamp.”
The silver adorned elf curtly replies, “We wish Peylae speed in healing but your company we do not request nor require. Those at your basecamp, given the look of your group, will not present much of a threat to us. Farewell.” With that, the two elves leave the road and re-enter the forest.
Weber, finding his tongue, comments to Dalic, “The boy and I return to Restenford regardless of your choice. We will continue on with Peylae. Even with elvish medicine, she will likely be in dire need of bedrest.”
Ide remarks, “Return to the basecamp if you wish Dalic, once north of the forest, we should be relatively free from dangers. I intent to see Peylae back to town as long as she draws breath.”
Cirdan Saralonde, moving the bookshelf back away from the northern wall, begins to remove books and examine them. They appear damp, moldy and in extremely poor condition.
Tathar pushes the secret door into the next room and begins to look around through the opening while Kuba speaks, "I am tired and worn and rest would be sweet, but I feel it is in all our best interest to stay together. If you feel so compelled to go on right now you will have my company. If you choose to rest a while you will have my company."
Speck as usual nods in agreement with Kuba.
Breymeer agrees with Kuba, “I cannot deny, I'm still sucking hind tit and rest would do me good before I attempt much of a battle.”
Grimlock pessimistically counters, “I think it very clear there will be no good rest in this tomb!”
As Tathar pushes the door inward, it move in on a slide and then articulates to the right and slides out of the way on hinges. The mechanisms are old and worn but still functioning.
Without speaking, Tathar walks into the space beyond the secret door.
Tathar slips past the secret door and stands in a nearly forty foot by forty foot room. The northwestern corner cuts and angle and is taken up by a staircase that goes down into the darkness. A stone statue of an enormous bearded man with long hair stands in the center of the southern wall. The statue stands over eight feet tall and is depicted wielding a two handed sword held menacingly out in front of it. Below the statue is a simple stone altar.
Upon the walls are various weapons and shields hund in decoration. The center is open and clear of obstacles. It appears to be some type of weapons training or similar type room.
Leaving Grimlock and Breymeer in the bedroom together, Kuba and Speck enter the secret room.
Kuba and Speck enter the secret room and stand in a nearly forty foot by forty foot room. Kuba struggles to see in what little light Breymeer’s torch gives off through the open secret door. The northwestern corner cuts and angle and is taken up by a staircase that goes down into the darkness. A stone statue of an enormous bearded man with long hair stands in the center of the southern wall. The statue stands over eight feet tall and is depicted wielding a two handed sword held menacingly out in front of it. Below the statue is a simple stone altar.
Upon the walls are various weapons and shields hung in decoration. The center is open and clear of obstacles. It appears to be some type of weapons training or similar type room.
Tathar is walking the perimeter of the wall visually examining the weapons, “They all look to be in poor condition.” As Tathar passes the stairwell, he gives it a once over. Seeing a closed door at the base of the stairs, he continues his sweep of the wall.
Dalic curses under his breath and stubbornly turns his pony in line with the caravan toward Restenford, "Luck be wit ye Tathar, I fear ye may need it." Unreasonably focusing his frustrations, he bores a proverbial hole in the back of Weber's head with his cold eyes and continues on.
Ide Otneaux re-joins Peylae in the wagon and Weber orders the boy to get moving. The horse and wagon, followed by the dwarf on his pony, continue towards Restenford. Soon they break from the small woods and are relieved to have relatively open sight again.
Grimlock and Breymeer head for the secret room. Grimlock mutters, “I think I will have to follow the rest of the fellas. Brey, you best come with me I thinks.”
Breymeer grunts, “I plan to continue following and take on whatever comes.”
Grimlock and Breymeer enter the secret room and stand in a nearly forty foot by forty foot room. Breymeer’s torch easily lights up the room. The northwestern corner cuts and angle and is taken up by a staircase that goes down into the darkness. A stone statue of an enormous bearded man with long hair stands in the center of the southern wall. The statue stands over eight feet tall and is depicted wielding a two handed sword held menacingly out in front of it. Below the statue is a simple stone altar.
Upon the walls are various weapons and shields hung in decoration. The center is open and clear of obstacles. It appears to be some type of weapons training or similar type room.
Grimlock and Breymeer join Kuba and Speck as Tathar decends the stairs for a short time. Tathar returns after several minutes and reports, “There is a door at the bottom.”
Cirdan inquires, “Tathar, was the door locked?”
Tathar replies, “It was not. Also, there was no sound coming from behind the door that my ears could detect.”
Cirdan makes a recommendation, “I feel, since you have been leading this aspect of the campaign, that you continue. If you will look through the door with your elf eyes and holy symbol, we will wait up here. If there are foul beings beyond the door and you cannot turn them, retreat up here where we will have more room to do battle with them. That way, we will not all be blocked up in the stairway or have to spill into a room that we are not familiar with.”
Grimlock appears to be listening as he does a quick check of the altar. He appears to be looking for secret compartments or similar. He finds none.
“I am ready to whoop **** as needed if an evil threat is found and opportunity presents itself,” Breymeer says with confidence. “I yet have my holy water should anyone need it.”
Kuba and Speck appear ready.
Tathar, without a spoken word, heads down the stairwell.
Finding an open hallway beyond, Tathar calls the others down. Doing a quick recon, Tathar reports the hallway leads to an open natural cavern containing a very narrow passageway to the east and a door to the south. Otherwise, there is a door just east of the stairwell next to the party.
Grimlock votes, “Hallway. I bet one of these lead to the surface tower that feral dwarf ran off to.” Grimlock then turns to Breymeer, “Brey, I could use your holy water.”
Breymeer hands the holy water to Grimlock.
Tathar commands, “Stay put a minute.” Tathar, with holy symbol out, walks to the iron bound door to the east of the staircase, “This door is not the one from my vision.” The party’s attention drawn to it reveals it is actually barred and locked from this side of the door.
In Breymeer’s magically torchlight, it is easy to see the walls of the dungeon are damp. The light reflects off the wet walls. The cavern beyond appears similar if not more so. A rat, normal in size, squeaks at the party and scurries down the hallway and into the natural chamber beyond. The squeak echoes slightly ahead of the rat.
The hallway appears to have been worked from the natural stone. It is cut from the rock nearly ten feet wide and over eight feet high, nearing ten feet high. The walls are damp here but not saturated as the chamber appears to be.
The chamber beyond does not appear to be worked rock. Instead, it appears to be of natural design.
Tathar inspects the natural cavern. Finding no danger, he waves the party forward.
The natural cavern has virtually no ornamentation. The glistening walls reflect the light from Breymeer’s torch doubling its intensity. It takes a few minutes for your eyes to adjust to the now well lit area. The ceiling is nearly twelve feet high. The passageway to the east is a small crawlway; only 2 ½ feet in diameter. The door mounted on the south wall, near the SE corner, is made of wood and shows no locks. The room is approximately fifty feet by forty feet.
Tathar walks to the door in the eastern portion of the southern wall. He puts his ear to the door for a moment.
Meanwhile, Cirdan looks to Breymeer, “Will you look for signs of recent passage by creatures in the cavern? And also in the crawlway?”
Breymeer begins to examine the room.
Grimlock pipes up, “I saw we open the barred door to the northeast of the stairs. If nothing lies within, we can return and bar it once more.” No one else appears to want to go as Grimlock states at the moment.
Breymeer finishes his search as Tathar turns his attention from the door, “Only normal rats have travelled here recently and they have travelled to and fro down the crawlway as well.”
Tathar reports hearing nothing from behind the door.
Cirdan gets on all fours and crawls down the eight foot length of the crawlway. He stops short of the room and lets his elf eyes adjust. It is a roughly thirty foot by twenty foot room (BC). Other than a few normal rats that scurry about from various rat holes in the wall, there is very little else special about the room. Cirdan looks in far enough to clear the ceiling and the side walls. He then returns to the group and reports his discovery.
While Cirdan is tunneling, Tathar cracks open the southern door. He opens the door into the darkness and looks beyond. Allowing his eyes to adjust, he sees a passageway leading south from the doorway. It travels about thirty feet before blossoming into a large chamber (BD). Part of the southern wall appears to have collapsed in one location.
Grimlock departs from the party while they are investigating the large chamber and its side paths and door. Grimlock arrives at the door, now using his elvish dark vision to investigate. The door swings inward towards him. It has an old rusty but sturdy iron bar across it. The bar is held in place with a lock. Grimlock tries the lock but cannot get the mechanism to open on his initial attempt.
While working the lock, Grimlock hears Kuba cry out in pain and sounds of an erupting battle from the chamber area he had vacated minutes prior.
Tathar moves forward down the passageway with his holy symbol held out in front of him. Breymeer falls in step just behind Tathar. Speck and Kuba step into the passageway and pause as Cirdan Saralonde covers the group from the doorway. Kuba holds the door open should there be a need for a hasty retreat.
The roughly forty by forty room illuminates greatly as Breymeer’s torchlight reflects off of the glistening walls.
A passageway leaves the main room to the northwest. In opens into a smaller twenty by twenty natural chamber. In the center of the chamber is a statue of a beautiful human woman. She has large wings and holds and arrow in each hand above her head. Upon her head is a simple brass helm adorned with a bluish gemstone.
A second passageway leads to the west. It travels about twenty feet before opening into a small chamber. Access to that chamber is denied by a iron portcullis blocking the passageway just prior to the chamber.
Between the two passageways, on the western wall is a ogre-sized statue of a large man. It is crudely hewn from soft rock.
The center of the southern wall of the chamber has collapsed partially. In addition, there is some rubble on either side of the passage that leads to the female statue. The room’s integrity appears secure to the group’s untrained eyes.
Cirdan questions, “Where is Grimlock?” noticing he is gone.
Kuba answers, “He went back to examine the barred door by the stairway.”
At that moment, several things happen together.
First, the crude stone statue of the man animates and begins to lumber towards Tathar and Breymeer. Breymeer is caught flat footed and does not initially react; he just stares in disbelief.
Second, an unseen ooze gathers itself up above those near the chamber door. It forms itself into a gelatinous club and strikes Kuba upon the right shoulder. He immediately feels the burn as the ooze’s acids eat into his skin (10, 3/36). The ooze remains attached to the ceiling, swinging its club-like appendage.
Tathar grabs Breymeer and pull him up the hallway in the face of the animated stone foe.
Breymeer shakes off his surprise and retreats alongside Tathar.
Seeing the retreat heading his way, Cirdan grabs the back of Kuba and Speck’s collars and pulls them backwards through the door. They give way willingly. Kuba hold the door open long enough for Tathar to run up the hallway and tumble into the chamber.
While tumbling into the chamber, Tathar is struck by the ooze creature upon his back. Protected by his armor, the blow fails to damage Tathar. Breymeer slides through the door just behind Tathar. Kuba then tries to shut the door on the ooze but it is able to slip in.
The ooze, once inside the door, moves up the wall to the ceiling. It pulls itself back up into a gelatinous club, still clinging to the ceiling above the group gathered at the door.
Behind the door, the animated stone statue’s footsteps comes to a stop.
Grimlock comes running in from the northwestern passage with his sword out and shield at the ready.
Cirdan Saralonde yells, “Spread out!” and moves to backwards to the north. While doing so, the gelatinous club strikes him, burning into the skin of his right shoulder (6, 17/26).
Grimlock backs away to the western side of the cavern. He removes an oil skin from his pack.
Tathar back-peddles towards the west, firing and arrow in the morphing blob as he does. The arrow penetrates into the jelly and stops within its form (8, 12/20).
Breymeer carves into the creature with both of his swords (10, 2/20) and Kuba additionally lands a blow upon it (6, -4/20).
Speck retreats north with Cirdan Saralonde as the creature falls to the floor writhing.
“Get back!” yells Grimlock as he lights an oil flask.
Kuba takes one more hack at the wiggling gelatinous mound and then retreats. Tathar notches another arrow and draws back his bow, waiting to fire if needed.
Breymeer backs off and Speck remains clear.
Grimlock tosses the flaming oil onto the jelly. The oil burns off leaving the jelly behind. It has, however, stopped moving altogether.
“Are you still sure this is a good idea?” questions Cirdan to Tathar.
Tathar nods in understanding, "I now feel that Sehanine would approve of me returning for this book after resting and healing. I feel strong enough to go on, but all of you, being excellent friends and companions, have suffered much. I believe you would go to your deaths to help me, and I must honor the fact that I am not risking my life only. I propose we retreat to the courtyard, follow the path of the other group into the tower to learn of their fate, then return to basecamp to learn of theirs. After a day of rest, and prayer, I will heal all who ask, then may we return to this place and find the book."
The decision to back out is universally applauded by the remaining survivors. The group retreats back up to the basement level and moves carefully to the ghoul room where Ewan McDermott perished. From there, they move back up to the first level of the keep. During the retreat, the full effect of the jellies touch is realized. Tathar’s chain mail armor deteriorates and falls apart on his back where it was contacted by the jelly (now base AC 7 for the armor). Both of Breymeer’s swords and Kuba’s sword also show rapid signs of corrosion and they quickly become worthless and are discarded.
Cirdan Saralonde and Grimlock pause long enough to go up to the wizard’s chambers and the storage room to gather as much of the magical paraphernalia that they can carry. The others follow suit.
While on the second and third floor, they realize by looking out a window upon the courtyard, that the front door is still guarded by undead bugbear. Grimlock leads the group across the roof using the route he had taken when he originally ascended to attack the necromancer. Once on the back side of the keep, the group crawls down to the outside of the outer wall.
Moving clockwise around the keep, the group closes in on the tower only to find it contains more zombies and skeletons. Fearing the fate of the others has been sealed, the group turns and moves out across the expanse of open ground surrounding the keep.
Soon, the group is travelling downhill and heading for the basecamp.
The group arrives at basecamp just as the noonday sun crests in the sky.
It is at basecamp where they find the biggest surprise of the day.
As the motley crew returns to basecamp, Villie, the elven soldier of the barony, is only one of the baron’s men who remains at basecamp. Southar joins him; walking over from the Dead Woods where he stood watch.
The motley crew consists of Tathar, the elven priest of Sehanine, Grimlock, the half-elven wanderer from the Wild Coast, Breymeer, the northman, Cirdan Saralonde the Celene noble, Kuba from Dullstrand and his halfling companion Speck.
Villie is accompanied by a human female and what appears to be her sellsword, a human man equipped with two battle axes. They are known by the names of Aikari Bestir and P’innr Bhut.
Taking counsel with those four at basecamp are nearly two dozen elves. The leader is dressed in a light weight full length silvery/white robe over chain mail armor. He carries a silver shield upon his back along with a long bow. A long sword is sheathed in a silver scabbard at his right side. He has his hands on his hips. His long brown hair is held off his face by a thin silver headband before it drops over his shoulders. Tathar immediately recognizes him as a fellow priest of Sehanine.
The elves accompanying the priest are dressed in the common garb of forest elves; colored in greens and browns. They are armed with bows and swords as well as light armor under their cloaks and robes.
There are dead wargs and gnolls nearby as well as two of the baron’s men and the body of Tarstar.
Villie does his best to bring everyone up to speed. During the night, the gnolls and wargs attacked killing Carlton and Fraunk. Belina, Ide Otneaux and Peylae were all wounded. Peylae was brought low and remained unconscious and near death throughout the night. Belina has gone off back-tracking the gnolls. She said she would return to Restenford on her own.
Dalic and Southar were the first of the keep explorers to return to camp. They brought with them the body of Tarstar. Dalic and Southar reported locating an evil altar in the castle dungeon. There they sacked several evil undead creatures before returning to basecamp.
Aikari Bestir and P’innr Bhut arrived on horseback about that time. They agreed to remain at basecamp while Dalic, Ide Otneaux, Weber and the stable boy returned to Restenford with Peylae as her condition continued to worsen. Aikari Bestir and P’innr Bhut intend to travel to Restenford and will be doing so in the company of those remaining.
Finally, the group of elves have only just arrived late this morning. They seek Tathar Surion.
Interupting at this point is the Sehanine priest speaking in elvish. He gives Tathar and obvious greeting and then hails him to a private conversation. Once complete, he orders the elvish troop together and they move off in the direction of the dead woods.
The group prepares to return to Restenford. What remains of the camp is packed up and the group begins their march. The baron’s men and Tarstar are brought back for proper burial.
Even in their exhausted state, their hearts are lifted as the first signs of Restenford appear.
The group has returned to Restenford. All but five yet live; two of the baron’s men died fighting the gnolls and wargs, Tarstar died fighting zombies and skeletons, Yalta died fighting the necromancer’s undead spirit and Ewan McDermott died fighting the ghouls.
At Restenford, the news of the group’s arrival travels quickly. As does the report of the others that arrived earlier. Dalic, Ide Otneaux, Weber and the stable boy arrived safely. Peylae survived the trip but remains in dire condition. The elvish medicine from the Sehanine priest was the only thing that kept her from certain death.
Tathar's private conversation - The Sehanine priest tells Tathar that he will be moving on the keep with the other elves. Sehanine guides him to complete what Tathar did not. The priest, obviously of greater power than Tathar, chastises Tathar for cowering in his task and not trusting in Sehanine’s guidance. The priest instructs Tathar to return to Restenford and recover. While doing so, assist with Sehanine’s actions there. He will recognize them when they arrive. Until then, Tathar should atone for his weakness of spirit.
And so it is Pelltar gathers his flock. Peylae is quickly put to bed in the Tavern of the West Wind. Ide Otneaux stays at her bedside. Southar as well, suffering from multiple painful wounds, take rest in a private room. He locks the door and refuses admittance.
The rest of the group is gathered at Pelltar’s request in the common room. Pelltar secures the building for his own use and ensures everyone’s glass is full. Pelltar has food delivered for a modest feast taking into account each character’s taste. Breymeer walks with a limp from a right ankle wound but other than that, everyone’s injuries are superficial. Some, such as Dalic and Kuba, are weakened by the numerous superficial wounds. And Grimlock and Dalic both seem to be of reduced strength of will. The touch of those beyond the grave took its toll on them.
Despite it all, t is in the common room of the inn, after all have satiated themselves, that Pelltar questions the group at length. Revelations are made as to what happened after the group was split.
Essentially, the group made entry into the keep when an evil compulsion befell most everyone excluding the elves it appears.
Dalic, possessed by the dead necromancer’s head, delved below the tower. Southar and Tarstar, obsessed with capturing and destroying Dalic, gave chase.
The rest of the group continued into the keep and re-encountered an evil spirit force of the necromancer. They were able to defeat this evil spirit but not before it killed Yalta.
Meanwhile, Dalic, guided by the severed head, made his way to a room in the deep recesses of the keep’s dungeon. Behind a set of double doors, Dalic discovered an evil altar to an unknown deity, devil or demon. It is here Dalic’s will returned and instead of making a sacrifice upon the altar as compelled, he fought back only to be besieged by a horde of undead creatures including the spirit of the deceased keep’s previous lord. Dalic fought wave after wave, driving off the undead spirit and piling up the bodies until he was overrun.
Dalic’s fate would have soon followed if Southar, now free of his compulsion to destroy Dalic, hadn’t charged into the fray and utterly destroyed the undead horde. This task was aided by the fact that he had consumed some type of strength potion. Unfortunately, Tarstar was slain by skeletons and zombies on the way to capture Dalic. Dalic and Southar were able to hunt down the undead overlord and utterly slay it.
From there, they split. Southar fought his way back out of the tower and headed for the basecamp.
Dalic fought on seeking a lost tome for Pelltar. Securing it, he returned to the surface, fought his way out of the tower and headed for basecamp.
On the upper levels, the previous compulsions left the group as well after Dalic had resisted the altar’s call. Now free of their fear, etc., the party attempted an assault into the dungeon. They encountered a ghoulish horde and lost Ewan McDermott in the battle. After regrouping, the party tricked their way past a dozen skeletal guards, located a secret entrance to the dungeon and proceeded down. There, they encountered several natural chambers and some type of animated statue that charged at them. A jelly/ooze type creature surprise attacked them. They were able to fight a withdrawl, killing the jelly. At that point, they decided to retreat, inspect the tower and head to the basecamp. Finding the tower and courtyard crawling with undead, they returned to the basecamp and then to Restenford.
Pelltar advises the altar was unknown previously and it is most concerning that the necromancer had set up such a vile place this close to Restenford. Evil is a foot.
After much concern from the group, Tathar being most vocal, Pelltar assures the group the book was not evil. In fact, it was brought in there by a most good mage of much power many centuries ago. The demise of the mage was suspected as he never returned and the fate of the book was unknown. Dalic was able to locate the mage and return the book.
Pelltar advises it was the altar and vile evilness of the keep that caused the party so much harm, not the book.
Pelltar appears pleased that you had helped guide Aikari and P’innr to Restenford. “Aikari is an aquantance of mine,” he says businesslike.
“You have a night’s rest before Baron Grellus requests your presence before the Throne. Be there for the mid day’s meal. Goodnight.” With tha, Pelltar closes the celebrations and the group heads off to rest. Cirdan, Grimlock, Akari and P’innr are welcomed to Pelltar’s residence. Kuba and Speck grab a room at the inn. Dalic takes a room at the inn. Breymeer goes out to the perimeter of town watching for the return of Belina and Tathar disappears into the night to give prayer to Sehanine.
The night’s rest and fresh bandaging helps the mind far more than the body. Wounds begin to heal and every moment away from the accursed keep lightens the load on the mind.
At the morning’s meal, couriers arrive and request the party bring all gathered treasure and such items with them to the castle for accounting and tasation. It is then the party shall receive its reward.
Come noon, Pelltar arrives with Gelpas of the captain of the baron’s guard. With Gelpas is several of the baron’s men, including Villie and Weber.
The group is escorted to the baron’s keep minus Peylae and Ide Otneaux. Peylae is yet direly wounded and bedridden. Ide remains by her side. Since neither entered the keep, their presence is excused. Strangely, Pelltar requests the presence of Aikari and P’innr.
The group gathers in the throne room after passing through the high arched hallway lined on each side by alternating male portraits of Grellus’s family.
Under the high arch, Baron Grellus sits upon his throne at the top of the three step dais. His large frame is tense. The baroness’s sits upon her chair, pale and melancholy. The baronette’s chair is empty. Pelltar takes his position to the side of the baronette’s chair.
The third row chairs are also empty.
A young attractive elf woman plays a nine string guitar like instrument sofly in the room. She sings quietly with a fine elvish voice. The mood in the room is somber.
Once assembled, Pelltar speaks, “Baron Grellus, I again present those who survived the raid on the keep. No longer with us are Yalta, Tarstar, Ewan McDermott and your guards, Carlton and Fraunk.” The party bows in respect. “I also present an acquaintance Aikari of Hardby and her travelling companion P’innr Bhut. They shall be staying in town upon my welcome. I shall speak well for both of them.”
With that, business begins.
When the treasure is laid out before the baron, his daughter Andrella, steps into the throne room for the accounting.
“Per terms of our agreement,” begins Grellus, “fifteen percent of the treasure shall be due for taxation.” Andrella totals the monies and removes the taxes due.
Once this is complete, the baron takes accounting of all the creatures slain. Andrella calculates the bounty and adds to it 100gp per adventurer as given by contract. Finally, 500gp is added to that total for the defeat of the necromancer. The monies due the party are paid.
As for the weapons recovered, only one does the barony request. Fairwind, the baroness, requests Yalta’s staff be given over. Kuba graciously surrenders the staff. The rest of the items are awarded to the possessors.
“I thank you for your service to the barony. The keep, I understand, hid many entrenched evils. Restenford is undoutably safer from your honorable and determined route of the vile creatures.”
Baron Grellus stands suddenly. “Weber and Villie reported to me a company of elves has now moved on the keep. It has been brought to my attention the leader of the elvish company was a priest of Sehanine.” Baron Grellus looks directly at Tathar, “Why are armed elves moving about in my barony without my leave or knowledge? What intent and purpose brings them here? Tathar, your presence here is suspect. You shall be on notice Tathar, I expect answers for this encroachment. Why are the elves of the northern isles here?”
Before Tathar can answer, if even Tathar could answer, Baroness Fairwind interjects, “Tathar, you and your company have served us well. Baron Grellus has right to rule and question, but please, be at ease. Time shall answer our questions. Go and rest now. Heal your wounds. Sharpen your weapons, replace your gear and mend your armor. Our town has many services for your needs. Go, enjoy our taverns and inns. Falco and his assistant Gap may have some tales to tell over those dwarvish weapons you found.”
“Weber and Villie have spoken on your behalf,” Grellus reveals, “You are free to go. I had a meal prepared in thankfulness for your actions. Enjoy. Lady Fairwind and I have much to do. Andrella shall join you in our stead.”
All bow as Grellus and Fairwind rise and exit out the back of the throne room.
The elvish bard finishes playing and all retire to the dining room. There, the bard strikes up a happier tune and sings Lendore tales of elves and men.
That night, Cirdan Saralonde calls a dinner meeting. Since he is offering to pay for the meal, those beckoned do not refuse his call. The invitation goes out to the original group members, Tathar Surion, Grimlock, Breymeer, Kuba Cylvorandau, Southar, Speck, Dalic, Ide Otneaux and Peylae. Ide Otneaux and Paylae do not attend. The meeting is set for the Inn of the Dying Minotaur. Its proprietor is Gellcuff.
A large minotaur head is mounted above the bar. The common room is relatively empty other than the party members as the slowly arrive for supper.
A few common folks are milling about. The bard from the luncheon at the keep is also at a table by herself eating.
During the meal, Cirdan offers to cast spells on any items the group wants identified further. Cirdan believes he can find out what types of magic some items may possess. The process has a price if requested. Further, Cirdan reports he has sold the rusty plate mail armor recovered from the ghoul room. The proceeds are split between the survivors of that encounter. Cirdan, Tathar, Grimlock, Breymeer, Kuba and Speck each receive 48gp.
Once the proceeds are passed out, Southar stands, still donning his great helm and with his golden shield (covered with canvas) at hand. Southar faces the group with his back to anyone else that may be in the bar. He only drank and not yet eaten food. He tips his great helm back revealing his face for just a flash. The group’s suspicions are immediately confirmed. Southar’s skin has scaled over and his eyes have changed to those of a snake. His forked tongue darts out occasionally tasting the air. “I have been transsssformed. Do not fear me. I am yet SSSSSSouthar but I have become ssssssso much more. For my ssssafety, I will be moving out of town. Find me on the eassst ssssside of town at the edge of the Kelman Woodssss. I remain loyal to you all.” With that, Southar stands, nods a thank you to Cirdan Saralonde and walks for the door.
Cirdan stares towards Southar in disbelief for a few moments. Without taking his eyes off of the departing Southar, Cirdan says, “If you wish to have your items looked into, contact me before mid-day tomorrow. The costs to identify items may vary to some degree but never less than 100gp per attempt.”
Southar pauses in the door as Aikari and P’innr enter the Dying Minotaur in search of a meal. They step to the side of the helmed warrior and take a seat nearby as a serving wench heads there way.
Dalic rise and intercepts Southar before his departure, "Southar tha mighty. Ye hab' saved me more thin once in tha past few days, an' Dalic be seein ye skill wit tha long sword. I recovered this'n enchanted blade from tha keep. It be nam’d Bloodletter."
Dalic draws the Bloodletter from its scabbard and raises it into view, "I know not what secrets it holds, but I know it ta be better in ye hands than mine. Cirdan Ungolhing may reveal tha sword's nature as Dalic has had no luck. Hold onto it fer me. Use it as ye will. This be in gratitude fer ye loyalty in tha keep.”
Re-sheathing the sword, Dalic presents the sword and scabbard to Southar. Dalic appears wholly unmoved by the revelation of Southar's transformation. He nods encouragingly to Southar with his most respectful grimace.
Southar bows to Dalic, “I thank you. I ssshall ssserve you all well with it.”
The dwarf then addresses the group. Clearing his throat, his distaste for public speaking returning, contorts his face back to his standard stoic expression and continues, "We are ta celebrate! The keep is fell by my account an' ye have made me ta see a truth in yer comradery: a friend and companion be tha' best kind o' ally in battle. Even so, tha number here be yet small compared ta our first meeting; for that there be no joy... But yet, I hope ye can find fer me tha loyalty I hold fer ye. If ye'll have me, I woul' like ta see tha world with ye. Even if tha' means tha world can then see me..."
Dalic trails off at this natural end to his request. His brow furrows and lip curls slightly at the nakedness of his statement; obviously uncomfortable showing affection. The dwarf, although sincere beyond question, struggles with his emotions and then returns to his stoic grimace.
Cirdan calls to the barmaid loudly while nodding towards Dalic, “Bring him a beer and bring me the bill! Dalic, I find it an odd day that an elf buys a dwarf a beer, but that is this day! I confess, I am still put off by your rash actions in the keep, with locking us in while you ran on alone, even though I now understand that you were under a spell. Still, I would be glad to see the world and adventure with you, even if we are cut from two entirely different cloths.”
Tathar approaches Dalic with a bone tube. The tube is inlaid with silver and has silver caps on each end that screw into place. Tathar hands Dalic the tube, “What can you make of it?”
Dalic walks to the table and the party gathers around. Southar returns from the doorway. The sound level in the bar quiets as patron pretend not to be listening in. Even the elvish bard eyes the group.
Dalic gives a look around the bar with a scowl on his face. The patrons look away but the elvish bard only smiles back at him. Giving him the courtesy he requests with his scowl, the elvish bard focuses back on her food and drink. She begins to sing just loud enough to help cover Dalic’s voice.
Dalic unscrews one end of the tube and pulls out a parchment. Wetting his lips, he looks around one last time, “It be dwarf writin’.”
Dalic presses the paper flat onto the table and reads,
“Dearest Dukkor Graniteborn,
It is with great sadness that I write you.
As you are aware, we lost contact with the mine and your cousin, Khorliss Foesmiter, was sent to investigate the cause. Being a great warrior, wielder of Zalco, bane to the drow, Khorliss Foesmiter was certain to resolve the problem. It was certainly hoped that the operation was only held up because of discovery by one of the local human populations.
Khorliss Foesmiter, it saddens me to inform you, has not reported back nor have any members of his expedition. They seem to have vanished. We fear something foul has occurred in the mine.
In order to protect its secrecy and prevent further loss of dwarven lives, it has been determined the mine shall be sealed and records destroyed.
Dukkor Graniteborn, you must travel to the mine with a small contingent of trusted dwarves. Seal the mine and conceal its entrance. Falco and Gap shall accompany your group. They have been instructed to stay behind in Restenford and report on anything suspicious that may be mine related.
Furthermore, once the mine is sealed, you and your companions shall investigate the old ruins on Bone Hill to see if they are worth acquiring. The old keep would make a tactical staging area in the event the mine seal fails and evil ventures forth.
Speak of your purpose to no other.
May Moradin bless your journey.”
Cirdan is the first to comment, “Falco and Gap are the two dwarves that run Falco’s Tavern according to Baroness Fairwind. She just mentioned it this afternoon while we were at the castle.”
Kuba chimes in, “Indeed, that is where she said we may find some information about the dwarven arms we found.”
Cirdan continues, “I am in need of supplies that Pelltar tells me may be available in Farmin. If any wish to accompany me, I would be grateful. Those that stay behind can see what Falco can tell us about the scroll.”
Breymeer accepts, “I will travel with you to Farmin.”
Kuba, still showing many injuries, joins the ranks, “I wish to go to Farmin as well unless Breymeer can get me a new sword. If I go, I must visit the Abby first in search of healing for I am in much pain yet. Otherwise, Speck and I can speak with Falco.”
As the talk of the road trip continues, the female elven bard stand up out of her chair letting her cloak drop from her shoulders. She is wearing a silver evening gown with a sash around her waist and a plain brooch shaped like a moon on her right shoulder. As she approaches the group, it is obvious her appearance affects the men and elves. She glides across the floor and directs herself towards Cirdan Saralonde with grace and dexterity uncommon even among the elves. Her face radiates a beauty that sets her apart. With a twinkle in her eye, and an innocent smile, she curtsies to Cirdan and speaks with a crisp, clear diction that is common among nobles, “Noble elf, if you are indeed going to Farmin, please consider allowing me to join your party for the journey. I have shopping I would like to do there but do not feel safe making the trip alone. I can offer you my song and music along the way as payment for your protection.”
“I am going, yes my lady,” answers back Cirdan leaning hard on his noble upbringing to now allow his voice to crack being the center of her attention, “but I cannot give you leave to go by myself. The other party members have as much to say as I.”
Cirdan returns a slight bow, “I am Cirdan Saralonde of Celene. What is your name and where is it that you are from?”
“My name is Morwen Alcerin and I am from the northernmost of the Spindrift Isles,” she responds. Tathar takes note.
P’innr Bhut stands from his table, having been listening in. In fact, now that Morwen Alcerin has stopped singing, the whole bar is watching again. P’innr Bhut asks something of Aikari and receives an affirmative nod from her. He bows to her and turns, walking towards the group, “My Lady, Aikari Bestir, has given me leave. She is not in need of my services now that we have reached Restenford. I do not need any supplies but would like to accompany your group to Farmin. I see you have experienced the dangers on the road. I have experience in swinging a steel axe or two. I do not ask for payment other than a fair share of anything I might help recover.”
And so it is the group makes their plans. Some will head off towards Farmin about mid-morning while others remain in Restendford to rest and heal up.
The party begins to break up with Southar being the first to leave.
Cirdan bids farewell. He drops some coins on the bar to pay for the entire meal and then exits the bar following Southar out into the night.
Outside the bar, Cirdan poses the following questions to Southar, "Southar, as your friend, I want to help you. Please tell me what is happening to you. We can find a way to reverse this. Is it your shield? Please let us know what to do for you."
Southar responds with a directness in his voice, “I am in no need of help. I seek no reversssal. I am truly well. Thank you and goodnight.”
With that Southar walks off towards the eastern edge of town, “I will be in the eastern woodssss. Jusst call for me.”
The group finishes up their meal and entertainment. Dalic packs the scroll and case away for later discussion. P’innr Bhut and Morwen Alcerin are invited to travel with the group going to Farmin. Everyone agrees to meet for a late breakfast to plan the trip to Farmin and the venture into Falco’s Tavern.
Everyone turns in for the night except Tathar who continues his nightly ritual of praying under the moonlight. Elves have very little need for sleep. Oddly, their sleep more resembles a meditation and even with that, they only need half the rest of a human.
The evening brings a growing wind and by morning a storm has rolled becoming a deluge by breakfast.
It is now the 19th day of Goomonth in the Common Year 577.
The party meets for breakfast where preparations for the trip to Farmin are put off until the storm breaks. Pelltar and Aikari, along with two of Pelltar’s assistants, Abracus and Fliban, surprise all by joining the meeting at nearly 9 AM. Pelltar looks very grim and the others have serious and stoic looks on their faces. Pelltar takes a visual accounting of all those present. Those that are not yet in attendance are gather up with runners; Dalic from the armorer, Ide Otneaux from the Tavern of the West Wind, Breymeer from the fletcher, and Speck is gathered up from the under the south bridge where he appears to have been nibbling apples and gazing northward towards Falco’s Tavern.
Missing from the group is Southar, last seen leaving Restenford by way of the south gate last evening, Peylae, who Ide Otneaux reports is now conscious but bedridden, and Tathar, whom no one can speak for.
Once Pelltar is satisfied all that are available are present, he speaks slowly and directly, “My friends, do not act rashly, stay your weapons and please heed my wisdom. I speak to you today on orders of Baroness Fairwind. Baron Grellus is dead and Tathar has been arrested! For now, you are all being held for questioning!”
Confusion immediately grips the group as Pelltar calls loudly, “Captain!”
Captain Gelpas, of the Baron’s guard, enters the inn ahead of a collection of armed men. Captain Gelpas has his long sword out but not in a striking pose. He wears his chain mail armor.
Behind him is a half-elf. The half-elf is dressed in chain mail armor and holds a trident in his hand.
The third through the door is a man wearing chain mail armor and holding a loaded light crossbow. He points it partially down in a low ready position. At his hip is a broadsword.
A priest of Phaulkon is next. He wears chain mail armor and has a small hammer in his left hand and a mace in his right.
The priest is accompanied by a second man wearing the garb of a Phaulkon priest. This man is more intimidating as he is stronger looking than the others. He holds a flail in his hand.
Finally, three of the Phaulkon acolytes stand just inside the threshold. Each wears studded leather armor. They wield maces.
Captain Gelpas speaks a loud, stern order to the group, “You are all under arrest! Lay your arms on the table or floor next to you and you will not be harmed.”
Marcus, the trident wielding half-elf, repeats the captains order in elvish.
Even though the baron’s guards are no match for the group, all slowly comply with the order in light of the numerous priest of Phaulkon present; not to mention four wizards.
Seeing the group’s concern, Captain Gelpas tries to relieve the tension in the air, “You will only be held long enough to be questioned. You accounting of last evening and your whereabouts are needed.”
The weapons are gathered up and respectfully placed, under guard, in the corner of the room away from the group.
Pelltar speaks to the point, “Baron Grellus was murdered last night in his room. A bloody circle was marked in the floor near the body with an elvish warning not to cross Sehanine. Tathar was arrested just an hour ago in the leather goods shop near the baron’s castle. Baron Grellus was suspicious of Tathar already in regards to the movement of the Sehanine priests in the area and the occupation of the necromancer’s keep. Several witnesses spoken how Tathar is awake and outdoors during the dark hours. Tathar could not hide his discord towards the baron in regards to the tone the baron took with him in the throne room.”
While Pelltar speaks, the sounds of alarm are being raised throughout Restenford. The militia is being called out and all able bodied citizens are arming themselves. Guard posts are being manned while the city gates are shut. The castle gates are closed and the castle is sealed off.
The interrogations begin within the Inn of the Dying Minotaur. Qualton, the Abbot and priest to Phaulkon, enters the inn and studies the group for several long minutes. One by one, each party member is brought into an empty sleeping chamber and questioned by Pelltar, Qualton and Captain Gelpas.
Once the questioning is done, all are gathered back together in the common room under the blank staring eyes of the minotaur head mounted above the bar as the rain continues to pour down outside, whipped about by the wind.
Now deep into the afternoon, Captain Gelpas dismisses the men excepting Pelltar, Qualton and the priest wielding the flail. The group’s weapons are returned to them.
Pelltar speaks, “I am no stranger to the Sehanine elves. I assure you they have not moved against the barony. Elves do not seek war without diplomacy first. Tathar, I believe, is a victim of circumstance.”
Pelltar continues, “I have much to do and it will be greatly hampered by instability in the region. I have assured Baroness Fairwind of your innocence but I was only able to buy one week’s time to clear your companion of all suspicions. Tathar’s trial commences on the 25th which is when Luna next graces the night’s sky in her full beauty.”
Pelltar looks to Captain Gelpas who nods back to him in return. Pelltar continues, “Farmin is darkly called Garrotten for it does not enjoy a good reputation. Dark rumors suggest that Garrotten is the headquarters for assassins who operate right under the nose of the town’s mayor, Lady Arrness. There is no proof the guild’s existence, of course, but it may be a good starting point to clear your companion’s good name and settle the tensions between the barony and the elves. I fear it is no coincidence this murder comes on the heels of the sacking of the necromancer’s keep. Surely there must be something afoot. You must uncover who was behind the plot to kill the Baron and bring them to justice.”
“I, for my part,” concludes Pelltar, ”along with Abbot Qualton, will travel to the necromancer’s keep to parlay with the Sehanine priest who entered there. We will find out what we can and report back to Baroness Fairwind. After that, I have need to travel to Irongate along with Aikari. I will return as soon as I may. Baroness Fairwind is fair and kind. Give her your trust and bring to her evidence against the real killer. She will free your friend.”
Abbot Qualton introduces the priest with the flail, “This is Krelar.” Krelar nods towards the party. “Krelar will accompany your party to Farmin as the Baroness Fairwind’s witness to your actions. Krelar is under the authority of the Phaulkon church. As such, you shall be held accountable to me for any ill that befalls him. Should death find him, you shall bring his body back as evidence and not burn it suspiciously as you did Yalta’s.”
Captain Gelpas adds, “If you should flee from the area it will be considered a guilty verdict upon you all. Arrest warrants will be sent to all corners of the islands and Tathar shall be hanged.”
“Rest up for today has an ill omen for travelling. Phaulkon appears angry and his breath is against you.” advises Qualton, “But be off soon for time is against you as it is a very long day’s travel to Farmin; often times two days.”
<As for Tathar> Tathar spent the night praying in the open air north of town. Once the storm began getting closer, he returned to town. Tathar noted a figure moving west near the Inn of the Dying Mintaur. It continued across the southern bridge. Tathar assumed it was someone else trying to get to shelter before the storm’s arrival and paid it no further attention. Besides, the figure was heading towards two of the town’s guard posts. Tathar returned to the inn for rest. Early in the morning, he rose, paid a visit to the fletcher and then the leather worker. While at the leather worker’s establishment, he was surrounded by the baron’s guards led by Captain Gelpas. Tathar was arrested and shackled. He was led into the castle where he has told he was being held on suspicious of murdering Baron Grellus. Tathar was blindfolded and gagged. From his previous visits to the castle, Tathar could tell he was led into the entrance and then to the east through a door and down a hall some twenty some feet. He was turned to the south and entered a room. He was led down a flight of stairs to the south and then brought down a short hall to the east. Passing through a door, he was moved up another short hallway and through a final cell door on the eastern wall. The blindfold was removed and he was ungagged. He was left shackled.
Cirdan Saralonde petitions, “Honorable Pelltar, I am indeed and elf and admit freely I am a travelling companion of Tathar Surion, Priest of Sehanine. But I am innocent of all charges or conspiracies. I, like yourself Pelltar, only wish for solace so that I can complete my studies. I chose to stay in Restenford. As such, I can be a voice for our group should Baroness Fairwind need information or question our actions.”
Kuba speaks up as well, “I nearly was slain and still suffer from numerous wounds received on a mission for the very Baron I have been accused of helping to harm. I am not fit for this journey and will not risk my death as such. I will be staying in Restenford until well.”
“And I will be staying to take care of him,” pipes Speck.
Captain Gelpas acquiesces, “There is wisdom in your words Cirdan Saralonde. As well as yours Kuba. I do like the idea of having your presence should questions arise. You may stay but you shall keep the Baron’s Guard aware if you change locations.”
“Very well,” Pelltar adds, “Cirdan will be expected to maintain a room at one of the local establishments. And the same goes for Kuba and Speck.”
Ide Otneaux requests, “Cirdan, would you please watch after Peylae. There is a room to rent in the Tavern of the West Wind. It is quiet there and you will be close to maintain care. I will travel with the group to Farmin. Should there be trouble on the road again, I would like to add my axe to the fight.”
P’innr Bhut clarifies his position, “Captain Gelpas, I am P’innr Bhut. I was previously in the employment of Lady Aikari Bestir. I have no previous association to Tathar Surion other than arriving in town in his company. As a sellsword, and currently looking for work, I voluntarily join this expedition for better or ill.”
Captain Gelpas accepts, “P’innr Bhut, your offer is welcome. It will be convenient to have several accounts of what occurs be told.”
“Gather your supplies today. You will have to be off at first light if you wish to make the journey in one sun,” advises Pelltar.
The conference is convened and the group separates to gather individual supplies, make plans, sharpen weapons, repair equipment and rest.
At daybreak the group convenes at the southern city gate. The guard post is manned by the militia. Regular patrols walk the perimeter. The Baroness remains secure within the castle. There is an air of suspicion and paranoia among the people of Restenford.
Yesterday’s rain has tapered off to a wind driven mist. Although the temperature remains warm enough (high 60s), the dampness of the air is chilling.
Captain Gelpas waits impatiently in the guard shack while the party slowly arrives. Krelar waits with Captain Gelpas. Krelar is armored in chain mail and carries his flail. He wears a medium shield upon his left arm. A shadowed image of a winged human adorns it.
First to arrive is Breymeer, the northern barbarian. He has found healing and resupplied his equipment. He was unable to replace his broadsword but was able to substitute a mace that he bought off the Abby while he was there seeking healing.
Dalic, the battle hardened dwarf, is the next to arrive. He canters up on his pony. He has purchased and donned the dwarven plate mail that was recovered in the keep. It is now polished and repaired. He wears a helm upon his head and a new earthen tones cloak.
P’innr Bhut, from the Wild Coast and wielder of two axes, rides up on his horse, dismounts and nods to the group.
Morwen Alcerin, the elven bard, arrives on horseback. She has put away her dressy gowns. She carries a Baliset. It is a nine-stringed guitar-style instrument measuring one foot wide by three feet long and eight inches deep. It is made from a single piece of maple, hollowed out to the thinness of a normal guitar. It is inlayed with gold and silver leaves. A cloak is draped tightly around her.
Ide Otneaux and Grimlock arrive. Grimlock, the half-elven drifter from the Wild Coast region, apologizes, “I am sorry we are late. We wanted to make sure Peylae was going to be okay. Cirdan will be spending much time in study. Comus and the rest of the crew have assured me they would maintain regular checks on their captain. Comus has been able to rent out the boat to fisherman to make enough money to pay for the docking fee and food and beverages for the crew.”
Ide Otneaux, the half-orc mountain of a woman, leans into her great axe and looks to P’innr Bhut, the fellow axe wielder. She smiles towards him and nods. It is a relief to have her travelling with as Ide Otneaux stands among the tallest in the party and easily outweighs all.
Many of the group still wear bandages on their injuries received in the keep. Ide Otneaux, Dalic and Grimlock appear to be the worse for wear. None appear to be suffering any ill effects other than discomfort.
“Baron Grellus was a fair man. If Sehanine’s elves have not killed him, then the answer must be found. If the keep was sacked and the gnolls defeated, there must be another element. Belina has not yet returned from tracking the gnolls. She may have some answers should we see her again. There are many loose ends. I pray for your innocence, for I wish not to war with the elves.” Captain Grellus has the serious look of a military man prepared to die for his cause. “Be off. Send word if you can.”
Breymeer looks concerned in regards to the news of Belina.
The gate is opened and the adventurers step forward leaving the wooden palisade behind them. The salty sea air is whipped about as the wind refuses to calm. The road quickly turns from its southern destination to the north in order to pass the Kelman Woods and Kelman Hills.
Morwen adjusts herself in her saddle. Black pants protrude below her cloak along with a bastard sword scabbard. Judging by her bulk, she wears armor. A shield is slung alongside her horse and a bow and quiver upon her back.
Dalic rides up ahead of her while addressing the party, "Time we hab' not, a quick pace may'n give us Farmin 'fore nightfall. By tha look-a thins we migh' near save half-a day 'long the coast. Less likely for ta be ambushed as well. And more, shoul' Dalic see tha undead forest ne'er again, t'be too soon. Iff'n ye be n'agreement an' t'be advisable by'n are escort, let us ta tha coast!" Dalic slips into his thick accent again, feeling more confident to be back at Restenford and among new friends. Having some exposure to him, it appears he would rather follow the coast as opposed to taking the road.
Grimlock does him one better, “Hell, I wanted to take the boat to Farmin. Looks like the water is a straight shot and half the time. Comus tells me the weather is too bad. He mumbled something about poor fishing and eating sea biscuits as a result. I didn’t push him.”
“You will make better time by road,” advises Captain Gelpas. “But the choice is yours.”
P’innr rides up next to Dalic, “I am fine by the road. I can help with lead lookout.”
Dalic simply scowls.
Krelar adjusts the flail on his belt and wiggles his shield into a more comfortable position, “Kelman woods and hills hold a band of gnolls with wolf support. I know not there numbers but no doubt you have given them a set-back.”
Captain Gelpas adds, “Our rangers had noted increased activity in the Kelman Hills of late. That is until you put a thorn in their side. If you should go by way of the coast, please advise me of anything of note when you return.”
Breymeer expresses, “Taking two days and cutting along the shore appeals to me. I have been longing for the wilderness. I volunteer to track for dangers. I think it would be much safer than on the road. Certainly, I will happily lead the way.”
Morwen voices her request to travel by road.
Breymeer, not one to distress a pretty woman, human or otherwise, adds, “But if the vote is by road, so be it.”
The group discusses further the pros and cons of travel. The final decision is made. Those who certainly wish to travel by road are outnumbered by those who wish to travel more discretely. Breymeer, Grimlock and Dalic being the most ardent supporters. P’innr Bhut was fine with the decision. Krelar and Morwen appeared to be the least happy with the decision. Ide Otneaux just comments, “Can slay the remaining gnolls on the road or in the woods just the same.”
So it is, the group leaves Restenford following the road for the first mile until it twists to the north. Here, the group quickly covers the half-mile opening and enters Kelman Woods near its northeastern terminus. To the west and north the collection of hills, Kelman Hills, rises and falls. Pebble Hills nearest and Tri-Top to the east. Between them runs Spring Valley which holds the small woodland of Spring Glade. Spring Glade the group had travelled past on the road to Bone Hill. Farther to the northwest the remains of the Kelman Hills continues. There, the road to Farmin turns back south travelling through Kelman Pass.
The hills are quite rocky with scattered boulders common. Grasses grow in clumps, as do bushes. Large sections of the hills are sandy or rocky with no plant growth whatsoever. The few small corpses of trees are normal forest.
The wood along the coast consist of a mix of evergreens, oaks and laurels. This mixes into the normal forest blend inland from the coast about one half mile. The undergrowth consists of much moss and ferns. There are game trails that move to and fro in the forest. There is enough room to maneuver the horses and pony. They are not ridden through the forest; instead the riders lead them through. The going is slow but the trees do offer shelter from the mist and wind. Breymeer takes his time to check for tracks and trails. The forest is only a few miles thick here and then the coast opens back up to more open of a plain.
Breymeer reports normal game, somewhat less frequent in sign than he would anticipate, along with numerous wolf tracks, some of them very large. There are also humanoid tracks. Breymeer judges they are from gnolls, both full grown and smaller. The tracks are a little older, at least before the rain.
The group continues through the forest with Breymeer, bow in hand, is in the lead a short distance ahead, sneaking quietly along as he goes. He has some talent at this for a human. A stone throw behind Breymeer, P’innr walks just ahead of Dalic, who leads his pony. Next, Morwen leads her horse just ahead of Krelar leading his horse. Grimlock and Ide Otneaux bring up the rear.
Near the center of the eastern woods, still just off the coastline, a sudden rush of leaves and soft pounding on the ground alerts the group to an animal running away. A juvenile sized gnoll, hardly bigger than an elf, rides a large wolf away from the group. It appeared to have spotted you before being noticed. It now rides away swiftly to the northwest. It is nearly 150 feet away. It appears have a horn bouncing upon a lanyard hanging from his neck.
P’innr Bhut points at the escaping gnoll, “Kill it before it can call for reinforcements!”
Front ahead of P’innr, a bow string sings and an arrow takes flight from Breymeer’s bow. The arrow flies over the shoulder of the bounding gnoll as the string sings a second time. Breymeer’s aim is true and the arrow pierces the back of the gnolls head crumpling him upon the ground.
The now unburdened wolf begins to zig and zag between trees as it continues its flight.
Breymeer picks the obsidian arrow from his quiver and puts it to string. He fires a bit off and strikes the wolf in the hind quarter. It yelps as the arrow buries itself deep into the muscle. Breymeer strings an additional arrow and sends that down range. It strikes the wolf in the guts as it hobbles out of view behind some vegetation roughly 200 feet away. It appears badly wounded.
Morwen recommends, “We should check that body.”
Dalic spurs his pony into a perimeter check, looking for any other stray scouts. He moves warily in a clockwise circle around the group.
Breymeer strings another arrow and begins heading off after the wounded warg. Ide Otneaux moves forward on Breymeer’s right flank. She has her spear out prepared to set it against a charge. P’innr Bhut is also moving up but heading towards the dead gnoll and not the warg. P’innr wields both his axes menacingly. The body of the dead gnoll is about 50 feet closer to the group.
Morwen mounts her horse and watches the events unfold. Grimlock takes up a rear guard position; he melds into the cover the forest provides. Krelar quickly ties his horse to a branch and takes up front guard with Morwen between. Krelar takes his flail in hand, letting the weighted chain fall into place.
The wind covers many sounds and the tension in the air grows as the Breymeer moves closer and closer to the scrub the warg dove into.
P’innr Bhut reaches the body of the gnoll. It is a maturing juvenile male. It is very dead. Other than the horn, it has a dagger sheathed on a crude leather belt. The dagger is solid but not well taken care of as indicated by its rusty appearance. Although serviceable, it appears to have little value. The horn is simply made being a hollowed out ox horn.
As P’innr is examining the gnoll, Breymeer closes on the warg’s last known location. Ide Otneaux is on his left by about 30 feet. Breymeer effortlessly picks up on the light blood trail leading into the scrub.
A howling sound fills the air and carries on the wind. It is a pain filled howl given as a desperate warning. The cry gives away the warg’s location. It is only about 15 feet ahead of Breymeer, 65 feet from P'innr and roughly 40 feet from Ide.
Grimlock shimmies up a tree hoping for a better view. The field of vision improves for the short distance but is blocked by foliage much farther out than a few hundred feet at best.
Morwen also keeps a weather eye for danger.
P’innr remains vigilant while slowly back pedaling towards the group as Breymeer sends an arrow into the scrub towards the wolf. It hits a branch and deflects wide. The warg makes a headlong charge towards Breymeer with his teeth bared. Breymeer strings another arrow and puts the shaft through the creature’s throat. It piles up dead at his feet. Ide Otneaux begins a tactical retreat as well.
Krelar remounts; securing his flail as he does so.
The wind in the forest hides any hint of other sounds whether they be there or not. The collective remains nervous of other threats but no immediately appear.
Dalic, having spun his pony around to face the warg's cries calls out, "Kill it! Take wha' ye wish but quickin'! They be on us soon iffen we don' move. DEIFIR!" Seeing Breymeer has slain the warg, Dalic breaks perimeter and moves to forward company to lead a quick march onward.
P’innr agrees, “We should continue moving.”
Morwen waits quietly while Grimlock remains on watch up a tree, “I am ready to move out.”
Dalic reaches his marching position and begins to fidget impatiently as the rest of the party collects. He eyes the woods continuously.
Breymeer recovers his obsidian tipped arrow along with three others, two from the warg and one from the gnoll. Two of his arrows are lost. Breymeer takes the horn from the dead gnoll as he eyes the woods repeatedly.
Breymeer hurries back to his lead position. Ide Otneaux returns to the group and Grimlock vacates his tree post. Once all are ready, the group resumes its march towards Farmin.
The trip through the wood remains stressful as all are on high alert. In the end, it is all for naught. No other dangers reveal themselves to the group. Within hours, the trees thin and finally open to rolling grassland dotted with a smattering of small woods and low rising hills. The sea remains active and rolling as the wind continues to howl. The air remains wet with a light rain. It isn’t long before most would trade the dangers of the woods for the shelter it brought.
Having been through much worse, the group steels its nerves and continues heading in a southerly direction. The large hills around Farmin become the guide.
The group has set off for Lake Farmin. Those remaining behind in Restenford find themselves engaged in their own activities.
Southar remains outside the city walls presumably in the eastern forest.
Kuba and Speck rest in the Tavern of the West Wind. Speck nurses his good friend.
Peylae also rests in the Tavern of the West Wind. Her crew checks on her regularly and Comus keeps a close eye on her. Cirdan also checks in to see she is doing well.
Cirdan spends most of his time in laborious studies.
Tathar is presumed to be held captive by the barony.
It is raining and miserable outside. The party keeps to itself for the most part as the morning passes without incident.
Dalic pauses his pony and sneers at the wind, "We know too little ta be so visible as-a biggin group. There be few dangers, I'd ta think, in tha light-a day ta 'vestigate. When we get nearer tha town Dalic will split off for some time fer me appearance be ta'vantage. Let us meet at dusk ta discuss our finds. I be takin' no more than one other wit. We ta' pose fer now as lowmen, drom, vlog, errr... gritty. Bhut, warrior of P'in or Ide, karak of Otneaux woul' do well fer this type. Thoughts friends-a mine?" <Translation: "We know too little to remain so conspicuous in this big of a group. It doesn't seem that it would be dangerous to investigate a bit in the light of day. When we get nearer to the town, I wish to split off from the group to see what I can find, looking as I do should provide some opportunities. We should meet back up before dark to discuss what we have found. I wish to take one other party member with, but no more than one. Together, we should pose as lowlifes, despicable, gritty travelers. P'innr Bhut, the warrior or the mountainous Ide Otneaux fit the description I intend. What are your thoughts friends?">
As the group contemplates Dalic’s idea, they examine the route to Lake Farmin. The group stands now at the east end of the southern terminus of Kelman Woods. Towards the west is Lookout Forest sitting snugly against the northeastern slope of a large hill named Lookout Peak. On the far side of Lookout Peak, the road from Restenford runs south into Lake Farmin. On the far west side of the road is Gesex Hill which is forested on the northern slope and plain by Gesex Forest. South of the two hills are patches of forest. One smaller hill sits to the northwest of Lake Farmin. Finally, to the west rises the Farmin Mountains being much larger and more rugged than the surrounding foothills. The Farmin River comes from the mountains and spills into Farmin Lake before exiting that and entering the sea. A wooded are named Rogan Forest warms the feet of the mountain to the southwest of town. The open areas between Kelman Woods and town are a mix of low rolling grasslands spotted with small corpse of trees; none amounting to more than 20 acres in size excepting the clusters around the southern Lookout Peak and Gesex Hill and the small clusters that surround town. The rolling hills of the grasslands support the occasional small wet area where cattails and reeds have found enough moisture to take hold.
The town of Lake Farmin sits on the east side of the lake. It has two small hills, one north and one east, that border the town. The eastern hill boasts a small keep atop it.
Ide Otneaux’s voice breaks the silence, “Dirt on my face don’t bother me. A lowlife is how my kind are treated. I will go with you half-cracked dwarf.”
P’innr Bhut steps forward with Ide Otneaux, “Would love to lend the axes to the cause if they are needed. Have been craving battle.”
Dalic looks pleased, “"I be glad ta take both but ode ye draw much 'tension. Let the Bhut warrior come with." Ide steps back without any sign of indignation as Dalic continues, "We shoul' look fer a tavern or tha Inn if need'n an' talk ta tha riff and the raff. Bhut an' Dalic will split off now fer that an' meet up wit ye rest before sunset. Where will we meet?”
Grimlock is the first to answer, “Tavern is a must. I think I'll just head on in by myself and see what the towns looks like.”
Breymeer informs the group, “I am going to head to Lookout Peak and camp there for the night and look around. I will come into town tomorrow.”
Ide Otneaux volunteers herself to Breymeer, “I will go with the northerner. I may just stay back at his camp and wait to see what happens as you filter into town. I can find you at the tavern if needed. Dalic is right, I will stick out.”
P’innr and Dalic ride forward as fast as Dalic’s pony will carry the bouncing and cursing dwarf. One wonders what the pony may have done to deserve such an accursed rider.
Morwen spurs her horse forward as well, “I will ride with them as well. I would like to get to town before nightfall and see if I can play at the inn.”
Breymeer and Ide Otneaux veer off and head for Lookout Peak.
Krelar looks at Grimlock, “I guess I will walk with you until I can meet up with the others at the tavern.” Grimlock accepts the company excepting that Grimlock wishes to make the final entrance to town alone.
The day passes without incident as Dalic, P’innr and Morwen ride around the edge of Lookout Peak. The plains between the hill and the seashore an easy 1500 feet below the peak. Near the small unnamed hill to the northeast of Lake Farmin, the group splits again after eating supper; Morwen heads west to the trail and Dalic and P’innr continue south to enter town from the east.
Grimlock and Krelar plod their way along, following the tracks left by the horseriders before them. The sun moves to the west and the shadow of the 1500+ foot peak of Lookout Peak creeps across their path.
Breymeer and Ide make for the perimeter of Lookout Forest and make their way slowly up the hill to Lookout Peak. It rises over 1500 feet above them.
Morwen rides into town on the road from Restenford, having caught it a few miles north of town. She rides south past a general store (#13) and a theatre (#4) before passing the baker (#14) and a leather worker (#15). The Mayor’s castle (#1) looms large on a hilltop to the east as Morwen rides up in front of the inn (#2). Directly across the street from the inn is the Wheelwright (#40).
The main inn building is a single story structure with wooden upper works and a stone foundation. In front of the building is a large bright green sign that reads, “House of Abraham: Food, Lodging and Ale.” In the center of the sign is a picture of a smiling man holding out a large tankard of ale.
The grounds around the inn contain an old red barn, a corral for horses, a small tool shed and a vegetable garden. A number of trees and bushes grow in the area; especially a large apple tree covering a small privy behind the inn. The entire property is contained within a wooden fence standing about four feet high.
Having spurned her horse to a good speed the final distance of the trip, Morwen has reached town nearly an hour before nightfall. A stable boy, seeing her paused out front of the inn, dutifully comes out into the street from the area of the barn/corral. He is a young teen, about the size of Morwen with short brown hair. He carries a large knife upon his belt.
“Fixing to stay? Your horse looks a bit sweaty. Be happy to see to it while you are inside m’lady.” The boy is voice is kind but a twinkle in his eye gives him the look of a trouble maker. However, evidence of horse manure and hay on his clothing are evidence he is indeed the inn stable boy. “Ma’name’s Falpir m’lady.”
Dalic and P’innr Bhut watch the sun set as they turn west around the circumference of a small hill east of town. The falling sun shines upon the mayor’s castle atop a hill on the eastern perimeter of town. The duo rides towards the landmark as the mountain shadows overtake the town.
The sun has bit farewell for the night as the duo bends south to the river in order to avoid approaching the castle hill at nightfall.
They follow the river to the stone bridge at the south end of Lake Farmin. The bridge has a high arch of fifteen feet to allow boats to pass underneath. It is also brightly lit by a lantern at the highest peak of the bridge. The lantern does not boast a flame. Instead, a holy bright light, similar to Breymeer’s torch, illuminates the bridge.
Turning north, they ride into town and come upon the guardhouse (#50) at the southern edge of Lake Farmin proper.
The guardhouse is 20x25 and made of stone. It has five barred windows. The front and rear doors are both heavy oak and are iron reinforced. The rear window faces the stone bridge from which you approach. The sound of voices is easily heard from the guard shack and it is evident the three occupants are sharing some spirits.
Hearing the horse’s clip-clop approach, one of the men steps out of the shack and hails you from the front door. He wears chain mail armor. “Who passes this way? Approach and identify yourselves.” The two other men have stood. They each wear chain mail as well.
Grimlock and Krelar continue to walk along to the south using the hilltops and mountains as their compass. The sun sets completely behind the mountain and darkness soon settles upon the land.
Breymeer and Ide Otneaux move up in elevation as the skirt the perimeter of the woodline, keeping just inside the trees to conceal their ascent as much as possible. They summit before nightfall and watch the other party members pop in and out of view as they travel south along the east side of the hill. Before long, they disappear from view altogether.
The hilltop gives a commanding view of the Restenford road and the lower Gesex Hill to the west. Breymeer and Ide eat a cold meal and avoid a fire so as not to draw attention to themselves. Before sunset, they move a couple miles south and about half way down the hill to gain shelter from the trees there. The wind and rain were too miserable on the top of the hill.
Breymeer and Ide Otneaux enter the small forested area on the southeastern hill slope. Breymeer stops Ide and examines the ground before them in the failing light. In the muddied soil before him are numerous tracks. Breymeer’s educated guess would be about two dozen heavy man sized figures and a large ogre or a small giant. The tracks were made before the rain so are at least a day old. Ide, seeing Breymeer’s concern, takes her great axe to hand and looks around cautiously.
The boy leaves the gate open on the fence that encircles the property. It is made of wooden slats and stands about four feet high. "Good evening Falpir. I am Morwen. Do you know if there are rooms available?"
Falpir is quick to answer, “Yes indeed. Abraham is inside. He will help you.” Morwin flips him a silver piece as she dismounts her horse, "Take good care of Rosebud. If you do, there will be twice that for you when I leave." She flashes him a happy smile whiles she remove her saddle bags, backpack and Baliset.
Falpir guides the horse through the gate and down a wide gravel path. He motions Morwen to follow him. He passes the corral and he heads towards the barn. At the back of the inn, Falpir points to the rear door, “I will stable your horse in the barn. That door should still be unlocked. Go on in and follow your ear to the common room.”
Morwen enters and is met by the muffled sound of friendly banter coming from down the hall. She stands in a five foot wide hallway with two doors on the right hand side (south). The hallway is fifteen feet long and opens to a tee. The north branch leads to three more doors. The east branch leads to four doors. From the east branch, the sound of the bar can be heard through the only door on the northern wall. Judging from the placement of barred windows, the hallway doors mainly lead to private rooms.
Dalic nods to P’innr indicating he wishes P’innr to respond. P’innr, already guiding his horse forward, approaches the guard shack and announces himself in a non-hostile manner, “I am P’innr Bhut and this is my companion Dalic. We seek shelter and supplies and possibly some, er, entertainment.”
The guard replies as the other two guards within the shack sit back down and quit paying attention, “We have most supplies you would need. Everything is closed now though. I suggest you take your rest at the town inn. It is straight north of here.” He points to the north. Up ahead, lights shine through the windows of a large building on the west side of the road. “The House of Abraham is its name. Abraham be the keeper.” The guard looks to the sky and shows some disgust for getting wet. “As for entertainment, we may be limited in that fashion. There will be some card games and whatnot at the inn but nothing in the way of . . . ladies. We do have a theatre. It is north of the inn. Pretty good shows if I may say so.” With that, the guard re-enters the guard shack leaving the pair of adventurers in the street to go as they please.
Lightning begins to flash in the distance and the soft roll of thunder soon follows.
Breymeer advises Ide of his findings. He suggests they move slightly uphill to overlook the trail should the creatures return. Ide concurs. They move upward finding a small rocky ledge among the trees. Here they set camp and prepare to weather out the storm. The wind and rain continue deep into the night as Breymeer takes first watch seeing as Ide retains many of the injuries she sustained fighting the gnolls.
The night passes without incident.
“Where do you want to go? It might not be a bad idea to look around the town under the cover of the storm, as nobody else will want to be outside,” points out P’innr.
Dalic nods affirmatively and starts to wander north out of the view of the guard shack. The lightning is both bane and boon as each strike illuminates the night for P’innr but at the same time messes with Dalic’s darkvision. In this way, they ride slowly up the street examining as they go. The sound of their mounts footsteps blending somewhat with the sounds of the storm.
They follow the road north for the first block finding a baitshop (#47) and a weaponsmith (#46) on the east side of the road and an herb and spice shop (#48) on the west.
The bait shop, 20 ft x 25 ft, is rather a non-descript wooden framed building. A few open top barrels are out front smelling of fish. They are empty.
The weaponsmith building, 30 ft x 25 ft, has an open hearth and anvil in the northwest corner facing the roadway. The building is made of stonework for a base and around the hearth and the rest of it is framed in wood.
The herb and spice shop, 35 ft x 30 ft, is a stone building with a half dozen barred windows about six feet off the ground. The front door is made of heavy wood with iron borders and hinges. The door is carved in the shape of a dragon with an open mouth. A sign next to the door reads, “Hestal the Alchemist, by appointment only!”
From the t-intersection one block north of the guard shack, they can make out the docks to the west along the lake, the inn two blocks to the north, the castle to the northeast and what looks to be a low walled church and grounds one block to the northwest. There are numerous other businesses, shacks and cottages dotting the town as well.
Morwen enters the common room of the bar.
The room is 25 ft square. Near the center of the room are four tables with four chairs each. The west of the tables stands a bar with six stools. The south wall holds four booths with tall partitions that go to the ceiling. Each booth can hold four persons comfortably. In the southwest corner is a large round table with eight chairs around it. There is a door behind the bar on the north wall, a door on the south wall between the round table and the booths and a pair of swinging doors on the north wall. The exterior door is on the east wall.
The room is lit by four large candle chandeliers hanging in the center of the room. Candles also burn in the four booths and by the round table in the southwest corner.
Next to the swinging door is a board painted with the following:
House of Abraham
Ale 17cp
Beer 8cp
Mead 8 sp
Wine 9 – 16 sp
Meals: noon – 2 pm, 7 pm to 10 pm 2-20 sp
Rooms 12 sp +6 sp per extra guest
Closed Midnight to Sunrise
For the moment Morwen enters, a quick silence descends on the bar as the patrons look her over. Her attractiveness holds the attention of many of the men as they look and then continue to peak often.
A man and woman occupy the booth against the east wall. They are sharing a bottle of wine.
Three older teenage males are in the third booth from the east wall.
Another man and woman are having dinner at the southwest table.
At the northeast table, what appears to be castle soldiers are drinking with what initially appeared to be a dwarf. Closer inspection reveals the person is actually a human midget. His long brown hair and beard giving him the dwarven appearance. His weight, however, gives him away as he tips the scales at under 100 pounds.
At the bar are four men looking to be local peasants, farmers or shopkeepers.
Finally, at the round table near Morwen are three men playing cards. One is hardly larger than an elf although he appears human. He has a small moustache, trim beard and medium length black hair. The man next to his is slightly larger although not by much. He has black hair and a trimmed black beard. A belt of six darts crosses his chest from shoulder to hip. The final man is of average build. He has brown hair and a mustache.
Morwen asks the card players where the barkeep is. The man closest to her, the one hardly larger than an elf with medium length black hair, speaks without looking away from his card adversaries, “He and Glami when to get another keg of ale. He will be right back.” While speaking, he leans forward and drops a few coins in the pile revealing a gold medallion hanging from a gold chain. He also has a gold ring upon his finger. It is on his non-marriage hand. His accent gives away he is not a native from the Spindrift Isles.
A teenage boy pops his long blond haired head up from under the bar, “Abraham will be right back, Miss.” It appears he had been cleaning behind the bar as he holds a rag in one hand. There is a knife sheathed to his belt.
At that moment, the door in the center of the north wall opens. A very attractive late teenage girl holds the door open for two men and a boy bringing in a fresh keg of ale. She is blond a little over five feet tall and boasts a slim but attractive figure. Her beauty being equal to that of Morwen, the men of the bar are very happy at her return. It is quickly obvious she is a flirt.
The first man through the door is in his early 40s and of average build. He has greying brown hair and a large waxed moustache. He wears a decorated red leather vest over an apron and trousers. He has iron bands upon his wrists. He has two daggers upon his belt.
The second man, in his mid 30s, is a little thinner than the first. He has long stringy black hair and a full beard. His right arm has a long ugly scar on the inside of his forearm and it is obvious he does not have full use of it. In fact, a pre-teen boy with long black hair helps balance the keg. The boy has a knife upon his belt.
Using the distraction to her advantage, Morwen moves to the bar and awaits the attention of the barkeeper.
“What can we help you with traveler? I am Abraham d’Farmin, innkeeper,” politely asks the man in his 40s.
Morwen engages Abraham in dialogue and attempts to win him over. After negotiating for a few minutes, Abraham agrees to have her play for the remainder of the evening for her room but requests she pay for her food and drink. “A looker like you ought not be paying for drinks for long I am sure,” he assures her. “In fact, first one is on me. Glami, poor the young lady some wine.” A wink at Glami tells him to get the elf blooded woman the best he has. The man with the scar on his arm dutifully retrieves a glass and fills it with wine. Setting it before Morwen he gives a polite smile.
Abraham finds a key for Morwen and hands it to her, “Here is your room key. Go out the door behind you,” he motions to the door Morwen entered from, “take a left and it is the last door on your right. Tomorrow you may have reasonable meals and the room if the crowd is in favor of your playing. You are expected to be here to play during both meal times as a minimum. If you wish to play after that for tips, you are more than welcome.” He motions to the sign showing the meal times of noon to 2PM and 7PM to 10PM. “We close at midnight. I will get you a stool and you can have the northeast corner by the exterior door to play from.”
The older boy, named James, moves between the bar helping Glami and bussing tables.
The younger boy, Balmar, cleans a stool for Morwen. The then returns to bussing tables and helping Rillis, the pretty barmaid.
Rillis brings Morwen some bread, butter and cheese with some local fruits.
After Morwen eats, Balmar moves her stool to the northeast corner while Morwen excuses herself to her room to stow her gear. The room has two double beds along the west well. A small table with four chairs occupies the area in front of the window near the southeast corner. To the east of the door on the north wall is a dresser with an iron candlestick and four drawers. Paraphernalia to light the candle rests upon the desktop. The single window is barred band has shutters on the inside. A large carpet covers the floor leaving only a few inches of bare floor around its perimeter. Under each bed, concealed by the ruffled bedding, is a chest for storing personal belongings.
Morwen closes the window shutters and locks it in place with the simple metal latch. She changes into her gown and hide her things as best she can. She keeps her money on her as well as her thief’s tools. Carrying her baliset, she proceeds to the common room. She seats herself on the stool and begins to play. Her new outfit draws much attention and she has the bars acceptance within a few songs.
The thought of shelter from the storm, a warm meal and, of course, beer & ale tugs at Dalic, “Let’s drop by tha inn ‘n get a drink. Wel likely fin’ more ta see an know in there.”
P’innr agrees and they head to the inn. They pass by a few cottages and shops including a boatbuilder, ropemaker, bowyer, horse trader and a wheelwright. They take note of a statue positioned at the fork in the road leading to the castle. The statue is of a heavily muscled, bearded, bear chested man, facing those who approach the castle. It has its hands on its hips as it watches the approach of those to the castle.
The local patrons give the duo a once over as they enter the bar and then go back to their own business.
Three older teenage males are in the third booth from the east wall.
At the northeast table, what appears to be castle soldiers are drinking with what initially appeared to be a dwarf. Closer inspection reveals the person is actually a human midget. His long brown hair and beard giving him the dwarven appearance. His weight, however, gives him away as he tips the scales at under 100 pounds.
At the bar are three men looking to be local peasants, farmers or shopkeepers.
Finally, at the round table are three men playing cards. One is hardly larger than an elf although he appears human. He has a small moustache, trim beard and medium length black hair. The man next to his is slightly large although not by much. He has black hair and a trimmed black beard. A belt of six darts crosses his chest from shoulder to hip. The final man is of average build. He has brown hair and a mustache.
A teenage boy is cleaning behind the bar with a rag he holds in his hand. There is a knife sheathed to his belt. Next to the boy is a man, in his mid 30s. He is of average build; slightly thinner then most. He has long stringy black hair and a full beard. His right arm has a long ugly scar on the inside of his forearm and it is obvious he does not have full use of it. He appears to be the bartender.
Another man stands near him behind the bar. He is in his early 40s and of average build. He has greying brown hair and a large waxed moustache. He wears a decorated red leather vest over an apron and trousers. He has iron bands upon his wrists. He has two daggers upon his belt.
A pre-teen boy with long black hair moves about the room bussing tables. The boy has a knife upon his belt.
Finally, P’innr and Dalic recognize Morwen looking gorgeous in a gown playing her baliset in the northeastern corner of the room. She sits upon a stool.
The man with the red vest calls out to P’innr and Dalic, “Kind gentleman, please find a spot to rest your bones and dry yourself. You have made it just before kitchen close.” The man motions to his sign depicting kitchen hours. It must be approaching 10 PM.
Moments later, the door in the center of the north wall opens. A very attractive late teenage girl enters the room. She is blond a little over five feet tall and boasts a slim but attractive figure. Her beauty being equal to that of Morwen. It is quickly obvious she is a flirt. With a wink and an inviting smile she addresses P’innr and Dalic, “What would you brave men like? Glami will pour you drinks while I cook up your request.”
Morwen, The couples at the first booth and table two leave along with one of the patrons who was sitting at the bar. They each throw a couple copper pieces in a dry mug for you as they leave.
Dalic speaks to the serving girl in a normal toned voice. The castle soldiers and the youths in the booth being close enough to hear. In addition,
Morwen is able to make out the conversation.
"I be Dalic tha Steely, Steelcoat by nam', an' this be me lord, the great Warrior of Bhut, collosus on tha field o' battle an' master in tha ways o' tha heart." Dalic is playing wingman and servant in this presumed cover. "I will have a drink should me lord allow it. An' if ye be knowin', we seek ta meet wit a man of pow'r. Not a political kin' a-sorts... Iffen ye might guide Dalic ta tha sort, I shoul' let ye an' me lord be ta muse yer musings."
P’innr, bearing scars of battle and lacking a bit in the nuances of flirtation (Charisma score of 7), dismisses the idle chat but does pick up on Dalic’s intentions (Intelligence score of 14), “Thank you Dalic. We shall sit along the south wall in the booth.” P’innr points to the far southwest booth by the door on the south wall. “No food for me, but water and a pitcher of ale if the dwarf so wishes.” Dalic nods in the affirmative and hands serving girl 5 silver pieces.
“Thank you,” she replies, “I am Rillis. I am afraid I am not much in the know for men of power.” She speaks as she directs them to their booth, “Mayor Arness and those of the castle are the town’s leaders. Other than the Mayor, the other important people are hear appear to be my boss, Abraham, as he has the only inn, the Church of Osprem is well respected and Balmorrow, the owner of the theater, seems to be looked up to by many. He is a fine entertainer.”
Rillis seats Dalic and P’innr with a curtsey and moves off to get the water and pitcher of ale.
“Short one,” P’innr looks at Dalic, “Go check on the horses and make sure the equipment is properly stowed or I will chop off your beard.”
Dalic, seeing P’innr is on board with the ploy, answers, “’es, sir. Let me git yer drink first.” Dalic saunters over to the bar. Leaning in intimidatingly, he pries Glami as he grabs his ale and his master’s water pitcher and glass, “Pray ye, we be looking fer work. Me lord an' me don' shy from messy business. Where can we hap' ta go in lookin' such work?”
Seeing Dalic’s pose, the castle soldiers begin to pay close attention to him but remain seated.
Glami answers Dalic trying to keep a poker face to cover his slight nervousness near the dwarf, “There is little need for messy business in town. However, we are raided on occasion by orcs from the mountains. Perhaps you would like to seek employment from the mayor as a town soldier? If so, you should call upon the mayor at the castle.”
“Aye!” retorts Dalic. He gulps down his ale and wipes the froth from his beard. Dalic delivers his master’s water pitcher and mug before exiting the room into the stormy night to secure the animals and gear.
Abraham approaches P’innr as Dalic exits, “If you have want of a dry bed, I will have my stable boy see to your animals and your servant can bring your gear inside.”
Morwen keeps a watchful eye and an elf’s ear to the crowd as she continues to play.
After ten or fifteen minutes, a very wet dwarf re-enters the inn and drops the gear before the booth at which P’innr is seated. With a hidden wink to P’innr, Dalic slaps the water pitcher over in P’innr’s lap, “Enjoy your drink, sire? Threaten me beard agin an’ ye will taste tha Blade of Dalgur!" Dalic lets the guttural sound of "Dalgur" ring out awkwardly loud, brazenly showing his insubordinate tone.
P’innr kicks the squat dwarf in the chest and comes out of the booth in a huff. Soon Dalic and P’innr are rolling on the ground punching, biting and scratching like the dust up in “A Boy Named Sue”.
The teenagers in the booth next to the fight dive under the table for cover.
The three gamblers begin cleaning their coins off the table hurried like.
The patrons at the bar flee toward the back door between the booths and the round table.
The soldiers stand at their table. One, wearing studded leather armor, places his hand on the hilt of his sword but leaves it in its scabbard. The other, also bearing a scabbard on his belt, watches with less alarm. He wears chain mail armor. The midget flees for the front door.
Rillis and the serving boys move towards the bar seeking shelter behind it.
Glami watches the two combatants roll on the floor as Abraham, looking very perturbed, shouts at them from behind the bar, “Knock it off you two heathens! You act like a couple of brainless orcs! Stop fighting or I shall be forced to ask the soldiers to arrest you.”
Dalic gives P’innr another signal and the fight stops. They both stand looking angrily at each other; blood upon their nose and lips. Dalic turns and walks out the front door picking up his gear as he passes by it.
Once outside, Dalic sees the midget heading for the castle as quickly as his legs can carry him. The stable boy is surprised to see Dalic back for his pony so soon. The stable boy, currently working on P’innr’s horse, had not had time to strip the pony so Dalic simply grabs the nag and heads out into the stormy night. The patrons who had been seated at the bar now exit the inn and scatter towards their residences.
The thundering storm hides the pounding pony hoofs as Dalic bursts out of the inn yard and across the street. He charges through the wheelwright’s yard as he runs down the midget. Dalic guides his pony into him, knocking him to the ground underneath a large tree at the base of the hill, north of the road to the castle. The statue at the fork in the road just to the south. Dalic pulls hard on the reigns stopping the pony, spinning it back towards the midget as he does so. No one appears to have witnessed the pursuit.
“Don’t hurt me! I’ve done nothing. Why do you run me down?” The little man is obviously worried.
The gamblers stand at their round table watching. The teenage boys have crawled to the rear door and flee into the hall beyond towards the rear door. Abraham, Glami, Rillis and the bus boys all watch from behind the bar. Morwen sits in the corner, her instrument in her lap, watching.
P’innr brushes himself off and watches Dalic exit into the night. Slowly, P’innr walks over to Abraham and apologizes for the mess.
Next, P’innr walks over to the soldiers. They stay on the defensive but do not draw arms. P’innr inquires, “Is there any line of work that pays in this town? Any unusual activity?”
The man in chain mail answers, “There is honest work for honest pay. The good folks around here earn their keep. But that does not include bar fights, disorderly servants and the like. If you seek employment of the mayor, you must call upon her at the castle during daylight hours. If you seek to disrupt the peace of this village then you should move on your way before you end up chained to the castle walls.”
"Halt! Trust a fire ta cause tha rats ta scurry! Ye will come wit me iffen ye prefer ta keep yer skin married ta yer flesh!"
The man stares up at Dalic from his seated position on the ground. The man shows no signs of non-compliance.
Dalic dismounts and retrieves his rope. Binding the midget's hands, Dalic fastens the other end of the rope to his saddle. While doing so Dalic, in his dark fashion, relays the following, "Those ab' tha underclass such is yerself nae flee t'ward tha king's guard at tha seein' of stranger's a-fightin'. Ye will tell me of tha assassin's here an' their ties ta tha castle. They hab laid blame ta a comrade of mine fer tha killin' of a royal, an' by tha blades on me belt, beard on me chin, there will be answers or death!" Dalic emphasizes the last bit with a smirk and menacing tilt of the head forward, casting grotesque shadows accentuating the battle worn creases on the Dwarf's face. He strokes the butt of his knife sheathed on his right hip threateningly.
“You’re insane! I know nothing!” The midget appears very frightened now.
P’innr Bhut gives his assurance to the soldiers that there will be no more brawls with Dalic. P’innr offers to buy them a each a drink and they readily accept. Seeing the trouble subsiding, Glami pours two ales and Rillis delivers them requesting 3 sp and 4 cp from P’innr as payment.
P’innr pays some coins to Rillis and then walks out into the stormy night after the errant dwarf.
“A truth and a lie from tha wee one I see.” Dalic continues his posturing as he pats the little man for weapons. The man has no weapons on him but does have a coin purse on his belt.
Dalic mounts his pony and threatens to have it charge off with the wee man dragging behind, “Insane? Maybe. But no’en knows nothing’. What be the castle ye run fer? Or shall we away?” Dalic again gestures to take off like a rocket.
“I work odd jobs at the castles. I only was going for help when the fight broke out. As for assassins, stay your horse for I can help you. But you must let me live.”
Dalic catches the light from the inn’s interior flash as the outer door is opened and closed. P’innr Bhut has stepped into the street.
“Well that’s more like it!” Dalic’s demeanor changes abruptly bewildering the midget. “Pardon me brash reaction ta yer runnin’. See ye, we hab’ very little time ta clear tha name ab’ a comrade. Help from ye be met wit great thanks.”
Dalic unties the small man, “Pray ye, what of these assassins?” As he speaks, Dalic motions to P’innr to join him. P’innr does not see the dwarf right away but he is soon walking in Dalic’s direction. Dalic’s posturing and stance are not as kind as his voice. He remains confident and aggressive.
P’innr, having walked out into the rain, quickly finds pony tracks leading east across the Wheelwright’s yard and under a tree. Following them, P’innr passes to the north of the large statue watching over the road to the castle. Under the tree, P’innr finds Dalic and the midget. P’innr quickly deduces that Dalic ran down the midget, apparently tied him up to gain favor for the dwarf is now untying the midget and the midget is spilling the beans.
“I am Oscar,” declares the midget eyeing Dalic’s human companion. “I work odd jobs at the castle to pay my way. It ain’t much but I get by. The castle’s got nothing to do with killing. If you can spare a few coins, and a promise to keep me alive, I can arrange a meeting for you. That person may be able to help you find the assassin.”
Dalic orders Oscar, "Gip me a name an' ye shall have yer fee. Fer tha meet I be far too generous ta offer, but a silver fer tha name an' meet, an' you an' I shall share a drink fer new found acquaintance!" Dalic's stance softens. "P'innr approaches; he be a trusted partner a-mine an' kind enough lest ye cross 'im. His axes hab felled mor' than trees: I'd say mor' like men tha size a-trees." Dalic chuckles at his own wordsmith. He retrieves a silver piece and holds it out, maintaining a good grip on it as too show it is not Oscar's just yet. "Tha name? No harm will fall ye at me hand er that ab me partner."
Bhut nods in agreement and adds in an icy voice, “Ya double cross us, you might not have to worry about others harming you.”
Oscar swallows hard and looks around, “You hold the cards dwarf. The silver and drinks will certainly loosen my lips. May we return to the inn? I feel that you will not kill me there. Here I am not so sure. Buy me that drink and hand me that silver and I will set a meeting for tomorrow night for it will take me a little time to contact the man. I give you this for now. His name is Philmar.”
"Well met," Dalic motions almost hospitably to Oscar to lead the way. He looks to P'innr and indicates, "Philmar..." nodding to P'innr as a prompt to investigate the name independently.
Bhut agrees and they head back to the inn. Bhut nudges Oscar to the front, hinting at the very serious threat of force should Oscar decide to run.
As Oscar is being shuffled forward, Dalic repositions one of his throwing knives into his sleeve with the hilt to his wrist. P’innr Bhut is allowed by Dalic to see the movement although Oscar does not.
Returning to the inn is uneventful and Dalic returns the blade to its proper place just before entering the establishment. No one is seen in the street. The storm still keeping all sheltered inside.
As Oscar reaches for the door, in a voice loud enough for Oscar to hear, Dalic adds to P'innr, "Have tha snipers position outsi' tha inn, an' get word ta tha battle mage ta remain invisible inside fer now". Dalic smirks at his false boasting.
Oscar looks slightly over his shoulder in a concerning way seemingly studying Dalic and P’innr. As Oscar pushes the door open he whispers, “Remember not to kill me.”
Five, maybe ten, minutes after P’innr Bhut walked out of the inn, he, Dalic and the midget enter together. The midget is in the lead with a warm smiles trying to hide his somewhat pale face, “Ale dear Rillis. The dwarf wants to the little man an ale.”
Oscar nods politely to the soldiers he was drinking with prior. They are still enjoying the drinks P’innr Bhut bought them.
Morwen continues to play and sing in the corner.
The gamblers have all cleared out.
Oscar sits in the booth farthest from the soldiers and closest to the empty round table the gamblers sat at previously (near the SW corner of the room).
Oscar begins making small talk with the dwarf and human warriors as the ales are delivered.
Dalic and Bhut speak with Oscar at the table for some time having several ales. The midget appears to be cautious enough not to get too tipsy. Dalic regales Oscar with tales from the fighting pits while both he and Bhut keep an eye on the room. No one comes or goes and the soldiers appear to only keep loose tabs on Oscar and his new friends.
Dalic tries to keep his cover as servant to P'innr in his interactions with him as necessary. During the conversation, Dalic asks Oscar where they should meet him once the meet is arranged or how they will receive word from him.
Oscar suggests the meeting be on the docks at daybreak.
Bhut asks Oscar details about Philmar. Oscar looks around, “Philmar was one of the men playing cards. He had the belt of darts across his chest.” Dalic and Bhut remember him. He is only about five and a half feet tall and thin. He has trimmed black hair and nearly thirty years of age.
Dalic toasts Oscar for his assistance and makes him an offer of employment consisting of: Pay is 4 to 5 silver per week for field service and 2 to 3 silver per week for more domestic tasks not to exceed 20 silver per month and always at least 10 silver per month even for sedentary work. Bonus as necessary upwards of an additional 2 to 3 silver for a specific task as negotiated prior to completion. Signing bonus is an advance of 1 week base pay i.e. 2 silver up front to be adjusted at the end of the first week depending on services rendered. Hireling is responsible for his own food lodging and supplies as reasonable. So, in other words, 10-20 silver per month (2-5 silver per week) + bonuses of 2-3 silver per task if pre-planned. Signing bonus of 2 silver up front, remaining silver for the week if applicable paid at week's end. Tasks include anything Dalic says if he wants to be paid.
Oscar, not wanting to burn the bridge, initially declines the offer but asks to keep the offer on the table for now.
Dalic hints to Bhut at the beauty of the muse playing for inn intending that he may want to touch base with her under the guise of hitting on her.
Grimlock and Krelar finally approach town. The town of Lake Farmin sits on the eastern shore of the lake, also called Lake Farmin. Hills dot the area and the area east of town has much for scattered tree cover. In addition, the Mayor’s castle sits upon a hilltop at the east edge of the development. There is no wall around town.
As Bhut stands to approach Morwen, Dalic motions for Bhut to lean in and whispers, “Tha philly's tail needs tending yes?" Dalic hesitates long enough to clarify P'innr understands. Philmar had left the room while Dalic and Bhut were out with Oscar. He was gone when they returned. Morwen later reported the card players left the room to the back hall. She was unsure if he left the building or not.
Bhut walks over to Morwen, slowly takes her hand and kisses it. He tells her she has been playing for so long that perhaps she would like to take a break and join us at the table. He offers to buy her a drink and food.
Morwen, using her best etiquette responds, "Thank you kind sir, but I am under contract by the inn keeper to continue playing. Perhaps after?"
While Bhut and Morwen are speaking, Dalic begins feigning drunkenness with slurred speech, "Ma lil fren . . . t'will it be tha' we meet a' tha docks. Break-a day . . . Now shoul' ye excuse me . . ."
Dalic gets up, turns, looking to see if he recognizes anyone having arrived without his notice. Dalicl steps out front to peruse the street briefly before retiring.
Bhut and Morwen speak later when she is done playing music. The soldiers have left the building and Abraham begins the process of closing. Bhut brings Morwen up to speed and requests she pass on a meeting to the other party members she may come across. They are to meet in the stables before daybreak and then head down to the docks.
Morwen only promises, "I will keep an eye out for others in the party, and let them know what you have told me, but I am nervous to get involved with your affair. I wish to help your friend Tathar because he is my countryman, but I prefer music to violence. I will do what I can because I appreciate your protection on the road down, and would like it again on the return."
With that, P’innr Bhut follows Dalic out the rear door of the inn’s common room to their room. Abraham gave them room number three which is located right next to the building’s rear exterior door.
The room has two double beds along the west well. A small table with four chairs occupies the area in front of the window near the southeast corner. To the east of the door on the north wall is a dresser with an iron candlestick and four drawers. Paraphernalia to light the candle rests upon the desktop. The single window is barred band has shutters on the inside. A large carpet covers the floor leaving only a few inches of bare floor around its perimeter. Under each bed, concealed by the ruffled bedding, is a chest for storing personal belongings.
Morwen as well retires to her room.
Grimlock and Krelar arrive in town at a very late hour. The duo can make our very little of town in the stormy darkness. The Mayor’s castle (#1) looms large on a hilltop to the east as Grimlock and Krelar walk up in front of the inn (#2). Directly across the street from the inn is the Wheelwright (#40).
The main inn building is a single story structure with wooden upper works and a stone foundation. In front of the building is a large bright green sign that reads, “House of Abraham: Food, Lodging and Ale.” In the center of the sign is a picture of a smiling man holding out a large tankard of ale.
The grounds around the inn contain an old red barn, a corral for horses, a small tool shed and a vegetable garden. A number of trees and bushes grow in the area; especially a large apple tree covering a small privy behind the inn. The entire property is contained within a wooden fence standing about four feet high.
They find the inn dark and the building is locked. They move to the rear of the building and find shelter in the stable for the evening. The barn is made of wood and has a slanted roof. There is a large pair of doors at the front of the barn but no other exits.
In the stable, they find Falpir, the young teenage stable boy. He is just under five feet tall and under 100 pounds. He has short brown hair and carries a dagger upon his belt. He is sleepy eyed but tries to remain polite.
Having discovered Grimlock and Krelar have just arrived to town and missed the inn hours of operation, he allows the duo to stay in the hay storage room at the left rear of the barn. Falpir and two other young employees of the barn sleep in the room at the rear right. They are all young teens or pre-teens.
Grimlock and Krelar settle themselves in and await morning.
After some significant wrestling with the furniture, Dalic rolls the carpet up revealing the same hardwood floor that was in the common room. Dalic lays the carpet against the door. The carpet appears to be an attempt to soften the sound of the floor. As in the common room, the basement or crawlspace below the main level echoes slightly under heavy foot.
Not wanting to oversleep, Dalic comments, "Ta make sure tha we be up in time we should take turns sleeping. You can first an I wake ye up half way an ye wake me up fer tha meet." As he speaks, Dalic checks the floor for anything unusual but notes nothing.
The morning sun rises behind overcast skies. The wind continues to howl at nearly twenty miles per hour leaving the sea choppy. Even the lake remains restless. A gentle rain falls making the 70 degree F temperature seem a little cool.
Breymeer and Ide Otneaux stroll into town on the road from the north as day breaks. The towns folk are only just starting to rise and prepare for the day. The shops are not yet open. Breymeer and Ide pass the general store (#13) and turn west towards the lake. They pass the theatre (#4), the leatherworker (#15), the blacksmith (#12) and several homes and cottages before turning south towards the docks. They pass the tailor (#20), the armorer (#19) and a winery (#18) before reaching the statue of Osprem just outside of the church (#3) dedicated to the same deity. Two food sellers (#22, #23) and more cottages make up the distance from the church to the docks. Several boathouses (#25) and a statue of Xerbo (#51) are located just ashore of the docks.
Breymeer and Ide stroll around the docks and chat with the local fisherman and dock workers. The mood is glum as the weather is not fit for sailing. While doing so, they happen to see Dalic, Bhut, Grimlock and Krelar.
Dalic and P’innr Bhut stroll behind the inn to the stable before the rising sun. There they find Grimlock and Krelar sleeping. Once re-united, Dalic briefs the two on the meeting to take place on the docks at daybreak and requests they remain watchful of the meeting in case of trouble. Grimlock and Krelar agree to help. Morwen makes an appearance to announce no one else has arrived at the inn. She is surprised to see Grimlock and Krelar. Seeing Dalic and Bhut now have the assistance they requested, Morwen goes back into the inn.
As two groups, they make their way to the docks, Dalic and Bhut pass the horse trader (#41) as they turn west towards the lake. They pass several cottages before reaching the church of Osprem (#3) and the statue of Osprem (#52) located just outside of the church. They go past two food sellers (#22, #23) in addition to more cottages before reaching the docks. There is a boathouses (#25) and a statue Xerbo (#51) near the docks. A nice looking cottage stands out among the others (#24).
Grimlock and Krelar walk the perimeter of town to the south before bending to the west. Beyond the horse trader (#41), they pass a ropemarker (#42) a bowyer (#43) and a boat builder (#45). On the next block they see a weaponsmith (#46), a bait shop (#47) and a herb and spice store (#48). They turn west at the guard shack (#50) and pass multiple buildings; most notably the netmaker (#31) and the moneychanger (#29). At the docks, they see a boathouse (#25) and a statue of Xerbo (#51) nearby. A nice looking cottage stands out among the others (#24).
The docks are busy for such poor weather. No boats are going out but many fisherman and dock hands are moving about already doing chores, checking equipment, storing gear and whatnot.
In the crowd of people near the docks, Breymeer and Ide are milling about and making small talk. Grimlock and Krelar are back a distance, near the corner by the moneychanger, trying to figure out how to blend in. At the end of the central large dock stands an odd couple. A short, thin man with a hooded cloak draped around him stands next to a midget with a full beard. He is also cloaked although he has not hood. The midget wears leather armor and both cloaks show the hint of scabbards underneath. Into this setting walks Dalic and Bhut.
Dalic and P’innr Bhut walk out among the busy dock workers and speak to Oscar and his companion. To Oscar, Dalic says with a smirk, “Aye, Dalic can see twas a good thin’ I didn’t skin ya.”
Dalic then addresses Oscar’s companion, “We presume ye know why we be here?”
Using the wind to keep his conversation unheard beyond the foursome, the man presumed to be Philmar answers, “Oscar says you’ve a companion that was pinned for a murder. Y’all think the assassins have done the blaming and seek them out to clear your friend’s name. Sound about right?”
Grimlock continues to observe the docks. Breymeer and Ide Otneaux roam through the crowd speaking to many different people. Dalic and Bhut meet the midget and other man on the end of the dock and speak to them. The workers seem to be going about their business as usual.
Dalic replies, “Indeed, what know ye?”
"You come looking for trouble if you’re here with a bone to pick. I have set a meeting with a man for you. He calls himself ‘Captain’. He runs these here docks," offers Philmar. Looking around you can’t help but wonder how many dock workers are watching. “But I should warn ya, you look to be biting off more than you can chew.”
Philmar looks sternly at Dalic and Bhut, “Follow me if you wish for this meeting. But if you are smart, leave town now and leave your concerns behind you. You cannot save your friend here. You can only bring harm upon yourself.”
With that, he turns and begins to walk off the dock.
Oscar looks concerned, “You should go, there is only trouble to be found here.” He follows Philmar towards shore as Philmar looks back to see if you are following him to the meeting.
Dalic defiantly follows almost offended by the thought that he would be frightened off by these words. Bhut follows as well, cautiously.
As Philmar and Oscar turn to continue walking off the dock, Dalic scans for Grimlock, finding him still near the moneychanger’s house. Seeing Grimlock watching them, Dalic ever so slightly exposes the blade of his sword from the scabbard. Grimlock catches the near imperceptible movement with his elvish eyes and attention to details. Knowing Dalic, this is undoubtable a warning of potential danger.
Grimlock scans the crowd but can see Breymeer and Ide Otneaux have not yet picked up on the fact that Dalic and Bhut are moving off the docks.
In addition, a few of the dock workers appear to be less involved in their tasks and have begun watching the foursome exit the dock onto shore. They are passing on slight hand gestures, nods and whispers as the group exits the dock. Philmar turns and begin making his way towards the boathouse away from Grimlock and Krelar. Dalic, Bhut and Oscar follow Philmar. Breymeer and Ide Otneaux are closer to the foursome as the northman and the half orc are mingling among the longshoremen near the southern docks.
Among the workers, at least a half dozen are slowly making their way towards the boathouse. They move indirectly as if not to draw specific attention to themselves or their destination. They do not carry weapons other than small knives, picks or club like items that they have been using in their trade.
The boathouse is a 35 ft x 25 ft wooden structure that is 20 ft tall. It has a small door opening to the street on the south and east sides. There is a much larger sliding door on the west side of the building facing a dry dock.
Krelar assists Grimlock as Grimlock removes some old drab colored burlap from his backpack. They are of earthly tones. Grimlock ties them about his body in some type of odd court jester outfit attempting to cover his armor and weapons as much as he can. The final result is an odd arrangement making him look the part of the fool.
Krelar walks off the street between some between the moneychanger’s building and the cottage north of it. He walks towards the small corpse of trees that grows behind the buildings. Grimlock begins to jog inbound for the dock area. It is a distance of nearly 180 feet from the moneychanger’s building to the boathouse.
Breymeer and Ide Otneaux are still engaged in their information gathering and haven’t completely grasped the situation. They have, however, noticed that Dalic and Bhut are coming ashore. They are roughly 50 feet south of Dalic and Bhut and about 60 feet from the boathouse.
Bhut walks on in silence, keeping his head on a swivel while alertly scanning his surroundings.
Dalic catches Bhut’s eye while purposefully adjusting his gear; making it a point to visibly adjust the plates on his armor and shift his scabbard a bit to make sure it is within comfortable quick draw position. He makes it a point to tough each weapon on his person, adjusting his knives, whip and the hilt of his sword.
The longshoremen that are moving towards the boathouse gather at the statue of Xerbo (#51) that dominates the grassy area between the main street and the loop that passes by the docks. They are about 45 feet from the boathouse.
When the group is only about ten feet from the southern door of the boathouse, Dalic stops Philmar and abruptly squares off with him. Dalic takes a menacing posture but not quite a fighting stance, stating, “I must warn ye. The Barony of Restenford hab’ me this’n task assign’d. I hold e’ery authority an’ ability ta do what it take ta bring tha guilty ta light: even iffen tha means a stick in a cloak become a casualty.” He pauses to gauge the reaction from Philmar and those around him.
Philmar appears taken off guard and he is caught flat footed. Oscar steps back and slightly behind Philmar, Oscar’s hand is on the hilt of his sword, eyes darting to a path to run if necessary. Philmar instinctively grasps the hilt of his broadsword but does not draw it. A look of fear flashes his eyes before he regains his composure, “Dwarf, you are fearless I see. But the Barony of Restenford is a good neighbor and wrongfully seeks perpetrators in Lake Farmin. I am but a simple hunter and dog trainer. The Captain can answer your questions and set you at ease.” Philmar’s forehead begins to bead slightly with sweat in the windy warm morning air.
At the appearance of trouble, the dock workers at the statue tense and begin to move to aid Philmar but then hold when the standoff does not come to blows. The workers nearby to Dalic pause to see what the commotion is about while those farther away still pay no attention.
Breymeer and Ide Otneaux are now fully aware of Dalic and Bhut’s position and the tension that surrounds them.
Dalic speaks next, “What shoul’ we expect in tha boat house here?” Dalic demands compliance in the form of complete transparency prior to the meeting.
“You called for a meeting and I have set a meeting. The meeting is in the boathouse. The Captain does not like to be left waiting.” Philmar releases his sword and gives a disgusted look to Oscar for his apparent cowardice. Oscar looks sheepish and releases his blade.
Philmar and Oscar turn and walk to the boathouse. Philmar knocks on the door with three quick raps. The door opens slightly. The room beyond is dark and reveals nothing. Oscar gives a final plea, “It is not too late, leave town and tell the Baron all is well in Lake Farmin.” Philmar looks to Dalic, “Well? Are you coming in?”
The ‘fool’ dressed Grimlock is 30 feet south of the southern dock loop and 150 feet from the boathouse. He continues to jog in.
Dalic nods to Bhut and enters the boathouse confidently.
Bhut stops at the door and turns to face the piers. He takes up a guard position; listening for trouble inside the boathouse while watching the docks closely.
Grimlock continues to jog towards boathouse, now roughly 120 feet away.
Ide and Breymeer continue to monitor but hold their position.
The dock workers at the statue look restless and begin to amble towards the boathouse. Bhut’s actions have appeared to flummox them.
Dalic enters the boathouse behind Philmar and Oscar. The darkness blinds him for a moment as he waits for his dark vision to take over. Before it has a chance, the sound of a hooded lantern being unshuttered catches Dalic’s ear. The room quickly illuminates.
Dalic does a quick once around the room, his eyes taking in more than most.
The building is a shell, one open room under the peaked roof. The building is 25 ft north/south and 35 ft east/west. In the center of the room is an open top fishing boat under construction. It is some twenty feet long, nearly complete and surrounded by low scaffolding. There are several boxes, crates and barrels on the east side of the building.
To the east of the door, nearly ten feet away, is a wooden desk and wooden chair. The hooded lantern rests upon the desk. A man sits upon the chair. He is tall, about six feet and large framed although not overly muscled. He looks to be about 170 pounds. He is human and approximately 30 year of age. He has long black hair worn in a ponytail. His leather armor is partially covered by a purple trimmed black cape. His belt holds a broad sword. He eyes Dalic menacingly.
Behind the man in the chair are three apparent dock workers. Each holds a simple hardwood club in his hand. They eye Dalic confidently.
Close to Dalic, Philmar and Oscar turn and eye him for his next move. At the door, is what appears to be a dock worker. He shuts the door behind Dalic, latching it closed. The dock worker has a cudgel tucked into his belt. He looks slightly nervous being this close to the armed dwarf.
Finally, near the boat rests two dogs. They jump to their feet and begin snarling fiercely at Dalic’s entrance. They are obviously guard dogs, over one hundred pounds each. The gnash their teeth and bristle their hackles.
“The bravery of the dwarven kind is not lost on you I see,” says the man behind the desk coolly. “Philmar tells me you wrongfully think Lake Farmin is behind someone’s death and your friend has been wrongfully accused. Why is it you attempt to lay blame where none is to be found?”
Bhut turns to face the docks. The dock workers by the statue begin to move towards him. They have an ill look about them. Each holds his makeshift weapon although they do not out rightly threaten Bhut with them. They are now just over 30 feet from the boathouse door. The boathouse door closes and a latch is heard sliding into place.
Breymeer and Ide Otneaux hold a quick discussion. It results in Breymeer holding his ground, 60 feet from the boathouse, and Ide Otneaux moving slowly towards the boathouse. She is now just over 50 feet away.
Meanwhile, Grimlock continues to jog into the dock yard and heads for the lakeside of the boathouse. He is now 90 feet from the boathouse.
Dalic begins to drift away from the door, moving slightly into the room and towards the desk. While doing so, Dalic gives a grim look towards the annoying dogs. They continue to bark at him but do not advance. Philmar motions to then moving his hand in a downward motion while commanding them down. They listen but appear ready to pounce upon command.
Dalic gazes unflinchingly to the clear leader of the group. He draws no weapon and speaks with a confidence only such and welcome and entrance can provide, riding the mythos built by the man's racial comments, "Ye misjudge my presence, though it be by design. It be true there be a faction tha' comes ta do tha same as ye say. I, Dalic Steelcoat, unchallenged wielder ab tha Bloodletter, heir ta tha Blade of Dalgur, and mercenary of tha Highport fightin pits, come for a purpose unique an well 'sguised. While we both know tha truth in Restenford, I come ta tha throne ab tha victor ta join en tha ranks"
Dalic pauses, his confidence in doing so and continuing mark his statements as unrivaled truth. He offers the following as evidence for such, "Check me nature for ye all ken see I be no white knight. Some ab yer underlings even now quiver at me presence.” He eyes the supposed dock worker, capitalizing on the fearful gaze the worker has assumed since his arrival, "Me might an', let's say, less than 'heroic' nature are e'er present on me skin. Tha humor ab it all be I hab gained entry alone without these white knights an it be ye an me ta talk wit out a goodly interrupt." He pauses for a response.
The man behind the desk answers, “I am Basmar. You may only call me ‘Captain Basmar’. The docks you have come to are under my control. You have made it this far by my leave alone.” He meets Dalic’s confident stare with cool eyes. “You presume much Dalic Steelcoat, blade wielder and pit fighter.”
Basmar’s tone softens a bit, “You have the fearlessness of a pit fighter. I have no doubt you wield a blade well. What I do question is your travels to Lake Farmin and your intent here. But, if what you say is true, exit this meeting with your pride and your skin. Tell your ‘goodly’ friends that there is nothing in Lake Farmin to be unearthed. Return to Restenford and assure the Baron that no ill is found here. Do this convincingly and you may return here to speak to me about getting a job on my,” he pauses for effect, “docks.”
Bhut holds his position at the door. He keeps his back to the wall and prepares to arm himself with his axes. He shows no fear.
The nefarious dock workers continue to slowly move in on Bhut. They begin to fan out on him in a semi-circle creating room for fighting. As they near fifteen feet from Bhut he places his hands on his weapons. Sensing Bhut’s intent to defend himself, the longshoremen stop their advance and complete their circling of him. They taunt him psychologically, flexing muscles, spitting on the ground, rapping weapons on hands, etc.
Behind them, Ide Otneaux continues to walk up on them; now 45 feet away.
Breymeer fears Bhut is about to be ambushed. Breymeer moves to the statue of Xerbo and takes a sniper’s position. Breymeer allows the bow to slip off his shoulder but keeps it close to his body to try and avoid attention. He stands ready.
Grimlock continues to jog into the scene; he is 60 feet away.
Dalic laughs aloud. He turns to the door, stopping short while still chuckling to himself. He turns back for an afterthought, "I be talkin' ta tha wrong man! Ye know not ab what ye speak... I guess ye be not tha man ye try ta look." Dalic laughs again pausing defiantly with his back turned to him and now facing the door apparently to leave, "...Captain..." Dalic adds the last with sarcastic emphasis a lets out another guffaw as he moves towards the door.
“I know not what man you sought but you will find not what you seek here,” replies Captain Basmar with finality. “I expect sunset will find you on the road to Restenford.”
Dalic unbars the door himself and flings it open, turning back to face the Captain as the light from the morning bay pours around him through the doorway. Hands on his hips, Dalic speaks clearly and loudly so that those on the exterior of the building can hear, “Ye make several mistakes at that.”
Dalic, without turning away from the boathouse, calls out defiantly and nearly maniacally, “Lads, Take tha boathouse!”
Dalic side steps the door opposite Bhut and places his back to the wall tactically. He has the odd smile of delight that comes across the dwarf’s face when blood is about to be shed.
Surrounding Dalic and Bhut are the six longshoremen armed with makeshift weapons. They did not appear to anticipate Dalic exiting the building but are not caught flat footed. They continue to be show threatening and hostile demeanor.
Breymeer remains behind the statue. Grimlock is passing him by on the lakeside and Ide Otneaux continues to move up on the group of hostile longshoremen.
The other dock workers are milling about at the various docks working in the wind and the rain like dutiful employees.
Dalic draws two throwing daggers and slips back into the boathouse before they have a chance to shut the door on him. He keeps his back to the interior wall.
The sounds of barking comes from the boathouse giving away the presence of at least two dogs followed quickly by a yelp of pain. Immediately thereafter, the boathouse door slams shut.
Bhut holds his ground keeping the grim longshoremen at bay for now.
Breymeer holds his ground at the statue and Ide Otneaux moves up another ten feet.
Grimlock removes his crossbow, loads it and begins a tactics side step towards the statue next to Breymeer. Grimlock keeps the crossbow aims towards the nefarious longshoremen.
After moving, Dalic lets fly with his daggers. The canines are his target and he strikes one in the chest (5, 6/11) burying one dagger as the dagger flies past the second animal harmlessly.
The dogs charge Dalic. The wounded one trips with the dagger in its chest (2, 4/11). The second dog latches onto Dalic’s left leg tearing at it viciously (8, 14/30).
Captain Basmar moves to the door on the east side of the building shouting, “Kill him!”
Oscar slams the door shut but does not yet get it latched. Philmar draws his sword and moves in to do battle with Dalic.
Two men with crossbows rise slightly up from the boat that is under construction. They take aim on Dalic.
Breymeer yells out a warning while nocking an arrow, “You longshoremen, lower you weapons and you’ll live! Those that comply will not get shot. We will fire on any that look to fight.”
The longshoremen continue to move in on Bhut.
Bhut throws a knife hitting the second longshoremen from the wall on the west side. The blade grazes his thigh (2, 3/5). Bhut next draws forth both of his axes and prepares to charge into the ranks on the west side.
Grimlock releases the bolt from his crossbow. The bolt strikes the same longshoreman in the side of its abdomen, penetrating his abdomen to the fletching, dropping him to the ground (4, -1/5).
Breymeer, seeing his warning was not heeded, fires two sheaf arrows at the longshoremen moving in on Bhut’s back side. The first one he strikes in groin, severing the femoral artery and dropping the man to the ground (5, 0/5). Life fades from him as blood pools around him. The second arrow sticks a longshoreman in the head killing him instantly (9, -4/5).
Ide Otneaux pulls her axe and wades into the fray. She strikes down one of the longshoreman, removing his leg from his body with her two handed great axe (11, -6/5).
The final two longshoremen engage Bhut and Ide in combat. The one facing Ide has a club in one hand and a small knife in the other. The one facing Bhut has a club as well. Neither one is able to strike a blow.
The other dock workers begin to scatter and run, those on the north end run along the lake to the north. Those on the south run generally south, some by road, some along the lake. The raise a hue and cry and the run.
Dalic’s body begins to grow and stretch as he enlarges himself to the size of a muscle rippled human.
The dog with a dagger in its chest recovers and bites at Dalic. The thigh plate of his new armor deflects the blow without harm. The second dog continues to gnaw into his leg, tearing at the muscle and wounding the leg (6, 8/30).
Dalic slams his sword down on the dog biting into his leg, cutting it across the back (6, 8/14) breaking its hold on his torn leg.
As he does so, the two crossbowmen let fly with their bolts. The first bolt sticks in the wall behind him but the second one pierces his armor and buries itself into Dalic’s abdomen tearing a second wound (8, 0/30). The light at the corner of Dalic’s eye begins to fade and the ground comes up to meet him. Before unconsciousness grips him, Dalic sees the smiling face of Philmar moving in over him holding the dogs as bay; for now.
Oscar closes the latch upon the door locking the others out.
As Ide Otneaux move at her next target, he swiftly knifes her in the lower abdomen (2, 19/35) and slams his club across her right thigh nearly buckling her over (4, 15/35, wound).
Ide repays the kindness with a massive stroke of her two handed axe. The blow lands upon his right shoulder and the head of the axe buries into his chest cavity (20, -10/10). She wrestles the axe free after the man’s lifeless body collapses to the earth.
The dockman facing Bhut swings his club ineffectively and loses his grip while doing so. His club flies from his hands. Bhut is unable to capitalize as the man dodges both of Bhut’s axe swings.
Grimlock moves up on the dockman and runs his blade through him (10, -5/5). Death claims the man as he slides off Grimlock’s blade, joining his fellows upon the bloodstained soil.
Breymeer has also moved up, “Hack open that door Ide!”
The battle outside has ended. There does not appear to be sounds of battle inside but there is activity and voices.
“It was an ambush!” declares Ide as she moved to bash in the door, the pain in her thigh causing her a slight limp. Bhut joins her and together the shoulder the boathouse door open as the latch gives way.
The building is a shell, one open room under the peaked roof. The building is 25 ft north/south and 35 ft east/west. The ceiling rises over 20 feet high. In the center of the room is an open top fishing boat under construction. It is some twenty feet long, nearly complete and surrounded by low scaffolding. There are several boxes, crates and barrels on the east side of the building. To the east of the door, nearly ten feet away, is a wooden desk and wooden chair. The hooded lantern rests upon the desk.
Inside the door, Dalic’s body is crumpled upon the dirt floor. He has a crossbow bolt buried deep into his abdomen and his left leg is torn up from a vicious bite. Dalic is unmoving and blood puddles upon the floor from his injuries.
Above Dalic are two large attack dogs. They snarl at Bhut and Ide. Both of the dogs are wounded. One in the chest and the other across the back.
A man stands over Dalic, slightly to his left (west). He is about 5’ tall and a little over 100 pounds. He is about 30 years old with trimmed black hair. He wears leather armor and has a broad sword in hand. Six darts are worn across his chest. He is Philmar to those that have met him previously.
A dock worker watches from behind Philmar. He has a simple club in his hand and wears no armor.
Oscar, the midget, stands to the right of the door (east). He has a full beard, brown in color, along with long brown hair. He also has leather armor and has a short sword in his hand and a sling tucked into his belt.
Finally, two men stand in a boat that is being built in the center of the room. They are armed with loaded light crossbows.
Breymeer sees several men on the east side of the building. It appears they have either exited the building’s east door or else have come up from the north side of the boathouse. The lead man is tall, about six feet and large framed although not overly muscled. He looks to be about 170 pounds. He is human and approximately 30 year of age. He has long black hair worn in a ponytail. His leather armor is partially covered by a purple trimmed black cape. He has a broad sword in hand.
Behind the man are three dock workers. Each holds a simple hardwood club in his hand.
The four men see the carnage before the boathouse and make eye contact with Breymeer.
The man with the broadsword moves east across the street; heading for the northwest corner of the house located there. He is shouting for someone in the house, “The boathouse is under attack!
The three longshoremen move to the southeastern corner of the building and take up a partially covered position there. Only one man can be seen peering around the corner of the building.
Breymeer shouts to someone or something to the east side of the building in a loud commanding voice, “We are not attacking you. We only defend ourselves and want no more lives lost. Call your men off.” Breymeer meanwhile stows his melee weapons and brings forth his bow again; keeping it at a low ready.
A man’s voice calls back from the east side of the building, “Surrender now bandits! Surrender now for your attack on Lake Farmin!”
Ide Otneaux and Bhut remain in a standoff with those in the boathouse. Ide eyes Dalic for signs of life, “The dwarf is dying!”
Bhut enters the boathouse while making a thundering yell of anger. He immediately takes fire from the crossbowmen. One round deflects off his leather armor and the second round deflects off of his metal helmet. Undaunted and continuing to yell, Bhut moves to engage Philmar with his axes. The two guard dogs bite at Bhut as he runs through. One sinks his teeth into Bhut’s side (6, 22/28). Finally, as Bhut reaches Philmar, Philmar slashes Bhut across his left thigh with his broadsword (7, 15/28). Bhut get his retribution. Bhut’s first axe blow is parried but the second axe finds flesh in Philmar’s groin (10, 1/11). The blow knocks Philmar’s feet out from under him and he drops to the ground in great pain. Philmar, injured badly, does remain in the fight.
Oscar the midget moves up behind Bhut and stabs him badly in the back as Bhut is driving Philmar to the ground. The midget’s short sword sinks deep into Bhut’s lower back (10, 5/28).
Ide Otneaux, entering the door, swings her axe at the midget striking him on the left thigh (7, 2/9); nearly buckling the small man. Oscar remains standing.
Lastly, the dock worker next to Philmar fails to strike an effective blow with his club.
The dock workers continue to flee. Shouts of alarm are being passed on down the streets as cottage dwellers and shop owners look to see what raised the hue and cry. Word of the fight on the docks is quickly spreading.
Breymeer, The caped man takes cover behind the northwest corner of the house yelling again, “Beshkar, we are under attack!” The other longshoremen remain behind the cover offered by the southeastern corner of the boathouse.
<Beshkar casts shield upon herself inside the front door of the boathouse guardhouse.>
Outside the boathouse, Breymeer makes his way swiftly back to the cover of the statue while yelling toward the caped man, “We are not bandits and will not attack if you do the same. Give us a chance to talk with you.” Breymeer watches for impending attacks and keeps his bow ready for trouble.
Grimlock runs around the southeastern corner of the boathouse towards the eastern door. He passes three longshoremen pressed up against the eastern wall. They are flat footed and unable to react immediately to the half elf’s sudden appearance.
At the same time, the front door to the house straight east of the boathouse opens. A human shaped figure in a loose fitting, cream colored robe stands partially concealed behind the door. It has a pattern of cloth wrapped around her head completely disguising its face. It says nothing while observing the action outside.
The caped man retorts, “Stop your attack! Beshkar, capture them. Slay the thieves if necessary!”
Meanwhile, inside the boathouse, the melee ensues.
Bhut, battered and beaten, continues his onslaught and gains the upper hand. First, Bhut drops one axe and pulls a knife. While the knife he cuts the throat of the dog biting him (8, 0/14, critical hit). It drops dead.
Philmar slashes at Bhut but fails to cut through Bhut’s leather armor. Next, Bhut, with his remaining axe, lops off Philmar’s sword arm (4, -3/11). Philmar has a momentary lost look on his face as he watches his arm drop to the ground. Philmar’s dead body soon follows.
The dockman next to Philmar takes advantage of Bhut’s flank and strikes him across his axe arm with a blow from the club (3, 2/28). Bhut continues to defy death and remains in the fight.
Oscar begins shouting, “Let me live! I’ll talk!”
As one of the crossbowman leaps from the boat onto the north side scaffolding, the other places a quarrel into Oscar’s back (2, 0/9). Oscar tips forward, dead.
Ide Otneaux severs the spine of the final attack dog as it makes a fatal lunge for her (10, -6/11).
Only the club wielding dockman and his two crossbow firing companions remain in the boathouse.
Bhut pokes a maggot hole in the dock man’s belly. The dock man drops his club and doubles over. Hitting the ground, he struggles a bit and then dies on the boathouse floor.
The first crossbowman jumps down from the scaffolding and crashes through the north door into the street. The second crossbowman fires upon Ide Otneaux and then heads for the north door in retreat. The bolt grazes Ide’s right foot (3, 10/35). She curses him in return then directs her attention to Bhut, “What now Axeman?”
Out in the street, Breymeer holds his fire and continues to exchange words with the caped man, “Stand down and call your warriors off and we will not attack. We’re not assassins and will come with you peacefully.” Breymeer eyes both the caped man and the robed figured for a reaction.
Before Breymeer gets a response and before the three longshoremen can react, Grimlock draws forth a small strand of spider web, utters some incantations and makes odd motions in the air pointing between the eastern house and the boathouse. A sudden appearance of webs occurs. They stick to the sides of the house and the boathouse; clinging between the two in a mass of overlapping, sticky strands. It becomes very difficult to see through. The robed figure in the doorway of the house disappears. The three longshoremen are trapped in the sticky mess.
Somewhere to the southeast a horn blows three quick blasts. The sound cuts the heavy, rain soaked air. The horn blasts appears to have come from the area of the southern guard shack.
Not more than a half hour after the group leaves the stables in the morning, Morwen hears a ruckus spreads through the town. A hue and cry is raised from the area of the docks followed by three loud trumpet blasts from the area of the southeastern guard shack.
Breymeer approaches those trapped in the webs as P’innr Bhut and Ide Otneaux limp out of the boathouse. Both of them have numerous injuries and look the worse for wear. Ide Onteaux drags Dalic behind her. Once out in the light of day, she begins to look after him, “Can someone help me? Dalic is fading fast!”
“I hear your alarm calling for more guards,” Breymeer speaks into the mass of webbing. “We are not assassins. Will you order your guards to stand down?” He continues to hold his bow in a defensive position.
A woman walks out of the house (#27) to the south of the boathouse and straight east of the statue. It is a freshly painted wooden home (18’ x 20’) with six windows and two normal doors. It has a small flower garden out front. The woman is dressed in a sea green top over bluish bottoms. Although not threatening, she looks very upset, “Why have you brought death to the docks. Xerbo protects those who make their lives upon the sea. Why do you bring death to them?”
Morwen scrambles to her room and grabs her gear preparing to move out to the docks. The inn is not particularly busy at this hour. In fact, the crew has not yet begun work. If any of the other guests are concerned about the alarm, they have chosen to stay in their rooms. The inn is quiet and vacant as Morwen makes her way out.
Morwen makes her way out the back door of the inn as Abraham walks out of the barn. He is moving at a steady pace. Morwen can hear sounds of the barn doors being secured from the inside. Abraham appears unarmed. He stops walking and confronts Morwen, “Falpin tells me we had guests in the barn last night; guests you spoke to this morning. And now the town alarm declares we are under threat? What more do you know lady musician? What has brought you and your companions to town?”
Grimlock pulls out his aid supplies and runs to aid Dalic. For now, Grimlock leaves the bolt in Dalic’s chest not wanting to cause further harm pulling it out. Grimlock wraps the leg injury and packs the chest wound with cloth.
Looking around at the situation, Grimlock proposes, “Dalic needs serious medical help.” Grimlock looks at P’innr Bhut, “What did one shepherd say to the other shepherd?” P’innr Bhut looks at him questioningly. “Let’s get the flock out of here!” answers Grimlock.
Being ignored, the woman in blue and green garb walks to the statue of Xerbo and begins to pray.
Morwen replies, "Good innkeeper, I came to town alone. The men I spoke to this morning I was paid to pass a message to from the two men that started the fight in your inn last night. The man named Buht, I believe, thought that my position as musician would allow me to see who comes and goes at your inn and if I saw men that met the description of the ones I talked to this morning I was to tell them to meet their party at the docks. He gave me a gold coin for this act, so I did not see any harm. People meeting at the docks to catch a ship is not uncommon, I thought nothing of it. Now that the alarm has been sounded, I intend to investigate, help if I can and ensure my good name stays that way. I would hate to think that my naivety has gotten me tied to ill-doers, as you now think."
“Lady Morwen, I am not naïve enough to fully believe you. If you know something please share it. If you chose to remain coy, may no harm find those who wish no harm upon this town. You may find shelter here.”
With that, Abraham enters his inn.
Grimlock continues to work on Dalic but appears to have stabilized him for the time being. Dalic is weak and very near death.
Bhut agrees with Grimlock that they need to leave, “Maybe we can use one of the doors to the boathouse as a makeshift stretcher to put Dalic on.”
Ide Otneaux walks to the south door of the boathouse and hacks it from its hinges. She sets it down next to the dwarf, “Done.”
Breymeer suggests, “We'll never get out alive if we flee, the entire city and guards are aware of our presence.”
Breymeer directs a question to Grimlock, “Can the caped guard can be freed so I can speak with him?”
“It is unlikely he was caught in the webbing. The north face of the house is untouched. He is likely free,” replies Grimlock.
Breymeer walks over to near the statue and addresses the praying lady, “You there, I am a ranger from a far northern land, I'm here in hopes if helping those in need and ridding the city of assassins. Where may we find help for my dying friend?”
“Through me, Xerbo can save your friend. But why? You killed the dock workers; worshippers of Xerbo. What did they do that brought your wrath upon them?”
In parting words to Abraham, Morwen vocalizes, "Master Abraham, you are wise. I tell you I do not know what is afoot here, or what these people are really about, but I do know that I am unsure who I can trust. I will see what is going on at the docks, and help where I can. Later, I may come back to you and seek your counsel and reveal more of what I DO know."
Morwen departs as Abraham enters the inn. She exits the inn yard and turns towards the sound of the ruckus; heading west southwest. Morwen generally follows the road passing by an abandoned cottage in poor repair (#39). Outside the building, a beggar looks curiously to the west as Morwen passes by.
Grimlock stands from helping Dalic and begins looking over the dead. He walks into the boathouse and rummages through Oscar and Philmar’s belongings.
Bhut and Ide keeps an eye out for trouble.
Breymeer continues to speak to the lady but he is too far off to be heard by his companions.
Shortly thereafter, around the curve near the moneychanger’s cottage (#29), the dockworkers have been rallied. They now form a small skirmish line consisting of nearly a dozen longshoremen.
They are led by three men.
The first is a man of average height and a good build. He has a sea blue tunic with a dragon turtle image on the front. It is worn over high quality chain mail armor. He has a footman’s mace in his left hand and a war hammer in his right hand. He appears confident, fit and determined.
The second wears chain mail armor. He has a long sword in his scabbard and a long bow in hand. A full quiver rests upon his shoulder. A shield is slung over his back.
The third man, slightly smaller than the second, is dressed in chain mail. He also wears a long sword and has a long bow in hand. He has a shield strapped as well.
Both of the men wielding bows wear a grey tunic with the emblem of the Lake Farmin city watch/militia. The emblem varies slightly from that worn by the castle soldiers that patronized the inn last night.
The three men lead the skirmish line forward at walking speed towards the docks.
Breymeer looks around but does not see the caped man. Breymeer addresses the lady, “I do not know why the dock workers were attacking my friends. Or why, when I told them I wished for no killing, they continued to attack and I’m sorry lives were lost during the confusion and misunderstanding. I do know the city guards are coming and if you are able to help them understand we’re not here to cause harm, it will avoid more killing; which is what we want. We can help rid the city of an evil element if it exists.”
She replies, “I shall defer judgement of you to Quenex, my companion and fellow representative of Xerbo. Here he comes now.”
As Morwen passes by the run down shack (#39), a man comes out of the wooded area just south of the fresh food stall (#23). He is about 180 feet from Morwen. He is jogging west northwest towards Morwen; heading for the street. He is tall, about six feet and large framed although not overly muscled. He looks to be about 170 pounds. He is human and approximately 30 year of age. He has long black hair worn in a ponytail. His leather armor is partially covered by a purple trimmed black cape. He holds a broad sword in his hand. He yells towards Morwen as he closes, “Spread the alarm, the docks are under attack by bandits!”
The sounds of battle have ended but there is some shouting or loud voices still exchanging words. Morwen has not made out what has been said.
Bhut walks over and reclaims his throwing knife from the dead longshoreman outside of the boathouse. He wipes the blade clean and stows it while suggesting, “I recommend either finding a place to hide or retreating into the woods. We are outnumbered and have multiple casualties.”
Grimlock walks out of the boathouse. He has streaked some soot from the hooded lantern on his face. He speaks some quick arcane language and then addresses the woman by the statue, “Kind woman, please come to me and assist me.”
To the group’s surprise, the woman’s face lightens in expression, “What may I help you with?” She begins to walk towards Grimlock. As she walks, she signals to the approaching mob to lower their weapons. They cautiously approach but have relaxed slightly.
Breymeer stows his weapons completely, “I will not flee. I plan to talk with the guards.” Breymeer turns and faces the approaching guards with open palms.
The man in the blue tunic over his chain mail shouts as they approach, “I am Quenex, Priest of Xerbo. Stop your assault! Why have you attacked the dock workers?”
Morwen continues towards the docks nodding towards the man with the broadsword as he passes by her. Morwen says nothing. The man continues eastward on the road, seemingly heading for the castle on the hill. Morwen passes into the wooded area south of the fresh food stalls (#23). Coming to the southwest corner of the wooded area, she peers out for an elevated position. Morwen is just west of a cottage (#26). Looking past the house, Morwen can see the dockyard. A boathouse (#25) is on the north end of the dockyard, the view of the south end of the boathouse is blocked by the cottage in front of her. A statue graces the center of the dockyard; it is a statue of the deity Xerbo. In the dockyard, a scene plays out . . .
Grimlock calls out from the south portal of the boathouse, “Dear woman, my companions require aid. Please aid them.” Grimlock starts to walk south towards the approaching woman and skirmish line as it spreads out, closing in on the dockyard.
The woman, wearing the sea green top and blue bottoms, continues to walk from the statue to the boathouse while replying to Grimlock, “Xerbo’s grace is not for to be taken for granted by those who dwell upon the land. Xerbo shall not interfere with their fate.”
Breymeer, standing near the statue, unarmed with open palms, looks to see if anyone near the boathouse is going to answer the armored man named Quenex. Looking somewhat perplexed, Breymeer faces the skirmish line and answers, “I would also like to know why this chaos erupted and I'm glad you’re here. Let us get to the bottom of this with no more killing.”
The rallied dock workers have armed themselves with simple dock tools and made a skirmish line at the south fork of the dockyard roads. The two men with bows in hand have separated across the front of the skirmish line. Quenex, wearing chain mail and a blue tunic, remains on the road.
To the party’s surprise, Krelar walks out of the wooded area to the east of the fresh painted cottage from which the female priest exited. Krelar passes to the south of the cottage just ahead of the skirmish line. He announces loudly so both the party and the incoming dock workers and guards can hear, “I am Krelar. I am a representative of Phaulkon’s Abbey in Restenford. I am here on the authority of Abbot Qualton. I travelled here with this group to observe their investigation into the slaying of Grellus, Baron of Restenford.” A hush falls upon the dock workers and guards as Krelar continues, “I ask for a halt in this killing. Please give this group a chance to explain themselves and justify their actions.” Seeing the injured party members near the boathouse, Krelar finishes with, “Lastly, I ask for the safety to heal the injured dwarf and other travelers.”
Morwen sneaks over and climbs a tree high enough to see out while providing decent concealment. She remains near the southwest corner of the wooded area.
Breymeer continues the conversation, “I issued a warning and the shoremen paid it no heed. I only defended my friends from an unfair attack.”
Grimlock slips off towards the south side of the boathouse.
The skirmish line continues to move up behind its leaders as the priest leading the skirmish line calls out, “The mayor shall decide on this matter. By Xerbo’s command, you shall not resist.” The priest holds forth a small, straight piece of iron while making motions towards the boathouse.
The priest of Xerbo continues, “Krelar, as a man of Phaulkon, I give you some latitude. Go aid the injured dwarf. And you,” he points to Breymeer, “keep your weapons stowed and come with us to the castle. The combatants shall be bound and detained. If you aid us, no harm will come to them by our hands.”
Krelar moves up to Dalic and prays for his health to improve (+8, 3/30). His injuries improve markedly although he still shows two wounds.
As the dwarf stirs and returns to consciousness, the others around him fail to react. Grimlock has stopped walking mid stride while Ide and Bhut stand nearby motionless.
The skirmish line reaches the statue and begins to encompass Breymeer while continuing on to the boathouse.
The cleric says a quick prayer in front of the statue of his deity and then speaks to Breymeer, “Ranger. Unstring you bow and tie your weapons down and you may keep them. You may walk freely as a token of peace.”
Breymeer does as instructed. The tying of his weapons does not prevent their use; it only delays the amount of time it takes him to get them out. In this way, a surprise attack on the mayor would be less likely.
Breymeer is guided back to the boathouse where several things occur.
First, Grimlock, Dalic Steelcoat, P’innr Bhut and Ide Otneaux have their weapons seized.
While they do so, Dalic weakly petitions them, stammering, “We have found tha assassins. They reside here an' be responsible fer Restenford. Me blood be proof. I confronted Basmar with our investigatin' an' wahr ambushed fer it. He knows ab tha murder but nae who died an' likely not tha killer. He defends tha killer none-the-less." Dalic spits his own blood on the ground. Realizing it appears to be only his word to back the story, he issues reasoning as proof. Dalic addresses the dock workers and their leaders, "An before ill intent be laid ta me an' me party, be askin' yerselves: Why would a Dwarf enter a boathouse alone, surrounded by strangers, if it were he tha' meant ta bring harm. We sought information, an' find blood and steel as proof instead." Confident this will quell suspicion, he concludes his revelation and lays his head back down upon the door he rests upon. Dalic, having returned to consciousness, is severely week and unable to rise upon his own strength.
Several dock workers enter the dock house to secure ropes. While inside, the dock workers locate one of the longshoremen hiding in the boat. The longshoreman is detained and bound. One of the dock workers from the skirmish line drags the longshoremen out from the boathouse and calls out to the cleric, “Captain Quenex, this man was hiding in the boathouse. He attempted to hide a crossbow. His quarrels match the one in the dwarf.
Krelar prays again over Dalic. Taking the quarrel in his hand, he pulls it free of Dalic’s body. Dalic passes out. Krelar heals him immediately (+2, 5/30). Dalic returns to consciousness but remains in poor condition. Krelar hands the quarrel to the cleric as evidence.
While Krelar is helping the dwarf, Grimlock, Bhut and Ide are all bound securely.
The longshoremen take some time to cut out those caught in the magically conjured webs. Those longshoremen are detained and bound as well. Captain Basmar is not located in the webs.
Next, the cleric addresses the woman in the cottage east of the boathouse to which the webs have attached, “Beshkar, are you well?”
Beshkar shouts back out of the building that she is well.
“When you are able, please join us at the castle so that your testimony of today’s events is not missed,” requests the cleric. She answers in the affirmative.
Quenex walks into the boathouse and looks around. After some time he returns to the exterior and looks over the dead there.
“Captain Quenex, none of the dead are local fisherman. They are all hired hands of Captain Basmar.” The revelation of the dock worker is not lost on the party.
Captain Quenex prays outloud, “Thank you Xerbo for protecting those who depend on your waters for life. Xerbo keeps the water rough today my fellow sailors. Assist me in bringing all involved to the castle. Rally those in town to assist.”
Golfig, one of the town guards from the south gate, agrees, “We will raise some of the militia to secure town while you bring the detainees to the castle.”
Tesh, another of the town guards, remains at the scene with a couple of the dock workers/sailors. Some runners are sent around town.
Bess, the female Xerbo priest, remains at the dock yard.
Beshkar exits the eastern cottage through a back door and joins the group going to the castle. “Tie that elf’s tongue.” She points to Grimlock, “He is the one who conjured these webs.” Soon, Grimlock is gagged as well.
Captain Basmar has appeared to have escaped.
The group begins its march towards the castle.
Grimlock, Bhut and Ide have their legs tied together with a short rope and their hands are tied behind their backs with further rope tying their arms to their sides.
Krelar and Breymeer are unsecured but Breymeer’s weapons have been tied down.
Dalic rests upon the door turned stretcher while two men carry him.
The four longshoremen that were captured are bound similar to the party members and are marched along as well. They look around nervously but have not spoken.
From the conversation overheard, it becomes clear that most of the dock workers are actually local fisherman working on the docks because the weather was too poor to be out fishing. The dock workers that attacked the group appear to be hirelings of Basmar’s.
The march begins by heading north past the boathouse upon the road to the castle.
Morwen climbs down inconspicuously from her tree. She heads back towards where she met the fleeing man, now assuming he was Captain Basmar. She pauses at the eastern edge of the wooded area.
The posse moves north along the road and turns e/b as the road turns near the food stands (#22, #23).
Dalic’s body had been the size of a large muscled man upon his retrieval from the boathouse. During the march, his body has returned to its normal thin dwarf size albeit still heavily muscled. Captain Quenex eyes the change in the dwarf’s appearance curiously but says nothing about it.
Dalic, defeated, allows his head to lay back on the door with a thud. He speaks to those that can hear him while looking straight up into the air, "Basmar will alert the assassins ta our investigation. In our weakened state, bound an' disarmed, we will all die before to long . . ." His voice trails off as he attempts to sit up. Finding himself unable, he groans and speaks louder, "They will come an' kill us all! Fer all that be known they hide in tha woods an' tha castle waitin'..." Dalic trails off unable to pair any physicality to his words.
The march continues on in general silence. Around them, occasional townfolk move about passing on information and preparing defenses against whatever threat may have set off the alarm.
After the food stands, the road forks with the north fork passing west of the Church of Osprem (#3). The eastern fork passes south of the church and continues on towards the inn and the castle.
Nearing the Osprem Church, the characters get a good view of the church. The compound is surrounded by a wall with the exception of a statue of Osprem (#52) located to the west of the walled compound on the west side of the north road.
The church is a twenty foot structure with a sharply slanted roof. A small bell tower is located at the southeast corner. The seven foot high stone walls of the church join directly to the wall around the church grounds. To each side of the main building stands three poplar trees, while the church building itself is unadorned except for its windows and doors. Along each side of the building, six feet above ground level, is a series of eight foot high, two foot wide stained glass windows. There are three such windows on each side, but none in the front or rear of the church building. The front doors are made of wood and carved with ships, whales, barracuda and ocean waves.
A rectory is located very near the church and just off its southeast corner. It is a two story structure of stone. It is about sixteen feet tall and has a flat roof. Its windows are barred.
The grounds can be entered through the church building itself or through the side entrance in the stone wall. This entrance is through an iron grillwork gate south of the main building land located on the western wall.
A small wooden barn stands in the southeast corner of the yard. Its slanted roof rises about nine feet above the ground. In the southwest corner of the church grounds is a mausoleum, about eight feet high.
Two men stand in the street in front of the main entrance of the church. The first wears chain mail armor and carries a shield and mace. The shield is bronzed and filigreed with images of ships, dolphins and barracuda. The man is of normal size and build.
The second man stands more hunched over, the left side of his face scarred and damaged from some previous injury. He has leather armor and a broadsword.
Several other men, all armored in studded leather to chain mail, are securing the iron gate from the interior and guarding the main entrance of the church.
Captain Quenex calls out to the two men in the street, “Curate Basil, please inform High Priest Harper that the disturbance has been contained. These detainees are being brought before Mayor Arrness. If your staff does not mind helping, we will need a burial detail organized.”
The man in chain mail nods respectfully. Turning, he walks into the church past the guards. The deformed man in leather armor continues to watch the group pass as it continues on its way to the castle.
The group makes their way along the dirt road travelling east past the church. Passing between two small wooded groves, the posse passes a rundown shack (#39) on the north side of the path. It is a larger building, being 30 feet by 25 feet. The building is wood framed but in poor repair. Many of the boards are warped and others have fallen away leaving holes in the side of the structure. Some of the shudders are hanging by one hinge or gone altogether.
There is a man sitting in front of the house watching the commotion. He does not seem all that worried about the alarms possibly believing his living conditions have little room for depreciation.
Breymeer excuses himself from the group and, under a very watchful eye, walks over to the begger. Quenex calls out to Breymeer, “That is just Priska, he is an idiot. Just a simple man.”
Breymeer reaches into a pouch and hands Priska a few coins as a genuine act of kindness. The fool takes the coins gently looking questionably at the bearded ranger from the far north lands. Priska whispers a quiet, “Y’are kind. Thankyasir.”
Dalic tries to remain alert fighting the pain of his wounds and the fatigue of flirting with death. He rolls as best he can to see what Breymeer is up to. Catching a glimpse of the exchange, Dalic limply rolls back to supine and grunts in misery.
Ide Otneaux appears to be measuring up the captives with a warrior’s eye. There is no doubt the half-orc will do whatever it takes to come out of this alive.
Bhut continues on with the group silently.
Grimlock, gagged, says nothing but he seems to be calculating while he walks.
The group continues on past the ropemaker (#42) recognizing the man in the yard as one of the card players from the previous evening at the inn. He stands near his doorway with a short sword in hand while a woman and a couple children look out from the house windows.
Passing the four way intersection, Captain Quenex keeps the group heading east and then follows the road as it turns north on the east side of the horse trader’s residence and business (#41).
The ground begins to rise to the relatively sharp hill that holds the castle. The hill is roughly four hundred feet across at the base and boasts nearly 75 feet in height. A smattering of small groves of trees decorate the circumference of the hill.
Two town streets come together near the southwestern terminus of the hill. At the fork, a statue rises into the air. The statue is of a heavily muscled, bearded, bear chested man, facing those who approach the castle. It has its hands on its hips as it watches the approach of those to the castle. Having some experience now with the Suel deities, the group guesses this is a statue of Kord, the god of war.
As the posse nears the statue, all secure their weapons and approach empty handed. Passing the statue brings the characters close enough to read the inscription etched into the statue’s base, “Bring not might of arms to the door of the fortress lest I strike you down.”
The posse obviously shows much respect to Kord or fears the words are no idle threat. The weapons remain secured after passing the fork and continues the ascent towards the castle.
Bremeer notices Ide’s continuous limping and Bhut’s injuries as well. Breymeer requests the group pause. “I have injured companions and request we stop to aid them.”
Pausing, Breymeer checks Ide’s bandaging, finding it adequate although the wound on her thigh remains. Meanwhile Krelar prays over Bhut’s injuries healing them to a moderate degree (+1, 3/28 and +7, 10/28). Bhut remains injured but has no agonizing wounds.
Once the rest is complete, the final ascent from Kord’s statue to the front castle gate is completed. The group moves up the hill reaching the castle’s outer curtain wall.
All the castle walls and towers are made of a rough, gray stone. The outer curtain wall is twenty feet high and conceals the main building. The wall towers are fifteen feet in diameter and thirty feet high. The large interior tower is forty-fife feet tall.
The gatehouse is thirty feet high. It has three forward facing arrow slits. The portcullis is down, and the two huge iron-reinforced doors behind it are closed.
Morwen waits for the group to leave before exiting the corpse of trees. She moves over to the road and finds the group’s travel has ruined any chance of her discovering Basmar’s tracks. She looks around quickly to see if she could find if Basmar had left the dirt path. Although the ground is wet, Morwen is unable to find any more evidence of Basmar’s travel.
Giving up the search, Morwen returns to the inn and finds the front door locked and the gates shut.
The keep is not oriented to the compass well. The road to the keep leads generally northeast up the hill. The main gate therefore faces southwest.
As the party nears the outer portcullis, a brass bell begins to peel. The bell is struck with a slow steady pace. Seeing the detained adventurers concern, he soothes their worries, “The bell announces our arrival and number.” Indeed, the bell falls silent after being struck one time for each person standing before the gate.
Captain Quenex calls out to the gatekeeper, “I am Quenex, Captain of the fishing squadron. I have with me the detained survivors of a bloodletting at the dockyard. We request an audience with Mayor Arrness to judge this dispute.”
The sound of a mechanical winch accompanies the raising of the outer portcullis. The sound of the winch mechanism comes from the left or westernmost tower.
Captain Quenex has his fellow fisherman push open the outer wooden gate and the group enters the entranceway, stopping at the second wooden gate. Fifteen feet above the party is a small trap door ‘murder hole’. The outer portcullis closes.
The group is left in nervous anticipation while a runner is sent and guards are mustered. P’innr Bhut looks to Krelar and thanks him for helping ease his injuries.
Eventually, the sound of a second winch, this one on the second floor of the easternmost tower, brings up a second portcullis hidden behind the second wooden gate. Once the sound ceases, Captain Quenex and company push open the second gate and all move forward into the castle courtyard. The sound of barking dogs now greets those entering the courtyard. Two dogs are yapping from the dog kennel attached to the barn. They are not chained nor are they detained in the kennel.
The outer curtain wall has merlons and a four foot high parapet. Each outer tower has a simple wooden doors at the catwalk level to allow access. A similar door allows entry to each tower from the ground level. Pathways lead throughout the courtyard to each interior building and exterior tower. A single guard is making his rounds from tower to tower by walking along the catwalk.
Immediately to the groups right (east) is a small barn. It is made of wood and stands nearly twelve feet tall with a slightly slanted roof. It has a front door and a side door but no windows. A small shed (3 ft x 5 ft x 4 ft) is attached at the northeast corner. The shed serves as a guard dog shelter.
Looking to the western courtyard, one sees an obvious guard barracks. The guardhouse is a two story structure made of gray stone. IT has no first floor windows but on each side of the second story are barred windows. The roof is flat. The front and side doors are made of iron. Both doors are closed.
Finally, the keep takes up most of the northern courtyard. It is made of gray stone and reaches twenty five feet high. The second floor windows are not high enough to overlook the twenty foot high outer curtain wall. The roof of the keep is flat and featureless. The balcony on the northeast end of the keep is thirteen feet from the ground and merlonated.
The front door of the keep is made of decorated wood. A lion’s head is carved in relief into the door. In the lion’s mouth is an ornate door knocker.
The windows of the keep are all four feet wide and five feet high. Each has iron bars across them.
The keep tower rises out of the northwest corner. It is circular and reaches forty-five feet in height. It has a flat roof.
A collection of guards stands between the detainees and the inner keep. The lead is a man, a Sergeant of the Guard, is in his late 30s, five feet nine inches tall, 160 pounds, with black hair and eyes and a full beard. He wears chain mail armor and has a shield in hand. A mace is secured to his belt. The rest of the men generally have chain mail armor and have long swords. Some have shields. There are six men standing behind the lead guard.
The Sergeant of the Guard calls back to the keep, “Captain of the Guard! The prisoners are ready.”
<Armax stands near the barracks remaining quiet. She has cast invisibility on herself.>
Morwen knocks on the front door of the inn. After a short pause, Glami, the barkeep, comes cautiously to the door. He has a dagger in his hand. He looks out the nearby window and, seeing Morwen alone, opens the door, “I know not if your services will be needed for the lunch hour but you may enter and go to your room if you wish.”
Morwen asks Glami, “Is Abraham here? I would like to speak with him. Do you know where I may find him?”
“The town is under alarm, what of importance do you have that he should be disturbed?” asks Glami coolly in return.
The iron reinforced wooden keep door opens and three men step out.
The first man is 5’8”, 145 pounds, roughly 40 years old with brown hair, brown eyes and a clean shaven face. He has leather armor and a dark polished wooded shield bound with iron. He has a broadsword in a scabbard on his belt and several throwing knives on his belt. He steps out and to the right.
The second man is larger and stronger. He is 6’1”, 200 pounds, in his late 30s with black hair and eyes. He has a moustache. He is also dressed in leather armor. A broad silver ring is upon his right pointer finger. A short sword is sheathed on his belt. He steps out and to the left.
The last man out is a large man. Although appearing mostly human, his half-orc heritage cannot be hidden. He is weathered and appears to be approaching 50 years old although he remains fit. He is 6’2”, 210 pounds with long black hair worn loose. He has dark black eyes. He has a full beard. He wears chain mail armor and carries a decorated shield and a battle axe. Upon his right ring finger is a gold ring. His shield is decorated with a lions’ head. His axe is plated with gold and the axe blade is embossed in a gold lions’ head. The man’s face bears some scarring of a life of fighting.
The half-orc Captain of the Guard calls out is a deep but intelligent voice, “Bring them in for judgement.” He turns and re-enters the keep.
The group is led across the thirty foot wide courtyard between the barn and the barracks to the front door. The dogs continue a vicious bark but do not advance upon the detainees.
The lions’ head on the wooden doors calls out at the arrival of the group, “What are you doing here? Guards! Guards! Guards! Guards!” The voice continues calling out for nearly fifteen seconds.
The guards ignore the alarm and the detainees are led into the keep’s entrance chamber. The hall has three doors other than the one entered, one on each wall. In the southeast corner of the room is a rusty suit of plate mail armor holding a halberd. Along the north wall are three chairs. On the south wall, between the armor and the doors, a 2’ x 3’ mirror hangs above a small table. On the table are two silver candlesticks and a brass bell. A half-orc stands guard in the room. He wears chain mail and has a shield secured on his back with a javelin. A long sword is worn upon his belt. He stands at the door to the left (northwest wall).
The longshoremen are forced to sit in the chamber and left under guard. The adventurers are led through the door past the half orc guard into a hallway beyond. The hall is about fifteen feet long with a door on the end wall and a second door next to it on the right (north) wall.
Dalic appears to have succumb to the pain and feinted sometime since entering the keep. He is breathing and stable but unresponsive.
The hallway is lit by torch sconces mounted on each end of the hall.
The party is led through the north door into an audience hall. The hall is fifteen foot square. On the east wall is a stone dais of three steps. Atop the highest step is a large, highly decorated wooden chair. Two smaller chairs sit on the next step down from the larger chair. The dais itself is six feet wide and five feet deep, with the chairs standing along the back wall. The north and south walls are hung with tapestries of woodland scenes.
Upon the head chair sits Mayor Arrness. She appears to be in her 40s. She is of athletic build being 5’4” and 120 pounds. She has long brown hair and blue eyes. She wears a long sleeve white blouse and maroon pantaloons. A maroon cloak is draped around her shoulders. Upon her head is a golden crown with three large rubies mounted upon it.
On the mayor’s left is seated the half-orc Captain of the Guard.
On the mayor’s right is seated a man in his late 30s. He is 5’10” and 155 pounds. His hair is brown and worn short. His eyes are brown. He has gold bracers upon his arms. A black cloak is worn over a simple tan short sleeve shirt and brown pantaloons. A longsword rides a scabbard on his belt.
Quenex enters first, bows, and takes a speaker’s position in front of the dais. Two castle guards (chain mail, shield, long sword) enter with the detainees and take a position on each side of them before the dais. The two guards that exited the keep with the Captain of the Guard enter last and take up a position at the door.
Two dock workers set the stretcher holding Dalic on the floor and exit the room. The two door guards shut the door as they leave.
Grimlock, P’innr Bhut, Ide Otneaux, Breymeer and Krelar stand in a line before the dais.
“Kneel before Lady Arness, The Lord Mayor and Protector of the Lake.” The voice of the Captain of the Guard booms through the chamber.
Morwen puts her hand on the hilt of her sword and gives Glami a cold, direct gaze while replying, "The alarm has been cancelled by a captain of the guard. The party guilty of the disturbance is being taken to the mayor, and if I do not talk to Abraham innocent people may die of which you may be one!"
"I meant you no threat. I will locate Abraham for you momentarily," replies Glami resecuring the exterior door.
With that he walks swiftly across the room and through the door to the right of the bar announcing, "Abraham, the elf maiden who entertained here last night is demanding your company."
Morwen is left standing in the vacant room.
All kneel with a few exceptions. Dalic remains unconscious on the backboard. Grimlock kneels and then stands back up. Ide grimaces as she kneels causing pain to shoot through her leg from the thigh wound. Bhut does not lower himself, hesitating while he looks to the others for signs of danger or the need for defense.
Breymeer, already kneeling, looks about the group. Seeing no one respond, Breymeer addresses the Mayor, “Lady Arness the Lord Mayor and Protector of the Lake, I request that my injured friends be allowed the aid they need. We mean no disrespect but we’re here to help rid your city of assassins and evil doers and am as intrigued as you to get an explanation as to why we were attacked by dock workers. By my word, we mean no harm to the Lord Mayor or other innocent townfolk. We simply ask for reasonable treatment.”
Krelar adds, “I accompanied this group from Restenford as an observer. Although I did not participate in the conflict, I did witness the ambush upon the docks and will speak as a neutral party on this matter. May my word be truthful and a reflection of the honor of the Abby of Phaulkon in Restenford.”
“Perhaps you misunderstood my order,” begins the Captain of the Guard as he stands from his chair, staring at Grimlock and Bhut, “You shall kneel and remain kneeling before the Lord Mayor. You are brought here accused of fighting and civil disobedience. You shall kneel and in turn state your claim of righteousness. Several persons lay slain and those responsible shall be punished. If you refuse to kneel, you shall be thrown in the dungeon until you submit or are found responsible for wrongdoings and given the appropriate punishment.”
The Captain of the Guard turns his attention to Breymeer, “The Lord Mayor, the Mayor’s Counsel and I have been informed that your group and Captain Basmar’s dock workers got into a fight and now several dock workers lay dead at your hands. This is your time to speak in your defense. No aid can now be given to the slain. No aid shall be given to you until this is resolved. Speak, each of you in turn, to your reason for slaying those men at the docks.”
To Krelar, the Captain of the Guard states, “Your word shall be judged as so.”
The Captain of the Guard pauses, staring at Bhut and Grimlock, waiting for them to kneel and those present to speak in their defense.
Bhut submits to the request and silently kneels, giving the Captain of the Guard a hateful look while doing so. This leave just Grimlock standing for the moment.
The Captain of the Guard returns an icy glare at Bhut as Breymeer makes his statement, “When I saw dock hands greatly outnumbering and attacking a lone adversary I asked them to cease their attack. They did not and I could not allow further unfair slaughter and did what I believe was just. The same I am sure you would expect from any of your pure hearted citiens of this great city. Seek witnesses to this unfortunate battle and you will find this is true.”
Grimlock follows up with some muffled complaint. The gag is removed from his face. Grimlock bows acknowledgement to the Mayor and then sets down upon one knee, “Thank you your Mayorship for removal of the gag as well as the opportunity to be heard. We were indeed sent here to root out a diabolical nest of assassins. I was observing the boathouse from a distance before the unprovoked attack on my companions occurred. I was disguised as a common fool as I made my way the boathouse. I am witness to many brawls, battles, and bluffs, and what I saw was unmistakable in my experience. A pending attack was coming by a group of men who appeared to be dockworker but were far from the usually good hearted fellows who are hard at work as I speak. These men were clever in their tactics and had surrounded two of my companions and outnumbered them almost threefold. They would have succeeded in murdering my companions had they not underestimated our numbers in disguise. They made a deadly mistake when they attacked my friends as I defended them as I would defend any righteous and lawful person. I do not dispute my action in this bloodletting. I only did so in defense of my companion’s lives, and in doing so, we have prevented evil yet to come in your noble city. Thank you for lending your ears your Mayorship.” Grimlock bows his head in conclusion.
Ide Otneaux appears surprised as Grimlock’s etiquette as she answers, “The elf speaks true as does the ranger. I was with the ranger when our companions, P’innr Bhut and Dalic Steelcoat, were assaulted unsolicited by the renegade longshoremen. The longshoremen ignored orders to cease and in doing so, sealed their fate.”
Krelar speaks last, “Their word is as I observed. It is true or may Phaulkon strike me down.”
The Captain of the Guard inquires, “Any other statements?”
Abraham enters the bar from the north door from which Glami had exited. He has a long sword and scabbard upon his belt. The hilt of the blade hints of its quality. Glami enters the room on his heels.
“Dear Morwen, I am a busy man. Please accompany me to the stable. You can speak while we walk. Glami, prepare the bar for the day,” Abraham orders.
Abraham does not wait for Morwen or Glami to answer. He moves to the front, un-secures it and exits into the street. Morwen follows, speaking while they walk, “Master Abraham, I know you distrust me and do not believe all that I told you in our conversation a little bit ago. I will now tell you all I know, in complete honesty, with the hope of regaining your trust and, more importantly your help. For, truly, I do not care if you trust me, if you are willing to help my cause, but your trust would be a nice bonus."
Abraham pauses at the gate for the path that leads to the back of the inn and the barn. He looks over at Glami who has also stepped out into the street. Abraham shoots Glami a displeased look sending Glami into the inn. “Go on,” he mutters while entering the inn yard.
"Several weeks ago, I set out from my home on the northern isle to travel and see the world, making a living with my music. Three days ago, in Restenford, I ran into a childhood friend from the northern isle, quite by mistake. He is a devout priest of Sehanine. Two days ago the Duke of Restenford was assassinated while he slept and my friend is now in prison, suspected of the murder. My journey has been sidetracked in hopes of freeing my friend. The group of adventurers that have descended on Farmin are here to try and find the real assassin and free my friend, their adventure partner. I traveled with them from Restenford, hoping to aid in some way."
Abraham stops on the path back to the barn and appears to be in thought, trying to work through all the events of the last day as Morwen continues, "That is the true story of how I came to be here and why there was a ruckus at the docks this morning. My companions believe they have found the guilty party, or at least a man who knows who the guilty party is. At this moment they are being brought to the castle to go before the Mayor."
"While at the docks I heard them tell the captain of the guard that a Captain Basmar was the man who knew who the assassin was. I met, who I believe to be this man fleeing the scene of the fight, on my way to the docks. Do you know this man?”
Abraham looks around and guides Morwen to the barn taking shelter between the barn and the large tree on the southeast corner, near the front double door. Abraham looks deep into Morwen’s eyes trying to read her truthfulness as he begins speaking slowly, “Captain Basmar is less of a captain and more of a smuggler but I did not suspect him of associating with assassins. It is not uncommon for him to be in the inn drinking or playing cards. He fancies himself important. His house is at the edge of the dock yard. It is the nicest house down there. But if he fled the docks, I doubt he would head back down there now; although he might at some time attempt a return.”
Abraham thinks for a minute and then knocks on the barn door. Falpir opens the door cautiously. Abraham tells him, “Go find Balmorrow and Martin and ask them to come to the inn as soon as they can. Tell them it is of great importance.” Falpir runs off quickly, exiting the inn yard and turning north and running down the street.
Hearing the names of two people unknown to her, Morwen asks, “Who, in a position of authority, can I trust? Who is not protecting the assassin?”
Abraham looks quickly around the barn, finding only his staff, the serving boys, James and Balmar, and the bar wench, Rillis. Abraham orders them, “Stay here in the barn for now. I will come and get you when all is safe.”
Abraham has the barn re-secured as he and Morwen exit the building. Abraham asks Morwen in a quiet but very serious tone, “Morwen, do you know how to use that blade? I think I know two people we can ask about the guild. They are very likely in my very inn right now. Are you with me?”
Bhut gives his story, "Myself and the short one,” Bhut points at Dalic, ”were arranged to have a private meeting in the boathouse, but when we started heading that direction from the docks we immediately sensed tension and danger. When Dalic entered the boathouse we were attacked, and were forced to defend ourselves."
Dalic stirs at the sounds of his name. His eyes open slightly and he moans in pain. He quickly slips back into unconsciousness.
Mayor Arrness speaks to the group in an authoritative but calm and even voice, “I have received your statements. I will continue to look into this event. The other detainees shall be brought in next for their statements.”
Mayor Arrness addresses the guards near the door, looking at the taller man with the wooden shield, “Sangster, take this group to the holding cell and secure them there until the investigation is complete and their fate is determined. Then take Gellius, Falbore, Armax and your choice of men at arms. Search Basmar’s house and the boathouse. You have my authority to take any other actions you deem necessary to complete this investigation. Bring back your report and any evidence you may find to either support the given claims or dispute them.”
The man named Sangster nods and then bows as the Mayor continues, “Krelar, man of Phaulkon, you may stay to witness the questioning of the other detainees. Also, Breymeer, ranger, you appear to have wisdom and intelligence. If you trust me, I invite you to stay as witness for your party. How say you?”
Morwen responds without hesitation, “I am well skilled with this sword and am as solid a markswoman, as any elf, with my bow. I will trust you, because I believe I can, and I need to, for my friend's sake. Lead on!"
Abraham walks to the rear door of the inn. He unlocks the door and enters with Morwen behind him. As soon as the door is entered, they both see wetness on the floor as if someone had come in from the rain recently. Man sized foot tracks lead down the hall. Abraham attempts to be quiet moving down the hall. The sound of the human completely covers the stealth of the elf behind him.
Abraham moves through the initial hall and follow the fading tracks east down the southern hall. The amount of moisture in the footprints continues to fade as the duo continues down the hall. It fades completely before they reach their destination. Abraham stops at the second to last door on the right (to room #6) nearly across the hall from the door that enters the inn’s bar area (room #8).
“This room belongs to Oscar and Philmar,” whispers Abraham. “I believe they may be involved in nefarious activities. They may be able to answer some questions.”
Standing outside the room, Morwen can hear the very light muffled sounds from inside the room. She cannot quite make out what the source of the sound is. Abraham appears to not hear them as he is preparing to knock on the door.
Breymeer chooses to remain in the hall to witness the following proceedings with Krelar.
Sangster orders the group to rise and assemble in line for the movement to the holding cell. Two of the dock workers are summoned to carry Dalic’s stretcher.
Mayor Arrness tells Krelar, “Should the group you travel with be found guilty of a crime, you shall received grith for the duration of your stay in Lake Farmin.” She then pauses while one group of detainees is led out and the next is brought in.
Krelar and Breymeer stay out of the way and remain quiet. The weapons taken from the group are left in the corner of the audience hall near the dais.
The Captain of the Guard rises from his chair and joins the group heading for the holding cell. He takes the lead followed by the dock workers carrying Dalic. Bhut, Grimlock and Ide follow next, still bound although Grimlock is no longer gagged. The two castle guards walk next in order and in the rear are Sangster and the other guard that stood near the door in the audience hall.
The group exits the audience hall (#18) and enters the hall (#15). It then goes through the door on the right. They enter a kitchen (#16). A cook is present. She is a human female but otherwise non-descript. On the north wall of the kitchen is a hearth complete with fireplace tools, large pots and kettles. The north and east walls hold shelves of supplies. By the west wall, under the window, is a large working table. The table is littered with utensils and nearly two dozen jars of spices, herbs and other ingredients. Next to the table is a large kitchen knife rack holding various blades, including a meat cleaver.
From a small open topped cask on the floor the captain removes a torch and lights it off the small fire in the hearth. Several other torches remain in the cask.
The group crosses the kitchen to the door on the eastern wall to the back entry (#17). The room contains a staircase going down along the west wall. There are two large barrels with spigots in the northeast corner of the entryway. A door on the southeast corner appears to be an exterior door.
The group continues downstairs. While doing so, the Captain of the Guard mutters a word. It was spoken too quietly to be heard by anyone in the group.
The stairs lead down to a hallway. The hallway dead ends on the left. A doorway is on the northeast corner. Going right, the hall travels southwest to a dead end with a door on the south wall.
The group is led south and the captain unlocks the door with a key ring he carries. The hallway continues southeast, passing two doors as it zigs around two 90 degree turns. After the second turn, the hall continues straight to a door while passing another door on the right hand side.
The captain stops at the closer door on the right and unlocks it. Moving through, the group finds the hall has become a tunnel, only four feet wide and seven feet tall. The tunnel turns immediately right and goes twenty feet down to a left turn. The tunnel moves southwest to an alcove. A door on the right side is at the midway point of the tunnel. Across from the door, a second tunnel continues to the southeast.
The captain takes the left tunnel and leads the group to another door. An additional tunnel extends southwest from the door. It ends after thirty feet. There is a door on either side of the tunnel at the far end.
The captain knocks upon the door (to #37), “Gress, this is Ascue. We are entering with a group for you to watch over in the holding cell.”
The lock clicks open from the interior and the door opens revealing a small ten foot square room with a door on the far side (#37). The room contains a rough table and chair of large proportions. A candle, a huge mug, and a plate sit upon the table. A pallet lies in the northeast corner. A large spiked club leans up against the table.
Standing in front of the door is a large ogre, “Da room’s clear, Captain Ascue.”
The ogre named Gress walks across the room and unlocks the door with a key ring he has in a pouch on his belt.
Gress opens the door revealing a short hall beyond. A door is on the far wall and one on the west wall immediately to the right of the door the ogre just opened. He unlocks the close door and steps further down the hall allowing Captain Ascue in.
The captain opens the door and the party is guided by into the room (#38). It is nearly fifteen feet deep by ten feet wide. There is a rough cot, an upside down pail and a three-legged stool. Grimlock, Ide and Bhut are all untied before the group is locked in the room.
“Gress, if any of them cause any trouble, you may use force to subdue them. They are not prisoners as of yet but you may defend yourself and the castle as needed. They shall be here for the next couple of days,” are the parting words of Captain Ascue.
The sounds of the guards departing is heard before Gress relocks the door to the cell and the door to the guardroom. It is not long before things become quiet. It is very dark.
Morwen draws her sword and tell Abraham, "It may be better to enter unannounced then to let them prepare for visitors, especially if you think they could cause trouble. Get them at knife point before they can draw weapons. People tend to talk more freely when they are fearing death." She will give him a girlish smile and a shrug before saying, "Sorry."
Abraham seems to consider this for a moment. After a long pause, he removes his long sword and his key to the room, “Ready?”
With a nod from Morwen, he unlocks the door and opens it as fast as he can. He rushes into the room with his sword ready. As he does so, he snags a tripwire with his foot and, through a series of pulleys, it tips a bucket above the door. The bucket tips spilling whitewash all over Abraham.
The room is furnished similar to Morwen’s. It has two double beds along the wall west wall. A table with two iron candlesticks and four chairs occupies the center of the room. Near the door is a dresser with an iron candlestick and four drawers. The single window is barred and has closed shutters on the inside. A large carpet covers the floor. The room is dark due to the closed shutters.
The man Morwen saw fleeing from the docks is on his knees going through the two chests he has removed from underneath the beds. He appears to have been caught off guard by the sudden entrance. He still wears a broadsword and leather armor. His purple chased black cape drapes around him.
Morwen nimbly steps around a stunned Abraham and puts a blade to the back of the kneeling man’s neck, “If you flinch, I will run you through.”
The surprised man surrenders cautiously while Abraham frantically wipes the whitewash from his face. Seeing Morwen has the man covered, Abraham cuts some strips of cloth from the clothing the man has removed from the chests saying,“Do not move Captain Basmar. The elf’s blade is sharp.”r
Abraham ties the surrendering Basmar’s hands behind his back and removes his belt containing the sword and dagger.
The spilled over chests contains clothing. Strangely, there is a makeup case in both chests and the one with dwarf sized clothing has a few items of dwarven styled clothing and fake beards.
Abraham explains the room is rented by two men, Philmar, a dog trainer, and Oscar, a midget. He describes them and Morwen remembers them from the bar the previous evening. “Where they are now, I know not,” declares Abraham. “I suspected these two of more than they claimed to be. This makeup and disguises are very telling.”
A quick perusal of the room reveals nothing more. The chest of drawers is empty.
After a brief discussion, Morwen and Abraham agree to take Basmar to the castle and turn him over to the mayor.
Basmar does not speak on the short walk to the castle. Passing the statue of Kord, Abraham warns Morwen to put her weapon away. Etched into the base of the statue are the words, “Bring not might of arms to the door of the fortress lest I strike you down.” Abraham suggests the warning be heeded.
Ascending the path to the castle gate, Morwen hears three chimes announcing their arrival. The castle entry is bracketed by two guard towers with a connecting chamber above the gates. Between the gates, the entrance is protected by dual gates and portcullises. Passing through the entryway exposes one to a murder hole in the ceiling.
Castle guards, wearing chain mail and wielding long swords and shields, question Morwen and Abraham. Finding they have Basmar prisoner, they allow the trio into the first gate. Under the murder hole and before the second gate, the trio is made to wait for nearly twenty minutes.
Finally, a contingent of guards guides Morwen and company across the small courtyard, past the barn and guard barracks, and to the keep door. While passing the barn, two dogs bark viciously from a dog kennel on the northeast corner of the barn.
The front door is made of wood reinforced with iron. Carved in relief into the door is the face of a lion holding a door knocker in its mouth. As the group approaches the door, the lion calls out, “What are you doing here? Guard, guard, guard . . .” The guards ignore it and knock on the door. A bar is heard to be removed from the opposite side and the door is unlocked.
The group enters and meets a half orc guard standing in the entrance hall (#14). A suit of rusty plate mail armor stands in the southeast corner. It holds a halberd. Along the north wall are three chairs. On the south wall, between the armor and the door, a 2’ x 3’ mirror hangs above a small table. On the table are two candlesticks and a brass bell. Three doors exit the room other than the exterior door.
Sitting in the chairs are three longshoremen. A fourth sits upon the floor. All are bound securely.
The half orc guard takes the bell in hand and rings it. The door on the north wall opens after a short pause revealing another guard. The half orc advises of the new prisoner’s arrival. The guard on the far side of the door acknowledges and shuts the door again.
While Morwen and Abraham wait, their weapons are tied into their scabbards and any bows are unstrung.
After a short time, Morwen, Abraham, Basmar and the other four longshoremen are led through the north door into a hallway (#15). The hall is lit by a torch at each end. A door is on the far side of the hall and a second door is next to it on the west wall. The group is led through the door on the west wall and into a reception room (#18).
On the east wall is a stone dais of three steps. Atop the highest step is a large, highly decorated wooden chair. Two smaller chairs sit on the next step down from the larger chair. The dais itself is six feet wide and five feet deep, with the chairs standing along the back wall. The north and south walls are hung with tapestries of woodland scenes.
Upon the head chair sits Mayor Arrness. She appears to be in her 40s. She is of athletic build being 5’4” and 120 pounds. She has long brown hair and blue eyes. She wears a long sleeve white blouse and maroon pantaloons. A maroon cloak is draped around her shoulders. Upon her head is a golden crown with three large rubies mounted upon it.
On the mayor’s left is seated the half-orc Captain of the Guard.
On the mayor’s right is seated a man in his late 30s. He is 5’10” and 155 pounds. His hair is brown and worn short. His eyes are brown. He has gold bracers upon his arms. A black cloak is worn over a simple tan short sleeve shirt and brown pantaloons. A longsword rides a scabbard on his belt.
Breymeer and Krelar stand on the north side of the room. They are not guarded and have their weapons although the weapons are tied into their respective scabbards and Breymeer’s bow has been unstrung. The rest of the party is not present.
Breymeer and Krelar are left in the room as the Captain of the Guard and other guards lead the rest of the group out of the room and off to a holding cell.
Lady Arrness addresses Breymeer and Krelar, engaging them in conversation. She questions them on the state of Restenford in the wake of the Baron’s murder. She also inquiries about the fall of Bone Hill keep and its impact on the security of the immediate area. The conversation is inquisitive but kind.
Eventually, the Captain of the Guard and his cohorts return with the four longshoremen. Surprisingly, the man with the purple trimmed black cape is among the group. In addition, Morwen and Abraham, the inn owner, enter the audience hall.
Captain Ascue (The Captain of the Guard), addresses Lady Arrness, “The elf maiden and Abraham located Basmar ransacking Oscar and Philmar’s room. Oscar and Philmar were slain in the battle at the boathouse. It appears they were associates of Basmar’s organization.”
The mayor takes a moment to speak to all four longshoremen and Basmar; explaining they will have a chance to give statements and present their defense.
The mayor, the captain and the mayor’s advisor question the four men discovering they were Basmar’s hired muscle. All four of them were in the boathouse during the incident. The three that fled though the east door, getting caught in the web, were consistent in their statements. They declare Basmar was the head of the organization and ordered the attack. Basmar glares at the three as they tell their tale.
The fourth, who had wielded a crossbow against the party, stated the party had assaulted the boathouse in a botched robbery attempt.
Captain Basmar continued with the robbery description saying the party had tricked him into a meeting stating the party was interested in purchasing items and having them shipped to Restenford.
After the statements are gathered, Mayor Arrness orders Breymeer to the holding cell. Morwen, Krelar and Abraham are accompanied to the gates of the keep and released. Basmar and the other longshoremen are held in a second holding cell. All detainees would be held until the investigation was over.
Soldiers from the keep are dispatched to the inn, the boathouse and Basmar’s home.
The investigation continues for two more days. During the down time, Abraham has Morwen continue to play at the inn and Krelar rents a room.
Also during this time, the news of Baron Grellus murder becomes widespread. The news of the investigation and arrest of Basmar and detention of some of the party members spreads rapidly. Because of this, Morwen and Krelar remain at the inn where Abraham offers them protection. In addition, Mayor Arrness has given Krelar grith until he returns to Restenford.
At the end of the investigation, Morwen, Krelar and Abraham are welcomed back to the keep. Hanging over the front gate of the keep are two bodies strung by ropes from the merlons. Both bodies are hooded but appear to be human males.
The detainees are released to the audience hall where they are reunited with Morwen, Krelar and Abraham. The detainees are briefed on the capture of Basmar and the searching of Basmar’s home and the boathouse. Oscar and Philmar’s room was also searched.
Mayor Arrness gives the final disposition of the investigation. Evidence of disguises were located in Oscar and Philmar’s room. The boathouse and Basmar’s home reportedly contained evidence implicating all three as killers for hire. The party is acquitted of any crime. The three longshoremen are found guilty of civil disruption and sentenced to imprisonment. Basmar and the fourth longshoremen were sentenced to death by hanging. The sentence was unceremoniously carried out at dawn this very day.
Mayor Arrness apologizes for the detention of the party members and thanks them for rooting out a den of evil from within her community.
“You shall be rewarded! I shall have our castle priests mend your wounded with Kord’s blessing. You certainly are worthy warriors,” begins the Lady Arrness. “I shall supply each of you a horse and gear as a gift. Visit our local horse trader and pick out your animal and appropriate saddle and gear. I shall pay for it from the town coffers as a thank you from our community. If you already have a horse, or if you prefer coin instead, I offer you each one hundred golden coins.”
Lady Arrness calls for several priests and coins from the treasury. Soon, several priests-in-training arrive. They call upon Kord, asking that the warriors be rewarded for their actions in battle. To the relief of the wounded, all the party members are healed. Dalic regained strength while in the holding cell. The two days of inactivity brought back most of his strength.
A large pouch containing gold is placed in front of each character. Each bag contains 100 gp. “Either use it to purchase your horse or keep the gold. Either way, Lake Farmin thanks you,” states Mayor Arrness.
“You are welcome to stay in town as long as you wish but I do have a request of you, Krelar, Priest of Phaulkon. I wish you to return to Restenford and bring them this message.” At Lady Arrness’s command, a sealed scroll tube with a Lion’s head seal in the wax is brought forward and handed to Krelar. “Please inform Baroness Fairwind that I will soon be sending an advisor to meet with her in regards to the uncovering of the organization suspected of Baron Grellus’ murder. I also request you carry with you our condolences.” A medium sized chest with a sturdy lock is brought forward.
Abraham requests permission to speak, which is granted, “Mayor Arrness, Protector of the Lake, I thank you greatly for the gift. I already have a horse and am blessed to have a thriving business in your town. For this reason, I will dontate to the Xerbo, Osprem and Kord to help bury the dead and train the new priests. In addition, tonight I will host a banquet at the inn in honor of this courageous party. All are welcome.”
“Thank you Abraham d’Farmin. Your inn has long been a staple of our town. May you live long and prosper.” With that, the mayor releases all from the hall.
Abraham requests the party to the inn for the evening banquet. He departs back to the inn.
The horse trader is near the base of the hill supporting the castle. Here, those requesting horses are given their choice of horse and gear. Those not wanting saddles have 25 gp left from their bag of coins.
When the moment presents itself, Dalic addresses the group, expressing his concern, "It does not seem Basmar was responsible fer tha assassination. In tha boathouse he thought tha baron ta still be alive an' tha' we were vestigatin' tha death ab another... It appears there be more afoot but nae much ta be done yet here. Let us take news ta Restenford ab tha events ta free our comrade. I feel yer, an' even mine, obligations ta tha throne may be closin'. What say ye?"
Passing by the horse trader (#41), Breymeer and Grimlock each pick out a horse. Breymeer studies the horses for some time, mingling among them. It appears he may even be speaking to them. They seem calm in his presence. The horse trader, a solid framed man with a keen eye, is patient and waits for Breymeer to make his selection. Both Grimlock and Breymeer get fine animals. The trader appears to know the critters well.
Breymeer side treks to the most northeastern establishment at the edge of town. Located there is a 20’ x 20’ building that functions as a general store (#13), with a slightly smaller framed house behind. The house has two barred windows and one iron reinforced door. The store has four barred windows along the street side of the building. The main door is iron reinforced and has hardware for a lock.
The store operates as Lydia’s General Store. The small building has a wide variety of items; more or less anything basic an adventurer would need. Breymeer picks out a standard issue broadsword (12 gp 5 sp).
The party spends the rest of the day preparing for the return to Restenford. There is a mix of reactions as they travel through town. Some, especially dock workers, fishermen and similar, celebrate the party’s accomplishments. Others, more suspicious of outsiders, simply pass by. And, finally, some, like the half orc armorer, just scowl. It appears he always scowls.
As evening approaches, the banquet gets underway. Tellish, Lady Arrness’s advisory, represents the castle in attendance. A second significant attendee is Balmorrow, a 40+ year old human male, 5’10”, 175 lbs, with short cut brown hair and brown eyes. Balmorrow owns the Theater of the Mystic Celebration. He invites the party to attend the play at the theatre before leaving the following day. Balmorrow shows interest in Morwen. It is hard to tell if it is a physical attraction or a mutual interest in music.
Balmorrow entertains the party with some songs on his lute with golden strings. It becomes quickly obvious he is a town favorite.
At the banquet, when the adventurers have a quiet moment together, Morwen tells the group of her departure, "Gentlemen, and Lady,” looking at Ide, “Tathar Surion is a childhood friend of mine. I did not tell you this, because of the accusations leveled at him, I felt I may have been suspect too, as I also worship Sehanine Moonbow. I was fortunate and surprised to cross paths with him when I did, and happy to have played a part in securing his freedom. Thank you, all, for your dedication to him as your friend and companion. Believe me when I say, you are all fortunate to have him as a friend. Please tell him of my part and let him know to please look me up here in Farmin if he has time. I will be staying here for a short while, until the music of the wind carries me to some other place."
Grimlock, once released from the dungeon holding cell, wandered town searching for anything of interest. He located a spice and herb shop (#48) just north of the southeast guardhouse.
The shop is a 35’ x 30’ stone building. It has six small barred windows six feet off the ground. The door is made of heavy wood with iron borders and hinges. The door is carved in the shape of a dragon with an open mouth. Next to the door is a sign saying, “Hestal the Alchemist, by appointment only!”
Answering the door is Hestal’s wife, Relba, answers Grimlock’s knock on the door. She denies Grimlock access claiming Hestal was far too busy to meet with him. After a bit of persuasion, and a five gold pieces bribe, Relba claims there is an opening in Hestal’s schedule. Relba advises Grimlock to return in two hours.
Upon Grimlock’s return, Relba allows him into the store. Grimlock enters a small 5’ x 7’ meeting room. A door on the far wall leads further into the building. Sitting in a padded chair is Hestal. He appears in his 50s and is very to the point. Almost to the extent of being rude. Hestal does not make small talk or appear to care about Grimlock’s motivations. Hestal does not appear at all altruistic; simply business minded.
Through a very short discussion, Grimlock agrees to purchase a potion of healing from Hestal. He pays the money up front. Grimlock is told to pick up the potion from Relba two days later.
The banquet is quite a success. Many of the town folks stop by including many of the shop owners. The significant number of attendees are dock workers and fisherman; along with their families. Members of the Church of Osprem and the two Xerbo priests also make an appearance.
The evening finishes up and everyone retires for the evening.
The next day dawns with more rain but much less wind. Local fisherman grimace as they go back out on the lake fighting gentle waves and a light rain.
The party members continue to make final preparations for travelling back to Restenford.
Just after 7 PM, the group makes their way over to the Theater of the Mystic Celebration. The theater building itself is of good stone construction. The windows are heavily barred and have shutters. Near the door is a sign that gives the theater’s hours (7-10PM Weekdays, Closed Saturday and Sunday. Shows at 8PM, No admittance after the show begins). To the side of the theater is a house where the troupe lives. It is also of stone construction and has barred windows.
Inside the theater is a lobby that contains a “cage” booth where tickets are sold by one of the young stage hands. It contains a strongbox for the exchange of monies. In addition, there are a few benches, a door to the auditorium and a door to the backstage area. The auditorium has two rows of five benches, each seating four, for a maximum seating capacity of 40. The stage is elevated about one foot above the floor and has a large curtain that can be drawn between acts.
Balmorrow, the party finds, is a very talented storyteller and playwright. The play is very entertaining. It is very obvious to the characters there is someone or something adding magic touches to the special effects.
After the play, Balmorrow meets with the party in his office. The office and backstage area includes two small dressing rooms, a prop room and a wardrobe room. The party only enters the office and not the dressing rooms, prop room or wardrobe.
In his office is golden stringed lute hangs on the wall behind him. Balmorrow is handsome and very charismatic. He holds the group’s attention and delivers valuable information.
Balmorrow warns the group, “I, along with several of my friends, have long known an evil had grown roots in Lake Farmin. Until the murder of Baron Grellus, no one had been murdered within Lake Farmin or Restenford. The town actually began to grow, both in name and financial strength. Ship travel begin to increase. But, deep down, we suspected the better fortunes had darker roots.
We were able to identify a few members of the guild but could gain no further information. The deaths of Philmar and Oscar eliminated the two suspects we had developed. The hanging of ‘Captain’ Basmar caught me by surprise. Not that he was a decent man, just that I did not suspect he was associated with a guild of killers.
I fear there is more layers than even your group has uncovered. I do not ask you to stay in Lake Farmin for I do not know if any further investigation is warranted here. Simply know that you have friends in Abraham and myself. You may seek shelter or information with me and Abraham’s inn will remain open to you at all times. Thank you for all you have done and suffered in the name of Restenford and Lake Farmin.”
Balmorrow finishes with final words of caution, “It has been requested I pass on words of warning to your group for your return to Restenford. A friend has many associates in the wilder areas around the barony. This friend tells me orcs have begun to move in numbers. They have been coming down from the Farmin Mountains in some numbers. Several score have been spotted moving in small, quick groups. They have yet to threaten Lake Farmin or nearby farms but their presence is unnerving. My friend bids you be careful and thanks you for all you have done.”
The group returns to the inn for the evening, enjoys a few drinks, a song or two from Morwen and then retires for an early start back to Restenford.
The morning brings wind and more rain. A pouring rain pulls the cheer out of the party. The sky is still dark as the group rides out town on the north road leading back to Restenford.
The return ride is uneventful nearly to an uneasiness. The wind stays between 10-15 mph. It stays cloudy. The rain continues although the intensity lessons as the day goes on.
Darkness falls as the group rides into Restenford on the evening of Goodmonth 25, 577. It has been six days since they had set off for Lake Farmin. The day ends with the group finding rooms at the Tavern of the West Wind.
The 26th of Goodmonth arrives with the same wind blowing away the rain clouds. The day is warm (86 degrees) and shows promise of being a nice day.
In the away team’s absence, the other party members have been laying low and recovering. Southar, having not been seen, is assumed to still be resting in the woods outside of town. Cirdan has mainly been keeping to himself; checking in on Peylae occasionally. Peylae has recovered completely with the week of rest. Kuba and Speck have also been resting. Speck is well and Kuba has recovered much but still has some pain and minor injuries although no wounds.
Tathar has remained imprisoned since the departure of the away team. Representatives from Lake Farmin have not yet arrived to testify to Tathar’s innocence.
Pelltar has not returned from the ruins on Bone Hill. The Abbot of Phaulkon returned nearly three days prior but has not been observed outside of the Abby since.
The people of Restenford remain nervous and suspicious.
Dalic invites the party members to a private gathering at the Tavern of the West Wind. Even Southar attends, wearing his great helm to cover his altered form. With the promise of a better than average bar tab, the owners graciously allow the use of the common room without interruption. There are no other patrons in the establishment as the group has rented all six of the sleeping rooms. Only the serving staff remain and as Pelltar has trusted them in the past, so now does the party.
Dalic cuts directly to the point. He is concerned about Pelltar’s delay in returning from Bone Hill. Dalic suggests a possible excursion back to the hill to assistance can be rendered. He ponders what role each member of the party wishes to play in the ongoing goings on between Lake Farmin and Restenford. There is the matter of the dwarvish scroll located in Bone Hill.
He reads the scroll aloud to the group to refresh their memory:
Dearest Dukkor Graniteborn,
It is with great sadness that I write you.
As you are aware, we lost contact with the mine and your cousin, Khorliss Foesmiter, was sent to investigate the cause. Being a great warrior, wielder of Zalco, bane to the drow, Khorliss Foesmiter was certain to resolve the problem. It was certainly hoped that the operation was only held up because of discovery by one of the local human populations.
Khorliss Foesmiter, it saddens me to inform you, has not reported back nor have any members of his expedition. They seem to have vanished. We fear something foul has occurred in the mine.
In order to protect its secrecy and prevent further loss of dwarven lives, it has been determined the mine shall be sealed and records destroyed.
Dukkor Graniteborn, you must travel to the mine with a small contingent of trusted dwarves. Seal the mine and conceal its entrance. Falco and Gap shall accompany your group. They have been instructed to stay behind in Restenford and report on anything suspicious that may be mine related.
Furthermore, once the mine is sealed, you and your companions shall investigate the old ruins on Bone Hill to see if they are worth acquiring. The old keep would make a tactical staging area in the event the mine seal fails and evil ventures forth.
Speak of your purpose to no other.
May Moradin bless your journey.
Dalic asks Speck if he has uncovered any news of Falco or Gap at Falco’s Tavern.
Speck has kept a vigilant watch on the inn but reports nothing suspicious about the establishment or the comings and goings of its workers or patrons as far as he can tell.
Finally, Dalic expresses the shared interest in freeing Tathar from the castle dungeon.
Cirdan Saralonde reports that Pelltar’s students are not alarmed at the duration of his expedition to the ruins on Bone Hill. He is a friend to the Sehanine elves and is likely not in grave danger there.
As for the tensions between Restenford and Lake Farmin, the party agrees to rest and assess the situations. A few of the party members remain injured. Grimlock and Dalic still feel the cold pull of the grave on their will from the encounters with the undead at Bone Hill. The mages request time to study and strengthen their abilities and many members require practice to improve their proficiencies and training in new skills.
Before the discussion turns to Tathar, he enters the Tavern of the West Wind. Speaking very little about the circumstances, Tathar only reports that Krelar, having gone to the Abby of Phaulkon, delivered Mayor Arrness’ scroll and the chest to Lady Fairwind. On the Lake Famin mayor’s word, Lady Fairwind released Tathar.
After his brief reappearance, Tathar disappears for several days into the area orchards for meditation and prayer returning only during the daylight for sleep.
The last two days of Goodmonth pass with warm temperatures, slight wind increasing that increases at the end of the month. The wind brings light rain.
The month of Harvester arrives with more wind and gentle rain.
The people of Restenford continue to adjust to the death of Baron Grellus. Baroness Fairwind takes on her leadership role with a sober attitude. Lady Fairwind calls up the militia and orders weekly training. All able bodied men are told to carry weapons throughout the day. The exterior gates are guarded continuously. Work begins on extending the wooden palisade on the north side of the Restin River, beginning on the northwest section.
The Restenford Rangers increase patrols to assist the local farmers in safely harvesting their crops. Strangely, Belina has still not returned from tracking the gnolls and has not been heard from by man or beast.
Baroness Fairwind, and her daughter Andrella, have not set foot outside of their castle since the slaying of Grellus. They did entertain a visit from Krelar, received his message and condolence from Lake Farmin which, in turn, led to the release of Tathar.
The second day of Harvester begins with darkening clouds. The light rain rears an ugly head around noon bringing with it a horrible rain and heavy winds (35-40 mph).
Birthing from the storm, a weak tornado, or more accurately, a waterspout, comes ashore in Restenford. There was very little overall damage to structures and no fatalities but the storm rattles the already shaken nerves of the village. Rumors of a curse being laid upon the village from the ruins on Bone Hill become the talk of the taverns. Suspicions eyes fall upon the group; not for their acts but for the ill will that has followed them into the village over the last six weeks. The fear of the unknown is prevalent.
Pelltar makes his appearance in Restenford in the first fedw days of Harvester somewhat easing the nerves of the townspeople. Trusting the party that raided Bone Hill, he advises of current status at the ruined keep. The Sehanine elves have their hands full battling orc raids and a reoccurring undead menace. The orc raids are small hit and run attacks likely used to test the elves defenses. The elves are holding control of the keep and appear to have established themselves securely enough. Pelltar and the Abbot assisted in clearing the keep and attempting to deconstruct the altar; finding it no easy task. He speaks no more about the keep saying only that he must travel away in search of some information.
Pelltar, in his gratitude, continues to allow the group’s mages use of his library as long as they pay for the supplies.
Harvester passes with poor weather but little else. Shortly after Pelltar addressed the group, he and Akari set sail upon the Waverunner, as it passes from Lake Farmin to Restenford and back to Loreltarma. He only comments he heads toward the dwarven lands of the Iron Hills to the port of Irongate. He leaves Gristla in charge of his residence.
Akari continues to give P’innr Bhut release from services until her return. She does not expect to need his protection in the company of Pelltar.
The characters spend the month recovering, training, studying, repairing weapons and armor and other similar activities.
The celebration of Brewfest will be arriving at the end of the month. It is the seven day festival separating late summer from autumn. It is a celebration of the harvest and often involves the brewing of ales. The dwarves of Falco’s Tavern promise the unveiling of a new brew to help ease the town’s ongoing worries.
<This ends this part of L2 The Assassins Knot>[/b]
The first three weeks of the month of Harvester are spent training, studying and healing. The party enjoys the short rest from the hectic pace they had been keeping.
Tellish, the advisory to Mayor Arrness, comes and goes from Restenford castle in the first week of Harvester. His entourage spends only one evening at the castle before returning to Lake Farmin. The visit does not do anything to lessen the marshal law atmosphere in Restenford.
Breymeer, after learning from Ide Otneaux how to properly swing his dwarven battle axe, begins to grumble about going out looking for Belina. The idea begins to gain traction with the group and Peylae begins to ponder joining Breymeer in order to recon the gnolls and determine if their lair is a threat to town. Most of the rest of the group remains busy with their studies, etc.
Breymeer agrees to wait until more of the group is prepared to venture forth instead of setting off on his own. He is obviously anxious to look for her.
His mind is set at ease when, on the 19th of Harvester, Belina arrives back at the curtain wall gate. The news quickly passes through town as the locals hail her as she passes on her way to the castle. The news reaches Breymeer at the Tavern of the West Wind.
Breymeer is unable to gain on her before she enters the keep. He waits patiently for her outside the keep walls. Hours later, as she exits the castle, he escorts her to the Dying Minotaur and buys her ale and dinner.
The following day, Harvester 20, 577, Belina and Breymeer meet the rest of the party at the West Wind for discussion.
Belina tells her tale.
She tailed the gnolls between the Tri-Tops. In the vale between the hill peaks she discovered their lair. A small enclave of stone huts. Nearly a dozen huts surrounded one larger central hut. In the central hut resided the leader, a half man half ogre beast. It stood nearly the height of an ogre but bore a man’s features, including intelligence. She watched the lair for several days while she tended to her injuries.
The gnolls were doing surveillance on the party camped along the road at the base of Bone Hill. They reported back to the half ogre once the party returned to Restenford. At that time, the half ogre left camp, putting up security posts with what few gnoll men and grown juveniles remained. The camp had a few wolves left that came and went making Belina’s observations more challenging.
Belina tailed the ogre in a wide sweeping arc north of Lake Farmin through the Farmin Mountains. For two weeks the ogre travelled from orc enclave to orc enclave rallying orc soldiers. The orcs gathered together in groups up to twenty strong and began marching back towards Restenford.
The ogre eventually came to the river valley cut by the Farmin River as it meanders through the mountains towards the lake at Lake Farmin. The ogre followed the river south for a few days until the mountains became foothills and the relented to a small plain. In the small plain, the river turned east back towards Lake Farmin. On the south side of the river, an unimproved road crossed the plain east to west from Lake Farmin to the capital of Loreltarma. The ogre fearlessly crossed the plain and entered foothills on the south side of the road. The foothills turns to low mountains before lowering again as they meet the sea.
It was in the foothills that the ogre climbed a shallow trail to a discreetly hidden ledge. Belina did not dare follow the ogre underground as he entered the cave. Belina waited on the ogre for two days as the first week of Harvester came to a close. When the ogre exited, it led a small company of orcs armed for war. They began to backtrack towards Restenford via the Farmin Mountains. Belina followed them until she discovered their destination was the northeast side of the mountains where a basecamp for raids against the keep on Bone Hill was located.
Belina returned to Restenford to report to the Baroness.
Belina finishes her report by advising the party, “Baroness Fairwind graciously requested I ask each of you to accompany me to the castle tomorrow.” The pull of adventure is to strong to be delined. Dalic grins with the thought of slaying orcs by the score.
On Harvester 21st, Belina leads the adventurers back to the keep. The keep remains on alert and even in Belina’s company, the adventurers are questions and the invitation verified.
Baroness Fairwind greets the group in her small audience hall. She sits now on the head chair. She puts on a brave face but even the unobservant can read the stress and lost sleep her face reveals. Her daughter’s chair is empty as is Pelltar’s. Abbot Qualton is present and Krelar stands nearby as his security detail.
Gelpas, the Captain of the Guard, along with several of his best men stand before the Baroness for security.
The Baroness greets the group, “Brave adventurers. Our relationship has had many peaks and valleys in your short stay here. Our misunderstandings are unfortunate but understand this barony is mine to oversee . . . and to protect. It is in this duty that I have requested your presence here today.”
She pauses and looks to Qualton who simply nods to her in return.
She continues, “I have asked Belina to brief you on her findings southwest of Lake Farmin.” The baroness looks to Belina who tips her head in confirmation. “The cave that Belina followed that dreaded man-ogre, Drekohr, into appears to be of significance. The orcs attacking Bone Hill take orders from those that came out of that cave. The orcs are not of the same tribe. There must be something more powerful in that cave to cause the other orc tribes enough fear to follow orders.”
“I ask your group to travel to this cave under the guidance of Belina. I ask you to investigate what power may be concealed there and destroy it with extreme prejudice. This cause,” the baroness looks to Tathar, Cirdan and Grimlock each in turn, “will also help the elvenkind as the orcs continue to lay siege upon Bone Hill. I have nothing to offer you as a reward to entice you into this cause as I have tied up much wealth into further protecting Restenford and the greater barony.”
“What I do offer you is this. All that you find of value within the cave is yours to keep duty free. I shall have supplies for your travel. Each of you shall be given enough provisions for two weeks travel, two waterskins, a wool blanket, an oil flask, two torches, and a tinder box with flint/steel. In addition, the party will be given two hooded lanterns and one beacon lantern. I ask that you leave as soon as tomorrow morning.”
“How say ye?”
Tathar remains silent while the group responds to Baroness Fairwind.
With a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye that would be more at home on Dalic's face, Cirdan steps forwards and bows to the baroness. His noble background makes the gesture more fluid. It seems to the party that Cirdan is actually showing off a bit; his excitement with the thought of a new adventure appears to be causing him to show more emotion than normal, "My lady, Baroness Fairwind, I would be much pleased to add whatever skills I have to any party that sets out to rid the world of such evil!" With that, he turns, winks at whoever is looking and steps back.
At the same time, Dalic almost too eagerly agrees, catching himself from responding in the affirmative too loudly, he remains brief, "Ye hab me sword."
“I travel with the party as well,” adds Ide Otneaux.
Kuba and Speck both volunteer.
P’innr Bhut is in.
Grimlock joins the excitement.
Southar nods to the affirmative.
Breymeer joins the group knowing Belina will be leading the group back to the cave.
Peylae, representing her entire crew, is the last to speak, “Baroness Fairwind. My condolence to you and your family at the loss of your husband, Baron Grellus. I have recently lost my father and can understand your pain. Restenford has sheltered me while I recovered from my wounds fighting the gnolls near Bone Hill. I wish to repay your kindness. I will accompany this assault as well. I leave behind my ship and crew to aid Restenford as needed. Comus shall be in command in my absence.”
“Thank you Lady Peylae. Your words are kind.” The baroness finishes the meeting stating, “So it is. You shall travel as you see fit to this mystery cave and terminate whatever evil it is you find there.”
“Gelpas shall lead you into the dining hall. I have had two hogs roasted in your anticipated acceptance of this mission. We have had the honor of Falco delivering a barrel of his special Harvesterfest Ale. Enjoy and the speed of Phaulkon’s wind be with you.”
Gelpas leads the group into the dining hall. It is slightly cramped with so many occupants. Falco, and an assistant, is there. Falco has a large dwarven smile. He has already tapped the barrel and is obviously a glass or two in. “She samples well,” Falco declares. His helper remains quiet and reserved; quietly drinking his ale and eating off the hog.
The meal is enjoyed by all and many hours of revelry are enjoyed among the adventurers. Several times Falco appears to be caught staring at Dalic with curious eyes although he shows no negative emotions.
Leaving the castle, Belina asks all to stop by the West Wind to go over some final details of the trip. The party moves to the tavern.
In the tavern, Belina covers many of the details. She intends to travel by road from Restenford, through Lake Farmin. From there, she intends to travel across the small plain to the low mountains that contain the hidden cave.
While Belina is speaking, the door to the common room opens and in walks Falco and his dwarven assistant.
“G’eve brave travelers. I interrupt to take a moment of your time,” begins Falco.
The party, stunned slightly by his bold appearance, remains quiet as he continues, “I notice dat you carry weapons and a shield made by my people. Tha items, recov’red in Bone Hill keep, were made by craftsmen of my clan an’ carried by my kin into da keep. Thay were lost seekin’ a evil power in da keep. The evil of da keep was tied to anot’er. Grab ‘erself an ale. I have a story ta tell.”
The dwarf seems very sincere. His delivery catches the party’s interest and all take a seat or get comfortable standing to hear out the story.
He tells the group over two hundred years ago his kin worked a mine to the south and west of Lake Farmin. The dwarves kept to themselves as they worked the mine. Near the end of the dig, something went strangely wrong. The trouble is rumored to have started deep in the mine. Contact was lost with the delve. The clan sent an armed contingent to investigate but they were also lost. A second party was sent to the ruins of a keep on Bone Hill to set up a basecamp but no word of that expedition returned either. Unwilling to risk further losses, the clan decided to abandon the mine.
Falco finishes his tale, “I’ve remain’d in Restenford since in ord’r to watch and list’n. For two hundred years, all ‘as remain’d quiet. But now, appears somethin’ has made lair of da mine. The clan be wishin’ to assist in puttin’ down da threat. I give to ya Bofor Barrelmace, Priest of Fortubo, Patron of Stone & Metals.”
Falco’s ‘helper’ steps forward, his long red beard pulled into two parts bound at the ends with golden rings. He has a calm deep voice. He is well spoken, “I request to accompany your raid on the mine. My knowledge of minecraft and engineering promises to aid your exploration of the mine. I have been briefed on the layout of the mine as it was last known. We, more than any, would like to see the evil in the mine vanquished. If this can be accomplished, the clan leaders are prepared to give each of you two thousand gold pieces (2,000 gp) or the equivalent thereof. In addition, the party may keep whatever plunder it locates that is not directly related to the mine or its previous operations. This gift will be given only with the promise of silence to any and all dwarven secrets we may encounter there be it engineering, mine related, political, financial or any other related subjects. Should you agree, you will be required to sign a contract. Violations of the contract will be dealt with very harshly.” He produces a scroll tube and removes a multi-page document written in dwarvish and common. “Should you not agree, I bid you the blessings of Fortubo for I will not travel with or aid your quest.”
Bofor Barrelmace passes the document around saying, “Our clan wishes no ill will on Restenford or Lake Farmin. This mine, however, lays outside the control of the barony. The threat from the mine does indeed concern the barony. Therefore, we are willing to help destroy this threat. It should be clear, once the threat is removed, the mine remains in dwarven control.
The contract basically states the adventurers shall remain silent about all aspect of the mine other than creatures met, the honor of any fallen party members, and if the mission was completed successfully. The contract depicts a dwarven clan member will be appointed as a liason to Restenford. This liason will represent dwarven interests and disseminate information as it relate to the mine. This liason currently is Falco.
“Is everyone willing to sign the contract?” asks Bofor Barrelmace.
Dalic Steelcoat, the battle raging dwarf, steps forward to sign, “Jus’ ta be clear? The mine and Belina’s cave ‘re da same?”
“Indeed they are my thin dwarven cousin. I should suspect you and I will appreciate being back underground,” answers Bofor.
Breymeer, the bearded human northland ranger, continues the questioning as Dalic signs the contract, “Is the baroness aware of this contract and if not, why?”
Bofor answers, “We are not intending to put the barony at odds with our clan. I give you this information fully before Belina who I am aware is a Restenford Ranger and duty bound to report to Baroness Fairwind. The mine is in the wilds outside the reaches and protection of the barony and therefore its secrets need not be of the barony’s concern. I do agree the foe that appears to have taken up a residence and threatened the barony is a serious matter and that needs resolution. For this, our clan will pay dearly to this group for said resolution. Once the foe is defeated, the concerns of the barony shall be at rest and the contents of the mine a trivial matter to the barony. Any further concern are between our clan and the baroness and shall be negotiated in her court. I hope this answer satisfies you man-of-the-wild.”
Breymeer accepts the answer and signs the contract.
Kuba Cyvlorandau, the human man-at-arms, says as he flexes his massive muscles, "The pay seems fair enough and I have no interest in dwarvish mining or political secrets. I'm ready for some more vigorous activity."
Speck, the halfling, is lost in thought for a bit and then smiles and says to Kuba, "I'll need help carrying 2,000 gold pieces." Speck flexes his little Halfling arm to a few snickers around the room.
P’innr Bhut, the human sellsword, agrees to sign the contract. He states, "I am one of few words, this should not be a problem for me to remain silent."
Ide Otneaux, the female half orc great-axe wielder, joins the group, “Sure, sounds fun.”
The elves step forward as a group, Grimlock, the multi-talented half elf, Cirdan Saralonde, the noble elf mage, and Tathar Surion, the quiet moon-eyed Sehanine priest and Peylae, Captain of the Ungohling. They do not speak as they sign aboard. Once the contract is signed, Cirdan requests, “I have heard some of you speak an elvish bard playing in Farmin. I would very much like to overnight there on our way to hear her play.”
Belina looks pleased but does not step forward, “As your guide, I will not be setting foot into the mine. Baroness Fairwind has requested I not enter the mine and therefore have no need to sign the contract. In addition, as a member of the Restenford Rangers, you will not be obligated to pay me any reward. I shall guard the animals and camp while the group explores the delve.
Bofor looks the paperwork over, “Everything seems in order.” We leave at daybreak. Bofor Barrelmace and Falco bid the group good evening and retire back to Falco’s Tavern.
The rest of the day the group makes some last minute purchases such as arrows and bolts from Pelo, an elf, the town fletcher, and visiting Alton, the armorer, for final tweeks and repairs.
The group sets out in the pre-dawn light. The temperature is in the low 70s and the wind is calm.
Bofor Barrelmace rides a pony. He is dressed in chain mail armor. He wears a brown tunic trimmed in grey over his armor. His helm has a partially open face with cheek and nose plates. The tunic and armor are decorated with hammer designs. A shield is strapped to his back. He has a warhammer, a mace and two throwing hammers. A silver colored hammer hangs on a similarly colored chain around his neck.
Everyone in the group has a mount with the exception of Cirdan, Peylae and Tathar. They intend to buy mounts in Lake Farmin. Peylae captains the Ungohling from Restenford to Lake Farmin. Cirdan, Tathar and Peylae disembark and wait at the House of Abraham for the rest of the group to arrive. Cirdan Saralonde enjoys the music of Morwen.
The rest of the group rides north without incident making it to the pass and turning south following the road. The road passes through a small wood and the weather remains steady as mid-day passes. The Dead Forest looms ahead on the horizon as Bone Hill’s wooded slopes rise on the western side of the road.
The group passes the gnoll battle site and enters the Dead Woods. There is a disturbing feeling that the group’s passing is being monitored. Whether it is orc or elf scouts is never determined.
As darkness falls, the group rides into Lake Farmin without incident. The first stop is the House of Abraham. The group is re-united. Abraham is thrilled to see the party and puts them up in rooms. After a quick hot meal and assorted drinks the party retires to their rooms having another long day ahead.
During the trip Cirdan, waiting for a moment to speak to Paylae alone, seeks her council. Cirdan informs her of the brass serpent ring that he and Ledago recovered from the Yuan-Ti, He informs her of all he has discovered about it, mainly that it had a mild aura of protection on it with detect magic. Cirdan asks her opinion of the ring as he intends to put it on.
Peylae agrees to help him and also thinks the ring is likely one that affords the wearer some form of magical protections.
Cirdan, preparing to put the ring on, asks, “If it is cursed, please help me break the curse and remove the ring.” Peylae promises to do so. Cirdan slips on the ring with no obvious signs for good or ill.
The evening was spent in fine bliss. Having heard the adventurers were back in town, Balmorrow came to the inn after his show and played music with Morwen. It was a very special treat.
The morning of Harvester the 23rd brings temperatures in the low 70s and broken clouds. It has rained some overnight but ceased with the rising sun.
Cirdan Saralonde, Peylae and Tathar visit the horse trader nearly across the street from the inn. They each purchase a horse. The trader’s supply is running low but the horses were stable animals. Southar finds himself walking as no horse will have him. They get nervous and jumpy when he is near.
Any final adventuring gear is purchased at Lydia’s general store and weapons from Gilmi, the dwarf and town weaponsmith.
Once the final preparations are made, the party rides out of town by late morning. Southar walks ahead of the group scouting. There is no wind and mild temperatures. The clouds become scattered and the sun shines through. For once the group rides in moderate comfort.
The party rides past the guard shack with a wave from Golfig, one of the town guards stationed there. Passing beyond the limits of town, the party rides over the arched stone bridge, crossing over the Farmin River as it passes from Farmin Lake to the Oljatt Sea. The bridge has a high arch allowing some ship traffic into the lake from the sea. In the middle of the bridge is a solitary wooden post with a lantern mounted at the top. The lantern glows day and night by some mysterious power.
Beyond the bridge lay the wilder lands of the barony. The road to Loreltarma passes through the Rogan Forest and then stretches out into the open, crossing the low grassy plain as it heads west following the Farmin River on the southern bank. The sea is but a handful of miles to the south; the air smells of it.
In the distance, the road encounters the foothills of a stray spine of the Farmin Mountains. The small spine parallels its larger father to the north. Upon reaching the foothills, the road parallels the low peaks on the north side. A little to the west of the foothills, the Farmin River turns from its southern flow out of the mountains easterly towards Lake Farmin. West of the river the valley elevation increases as it is closed together between the main mountain chain and the lonely spine.
The mountains themselves generally follow the shoreline of the sea from Loreltarma to north of Lake Farmin and terminating to large foothills and scattered high areas such as Bone Hill near Restenford. The grassy valley narrows the farther west one travels until the main peaks and the stray spine come together as one.
Belina points to the foothills ahead, “We shall camp there overnight. We should be safe enough at the edge of the valley. The cave is only a few hours travel from there. Going into the delve during the day will give me a better chance at security while you are gone.”
The trip across the valley in completely uneventful. There has been very little traffic on the road for some time. The Waverunner had delivered supplies into Lake Farmin just after the parties departure from the hamlet. It appears few brave the road for commerce anymore. The road, really more of a dirt track, is beginning to grow over but remains very visible and easily traveled. It is soft from the recent rains. Any farms or signs of settlement disappear within a few miles of Farmin Lake. The burned shells of farmhouses here or there are proof enough of the dangers of orc raids both now and in the distant past.
It is but ten or so miles to the foothills. The trip is made in good time and there are several hours of light left when Belina holds up the group, “The orcs seem to be traveling north along the river into the Farmin Mountains. We shall came south of the river on the eastern slopes. With luck, they will not suspect we are here.”
Belina leads the group south off of the path and into the foothills looking for a sheltered area. “We cannot afford a fire tonight so light one now while we can.”
While sitting around the campfire, Bofor Barrelmace gives a brief overview of the first level of the mine, “There are front and rear entrances. Both lead to two chambers in series, one after the other. The front chambers are much grander than the rear. Connecting the front and rear chambers are two passages, one angled north and one south. Each passage has an additional chamber. The southern chamber has a secret entrance to the mines below.”
The clouds move back in as night approaches. The temperatures drop into the low 60s. Cirdan Saralonde produces a small crystal bead and places it on the ground. With a few commands and motions, an opaque dome forms over where the crystal had been. It is roughly fifteen feet across, “Peylae my captain, your shelter.”
The magical shelter is warm and dry inside. Standing inside, one can see clearly through the opaque shell as it becomes transparent to those inside.
The elves occupy the shelter leaving room for four more occupants. Southar, Belina and Breymeer stay outside on watch while Speck, Kuba, Bhut, and Dalic squeeze in. Bofor, not one for magic shelters, stays outside. He is joined by Ide Otneaux. Dalic, Bhut and Kuba help with overwatch during the night.
Morning arrives with continued light clouds and occasional misty drizzle. The temp is 70 degrees. The rain is insignificant and hardly enough to dampen one’s clothing let alone the adventurer’s spirit.
Camp is broke and Belina guides the group around the northeastern edge of the foothills. Climbing into the foothills slightly, the group comes to a vantage point where the Farmin River can be seen flowing south across the grassy plain, cutting a shallow channel as it does so. The river then turns easterly towards Lake Farmin. Across the valley, the snowless tops of the Farmin Mountains are clear to see even with the broken clouds. Only in the deep winter do the tops of the mountains show snow and rare enough it is at that. Much of the foothills are a scattering of grassy areas, clumps of pines, yew and fir and rock outcroppings. The mountains are much of the same with more of a rocky structure than grass.
Belina finds a small vale among some rocky hilltops. Here she informs the group, “I will watch the horses here and await your return. If there is trouble, I shall set the horses free and fade into the wilderness. In the event I am attacked, I will escape and evade until I can return to Restenford. Do not look for me here if the horses are gone.”
To Bofor she asks, “Do you remember the way Mr. Barrelmace?” Bofor confirms he does.
The group transfers gear from horse to pack, readies themselves for battle and prepares to move out. Bofor Barrelmace takes the lead among Breymeer and Southar. The two rangers scout for tracks.
Within an hour, they find tracks leaving the foothills heading north. The tracks likely belong to the group Belina watched leave the cave.
Bofor confirms this by telling the group, “The hill that contains the delve is a few miles south of us now. It is a little deeper into the foothills and a little higher in elevation. I do not know what may guard this place or any outposts they may have. Set your approach and I will guide you in. Out destination is that middle hilltop if I recall correctly.” Barrelmace points to the south where five hillcrests stand in a line.
After attempting to observe the hilltop from a distance, it is concluded the dwarves have hidden the entrance too well. Even Barrelmace, a clan member, is unable to make out the entrance from a distance.
Needing to close the distance, the rangers take an approach on the hill that minimizes any chance of counter-surveillance from the hill. It moves up the valley towards the hill, approaching from the east. Reaching the base, the party begins a slow ascent of the eastern slope. The trees on the slopes offer some limited protection from prying eyes.
While scouting, Breymeer spots an odd flat stone that does not match the surrounding rock. Bofor confirms it appears to be one of the well-hidden dwarven markers. The marker “steps” continue up the slope of the hill at irregular intervals. The slope increases as the elevation increases. The orc tracks do not come down in this area leading the group to hope their approach will not be watched. The orc tracks are assumed to have come down from the western slope.
Bofor advises the group the western entrance was the main entrance and the eastern entrance was used as a rear entrance, “It appears the orcs are using the main, western, entrance. Let’s hope the rear door is not guarded, assuming we can find it.”
Southar and Breymeer lead the approach. Bofor is not far behind cautiously watching the edges of the hills as they climb. Dalic follows up behind Bofor, Dalic’s sword at the ready. Bofor looks back and gives an encouraging nod even though he has a concerned look on his face.
Ide Otneaux and P’innr Bhut make up the next ranks. Ide walks with her spear as a walking staff.
The elves congregate towards the middle. Tathar has his bow in hand.
Kuba and Speck follow in behind the elves, watching the rear as they move.
The hill is nearly a half mile across at this point. It is oval shaped with the widest part of the hill generally east to west and roughly one third mile north to south. The scattered trees begin to give way to rockier outcroppings and the slope increases significantly. The entrances are to be on the east and west slopes.
The stones markers lead up the increasingly sharp slope and follow a shallow draw. The marked path slowly bends toward the eastern slope.
Southar suddenly puts his hand up and points. Somehow a ledge, previously unseen, has come into view only two hundred feet ahead of the party’s scouts. Bofor can be heard commenting, “There it is. The dwaves are masters at hiding their entrances.”
The ledge, and any secrets it contains, is two hundred feet ahead of the party and about 80 feet higher in elevation. At this point, there appears to be no resistance.
Clouds have begun to thicken and are slowly filling the skies and covering the sun.
Breymeer offers to scout ahead quietly.
Bofor Barrelmace comments, “We have two options. Rest while scouting and plotting nearby, keeping an eye on the rear entrance here till morning again, or entering now. What say you?”
Bofor gives his opinion, “We should be cautious and wait. Waiting will give more information but possibly expose us before we even enter the delve.”
Dalic quickly expresses him opinion. He wishes to enter right away.
Breymeer volunteers to approach silently to recon the immediate area around the entrance. He requests someone to come with.
Grimlock volunteers to accompany Breymeer.
Bofor takes his mace to hand.
The way up to the ledge is moderately steep but not impassable. Breymeer finds strategically places stones making the climb more of a hidden staircase that winds slightly back and forth up to the ledge. The craftsmanship of the dwarve’s stonework is very impressive.
Breymeer and Grimlock move in tandem. They move without sound, low and cautious. They reach the landing and risk a peak over the surface of the ledge. They take in all evidence they can gather and return to the group without arousing any obvious suspicion.
Breymeer reports the entrance is cut from the stone, 15 feet high and 10 feet wide. Preceding the entrance is a 50 foot ledge consisting of flat stone. The landing has been cleared of obstructions such as brush and loose stone. Within the tunnel, there is a flicking light consistent with that of torchlight. There were no fresh tracks located on the approach to the ledge. It is obvious the ledge is cleared by something or someone. The flat stone did not reveal any tracks from what he could see.
Grimlock adds to Breymeer’s observations, “Not to mention, how long will a torch burn? This area is obviously maintained at regular intervals. I offer to observe the patrol pattern if we decide to wait on entry.”
Kuba steps forward, “I volunteer to be in the front ranks when we go in.” He has his war hammer out along with his shield.
“And I can cover the rear with the sure aim of my bow,” adds Speck.
Cirdan proposes to the group, "I do not know what kind of foe we are dealing with. An unguarded entrance that the inhabitants knows is there is concerning. Either they feel secure and feel no need to place guards, they have better fortifications further in, they have magical protections or it is a trap. If it is orcs, I would not suspect any magical traps, realistically. If the dwarves delved too deep and made contact with the drow, that may be different. The fact that this enemy wiped out an armed force of dwarves that knew they were going into hostile ground is sobering. We need to exercise caution in our actions. We cannot, my friend Dalic," Cirdan looks and Dalic and gives him a wink, "go in on a blind charge and expect to have an outcome similar to Bone Hill."
Cirdan continues by offering his plan, "If the party agrees, I will recon the entrance, and further in, invisibly. I will go in as deep as I can while the spell is in effect. If all is clear and there is a place for the party to move up to into the cave, I will signal. We can then all be in the cave and have the surprise on any enemies that come by. That way they may not be able to alert others, and we may be able to take a prisoner that one of the mages could charm and get intel from."
Seeing wisdom in Cirdan’s plan, the party allows him to proceed. Cirdan removes a gummy substance from a pocket, pulls out an eyelash and wraps the gummy material around it. Cirdan proceeds with his spell and disappears upon its completion.
Cirdan carefully and quietly creeps to the edge of the platform; taking nearly ten minutes to get into position. Cirdan peeks around the landing finding nothing suspicious not previously noted.
He sneaks to the edge of the chiseled opening to see if he can see deeper into the cave with his elven eyes. His dark vision is ruined by torches place nearly every 30 feet on alternating sides of the passageway. Cirdan is able to judge the passageway leads at least 150 feet arrow straight into the hillside; obviously intentionally carved from the stone. Cirdan admits to himself the dwarven-kind do have talent working stone.
As quietly and quickly as Cirdan dare move, he slips up the passageway. As he proceeds, he hears orcs conversing ahead in their crude language, “None return yet. No troubles. Your watch.” The voices continue in mundane orcish interests. Cirdan slows and moves cautiously ahead. He passes the second torch, now roughly 60 feet into the passage, and stops. Directly in front of him, at a distance of 15 feet, are four armed orcs. They have ring mail armor, shields on their backs, hand axes on their belts and crossbows in their hands. Each has a collection of extra crossbow bolts in a case. A bone horn hangs on the wall next to the group.
Beyond the orcs gathered in the hall, the passageway continues straight ahead. About 75 feet past the orcs, the passage appears to open into a circular chamber roughly 60 feet in diameter. The chamber is lit by torchlight and appears to be occupied by orcs. There may be as many as a dozen or so orcs in the room. It is too hard for Cirdan to quickly ascertain the exact number.
They do not appear to have noticed Cirdan.
“No point in rushing into death,” Kuba declares as Cirdan disappears and wanders off.
Speck offers up, “I am very small and can help recon whenever needed.”
Dalic concedes. He will gladly enter with Kuba when the time is right.
Bofor speaks, "Let's find a lookout point and temporary camp location. We must remain easily concealable but at least have line a'sight to the entrance from the lookout station." Bofor looks about.
Dalic follows suit.
Dalic approaches Speck and Grmilock and quietly offers to join given his ability to conceal himself.
Bofor stays slightly isolated observing the group. He appears to be particularly watching Dalic.
During this time, it appears Southar has wandered off.
Before the party gets a chance to scout for an observation point, Cirdan returns. He was gone about a half hour. Cirdan’s approach was not observed. Only his voice gave away his return and position.
Cirdan briefs the group. The passage is cut out of the stone straight into the hillside. The passage is about 150 feet long and ends in a 60 foot diameter chamber with nearly a dozen orcs in it. In addition, halfway down the hall are four orcs standing guard. Next to them is a bone horn hanging on the wall.
Cirdan suggests having an assault group near the entrance to jump the orc sentry when he does a perimeter check. Cirdan will have snuck back into the passage and take out whoever still stands next to the horn; preventing an alarm.
Dalic, Kuba and Bhut immediately volunteer to be the assault team. Ide will remain with the group for protection until entry is made. Cirdan advised those not on the assault unit can move to just below the ledge.
Suddenly, Southar’s image reappears nearby, materializing from the stone itself. He had been leaning up against a stone, unmoving for some time. His image had completely altered coloration to match his surroundings making him virtually invisible, equipment and all. “I will cover our rear in case of attack. Inform me when the initial chamber is clear.”
Cirdan bids good luck and returns to the passageway.
Dalic, Kuba and Bhut move up to the cut edge of the passage entrance. Dalic notes to the others the stonework is obviously of dwarven craftsmanship.
The rest of the group moves up to just below the ledge.
The party waits and waits. Sticking with the plan, knowing the torches must be replaced on a routine basis, the party hangs tight.
Finally, footsteps are heard coming towards the entrance from the interior of the passage. The sound of armor is clear. This is certainly not Cirdan although the individual sounds to be alone. An orc exits the threshold of the passageway and steps out onto the ledge. He wears ring mail armor and has a shield on his back. He holds a light crossbow and has a hand axe on his belt. He immediately sees the group and stands wide eyed and drop jawed in surprise.
When Cirdan reaches the orc outpost in the passageway, he discovers only two orcs remain. In addition, the orcs in the main chamber have started a fire in a center fire ring. Cirdan waits patiently for nearly an hour before an orc walks up the passageway replacing torches as he comes. The orc is armed and equipped as the others. His crossbow and axe are stowed. The torch bearer places a fresh torch into the sconce and leaves the extinguished torches on the floor below the sconces. The torch bearer moves past the orc outpost and eventually approaches the exterior ledge. Cirdan prepares for the impending attack.
The attack comes swiftly on the ledge. Kuba charges forward, shield before him and war hammer raised. While doing so, Dalic lets fly with a throwing knife. The knife sticks the orc in the left thigh as a bolt from Grimlock’s crossbow sticks it in the abdomen. Lastly, Kuba’s hammer, in a side-swing arc, strikes its neck snapping it immediately. The orc crumples to the ground. Bhut, an attack not required, grabs the body and drags it clear of the passage.
Breymeer, bow in hand, covers the landing for other dangers.
The rest of the party remains alert for threats.
Bofor calls down to the others as he watches the orc go down, “They are almost in. Prepare to move up to the ledge to fall in behind.” Bofor grips his mace tightly and turns to approach the ledge.
Grimlock walks over to the orc corpse and sighs, “We may have a problem. I’m guessing our buddy here,” he nudges the body with his foot, “needs to get back to the others soon. Ahhhhh, now what?”
Dalic walks over as well and retrieves his throwing dagger from the body. He whispers to the others, “Sneak, speak or spell?” In Dalic-speak, he is curious if the group should call the enemy out, sneak in to attack or use a spell to bind or disorient them.
Tathar joins the others on the ledge and examines the corpse. Its purse is very light. It contains only one solitary gold piece.
During the time, Cirdan comes to the threshold dragging a corpse. The orc body has its throat cut deeply. He announces, “There is another body back there. The orc sentries are all dead. They have started a central fire in the chamber beyond. We may have to go in and just start killing. Some should go around to the other tunnel to prevent escape.” While speaking he kneels and checks the body, finding 7 gp.
Tathar, noticing the horn on Cirdan's neck proposes, "When we enter I will recover any horn that may be available for signal.” Tathar prepares himself for entry by withdrawing his bow and nocking an arrow.
The entire group has now moved up from below the landing and stands to the side of the tunnel entrance for the next move.
Breymeer concurs with Cirdan’s idea. “I will go to the other entrance. Who wants to come with?”
Kuba and then Speck both step forward. Kuba tells Breymeer, “We are willing to go to the other entrance. Anyone else?”
Ide Otneaux volunteers to be the fourth if no one else wishes to join them.
Bhut is ready to enter here, “Let’s move silently to the chamber and attack.”
Grimlock asks what is beyond the chamber of orcs. Cirdan is unsure but a passageway continues west from the chamber.
Dalic eagerly draws his bastard sword, grinning ear to ear, "I like Cirdan's plan. We may need ta just start killin'." His eyes crinkle at the corners beneath his helmet.
Bofor, walking up, offers to follow in on the initial assault, "The clan thanks ye each for your bravery. I shall follow in here behind ye. Beyond the initial chamber, nearly 200 feet further into the hill, will be a second, larger chamber. I know not what is now in it."
Southar decides he wishes to travel with Breymeer, Kuba and Speck. He will enter the western opening with them. Ide Otneaux will stay with the main group as a result.
The group splits. Breymeer estimates it will take about an hour to get to the west entrance. Breymeer, Southar, Speck and Kuba depart.
West expedition (WE), The western expedition backtracks to lower ground and begin carefully making their way around the circumference of the hill, trying to stay concealed. They do not travel to the base of the hill to save time.
East expedition (EE), The eastern expedition enters the tunnel and slowly and quietly make their way up the passage.
After 75 feet, the group reaches the corpse of the other orc sentry. Tathar pauses to grab its purse. It looks nearly empty.
The group continues up the passage. It is 10 feet wide and 15 feet high. The group walks in two columns.
Dalic, with his bastard sword in hand, and Bhut, with his axes, have taken the front rank.
Ide Otneaux walks solo in the second rank. She has her spear out.
Cirdan Saralone and Tathar, holding his bow with an arrow nocked, are in the third row.
Peylae and Grimlock are the fourth row.
Bofor Barrelmace is alone in the fifth and final row.
As the group nears the room, they can make out more of the details. The chamber is circular, cut smoothly from the rock with a domed ceiling. The apex of the ceiling is 30 feet above the floor. There are eight sconces with torches along the walls spaced generally evenly. The walls themselves are decorated with intricate bas-reliefs depicting scenes from dwarven legends. The decorations have been defaced significantly. There are no furnishings in the chamber, just simple blankets scattered about. A large box on the north wall contains a supply of wood.
A ten foot wide passageway continues west from the room. It is also 15 feet high.
There are ten orcs in the room. All wear ring mail armor. Nine have hand axes and crossbows. One has a shield, spear and short sword.
The one with the short sword stands near the fire. The others are milling about the room. A couple are adding wood to the fire from the box. Four appear to be playing some type of game of chance.
The orcs do not appear to be aware of the adventurers in the eastern passage. Grimlock has pressed himself close to the wall.
The group has been moving forward in the dark, using the light from the torches in the passageway and the chamber to guide them.
Breymeer and Southar do some quick scouting and decided to travel the southern side of the hill. Both of them concluded it offered enough cover and had the fewest sign of travel.
Dalic whispers, "Iffen only we coul' smoke 'em out: thems a lotta bolts ta dodge." He shifts close to the right edge of the cave wall for additional concealment. He crouches and even pauses on one knee, "Grim, ye hab any more a-tha web magix? Iffen so, every one hold here, tha torches may catch the webbing a blaze!"
The orc tending the fire looks up and sees the group of adventurers gathered in the passageway.
Dalic, seeing the gig is up, charges side by side with Bhut and Ide Otneaux into the room as the orc at the fire pit begins giving his companions orders.
Dalic enters the chamber, moving right. The first orc in his path fires a crossbow bolt at him. It flies past him and ricochets off the stone wall, harming no one. Dalic, for his part, removes the orc’s head from its body. The orc standing behind the crumbling corpse fires his crossbow into Dalic point blank. The bolt pierces the armor plating at his right shoulder but only grazes his flesh (4, 26/30).
Ide Otneaux passes by Bhut as she charges the orcs on the left where two are busy talking in front of the four playing the game of chance.
The two orcs turn and guard while arming themselves with their axes. Ide piles into them removing the head from one with her great axe. It falls dead. The remaining orc cuts Ide’s flesh with his hatchet, hitting her in the right leg just below the knee (5, 30/35).
P’innr Bhut follows her charge and drops the orc as it recovers from striking her in the leg. He removed the orcs leg at the thigh. It falls to the stone floor as it bleeds out.
The four orcs playing games of chance quickly form a line and fire bolts into P’innr and Ide. One of the bolts misses Bhut and a second deflects off Ide’s studded leather armor. The third strikes Ide’s upper right arm (4, 26/35) and the fourth rips through her right forearm tearing a wound as it passes through (6, 20/35). Ide drops her great axe from the impact and pain.
Peylae steps ahead of Grimlock, “Bofor, put out that torch. We can all see back here without it.”
Grimlock holds and analyzes.
Cirdan, still invisible, is heard to move up the passage towards the chamber but the sound of his footsteps are lost almost immediately.
Tathar fires two arrows into the orc at the fire pit. The first arrow deflects off its shield but the second takes him through the head when he steals a peak at the elf. The orc dies immediately.
The remaining orc, at the far right of the chamber, turns and begins to flee down the exit passageway heading deeper into the hill.
In the passageway, Bofor quickly seizes the torch near him and douses it.
Grimlock gathers some dust and blows it towards the room while giving incantations.
Peylae holds her position while Tathar takes a deadly aim at the fleeing orc. While doing so, he shouts to an unseen Cirdan, “Cirdan, hit the floor wherever you are!” Tathar pauses only a moment before letting the sniper’s arrow fly. He takes a second arrow in hand to fire at the orc and then pauses, seeing from his experience, it will not be needed. The initial arrow strikes the fleeing orc in the back and protrudes through his chest, felling it with an abbreviated shriek of warning down the hall. Tathar stands momentarily to admire his shot, then moves into the chamber while notching the arrow to bowstring. For such a quiet, aloof elf, his speed and decision making are sobering when trouble breaks out. Tathar rounds the corner into the chamber and takes a defensive position.
Dalic advances on the orc before him. The orc drops its crossbow and takes its hand axe to bear against Dalic. The blow deflects off Dalic’s plate mail armor. Dalic brings death upon the orc by slashing it deeply across the thigh and lower abdomen, spilling the contents.
Ide retrieves her axe. She joins Bhut as they move in on the line of orcs resembling a whirling axe death dealing machine. Bhut splits a head and Ide removes a leg killing both orcs. The remaining two orcs drop in their tracks and begin an unnatural snooze brought on by Grimlock’s arcane magics.
The adversaries are momentarily overcome. The combat in the chamber has ended.
Bhut checks the bodies of the two orcs he killed finding the armor and weapons described as well as each orc has a small coin pouch.
Dalic searches the two orcs he slew finding similar results. He takes the bolt carrier from each orc. He moves on to the crate along the wall finding blocks of wood and crude torches. From there he moves along the circular wall to the far corridor and waits for the group out of the line of sight of the passageway. Dalic admires the skill of the dwarf stonework as he moves.
Grimlock enters the room and carefully binds both sleeping orcs. Between them, a few gold coins are scattered on the floor where they had been gambling.
Bofor, while watching the actions of Grimlock as he deals with the sleeping orcs, simply moves across the perimeter of the room in similar fashion as Dalic. Bofor takes up a position near Dalic.
Tathar walks up to Ide and looks to the bleeding hole in her forearm. Ide grimaces as Tathar patches up the arm with bandages (+2, 22/35) and then asks Sehanine for her healing powers upon the half-orc ally (+4, 26/35). The wound stops bleeding.
The voice of Cirdan startles everyone shortly after the battle is over, “The next chamber is nearly two hundred feet down this passageway. I can see a fire burning in the center of the room but I saw no orcs or other foul creatures. Give me a few minutes and I will go down and scout the room closer.” Before the voice stops, Cirdan adds, “In regard to the sleeping orcs, we only need one of them. When I get back, I can try to loosen its tongue with magic, unless Paylae can.” With that, Cirdan is assumed to have returned to the far passageway to scout.
Cirdan makes his way carefully down the hall making note that there are no torches lighting the way. It is only dimly lit by the fires in the two rooms at either end. The passageway is a little less than two hundred feet long; it is arrow straight and carved from the stone.
Once Cirdan reaches the entrance to the chamber, he peers in. The room is similarly constructed, being circular in design with a 90 foot diameter. The chamber ceiling is 45 feet above the floor. The fire consists of burning wood pallets. Near the southern wall is a large wooden table with two long, high benches. Sitting at the table is a lone bugbear. He appears very bored and stares, as if in a daydream, into the fire in the center of the room. He does not appear to have heard anything of the battle.
Peylae, having walked into the room in time to hear Cirdan’s departing words, advises, “If Cirdan advises magical aid to the questioning, I shall await his return and assist.”
Dalic offers the crossbow bolts he collected to the party members with crossbows and offers to carry them on their behalf until needed. Grimlock acknowledges and thanks him. Dalic continues by recommending killing the orcs after getting information. Should an interrogation be in order, he volunteers somewhat reluctantly.
Bofor watches with odd amusement to Dalic's actions. He states, "Should any need further healing before we continue, make it known as we may not get another moment for some time. Put the filthy orcs to death as needed.”
Grimlock states, “We will keep both orcs for now. What we do can intimidate the other. If we decide to go that route. Not sure it's a really wise choice for Cirdan to scout so far ahead alone.”
Ide tests out her healed arm and finds it very stable, “I’m good.” She walks around and finishes collecting the coin sacks from the fallen orcs, including the loose coins on the ground by the gamblers, “Looks like their luck ran out. And now we all have some celebration gold when we return to Restenford.”
Cirdan sneaks across the room without drawing attention to himself. The corridor leading to the NW is lined with six sconces spaced evenly along its nearly 360 foot length. Only half of the torches are lit leaving much of the hallway shadowed. He investigates up to the next chamber.
The room is a 90 foot circular room with a 45 foot ceiling similar to the previous chamber. This chamber has a passageway leading SW out of the room.
In the room are three flickering torches illuminating the room from a triangular pattern across the room from each other. The distance leaves the room dimly lit at the fringes of the torch light (roughly 20-30 radius per torch). The room contains a large wooden table, three chairs and three straw pallets. Two of the pallets have been ransacked. Human or humanoid bones and offal are spread around the chamber. Smashed and broken weapons also litter the floor as do torn armor and battered shields. The chamber smells horrible.
Sitting on the intact sleeping straw pallet is a large green and mottled grey creature. If erect, it would stand nine feet high. Its frame, although gangly, is heavy and weighs roughly 500 pounds. The hide of the creature is rubbery and wart covered. Its coarse hair is greenish-black. It has long claw like fingers ending in dagger-like nails and a mouth full of sharp teeth.
Dalic, realizing Cirdan has been gone for a while prepares his bastard sword offering to advance, “Kill an’ leave dem orcs. Cirdan be gone too long. I will scout ahead and lend aid tha be needed. We ain’t ta split further fer safety. We must away t’gether an’ now.”
Bofor supports him, “My odd looking kinsman is right,” he turns towards the hall, mace in hand. Dalic begins the march down the hall ahead of Bofor.
“Don’t rush ahead,” calls out Grimlock. “Cirdan can take care of himself. Wait here for his return and scouting report. Let’s work on our captives for information.”
Bofor steps hesitantly and turns back, “For your party ye know more of its members. If ye think Cirdan is safe yet, we will give him time.”
“Let it be known, it be a mistake ta leave him ou so long alone, but even more foolish ta run after im wit no back up,” Dalic grumbles.
Grimlock wakes one of the orcs, “Who is the ogre and who does he serve? Draw us a map of this cave. How many are you and what other foul creatures are under their control?”
The orc either does not know the common language or refuses to answer.
Cirdan returns during the attempted interview and brief’s the group. A bugbear is in the next chamber. He is nearly asleep sitting at a table staring at the fire. To the NW, a long hallway leads to an additional chamber. This chamber contains a troll. From that chamber, the passageway exits to the SW. Cirdan did not go any further.
Cirdan suggests, “We need to dispatch the bugbear, then we can get the troll. I will volunteer to try and slit its throat while everyone else stands by to hack it to bits when it wakes up.”
Ide Otneaux looks through the pouches she collected. Looks to be about 5 dozen gold.
Grimlock gives his opinion, “I would say we leave the orcs bound under one guard. We can take out the bugbear as it is not wary in its vulnerable state. Then come back here and finish with the orcs. That way we have a safety zone between the troll and us.”
Grimlock looks for reactions as he continues, “Cirdan and I can dispatch the bugbear with a backup of ranged weapons in case we miss our mark.”
Tathar proposes dispatching the bugbear with arrows from the doorway. All who can fire will loose arrows at the same time.
Dalic gives a counter point, “Bugbear and troll disposal! We keep’n movin’. Kill da orcs. Let’s go.”
Bhut agrees with Dalic.
Grimlock continues to argue for his plan, “Dalic, moving in is likely to spoil our advantage. Battle is not all just stepping in and swinging. It seems a bit odd a lone hobgoblin would be sitting alone in a room doesn't it?”
Grimlock asks Cirdan how large the room with the bugbear is and Cirdan responds, “Both the room with the bugbear and the troll are about 90 feet across with high ceilings.
“Rushing in could be a huge mistake,” concludes Grimlock. He addresses Cirdan again, “You should go down the southwest hall from the bugbear room and then report back. We go from there. I am not going further until then.”
Dalic gets a pouty face and Bofor rolls his eyes at him.
Peylae interrupts pointing down the dark passageway that leads from the orc chamber the party stands in towards the bugbear chamber, “Mute point fellas. Something comes.” Her voice lowers to a loud whisper, “I believe the troll has entered the passage.”
Peylae had been looking down the hall while the party discussed its next action. The passageway is dark in the middle, lit only by the bon fires in the rooms on either end of its nearly 200 foot length.
At the far end of the darkened hall stands what appears to be a lone bugbear staring in the direction of the party while rubbing sleep from its eyes. It wears splint mail armor and leans heavily on a large spear.
In the passageway, the large, hunched silhouette of a gangly creature moves slowly up the hall. It sniffs the air, appearing to be tracking something by scent. Its shoulders hunch forward and its long, muscled arms drag loosely along the floor. It is moving at a slow walk; a rate of about 3 feet per second. At its current rate, it will reach the room in about one minute.
Cirdan, Dalic and Grimlock all start giving orders at the same time. They all give similar tactical advice.
Cirdan states, ”Everyone who uses ranged attacks move back. Those with melee weapons hide on either side of the door. Tathar, stay close to the door, when the troll clears, move into the passage and shoot the bugbear. I will follow if, you need help. When the troll enters, Dalic, do what you do best, and everyone else join in.” Given the tone of his voice, one could almost make out the twinkle in his eye had he not remained invisible.
Grimlock, as a quick sidebar, calls out, “Dalic, you can dispose of the orc if you wish, just make it fast and quiet.”
To Peylae he requests, “Put that bugbear to sleep while it is in sight or someone put it down with a magic bolt.”
Grimlock throws out all caution, “Cirdan, want to have some fun and blow the hell out of that tunnel and everything in it? Will be a sight to behold but we may announce ourselves to those deeper in.”
More practically, he continues, “Hell, let's all get to the sides, half on each side. When the troll enters the room everyone unleash a volley of arrows. Then Dalic and our heavies clean up what's left. I have oil so we can burn what's left of the troll to keep it down for good.”
Grimlock stands among the orcs, both tied and one yet sleeping. He gets his oil prepared in his pack and arms himself with his crossbow. Locked and loaded, he awaits his fate.
Dalic’s voice rings in, "Looks like tha troll be tracking our invisible fren'. Let's take tha flanks at tha cave walls, ranged attacks at entry. Shoot as many times as ye can without hitting the Bhut, Ide an' Dalic."
Dalic pulls out his caltrops and lobs all ten of them toward the entry point keeping them within the cavern while adding,"An' aim low, he may be stumblin'. We shoul' stan' in the center ta draw 'im in".
While speaking, Dalic draws two throwing knives himself, "When he be close enough, the three fighters will take 'im down if he yet stands. Kill tha orcs now, shoul' they be freed in tha commotion this will go south quick."
Bofor takes up a crossbow and bolt case from a dead orc. He motions to Dalic for an additional bolt case and positions himself along his side of the cave wall, ten feet from the mouth to the north of the entrance. Dalic tosses him a bolt case.
Bofor fumbles with the device but eventually loads it to the best of his ability, training it on the entry point.
Ide Otneaux follows Bofor’s lead and takes a crossbow and bolt case from a dead orc. She takes up a position in the middle of the room between the fire pit and the entrance way. Next to her, she sets her spear. Tathar joins her with his bow ready. Dalic steps in with his daggers and Bhut with his twirling axes.
Peylae pulls out her short sword, “I do not have magical bolts dear Grimlock. I will do what I can.” She moves from near the center of the room to the south side of the passage entrance. She holds her short sword inverted downward and prepares to pounce.
Seeing the commotion and preparation for attack, the bugbear ducks to the south side of the doorway disappearing from view before anyone can put an arrow in his gob.
The troll alerts to the presence of the party and bolts forward into a sprint with surprising speed and agility. Its teeth bared and claws raking the ground like Freddie Krueger, he charges recklessly down the hall like a charging bull.
Bowstrings begin to sing as Tathar and Ide let fly.
Ide Otneaux, having very little crossbow experience, sends her bolt high left.
Tathar, having the unerring accuracy of the elves, strikes its left thigh with his first round but the sheaf arrow bounces off the tough rubbery hide. Correcting his aim, Tathar puts the second one across the troll’s cheek drawing forth a greenish colored ooze from the injury (4, 39/43).
The troll covers the entire hallway and bursts into the room as Dalic heaves his daggers, one after the other. The first strikes its left leg piercing the skin before bouncing off (4, 35/43). The second buries itself deep into the right thigh (9, 26/43). Blood slowly leaks from the wound. Immediately after it steps upon one of Dalic’s caltrops (2, 24/43) shrieking with pain and anger.
As the troll enters the chamber, Bofor lets fly with his bolt, missing everything and everyone.
The troll, having the caltrop stuck in his foot, stumbles forward but still reaches the line of defenders. Dalic draws his sword while Tathar deftly side steps the charging beast.
Ide acts quickly to drop her crossbow and pulls up her spear. She barely raises the spear high enough to catch the troll’s right leg (5, 19/43) as it slams into her shredding her left thigh as it rakes her deeply with his left hand claws (16, 10/35). Ide is sent spinning to the floor with a heavy thud from the impact (2, 8/35). She lands prone just north of her original position. Her spear clatters away to the north wall. Her leg, although wounded, does not continue to bleed as the attack did not significantly damage the arteries. She grimaces in obvious pain but remains conscious.
Bhut takes advantage of his opportunity and swings both his axes like a home run hitter into the off balance troll’s abdomen. Both break through the rubbery hide, the second deeper than the first (6, 13/43 and 9, 4/43).
As it goes down, the troll rakes Bhut across the chest with its right hand claws (7, 21/28) as it comes crashing down to the floor sliding into the fire pit (4, 0/43). Coals, sparks and ash fly about as the fire is nearly extinguished and scattered. The troll rolls free of the now disrupted fire pit. It leaks greenish blood through its soot stained skin. It quivers slightly, twitching as it gives into death.
As the troll barrels into the fire pit, Peylae, spinning her blade point up, heads down the hall increasing her speed from a jog to a sprint, “We need to stop the bugbear.”
Dalic immediately goes to the troll’s body and begins to hack at it multiple times. He gashes it deeply twice with his bastard sword (20, -20/43). Between slashes, Dalic lets out, “And somehow <hack>, that almost worked <hack> . . .”
Bhut regains his composure, straightening out his armor and equipment after the blow from the troll. “If anyone has a chance to give me some aid quickly? If not, I can press on through the pain.” Bhut looks at his chest, finding himself with several lacerations, none of which continue to bleed; just a touch painful. Bhut finds he still has full range of movement.
Grimlock moves over with his oil in hand.
Ide moves from a prone position to a sitting position, crying out from the pain in her leg. She looks the injury over without trying to stand. She then looks at the troll being hacked apart and lets out a sigh of relief.
Tathar removes his aid kit and binds Ide’s thigh injury tightly (+3, 11/35) as Bofor runs over, mace in hand, looking to strike the troll. Seeing the troll staying down, and Ide’s need, he instead lays his hands on her thigh and prays for her healing, “Never did I think I would be praying for the life of an orc. Your fellowship is certainly peculiar.” (+5, 16/35).
Tathar has Ide test the leg. She stands but finds it still injured. The elf heals her as well (+3, 19/35). Ide continues to limp on the leg as the wound affects her movements. She vows to continue on as needed.
Soft footsteps pattern down the western passageway as Peylae continues to sprint westward after the bugbear. She slows as she enters the bugbear chamber to avoid any ambush set against her as she enters. Seeing the chamber clear, she begins to run again, this time crossing the bugbear’s chamber heading for the SW passageway.
<The troll begins to regenerate (+3, -17/43).>
Peylae slows to enter the SW passageway. The hallway is dark. Although lined by six sconces, only the fourth one, 180 feet down the passageway from NE to SW, is lit. The bugbear is passing through the torchlight given off by this torch as Peylae and Cirdan enter the SW passageway from the bugbear’s chamber.
The end of the passageway (a little over 300 feet long) opens up to a large chamber. As with the other chambers, a fire burns in the center of the chamber illuminating the room.
Peylae and Cirdan make it about 90 feet down the passageway before seeing the bugbear enter the chamber at the end of the passageway. It is now giving off many hand signals and speaking loudly to something.
Having been beat to the chamber, Peylae stops and presses herself up against the wall in attempt to hide as best she can <fails hide in shadows check>. Cirdan stops moving and stands quiety across the hall from her. They peer SW in the dark towards the large chamber. Two ogres appear in the passageway entrance to the room and peer NE towards Peylae and Cirdan.
The ogres appear to give some commands to the bugbear as they arm themselves with very large clubs.
Dalic, seeing the troll is sufficiently subdued, stands back to allow Grimlock to burn it, “Bhut, if ye be set now, on me. We need ta back up Peylae.” Dalic collects up his caltrops and jogs away without awaiting a response.
Grimlock, putting away the oil, sprints west down the hallway after Peylae. He moves with incredible speed, nimble and fast. He reaches the end of the passageway and turns south, disappearing into the bugbear chamber. There he meets Peylae on her return to the party, “Ogres, Grimlock. There are two ogres ahead. The bugbear may have raised the alarm.”
Bofor adds, “Burn the thing good so we don’t need to fight it again. Kill the remaining orcs and meet in the next room.” He follows Dalic west down the passageway.
Bhut, flashing Dalic a look of joy on his face, gladly runs west down the hall, eager for the chance for more battle. He finds the short legged dwarf’s pace easy to maintain, hardly above his face walking pace.
Tathar remains in the orc chamber. The orcs remain bound. One awake and one asleep. The troll remains a crumpled pile on the floor.
Ide remains with Tathar, “I do not feel like a bugbear chase on this leg. I will stay here with you. If anything comes, get behind me and turn it into a pin cushion. I will keep them off of you.”
Peylae and Grimlock hold in the bugbear chamber as Dalic, Bofor and Bhut arrive. They stay out of sight of the SW passageway. Peylae briefs them, “There are two ogres in the next chamber. Cirdan is somewhere in that hall,” she points to the SW passageway from the bugbear chamber to the ogre chamber. “He told me to come back and warn you. I assume he is holding guard until we catch up. I left him a little over 1/3 the way down the hall (90 feet).”
The bugbear chamber is a 90 foot circular room with a 45 foot high domed ceiling. It has a fire going in the center of the chamber. Two large, rough sleeping pallets occupy the room on the far side of a large wooden table and two long high benches. Some wooden pallets along with straw burns on the fire. It appears the bugbear had burned some of the sleeping pallets (straw sleeping pallets over crude wooden shipping pallets).
Cirdan begins to move down the passageway as quickly and quietly as he dare move. He risks his regular walking speed until he nears the ogre chamber. He yet remains 120 feet away.
Cirdan arrives in the ogre chamber. It is identically shaped as the troll chamber. It contains similar defiled dwarven images as the other chamber walls depicted.
Strewn about the room are six large sleeping pallets, two huge clubs, some cured skins, animal bones, broken weapons and smashed armor. The smoky bonfire is the room’s only light. A dark corridor leads NW. It is lit by only one torch although the walls have six sconces. The lit torch is nearly half way down the hall.
Looking down the NW corridor, Cirdan can see the bugbear entering a dimly lit, very large chamber. It is shouting alarm. The ogres are passing by the lit torch approximately half way to the large chamber to the NW.
Cirdan carefully follows the ogres and watches them enter the very large central chamber. It is dimly lit by torches around the outer walls of the 330 foot diameter room. The ceiling domes to a height 60 feet above.
Cirdan’s dark vision aids him to see in the dim torchlight that there are over two dozen orcs coming to the call of the bugbear. After a quick situation report, the orcs muster and assemble. They begin making defensive positions on the SE and NE hallways. Nearly ten orcs go to each position. The ogres take up positions by the orcs as well. The bugbear and one orc appear to have run off to the west. Several orcs, approx. a half dozen, are scattering and taking up positions behind sleeping pallets. They are tipping them up and using them for cover. They appear to have crossbows. There are four orcs in individual hides and two orcs in a fifth hide. The fifth hide is near the central column. The other four are scattered in an arc to the east of the central column halfway across the radius of the room.
Cirdan does some quick calculations in his head as he removes some sulfur and bat guano from a pocket, rolling the two together. Knowing he cannot hit both groups, he concentrates the energies on the orcs and ogre forming up at the passageway entrance in front of him.
Cirdan points to the group and the sticky bundle in his hand alights and takes flight down the hallway. The perplexed look on the creatures faces soon turns to horror as the little streaking flame bursts into a fiery eruption.
The fireball immediately kills eight of the orcs at the SE position. One orc remains standing. He is equipped and armored similar to the orc slain by the firepit back in the original orc chamber. This orc is assumed to be some type of leader. The ogre also yet stands.
Both the orc and the ogre are busy beating out the flames that remain about their clothing and equipment. They are both stumbling back into the chamber, giving up their post.
Dalic moves to the table and tips it into barricade position very close to the SW entry. Seeing his intentions, Bofor assists. They struggle to move the sturdy table into position. It was obviously made for the large framed bugbear. The duo also takes the remaining wooden pallets completing a semi circle around the SW entry point while allowing only a man sized breach for Cirdan to return through. While doing so, the two dwarves talk amongst themselves.
As with the orc chamber, the group notes the dwarven images on the walls of this chamber are all defaced.
Grimlock pauses to make sure the room remains clear of threats. Seeing the room is generally secured to the SW, Grimlock moves into the NW passageway cautiously.
Dalic, seeing Grimlock exploring the tunnel, calls out, “Circle back to this chamber after your brief recon.”
Peylae takes up position at the NW entry calling quietly out to Grimlock, “Call for aid if needed.”
Bhut takes up position in the center of the room resting both axes on his shoulders. He remains alert to trouble from any of the portals in the room.
The group has hardly completed their fortifications when the dimly lit ogre chamber three hundred plus feet to the SW illuminates with a flash of distant light. The flash appears to have come from the northwest corner of the chamber or hallway beyond. A soft sound of an erupting fire carries up the hall shortly thereafter.
Grimlock finds the corridor leading to the NW is lined with six sconces spaced evenly along its nearly 360 foot length. Only half of the torches are lit leaving much of the hallway shadowed.
The room is a 90 foot circular room with a 45 foot ceiling similar to the previous chamber. This chamber has a passageway leading SW out of the room.
In the room are three flickering torches illuminating the room from a triangular pattern across the room from each other. The distance leaves the room dimly lit at the fringes of the torch light (roughly 20-30 radius per torch). The room contains a large wooden table, three chairs and three straw pallets. Two of the pallets have been ransacked. Human or humanoid bones and offal are spread around the chamber. Smashed and broken weapons also litter the floor as do torn armor and battered shields. The chamber smells horrible.
Tathar pours oil upon the troll. While doing so, he discovers the wounds are beginning to close on the creature. He quickly puts it to fire and has Ide assist him in gathering the wood from the box and that scattered about the room. They spend several minutes building a fire around the troll’s body.
Finding the body too large to completely cover with wood, Ide chops the arms, legs and head from the beast and stacks them on the torso. Ide Otneaux adds her flask of oil to the fire and within a few minutes, the dry wood has gathered strength and burns heartily over the troll’s corpse. The green rubbery skin begins to turn black as the fire slowly works away at the hide.
Dalic becomes giddy, "Dragon? Please tell me we gets ta kill a dragon!"
Bofor chastises him, "Dragons are not to be trifled with odd-kin."
Dalic braces himself against the wall ready to pounce at the opening in the barricade.
Bofor readies his mace and states, Cirdan Saralonde, ye best get back here quick before Dalic has to save you." The jovial nature of the statement seems odd but speaks to Bofor's dwarven taste for battle.
Peylae listens to the dwarves banter, “Dwarves certainly fear not battle. Cirdan will return for who shall see him?”
Bhut continues to impatiently watch intermittently between the tunnels. He appears anxious to get back into battle.
A few minutes pass before Cirdan comes creeping back up the hallway, now visible. He quickly briefs the group. The orcs are assembled in the large chamber. There were about two dozen of them along with two ogres. The alarm has been raised. They were mobilizing at the SE and NE entrances to the room. He hit the SE group with a ball of fire wounding an ogre and an orc leader. The fireball also took out more than half dozen orc soldiers.
Cirdan looks among the few party members in the room. We should split and close on the large chamber from the troll room and the ogre room. I will fireball the NE group as we approach. That will be the signal to attack.
Cirdan waits for Dalic, Bofor, Peylae and Bhut to process the plan. He awaits their reply.
Grimlock quickly looks through the scattered weapons and armor for anything in better than good shape or items that are not corroded. He finds nothing special among the discarded items. A sudden flash of light illuminates the SW passageway softly. The flash is followed by cries of pain and the sound of erupting flames.
Grimlock heads out the SW corridor extinguishing each lit torch as he passes by it. Jogging down this hallway, he makes it about 280 feet down the 330 foot hall, extinguishing all three torches along the way. He can see several orcs beginning to set up barriers near the center of the room. One has a single orc armed with crossbow. The second contains two orcs.
Grimlock slows and begins to move silently, trying to stay in the dark as he creeps forward towards the room. He slows even more as he nears the final 20 feet to the chamber. In the room, Grimlock can see there are at least five sniper hides near the center of the chamber. The chamber itself is over 300 feet across, lit dimly by torches around its circumference. The domed ceiling is 60 feet above. A central column, 20 feet in diameter, holds up the ceiling. The dwarven artwork on the walls, as with all the chambers so far, have been defiled.
As he approaches the edge of the room, now only 15 feet away, he can heard the rustle of armor just beyond the entrance. It appears orcs, or something else, may be hiding right around the corner. Just as he pauses, his scabbard brushes the wall giving off a faint sound.
At that moment, a human voice from just inside the chamber in front of Grimlock calls out in orc. Old soldiers begin to pour around the corner, charging Grimlock’s position. Each orc is armored in ring mail and carries a halberd. Two by two they come. First two, then four and they continue into the passageway from each side of the passageway.
The human voice calls out a second time, this time in the common language, “Surrender or die!”
Southar and Breymeer guide the group safely to the western slopes of the hill. Looking up, the foursome is unable to see any such ledge or opening. Searching the area, Southar finds another well-hidden dwarven marker. The stones lead up the western slopes revealing more markers at the foursome climbs. Following the dwarven markers, the group begins to climb, searching for an entrance.
The orcs come around the corner and then stall as Grimlock begins to flee back down the hallway away from them. They appear to have been temporarily surprised by his sudden movement. Grimlock quickly outdistances them. The human voice begins an incantation behind Grimlock. Grimlock’s ear picks up enough of the spell to estimate its intent. Grimlock comes to a quick stop just as a mass of webbing forms in the hallway ahead of him. Grimlock stopped running in time to avoid becoming stuck in the sticky mass. The web wall begins about 40 feet down the hall NE from the chamber and extends to a distance unknown.
The orcs reassemble at the beginning of the hall. They begin a systematic march up the hall three orcs wide and two rows deep. They have their halberds out before them as a pike wall. Three orcs remain at the entrance. Two with halberds and one with a spear and shield. It has a short sword on his belt. He is giving orders to the spear wall moving towards Grimlock. The orcs have moved 15 feet up the hall, 25 feet from Grimlock.
Bofor speaks, "Splitting is a fool’s task. Best stick together. All file through the barricade and if need be we can retreat behind it."
Dalic looks oddly disappointed, speaking to Cirdan he comments, "So you were the dragon? I agree we stick tagether. I be leading tha charge. Keep yer distance from me. Battle is calling an we will need tha strength o Dalgur. Fire ball em at entry an I will begin tha slaughter." He grins. He begins pysch himself up for the battle.
Bofor looks at Dalic slightly bemused. Bofor has not been witness the Dalic’s berserk behaviors. The dwarves line up at the barricade and prepare to enter. Bofor calls back through chamber to roust the others back together.
Shortly thereafter, Tathar and Ide arrive. They escort one of the orcs into the chamber. The orc’s hands are bound behind it. They report putting the other orc prisoner to the knife.
Bhut joins the dwarves at the barricade.
Ide and Peylae are briefed on the plan. Ide joins Bhut and the dwarves. Peylae offers to watch the prisoner in this room until the group returns to get her. She will attempt to question it while she waits.
Cirdan advises he will go through the NW passageway towards the troll room and then come down into the main chamber from the north. He will start the fight with another fireball. The others are to charge in from the southern passage when the eruption clears.
Dalic has already started to work himself up into a sweat. Spittle begins to form on his lips and his eyes are becoming wild. His hands wring the hilt of his bastard sword as he chants to himself.
Bofor grips his mace and readies his shield.
Bhut, battle axe in each hand, looks eagerly down the hall. Battle awaits. He wears a grin on his face.
Ide, tests her leg and finds it not yet able to fully support her weight. Tathar comes up behind her. He lays his hands upon her leg, “Sehanine shall help.” Ide’s leg warms and strengthens. Ide finds she can now fully stand on it (+7, 26/35).
Tathar takes his bow in hand and nods to Cirdan.
Each group exits the bugbear chamber toward the battle to come.
Grimlock pulls out a bit of webbing and repeats the spell. Webbing shoots forth filling the hallway between Grimlock and the main chamber leaving Grimlock 10 feet of space. The orcs are enveloped with webbing and only the tips of the halberds are sticking out. Quiet falls around Grimlock and darkness envelopes him.
Grimlock works quickly to remove his tinder box. He sparks away until he is able to get the other mages webs alight. Once lit, they are quickly engulfed in flames. It takes them a moment to burn down as the sticky mess drops from the walls and ceiling leaving the previously extinguished torches now relit.
Grimlock moves up the hall and retrieves the nearest torch. He turns and throws the torch at his webbing. The torch sticks to the webbing and sputters a bit before the webbing ignites and bursts into flame. Grimlock takes careful aim and throws his oil flask for good measure. It strikes the webbing and quickly spreads the flames in both area and intensity. The pike line of orcs quickly succumbs to the flames. They cry out in agony.
Grimlock takes his crossbow off his back and sprints up the hallway towards the troll lair. He stops about 2/3 the way back to the troll room and checks for pursuers, finding none. The webs are still burning and dripping down from the walls and ceiling. The torches down the rest of the hall have relit. Grimlock can see the three orcs at the entrance to the room had freed themselves before the webbing was engulfed in flames.
As Cirdan makes him way from the bugbear chamber to the troll lair, there is illumination from the chamber ahead of him; possibly from the hall between the troll lair and the main chamber. The illumination appears waving as if made from a fire. It is continuous. There are cries of pain floating down the passageway.
Grimlock retreats back to the troll lair. He enters the room opposite Cirdan as the Celene elf enters the chamber from the direction of the bugbear chamber. The sudden appearance of Cirdan catches Grimlock off guard. Grimlock reacts by raising his crossbow but quickly lowers it as he recognizes friend from foe.
Cirdan says, as he passes Grimlock in haste, "Come my half-elf friend, let us give them some serious fire. Prepare your weapons, and prepare to charge." Cirdan begins to dig out spell components.
Grimlock calls for Cirdan to halt, which he does. Grimlock briefs Cirdan, informing him of Grimlock’s encounter with the mage and the orcs. Grimlock inquires if Cirdan had conjured up a fire ball.
Cirdan replies to Grimlock, "Do something productive when you hear the fighting start." With that, he will sprints back towards the bugbear chamber.
Grimlock follows with his crossbow out.
At the bugbear chamber, Cirdan turns into the SW tunnel attempting to catch up to Dalic and company and inform them of the change of plans. Peylae, standing guard behind the makeshift barricade in front of the SW passage, looks a bit worried as the two elves run past her. She holds the remaining orc captive at swordpoint.
Grimlock turns east and runs off towards the initial room with the orcs; where the troll died.
Grimlock finds the troll dismembered and burned badly in a still burning bon fire. The troll appears deceased. The entire wooden box and contents have been used to build the fire. The room stinks of burned flesh. The second orc prisoner has been put to the knife in his sleep.
Grimlock sprints back to the bugbear chamber and turns back towards the troll chamber. Peylae wishes him good luck as he passes by, “Fall back to this chamber if trouble finds you.”
Grimlock passes through the troll chamber and slows as he creeps up the tunnel towards the main orc chamber. Reaching the center of the tunnel, he hides and waits. He only has to wait a few seconds before the orc chamber begins to illuminate with signs of a fire from the southern end of the chamber.
Cirdan sprints up to the group from behind, coming to them from the bugbear chamber they had just left. “Grimlock has taken out the north group. That ought to brighten your day Dalic, we can charge straight in instead.”
Dalic barely registers Cirdan’s update as froth forms at the corner of his mouth. Dalic’s eyes are becoming bloodshot and his skin glistens with sweat. Dalic continues to chant himself into a rage. Dalic fades toward the back of the group as they near the end of the tunnel.
Tathar prepares his bow, “I will try to keep the archers pinned down until the group can clear the tunnel.”
The group finds the end of the tunnel choked with large strand spider webs. The webs clearly resemble the same type of web Grimlock conjured up at the boathouse in Lake Farmin on the last adventure.
Bhut inquires, “Can the web be burned down? Maybe get some fire to clear the way.”
Bofor has already moved off to retreive a torch from back in other chamber. Upon his return, he tells everyone to back up as he tosses the torch into the webbing to burn it away. "Once the fire clears begin the assault!" Bofor calls as he throws the torch.
The webbing quickly catches fire. The fire spreads rapidly among the threading as it burns and melts away. The flames make their way down the tunnel and approach the main orc chamber.
The group prepares for the fight ahead. Bhut and Ide get ready to charge into the room, axes awaiting orcish victims. Tathar peers through the final flames, his elf eyes seeking a target for his bow. Bofor prepares his mace and Cirdan stands next to the near berserk Dalic at the end of the line.
As the final flaming strands of web fall the group begins to get a glimpse of what stands against them. As the group sets for the final charge, a stray ember streaks into the hall from the center of the orc chamber. Cirdan recognizes the flaming ball of guano immediately and screams to the group, “Fireball! Take cover!”
Grimlock gets past the last torch and tries to hide in the fringe of the light near the end of the tunnel. He appears to have avoided prying eyes. He gets into position in time to see a small burning ember fly from near the central column towards the SE passageway. It explodes into a fireball. Cries of pain follow the burst of flame. A man, human in form, appears behind the defensive structure on the east side of the column. He is shrouded in a dark, dull green hooded robe with strange sigils on it.
Grimlock begins to remove spell components when he hears the sound of crossbows releasing bolts. He looks up in time to see the two orcs in the northern hides have spotted him and are firing upon him. The first bolt flies wide but the second strikes with deadly accuracy. The bolt rips through Grimlock’s left forearm (12, 10/22). The injuries creates a wound but does not disable his arm. Grimlock’s armor spell remains in effect.
Grimlock, grimacing through the pain, completes the spell and disappears from view as two more bolts whistle harmlessly past.
The fireball bursts in the passageway engulfing the entire party in a rush of scorching flames.
Dalic ducks into a tight ball, holding his breath until the flames subside. He is burned lightly but survives (12, 12/30). His small tailored pouch, a small belt pouch and his rations are consumed in the fire. He pats out the small flames remaining among his possessions.
Bhut does not react in time and the explosion catches him fully (24, -3/28). He is blown forward and drops face first onto the stone floor with a fresh wound. He does not get back up. One of his axe is destroyed as the handle burns away. He is not on fire.
Next to Bhut, Ide is also taken off guard. She remains standing but is burned across much of her body (24, 2/35). She is also wounded. Her leather armor strapping burned away enough to destroy her armor. Her spear is consumed along with a chest in her backpack that contained oil. She reacts quickly to dump the chest and extinguish herself by rolling on the floor.
Cirdan is able to shelter himself as well and only gets lightly burned (12, 12/26). He loses his tasloi net, rations and the pouch recovered from the bugbear in the Hepmonaland jungle in the flames. Cirdan pats out the remaining flames on himself.
Tathar is able to protect himself (12, 12/24) but the blast burns up his coil of rope. The string of his bow sizzles and then snaps. He dumps the burning rope and checks to make sure he has no other flames on him.
Bofor takes the entire blast without protection (24, 17/41) causing a wound. His tough dwarven gear remains intact but his fancy beard is badly singed.
Light smoke wafts along the passageway slightly adding to the misery.
The small chest Ide drops begins to burn with some intensity. It becomes a small campfire.
Bofor pats at his smoking beard and takes the slow approach forward keeping as much of himself behind his shield as possible.
Dalic suddenly enlarges to the size of a large man and charges up behind Bofor spitting some of the last tactical advice he can muster before losing his senses, "Take the cover ye need. Dalic draw fire. Take out magicmen."
Ide grits her teeth to the pain and moves forward to check Bhut, “P’innr is down? He is beyond my help! Tathar, Bofor, someone help him.” Bhut is not responding.
The orcs begin firing their crossbows at the party as the flames subside. One hits the wall near the tunnel but the other grazes Bofor’s right arm (3, 14/41).
Three orcs to the north of the passageway begin a charge towards the group as the smoke clears. The leader has ring mail, shield and a short sword. His is followed by two in ring mail with halberds lowered for the charge.
A man, human in form, appears behind the defensive structure on the east side of the column. He is shrouded in a dark, dull green hooded robe with strange sigils on it.
Tathar recovers from the blast and immediately acts to counter the mage, “May Sehanine hold your tongue!” <Mage makes ST>
Cirdan steps behind the moon-eyed elf pulling a small black item from a pouch. Verbalizing he launches the palmed item forward. It catches fire and begins a straight trajectory towards the mage and orc foxhole.
The green robed mage blips out of view; vanishing into thin air just as the flaming streak airbursts just above the foxhole. Flames engulf the defensive position. <Mage made ST, orcs did not>. The two orcs are immediately burned to death. The fate of the mage is unknown. The flash of flame briefly lights the room brightly and then fades back to a smoky darkness. Strangely, as the flames mushroom up towards the ceiling, all sound of the eruption vanishes and remains unheard.
The orcs express dismay at the momentary brightness of the chamber.
The two northern orc snipers had been firing into the northern tunnel. One continues to fire into the tunnel and the other turns his sights on the southern tunnel.
The one focuses from north to south. It sights in Bofor as he moves in to give aid to Bhut. The bolt buries itself in Bofor’s right thigh nearly causing him to collapse (6, 8/41). With dwarven stubbornness he forces himself forward. He drops next to Bhut and prays, “May the strength from the surrounding dwarf hewn stone give you strength dear P’innr Bhut.” Healing energy flows through Bhut’s body (+7, 4/28). Bhut’s eyes pop open searching for his axe, “I’m okay, I’m okay. Bhut remains a bit confused as his body and mind reconnect.
The third orc fires a bolt at the party’s fire throwing mage. Some sort of magical aura deflects the bolt to Cirdan’s side just before impacting his chest.
The fourth orc sniper fires at Dalic striking him center mass. The bolt pierces his plate mail armor and dives into his chest cavity causing a wound (10, 2(7)/30; Dalic is at +5 hp for Berserk). Dalic’s armor is visually damaged and the enraged dwarf is almost knocked over. Only his increased size keeps him afoot.
Dalic prepares for melee as three orcs slam into the party’s ranks. Ide rises from Bhut to block the orc charge from the recovering axe man.
The lead orc, with sword and shield, holds up and guards against Dalic, the oversized dwarf. The halberd wielding orc charging behind the lead orc was unprepared for the sudden change of plans and the blade of his halberd splits the lead orcs head open; killing it instantly.
The other orc charges up to Ide but fails to deliver a hit upon her. She side steps the blow while swinging her axe back at the orc, cutting the halberd in half with the first blow and splitting it’s chest with the second. It drops dead at her feet.
Dalic, at Ide’s left, steps past the halberd’s blade and drives his bastard sword through the orc’s chest killing it.
The charging orcs all lay dead at the tunnel entrance.
The sound of heavy footsteps are heard to the party's direct left (west) but nothing is seen there. The heavy footsteps are closing fast; only a few feet away.
The orc aiming toward Grimlock's tunnel takes a bead directly at Grimlock even though Grimlock has disappeared from view. The bolt hits him in the abdomen and burrows into his guts, chewing at his organs (8, 2/22). Grimlock receives a second wound as he cries out lightly from the pain barely holding onto consciousness.
Grimlock stumbles forward out of the tunnel trying to remove himself from the killing fields. Blood slowly drips from his abdomen. Grimlock barely makes it into the chamber from the passageway, slowly making his way to the west.
With a sudden, unseen impact, Ide doubles over and is immediately flung backwards ten feet into the chamber wall behind her (22, -20/35). The blunt force trauma crushes her body from chest to pelvis. Her body lands in a heap upon the floor as she lets out her final breath. The half orc from the streets of Highport dies among the only friends she had even known.
As Ide’s limp body falls helpless to the ground, an ogre materializes to the left of the party, just ahead of Dalic. The ogre shows signs of burns and its hair is charred off. Its oversized club is stained with Ide’s blood and soot from Cirdan’s previous fireball.
Dalic steps into melee with the ogre, “The sneaky runner be MINE!” He slashes the ogre across the left knee (22, -3/27) and then spins quickly, rotating around his center and allowing the blade to gather centrifugal force. Coming in with the blade elevated, Dalic removes the head from the humanoid beast (28, -31/27). The ogre’s leg collapses and the headless body falls lifeless to the stone floor.
Bofor quickly heals himself, calling upon his deity for aid, (+8, 16/41) and positions himself to follow Dalic. "I don't know exactly what makes you what you are duergar, but I will aid you in this fight," Bofor scowls at the word duergar escaping from his lips.
Cirdan draws his dagger, and braces himself. He appears to be scanning and listening for signs of the green robed mage. While observing, Cirdan prepares spell components in the event he may need them quickly.
Tathar goes into defensive mode keeping an eye on the arches while evaluating the scene for the mage. While doing so, Tathar removes the bowstring from his now burned back up bow. He restrings his ornate bow, replacing the burned bowstring. Tathar smiles as he fits the string to bow.
The northern orc sniper has his crossbow loaded and is scanning to its northeast looking for a target.
The other three orc snipers all fire upon the southern party but none of them strike their target.
Grimlock begins to hear heavy bipedal footsteps behind him accompanied by sniffing. Whatever is making the footsteps is much, much larger than a man and many times as heavy. It appears, whatever it is, it is beginning to follow him. Grimlock, fighting through the pain, picks up the pace a bit. The bolt in his abdomen sends near overwhelming pain to his brain.
Having removed his backpack as he was moving from the tunnel, Grimlock tries to quietly dig out a healing potion.
Even pushing himself, he is barely outpacing whatever hunts him. Whatever it is, it remains completely unseen and only about 20 feet to his general west.
The northern orc sniper watches, crossbow armed, for Grimlock to show himself. It appears the orc has lost track of where Grimlock has moved as it is scanning the area near the tunnel.
Dalic’s image fades from view. The sound of his plate mail armor betrays his course. He is advancing on the sniper positions at the center of the room. He appears to be moving slow and cautiously.
Bofor steps to follow Dalic but finds he has vanished before his eyes. He mutters something about evil dwarven tricksters and crouches behind his shield, "A forward melee! Fall in behind my shield and we may attempt to rid the scene of the remaining scourge".
Bhut struggles to regain his feet. He is able to rise to his knees and he crawls in behind Bofor and his shield.
Tathar tests his bow on the nearest orc sniper. His first arrow flies high. Tathar makes a few adjustments, takes a deep breath, and sends a second arrow at the orc sniper as it releases the bolt from its crossbow. Tathar’s arrow strikes the orc in the center of his chest dumping hit dead as a doornail behind his defensive shelter (5, 0/5).
Cirdan moves forward carefully in order to avoid disturbing Tathar’s bow work. While doing so, the dead orc’s final bold strikes Cirdan at the edge of his chest. It fails to cut him deep, instead it cuts across his side (6, 6/26). Cirdan takes position behind the corpse of the ogre for extra protection. Cirdan ducks a second bolt as he reaches the ogre’s corpse. A third bolt buries into the ogre’s flesh just ahead of where Cirdan conceals himself.
From the far western end of the chamber a clamoring rises. From the thirty foot wide by twenty foot high passageway opening charges two separate groups. Each group is led by a bugbear, follow by four orcs; all wearing chain mail. Three have crossbows and axes and the remaining one has spear and shield with a short sword at his side.
The creatures are charging in as fast as they can. They are fanning out and scattering as the come. They are generally charging the SE tunnel where the party is currently sheltering.
Grimlock continues to move northwest along the outer wall. He is roughly half way between the NE tunnel opening and the 12 o’clock position north of the central column.
Whatever bipedal beast follows him, it is slowly starting to gain on him. It is no more than 20 feet behind him now.
Grimlock remains in misery from his injured arm and guts.
Both orc snipers continue to fire at Cirdan. Both quarrels stick into the ogre corpse. The tip of one pokes through stopping inches short of Cirdan.
“Fall back!” shouts Cirdan to the others. “Fall back to the next chamber. It is a more sound, defendable position! Make them come to us!”
Cirdan then turns to Tathar, “Would Sehanine show her blessing upon me? I am in need of her healing hand.”
For the moment, the quiet elf continues to string arrows; firing upon the orc snipers. Tathar’s first round strikes the second orc sniper in the guts causing it to cry out in pain (4, 1/5). His second attempt is a rare miss.
Bofor repositions to account for the newly exposed flank. He continues to hide low behind his shield as protection from the archers. He prepares for melee as he faces down the charging horde.
The charging horde continues to fan out as it crosses the room at a sprint. One of the orcs, wielding a crossbow, stops at the central column and begins to take aim at the party. A second orc with a crossbow was able to outpace the group and takes up a position behind the barrier where the first orc sniper died. The rest of the group, consisting of two bugbear and four orcs, continues their charge as they pass to the south of the central column.
Dalic stops and faces the bugbear parade and holds waiting for them. He positions himself to give himself the greatest chance to attack both bugbear as they pass. If he could be seen, one would note his eyes behind his helm are nearly rolled back in his head with fury and delight.
Grimlock drinks his potion and tosses the flask toward the wall to the north and slightly east. The liquid tasks mildly sweet, with a hint of honey (+7, 9/22). It warms his body and the bleeding slows around the bolt remains in his abdomen.
Grimlock immediately starts moving to the SW, hobbling along while listening to the heavy footsteps close in on the sound of the flask hitting the wall.
Cirdan, seeing Bofor has no intention of retreating, yells again to the group, “FALL BACK!” Cirdan then verbalizes an incantation and disappears from view.
Tathar, still in the passageway, turns and retreats. “Cirdan, you shall have to wait for a safer area for Sehanine’s blessings!” Once removed from the threat of crossbow fire, he turns and sprints away.
Bhut crawls forward, taking shelter behind the dead ogre next to the disappearing Cirdan, “My head is nearly clear. I will delay the horde.” Bhut takes ahold of his sole remaining axe.
The orcs fire upon the group. Bolts deflect off the stone walls, floor and stick in the ogre but now hit their mark hiding behind the body. The third sniper seems to have some type of malfunction with his crossbow that he is trying to remedy.
Bofor is not as lucky. The last bolt nicks the side of his abdomen just outside the protection of his shield.
The lead bugbear closes in on Bofor with a loud roaring battle cry. It lowers its spear level with Bofor’s chest.
The lead bugbear’s left arm suddenly opens up; the flesh is hewn as Dalic’s sword cuts into it upper arm. Dalic reappears next to the bugbear about 25 feet west of Bofor.
The bugbear continues through the attack. As it closes on Bofor, he heaves a war hammer striking the bugbear splint mail. It bounces off harmlessly. The bugbear reaches Bofor and drives its spear into his right shin.
The second bugbear continues its charge past Dalic. Dalic attempts to quick side step into its path to get a strike upon it but slips upon blood and drops supine onto the stone floor. He strikes his head hard inside of his helmet and rings his bell. He is completely stunned bordering on unconsciousness.
The bugbear ignores the suddenly appearing oversized dwarf and lunges forward with his spear towards Bhut. He misses Bhut completely.
The two orcs behind the second bugbear stop and begin binding Dalic’s arms and legs.
The final two orcs continue to close but have not yet reached the melee.
Grimlock continues moving in a southwestern direction, limping along in pain as best he can. He is dripping less blood as he moves.
Whatever had been following him appears to be stalled for the moment. He does not hear it moving after him.
Tathar continues his flight and nears the empty ogre chamber. It is assumed Cirdan, as was his indicated intent, has joined Tathar.
Bofor ducks out of the reach of the first bugbear to join the route. As he passes by the bugbear facing Bhut, it sticks its spear into Bofor’s back. The force of the blow from the powerful bugbear penetrates his armor. The chain mail protects the dwarf from the worst of the blow but the spear tip still finds flesh (3, 2/41). Bofor maintains his feet and scurries out of the room into the SE passageway.
The orc snipers take careful aim at Bofor as he flees but only one is able to make contact and that bolt deflects harmlessly off his armor. The third orc sniper is still having trouble with his crossbow.
Bhut, regaining control of his body, stands and takes a mighty swing at the bugbear. It parries the blow with its spear. Bhut recovers from the first swing and takes a wood splitter’s stroke at his foe but misses. The blow buries deep into the dead ogres body and gets stuck.
Seeing his weapon stuck, the second bugbear moves in and grapples Bhut. They both tumble to the floor over the bodies of the orcs and ogre. The bugbear remains on top of Bhut as he struggles against its heavy frame.
Dalic’s, in his mad fury, refused to submit to the blackness covering his mind. Finding his sword hilt he attempts to strike at the orcs. Alas, they are too quick for him and one pounces upon his sword arm while the other puts it weight into Dalic’s enlarged frame. They pin Dalic to the ground. As Dalic struggles to free himself, two more orcs arrive and join the scrum.
Grimlock digs out his last healing potion and quaffs it (+8, 17/22). Again, the flavor hints of honey as the curing warm flows across his body. He retains both of his wounds. The hole in his forearm is nearly closed and is not bleeding. The bolt in his abdomen remains in place but the wound is no longer bleeding.
The heavy creature tailing Grimlock appears to have temporarily lost track of his. Grimlock can hear its careful footsteps moving south but slightly east. It is moving somewhat farther away from him. It is now far enough away Grimlock does not hear it breathing.
The western expedition continues their approach. Breymeer suggests someone watch from below with bow ready till entrance found. Southar volunteers to scout ahead for traps, sentries and the entrance. Breymeer takes overwatch, covering Southar’s movements with his bow.
Southar moves ahead with his golden shield and sword. He has his shield covered with burlap at the moment to aid in his stealth. He remains very adept in moving through the wildlands.
Southar returns after a few minutes and reports there is a hidden ledge as on the eastern side. This ledge is slightly larger and the large, flat stone blends in with the overall appearance of the surrounding rock. For whatever reason, the ledge cannot be seen at much distance. The abilities of the dwarves with stone are remarkable.
Southar could not detect any guards, traps or sentries.
The rout continues as Tathar, Cirdan and Bofor flee back towards Peylae. The elves are quickly outpacing the short legged dwarf.
Tathar holds up at the ogre’s chamber for Cirdan in order to ask Sehanine to mend his wounds.
Bofor huffs and puffs his way down the hall.
Grimlock veers wide around the most northern orc sniper heading for the central support pillar. Grimlock has draped his backpack across his shoulder and secured his shield to his arm for protection from the snipers should they detect him and fire upon him.
Bhut is buried under a bugbear pile. Struggle as he might he cannot fight free.
Dalic struggles with the orcs but the next two pile on pinning him to the ground.
Southar and Speck begin their sneak back up the hill towards the ledge. Kuba and Breymeer follow shortly behind with their bows out in order to return fire should they encounter resistance.
Grimlock works his way painfully back to the north wall and follows it easterly towards the NE tunnel. He moves cautiously, noting any odd sound or smell. He keeps his shield out ahead of him. His left forearm and abdomen injuries continue to haunt him.
He watches in horror as Dalic and Bhut are both overcome by the enemy. Both are bound tightly. Bhut is quickly rendered unconscious.
Dalic struggles continuously, albeit in vain. The orcs remove his helmet but find they are unable to punch him out. The string of dwarven profanities is endless. He appears to have gone completely insane.
The orcs begin to drag Dalic’s flailing body to the west. One of the bugbears is dragging Bhut’s limp body. Ide Otneaux remain in a heap near the SE tunnel exit.
The elves reach the ogre chamber and find it still unoccupied. Tathar heals Cirdan on his arrival (+6, 16/26).
Tathar asks Cirdan to run and get Peylae. Agreeing with the idea, Cirdan bolts off to the NE to retrieve the elf maiden.
Tathar, having doused all of the torches in the passageway to the main orc chamber during his flight, prepares his bow and watches the dark tunnel with his dark vision.
The only thing coming down the tunnel is the huffing and puffing dwarf. He breaths so loud, Tathar could shoot him in the dark.
On arrival, Bofor Barrelmace prays to his dwarven god for healing (+7, 9/41).
Cirdan bursts into the bugbear chamber and is greeted by Peylae. She has been interrogating the orc with no luck. She does not speak orc and it either does not speak elf or common or it simply refuses to speak.
Grimlock moves along the north wall and approaches the tunnel. He walks carefully trying to keep his movements silent. As he reaches the tunnel he gets an uneasy feeling. His nervousness is justified as he begins to hear the large nemesis begin sniffing the air again; it appears to have smelled the rogue.
Grimlock does not tarry. He moves into the tunnel and hurries up the tunnel as fast as he can. Heavy steps move in on him quickly.
Grimlock continues up the tunnel preparing to run if necessary. The footsteps stop at the tunnel entrance and the creature appears to be sniffing the air. It appears to have stopped near the center of the opening.
Grimlock limps his way up the tunnel to safety.
Arriving at the troll’s chamber, Grimlock sneaks his way across the room to take the final tunnel to Peylae. As he gets close to the SW tunnel entrance, he begins to feel like he is not alone. Something comes up the tunnel towards him.
Cirdan, unseen to Peylae, greets Peylae and she acknowledges his return. Cirdan updates Peylae on the party’s condition and advises dispatching the orc prisoner. “We need to decide if we run or try and hold off the horde until the reinforcements arrive from the other side.”
Cirdan moves up the north tunnel towards the troll chamber. He moves up and quiet and quick as he dares. He pauses at the entrance to the chamber to examine it before entry. All appears in calm but he can’t shake the idea that he isn’t alone.
Tathar and Bofor gather up what wood they can quickly locate. Tathar gets an armload from near the fire and Bofor drags two of the ogre clubs. Both head at their own pace back towards Peylae in the bugbear chamber.
Peylae listens to Cirdan’s footsteps quickly disappear to the NW as he heads off to the troll chamber. At the same moment, Tathar dumps an armload of wood in front of Dalic’s makeshift barricade at the SW tunnel entrance.
Tathar prays for his own healing (+3, 15/24) and then walks up to the orc prisoner and sticks a blade into it, killing it without emotion.
Bofor arrives next, dropping the ogre clubs on the armload of wood before the barricade. He walks into the room looking defeated. Dwarves are not used to fleeing from a fight.
Cirdan identifies Grimlock’s voice and Grimlock verbalizes his spell. Cirdan walks quietly past Grimlock and enters the troll’s chamber. Grimlock calls out, “Cirdan?”
Cirdan greets Grimlock back, “How do you fair?”
“I have faired better and I still have a bolt in my gut, but I am alive. The mage bailed after you fire balled him. I didn’t see where he went but he likely took off severely injured. I hope his spellbook is intact. There is an invisible ogre still running around. Where be Tathar?”
“Continue down the corridor. Tathar, Bofor and Peylae are in the next room preparing defenses. Do you need help?”
“Just a dab of healing would help.”
“Quickly down the passage then. I will make a quick search of this room and follow if enemies come.
Grimlock departs with neither elf laying eyes upon each other.
Grimlock arrives in the bugbear chamber unnoticed. Bofor is chopping the benches into smaller pieces as Tathar and Peylae are piling them up in the eastern passageway leading to the exit.
The table still lays on its side mostly blocking the SW passageway. In front of the passageway is a small pile of wood and two wooden ogre clubs. Bofor, Peylae and Tathar have stacked what oil they have behind the table for emergency use.
By the time the defenses have been prepared, the torches in the attached hallways slowly burn themselves out. Only the bonfire in the center of the room illuminates the room.
Cirdan, searching through the troll room, notes the presence of a wooden table, three chairs and three straw pallets. Two of the pallets have been ransacked. Human and demi-human bones and offal are spread around the chamber. Smashed and broken weapons litter the floor, as do torn armor and battered shields.
Cirdan looks through the various bones, under and around the table, and the straw mats, starting with the unransacked one. He also checks on the various pieces of armor but finds they are all near worthless. The ransacked straw mats are just that but in the unransacked one, Cirdan locates a large leather pouch. Opening the pouch, Cirdan locates gold pieces (140), electrum pieces (220) and a decent sized pearl (800 gp). The muscular elf takes the 30+ pound sack with him.
Bhut has no memory of how he arrived where is when he wakes up. This was not so uncommon when loitering in the hard drinking dock districts of Harby, but it is very uncomfortable in the confines of the orc lair.
Dalic is near Bhut. He has finally stopped struggling and now is little more than an exhausted lump. He remains enlarged to human size making Bhut regret all the short jokes he has delivered at Dalic’s expense.
They are in cells, each their own. It is really not more than an iron cage. The entire south end of the room is lined with similar cells. There are eight total cells. Each rests next to the southern wall. There are five other prisoners, each in their own cell. Each prisoner is secured by their wrists and ankles with manacles. The manacles around their wrists are attached by a stout chain to an iron ring bolted to the wall. All the prisoners are injured in one form or another.
The floor of the room is strewn with straw, offal, and rotting feed for the orc’s mounts. There are six horses tethered to iron rings bolted to the floor. The horses look frightened and bray in complaint.
The room itself is circular with the common defaced dwarven images on the walls. The room’s diameter is 150 feet and the domed ceiling rises 50 feet above. Eight iron brackets are set into the walls of this room, four per side. All but one bracket, one in the north wall, contain a lit torch.
Passages cut with dwarven precision enter and exit the chamber to the east and west. Each passageway is 30 feet wide and 20 feet high; rectangular in shape.
A bugbear and five orcs remain in the room formulating a defensive plan.
Southar and Speck sneak up and scout the landing. Finding it clear, they slowly move onto it keeping a keen eye out for traps. The area appears safe.
They call Breymeer and Kuba forward.
The western entrance is similar to the eastern entrance only grander in scale. The landing in front of the tunnel is roughly 60 feet across. The passageway is 30 feet wide and 20 feet high. It is carved with precision.
The tunnel extends into the hill beyond what the two humans, the snake man or the halfling can see. It is certainly at least 30 feet into the hillside.
Dalic’s chest wound bled some while he was being taken into custody (-1, 1/30). After being shackled, Dalic returned from his fighting craze and fell into exhaustion. While lying on the floor, his chest wound plugged and stopped bleeding. Dalic stays on the floor playing possum.
Bhut looks around but remains silent. The chains binding him to the wall are stout. The bars, spaced too close for a human to squeeze through, are sturdy but Bhut reasons it would be possible to bend them apart enough to slip through. Certainly so if unarmored.
Bhut’s cage is empty other than himself. Dalic is fetal in the cage to Bhut’s west. It appears Dalic is breathing.
The duo’s gear was moved across the room and placed somewhere past a secret door opened on the north wall. The door was triggered by pulling down on the torch sconce on the north wall.
Two orc guards, armed with their crossbows, move into the exit tunnel to the west. The tunnel is 30 feet wide and 20 feet high; rectangular shaped.
Two orcs remain in the room guarding the cages. One has a crossbow and the other has a spear and shield ready.
The bugbear and the final orc have moved to the eastern tunnel leading to the main orc chamber. They remain at the cusp of the prison chamber but seem to be watching mainly to the east.
In the eastern cages are three human males and a female elf.
The first human male is in his late 40s and appears to be a commoner. He is of average build and has short cut red hair along with a full beard partially hiding the swelling in his face from a recent beating. He looks defeated.
To his east is a mid-teen age male. He also has red hair; longer than the others. He has a family resemblance to the older man; likely his father or uncle. He is fit but also injured from a recent pummeling. He is dressed as a commoner.
The final male, east of the teenager, is a 30-something male. He is stronger in appearance having a fighter’s build. He has a light colored mustache and blond hair shaved close. He wears chain mail armor. His leg is swollen, possibly broken, from a severe bludgeoning strike.
Finally, the easternmost cage contains a female elf. She wears a skin tight grey bodysuit chased with gold threat and covered with a hoodless scarlet cloak held around in place by a thin but sturdy gold cord. The gold trim accents her body lines and curves. The material consists of something very shimmering. She wears tight elbow length gloves of similar material. Her blonde hair falls to mid back. Her hair parts in the middle and is held off her face by her long ears. Her eyes appear green and her skin, as with most elves, is as pale as fresh cream. She is obviously pretty even through the bruising on her face.
Grimlock vocalizes a request, “I have a bolt in my guts. Please aid me.” Grimlock pulls aside his clothing covering the bolt and the bolt alone materializes. Half of the shaft and tip remain invisible as they are within Grimlock’s body.
Bofor approaches and feels around for Grimlock’s body. He says a prayer and just prior to completing it, he yanks the bolt clear of Grimlock’s body. The immediate rush of pain is quickly replaced by the warmth of the dwarf’s healing (+5, 22/22). Both of Grimlock’s wounds clear.
Grimlock remains invisible as he discusses the defensive plan with Bofor, Peylae and Tathar. They share their experiences in the recent battle.
During this discussion, Cirdan arrives, announcing his presence although remaining unseen.
Grimlock suggests, “Cirdan and myself can go scout the northwest tunnel to see what is going on in the big room again.”
Cirdan concurs, “It is my thought as well.”
The two invisible elves bid farewell and work their way back towards the main chamber.
Bofor heals himself (+6, 15/41).
Southar, with eagerness, suggests, “Let's sneak in and see what we are up against.”
Speck quietly says, "This looks like the main entrance. Why isn't it guarded as much as the back door? Is there some unseen force or guardian around that negates the need of sentries?"
Breymeer agrees with the other ranger, “Let's sneak in. I have a magic torch. I can be ready to throw, or use, it as a surprise tactic in case of a fight.”
Speck says, "Maybe someone small and stealthy can sneak in the shadows and see if there is any danger lurking."
The halfling looks to the two rangers to see if his wisdom will prevail over their bravado.
Kuba asks, “What shall it be? Speck sneak or ranger?”
Cirdan stops, having only traveled a short way up the NW passage. “Let’s try the south, that is the room with the secret door in it, I believe. I want to keep an eye on that. If need be, I suggest holding hands so we know where each other are.”
Grimlock agrees, “Sure, I will go southwest but the northwest tunnel has had less action and likely less attention. It's logical to pay more attention to the tunnel where our party attacked from.”
Cirdan still votes for the southwest tunnel so the two elves change direction. Heading through the bugbear chamber, they see Tathar is healing himself (+7, 22/24).
Cirdan and Grimlock, speaking softly and occasionally reaching out and checking each other’s position, move as quickly and quietly as the elves dare. Grimlock, the half elf wanderer from the Wild Coast, quickly demonstrates he is near silent while moving. Grimlock’s stealth impresses the Celene nobleman.
The duo arrives at the ogre chamber finding it appearing to be empty. The smokey fire still burns in the center of the room.
Southar, appearing very eager and fearless, slurs, “Tanksss going in. Have rogue sssstay ssssneaky to be prepared to take out any sssurprisesss.”
Breymeer adds, “By all means, let speck look around. We'll come running if we hear trouble.”
Speck agrees about sneaking in. He initially agrees to follow one or both of the rangers, keeping as hidden as he can. After Breymeer speaks, Speck agrees to take lead.
Southar assures Speck he will be no more than 40 yards behind him.
Kuba volunteers to take the rear guard. Breymeer joins Kuba, bow in hand.
The halfling tucks into the shadows at the exterior of the tunnel and disappears up the trail quieter than a mouse in a cottonfield.
Southar, Breymeer and Kuba slowly count down waiting to enter the tunnel. They give speck a 50 count head start. That should put Speck about 125 feet ahead of the rest of the three humans.
The three humans will have no vision once they are into the tunnel and away from the exterior ledge.
Speck makes it into the tunnel about 40 feet. His eyes are just adjusting to the lack of light. His dark vision picks up movement at the very end of his vision. He sees two figures standing in the hallway. Both hold loaded crossbows pointing toward the exit. The crossbows are held at the low ready. They appear to be alert to activity at the end of the tunnel but have not seemed to notice Speck has snuck up on them. Speck is only about 60 feet from them.
Something hangs on the north wall next to the orcs. Hanging next to it appears to be some type of small hammer or striker.
The three fighters plan to enter the tunnel in roughly 30 seconds.
The thought of taking out the guards with his sure aim with a bow comes and quickly leaves as Speck considers that a thought out plan of attack is better.
Speck makes a careful but quick sneak back toward the entrance. Just as the fighters are about to enter the tunnel, Speck pops out and the the side.
Speck inform the others of the waiting guard and alarm, “My dark vision helps me and I am deadly with my bow but I don't know if I can take them both out before they sound the alarm.”
Southar quietly voices a plan, “Let’s have Speck take out the person with alarm and have the tanks barrel in and end it quick.”
Speck nods in understanding, while trying to cover a wave of anxiety over what is about to unfold. He prepares to make another stealthy approach with his short bow at the ready. “Remember, you need to come running as soon as it starts.”
Before Speck goes, Kuba gives his little companion a nod & thumbs up. Kuba wields his shield and bastard sword in preparation for the assault.
Southar points out the obvious, “We will need some source of light.” He lights and prepares one of the hooded lanterns. Once lit, he completely hoods it. He loosens his long sword in the scabbard and readies his golden shield, “I will set down the lantern when the melee starts.”
Breymeer adds his suggestion, “I will throw in my magic torch to aid with vision as soon as it starts.”
Speck darts back into the passage. The fighters begin a rough countdown waiting to hear the string of the bow.
Speck is able to make his way back up the corridor stopping just at the edge of his vision. Speck quietly pulls the string back on his bow. Hoping Kuba and his companions get to him in time, Speck releases his breath, takes aim and releases the arrow.
The first arrow takes the humanoid shaped creature directly in the chest. It remains standing and instinctively reaches out for the alarm knocker. With aim practiced since childhood, Speck puts the second arrow into the creature’s right arm as it reaches out. The creature succumbs to the combination of arrows and falls lifeless without reaching the alarm.
“GO!” yells Kuba.
Breymeer, torch in his throwing hand and bow in the other, tosses the magic torch up the hallway. It skids to a stop about 40 feet up the corridor as Kuba and Southar are already charging up the hall. The torchlight illuminates the hall to a distance of 100 feet. At the cusp of the torchlight, the guards are revealed to be two orcs. The first orc is dead with Speck’s arrows in it and the second is moving for the gong striker.
Breymeer takes careful aim at the remaining orc and sends his arrow up the passageway. The arrow streaks between Southar and Kuba as they run up the 30 foot wide hall. The orc, acting quickly, reaches out to the alarm knocker and is able to ring one solitary peel of the large bronze gong. Breymeer’s arrow rips through the orcs heart as the sound of the gong reverberates though the hollow stone hallway.
The orc gong ringer drops dead with the striker still in his hand. No enemy are not within sight as Kuba and Southar reach the gong and dead orc bodies.
Cirdan asks Grimlock if his spell to detect those not visible is still working, and if so, if the room is clear.
Grimlock unfortunately advises Cirdan he can see no more than the nobleman. He did not cast a detection spell.
Cirdan takes a quick peak down the NW tunnel leading towards the main orc chamber. Seeing nothing, he suggests a quick search of this room, then they should continue.
Looking around the room, the two elves can see six large straw sleeping pallets, some cured skins on the sleeping pallets, animal bones, broken weapons and smashed armor. They begin to look closer at the objects.
A few minutes into searching the room, prior to gathering up any specific treasure, the peel of a bronze gong echoes through the stone passageway. It is hard to pinpoint the exact directions of the sound.
Tathar informs Bofor and Paylae that they should maybe move up and use this as a fall back point, “It doesn't seem that we are being immediately pursued. Maybe Southar and company have reached the other side, and have drawn the attention of the orcs. We may be able to help with a rear attack, it that is the case.”
They agree. Tathar recovers the oil flasks and hands one back to each. Tathar notches an arrow and moves out through the northwest tunnel, opposite than the passage the mages took.
They move slowly and in the darkness; all taking advantage of their darkvision. They reach the troll chamber.
As they advance into the troll chamber, the peel of a bronze gong rings through the hollow stone dwarven halls.
The orcs do not refresh their torches and make a point of extinguishing those that still burn. Dalic can see when enough as his darkvision takes over but Bhut is left straining to listen as his vision fails.
Dalic and Bhut have been prisoners for roughly twenty five minutes when a peel of a bronze gong rings loudly out of the western exit tunnel. The sound of pounding footsteps softly echo in the lofty passageway.
Dalic and Bhut, now accustomed to the darkness, notice a bright light a short distance down the western passage. It is not enough to illuminate into the room but it is obviously visible in the tunnel. The sound of bowstrings, cries of agony and pounding feet are heard.
Dalic shrinks back down to his normal size. It becomes immediately obvious the shackles can now be slipped from his wrists and ankles within a few seconds. He continues to play possum; his size change goes unnoticed as the battle breaks out to the west.
The two orcs in the chamber are scrambling towards the western passageway.
The orc and the bugbear at the eastern passageway stand fast.
Tathar inquires, "An alarm for Southar and company?" He continues moving to see what he can see down the hall towards the great room. Peylea and Bofor accompany Tathar. The two elves have to deliberately slow their walk to match Bofor’s in order to keep the dwarf from being too loud.
Cirdan will continue searching, but ask Grimlock, "What do you make of that? I would think they would have sounded an alarm already, with the fight we just ran from...Some sort of ritual?"
Grimlock hopes, “Could it be our reinforcements? Let's go see quickly.” His footsteps and Doppler of his voice indicate Grimlock is moving quickly towards the NW passage and back to the large central chamber.
Speck moves up to the dead orcs and prepares to take shots at oncoming enemies.
Kuba examines the dead orcs, “These loaded crossbows can be used against any oncoming foes.”
Southar bids, “Let’s continue. Let the halfling check what is ahead, or not, if he so chooses.”
Breymeer chimes in on the situation, “Here are my two coppers, let's find a defendable spot. Dark out, hide, wait and listen for response to the gong. If they come running with torches we can sure unleash hell on ‘em with arrows.” He speaks only as loud as he dare to get the group’s attention. He stands ten feet inside the passageway and the halfing and other two humans are 100 feet east down the hallway; 90 feet from Breymeer.
As the foursome is planning, footsteps are heard to the east. The steps indicate there are few in number; maybe two or three. They sound like booted bipeds. It is too dark to tell exactly what is happening. Speck’s dark vision does not aid him as he stands within the illumination of Breymeer’s torch and his eyes have not yet adjusted as he strains to see into the darkness east of him.
Cirdan finds the scattered equipment to be old and ruined. He begins to rifle through the sleeping pallets.
Kuba quietly says, "We may have to defend this position. Whatever a single chime of the alarm means I don't know, but here comes a greeting party."
Kuba takes the two dead orcs and props them into a seated positing facing up the hallway. He leans them together so they stay and takes cover behind them.
Speck moves ahead slightly to the shadows and prepare for his next shots. Trying to secret himself into the darkness, with his bow at the ready, Speck peers ahead and is barely able to identify the adversary. Two orcs stand at the entrance to a room. They have taken partial cover, one on each side of the passageway, and are firing crossbows at the party.
One bolt drills into one of the dead orcs before Kuba. The second one nicks Kuba’s right shoulder giving him a bruise but failing to break the skin after striking and penetrating a hard leather plate (2, 18/36).
It is obvious the enemy advance has stopped. The reload from their defensive positions.
Southar unhoods one side of the lantern, illuminating the passageway east of the party. He charges forward with sword and shield.
Kuba sits behind the two dead orcs and prepares both of the loaded crossbows to fire.
Speck takes aim at the orcs and lets his arrows fly. Both arrows fail to hit their mark as the orcs are taking considerable cover around the corners of the hall. The second arrow deflects just inches past one of the orc’s face as it peaks out to fire.
The orcs return fire.
The first bolt cuts along Kuba’s side causing a scratch (2, 16/36).
The second bolt strikes Southar’s left shin bone causing a wound (12, 26/52). The bolt deflects off and does not remain stuck in his leg. The impact is enough to through Southar’s timing off. Southar closes in on the orc sniper. Southar arcs his long sword forward missing his adversary.
Breymeer move up the tunnel to his torch. He recovers his torch and places it back into his pack to keep the party from being illuminated. The tunnel quickly darkens, other than Southar’s lantern, as the bright magical light is covered. Breymeer continues up the hall and takes cover next to Kuba.
Both Kuba and Breymeer can now make out the orcs as they play peek-a-boo around the corner. Southar has closed on the southern sniper.
Grimlock slows fearing his footsteps have been heard by the sniper. Grimlock moves to the side and finds the orc does not track him with its crossbow. It appears to be whispering to something to the north.
Grimlock sneaks forward, slowly. He moves to the orc’s south side and quickly sees the participant of the orc’s conversation. A bugbear wielding a spear.
Cirdan continues to search the room. The animal skins used as blankets seems rather used and dull with the exception of two leopard skins that may yet be intact. He finds nothing in most of them but finds scattered gold pieces in two of the pallets. He has collected nearly three dozen gold pieces from one and over five dozen from the other (30 gp and 65 gp respectively). Within a few minutes of searching, Cirdan begins to get an itch in his nose and throat. He also finds his hands and arms itch fiercely.
Tathar does not like the slow pace of the dwarf. He and Peylae increase their speed. Tathar tells Bofor, “Continue at your speed, as quietly as he can. Paylae and I will move ahead. If you hear trouble, run."
Tathar and Peylae quickly outpace Bofor, who grunts something under his breath about elves.
The bright white light in the eastern tunnel goes out but is replaced by a dimmer lantern light. A missile battle has erupted in the tunnel.
Dalic and Bhut can now see the shadowy figures of two orcs firing to the east as they hide at the edge of the passageway; using the stone walls as cover. Arrows deflect off the stone walls and skid into the room in return.
Suddenly, a great helmed human sized warrior rounds the corner and engages the southern orc in melee. He wields a long sword and a shield. He can be no other than Southar.
Kuba raises the first crossbow to his shoulder. He is not proficient in its use but figures it is worth a shot. He aims at the northern orc using dead reckoning and pulls the trigger. As if guided by fate, the bolt flies true. The bolt flies through the orc’s left arm as it raises its own crossbow. The bolt comes to rest in the orcs head.
Breymeer sends his first arrow high and it flies harmlessly into the chamber beyond.
Speck’s first arrow also flies harmlessly into the chamber.
The northern orc drops stone dead upon the floor with Kuba’s bolt lodged in its face. It did not get its shot off.
Southar battles the second orc and it makes an error of stepping forward during the melee giving up its cover from the stone wall. It attempts to butt-stroke Southar with its crossbow stock.
Breymeer and Speck both sink an arrow into it, one in the shoulder and the other in the guts. Kuba picks up the second crossbow and lets the quarrel fly. Strangely, as if blessed, this bolt also flies true and buries itself into the side of the orc’s chest; striking its heart.
Southar then steps up and strokes off its head. It too drops dead upon the floor.
The sound of footsteps, closing quickly, are heard to Southar’s east. At least two creatures are charging. One sounds to be the size of an orc. The second creature sounds a bit heavier.
Cirdan removes a waterskin and attempts to wash off his arms, hands, nose and mouth.
Dalic slips his bonds and moves towards Bhut’s cell. There is a common wall between them. Dalic finds he is just too stout to fit through. He begins looking for a weak bar to bend.
Speck moves close to Kuba feeling safe alongside his warrior friend. Speck recovers two of his arrows from the dead orc sentry. Kuba finds they each have a small coin purse with a few gold pieces (20 gp total). In addition to their crossbows, they have hand axes and ring mail armor.
Breymeer moves up from the sentry point to where Southar was just in melee keeping his bow ready. The blackness of the large chamber repels the light from Southar’s lantern keeping whatever approaches a mystery.
Southar’s scaly face turns to a demonic grin. He pulls his shield up and awaits his next unworthy victim.
Out of the inky blackness comes a large spear, hurtled with great strength. Southar easily stops the shaft with his gold shield. With a loud metallic ring the spear drops at his feet. Southar’s grin widens and his forked tongue licks the air with excitement.
He does not have to wait long until an orc comes charging in on him.
Breymeer, while advancing, attempts to stick the orc with an arrow. The missile flies wide.
The orc’s charge reaches Southar and it attempts to shield bash Southar but fails to knock him off balance. However, as Southar swings his longsword ‘Bloodletter’ in defense, he steps on the spear shaft. It rolls under his feet and nearly drops him to his knees. Only Southar’s superior dexterity keeps him erect. The orc now grins as it prepares its sword and shield for melee.
Dalic finds a loose bar and he is able to bend it out enough to slip into Bhut’s cell. Bhut, although still chained to the wall, is pleased to have his friend and the possibility of escape Dalic brings.
The eastern guards have charged across the room to engage Southar in the western tunnel entrance.
Grimlock sneaks past both the orc and the bugbear to survey the room. The orc and the bugbear appear to be very alert and nervous as if they know something is nearby. It is obvious they are at a loss to Grimlock’s location. Grimlock can see a very faint light down western corridor. He can hear the metallic sounds of melee echoing from the west; the distance is undeterminable. Grimlock leaves the orc and bugbear behind him and moves west towards the sound of battle. He moves west across the massive chamber passing just within view (55 feet) of the southern orc sniper post. It appears to be unoccupied save the dead orcs behind it. The orc and bugbear at the tunnel entrance do not appear to have noticed Grimlock passed them by. Checking over his shoulder, he can see they are still at the tunnel. They are at the very edge of his vision behind him.
Cirdan is concerned about what he may have contracted. He moves up the passageway towards the main orc chamber following Grimlock’s last known move. Cirdan does his best to not sneeze and itch.
Tathar & Peylae approach the main orc chamber. Sixty feet ahead of them they can see the passageway opens into a very large chamber. The outer walls out are of view to their dark vision.
Dalic is able to bend the pin holding Bhut’s arm restrains. He quickly slips them off Bhut’s arms. Bhut is free of the wall but his legs remain shackled.
Furthermore, Bhut cannot see anything other than the faint light illuminating the western passage. Shadowy figures melee there.
Dalic, with his dark vision, can see the other prisoners in their cells and the final enemy, a bugbear, close in ranks and join the melee in the west passage entrance The prisoner resembling a mercenary tries in vain to break his bonds.
Southar and Breymeer team up on the remaining orc. Southar removes a leg with ‘bloodletter’ and Breymeer an arm with his broadsword. Breymeer chops the orc to the ground with a final blow from his hand axe.
They just recover as a bugbear arrives. It does not slow as it barrels into Southar with its shoulder. Southar, shield in front of him, is knocked flat on his back on the stone passageway floor. The bugbear goes down with Southar, ‘bloodletter’ sticking out of its back. Southar is buried under the large hairy but unmoving bugbear.
Kuba runs up to assist, shield and sword at the ready. Speck is trailing behind with his bow in hand; arrow to string.
Grimlock continues to cross the large chamber. The sound of melee to the west stops.
Tathar and Peylae hold their position as Bofor continues up the tunnel behind them.
Cirdan continues up the passageway.
Breymeer aids Southar in rolling the dead bugbear off of him. Southar stands on his own, ignoring the hand Breymeer puts out to aid him, “Thankssss anyway. I’m able to sssstand on my own.” His snake transformed eyes show no emotion.
Kuba grabs the coins purses from the bugbear and orc (50 gp total) while Speck recovers the hooded lantern, bringing it up to the group. He also finds one more of his arrows.
Breymeer suggests, “Lets recover that lantern and hood it again. We can go dark and have our scout, Speck here, go ahead of us while we follow.”
While the foursome are discussing their plans, a rattle of chains followed by metal clanging onto the stone floor is heard to the southeast. It echoes through the chamber.
Dalic is able to break Bhut completely free of his bonds. The metal shackles and chains fall to the ground with an echoing clang made all the louder now that the melee to the west has ended.
What appears to be Breymeer, Southar, Kuba and Speck are gathered in the chamber near the western passage.
Cirdan continues up the passageway. His skin itches and burns but does not seem to be blistering or causing him and harm other than irritation. He continues to clear his throat to keep for coughing out loud.
Tathar and Peylae, using their elven stealth, move up to the edge of the chamber and peer into the massive room. Peylae’s elvish dark vision picks up no sign of anything but empty room out to the limit of her sight. Even Tathar, blessed with greater distance by Sehanine, can only make out the northern orc’s sniper post. It is unmanned.
With only the warning of a rush of air, the invisible ogre steps from the northern side of the passageway and swings his great club. The club hits Tathar square in the chest (13, 9/24) laying him out supine. The moon-eyed elf luckily survives the blow by superior dexterity alone. At the very last instant, Tathar was able to contort his body to deflect some of the powerful blow. He remains conscious and able to move.
Peylae is caught flat-footed and only manages a loud shriek, staring wide-eyed as the massive ogre materializes in front of her.
Grimlock has nearly crossed the southern portion of the large chamber. He can see the western wall as it curves slowly to the western exit. The exit remains out of view but Grimlock figures he cannot be more than 70 or 80 feet from it.
A metallic clang is heard to echo the west just before the sound of a shriek is heard to the northeast. The shriek is too soft to be that of these barbarian races, sounding feminine as well. It really could only belong to Peylae. It came directly across the chamber to the NE; approx. where the tunnel from the troll room enters the main chamber.
Tathar, calling upon the power of Sehanine, orders the ogre, “Flee!”
Peylae utters a spell and brings forth an electrical energy jumping back and forth between her fingers. She attempts to lay her hand upon the ogre but misses as it turns to flee. She leaps forward as it turns its back on her and lands the palm of her hand upon its lower back. A snap of electricity transfers between Peylae’s hand and the ogre (11, 14/25). It cries out in agony. The smell of ozone is present.
The ogre continues to flee from Tathar into the chamber, running generally south.
Cirdan continues to scratch and sniffle his way up the passage.
Dalic instructs Bhut to assist him in bending the exterior bars. Both the dwarf and man are strong; the dwarf noticeable more so. The bars relent and bend far enough apart to allow escape. Once on the exterior, Dalic pulls a dagger from each of his boots. He hands one over to Bhut with a wry smile that Bhut cannot see.
Bhut, taking the dagger being thrust into his hand, requests, “Dalic, help guide me through the dark, and alert me so that I do not to stumble over anything that might be in the path.
“Honorable dwarf. Kind sir,” a voice from the closest cell calls out. It belongs to the older, non-warrior, man. “We are merchants from Loreltarma area. Me, my boy and one of our guards. Would you kindly free us as well?”
The elf in the easternmost cell remains quiet, studying the situation.
Speck sets down the lantern, now shuttered, along the north edge of the tunnel where it meets the room. He continues into the room using his sneaking abilities and carefully make his way towards the sounds.
Speck thinks to himself, “I hope it's just a gate being shut or something like that, rather than some great creature being loosed.” He holds his bow at the ready.
Breymeer transfers to bow and finds a spot to set up to be ready for what's coming although he cannot see his own nose after Speck shuttered the lantern.
Kuba and Southar hold in the tunnel entrance.
Grimlock turns to the sounds of Peylae’s shriek. He begins to run towards the sound, forgoing all stealth. The sounds had to have come from the northeast tunnel. Damn that ogre.
Grimlock quickly closes in on the center of the room. The massive column comes into view along with the orc’s sniper posts. Three of them are occupied.
Tathar, still supine, sits up and arms himself with his bow. He tries to take aim on the fleeing ogre but it has gone beyond the limits of his extended vision.
It is gone only a moment though as it has turned and is now charging full speed back towards the tunnel entrance.
Tathar fires two rapid shots, the first cutting its leg (4, 10/25) and the second deflecting off its armor covered chest. The ogre bears down on Tathar with incredible speed; faster than Tathar can string another arrow.
Peylae, in an imitation of her father, creates an illusionary mirror image of herself.
The ogre passes both images of Peylae and stops in front of Tathar. It raises its club above its head preparing to smash the elf into jelly.
Bofor, on a dead sprint, runs in front the passageway screaming a dwarven war cry. He runs between the ogre’s legs, delivering a fatal blow to the groin of the oversized beast (10, 0/25). Its pelvis snaps and it drops dead to the floor. “These are dwarven halls!” Bofor declares in a huff.
A bolt, fired blindly from an orc sniper in the dark to the west/southwest, flies into the group striking a nearby wall.
Just after, the bugbear arrives, spear tip forward. It lays a fatal blow into Peylae’s chest. Its victorious grin turns to confusion as the image of Peylae blips from view leaving the real Peylae standing nearby.
Cirdan pauses and removes a scroll from his belongings. He reads off of it a magical spell giving him the power to see those otherwise invisible.
Bhut tells Dalic that we should wait and clear the area of any hostiles before thinking of helping them. Then we can come back.
Dalic responds to his companion, “We be injured and could use da help.”
Dalic asks the prisoners if they can fight mumbling something about the enemy of my enemy.
The older man speaks again, “We are but common folk and our guard has a broken leg. If freed, we will do our best.”
The elf adds, in a very eloquent and pretty voice, “As I can, I shall aid you.”
He moves to free the mercenary type requesting Bhut's help.
The horses chained in the center of the room become more anxious as Speck moves easterly towards them in the dark. Dalic can track his movements in the dark but Bhut cannot.
Speck moves out towards the center of the room where he comes across several horses chained to the floor. They are very nervous and easily spooked. The get agitated as the halfling nears.
Those in the western entrance chamber begin to hear an echo of combat from the east again. Cries of pain and surprise along with clang of armor and weapons; even a snap of an electric shock. Several heavy boots steps are soon added to the mix.
An unmistakable dwarven war cry rises crisply echoing like that of a mighty champion in the hallowed dwarven halls. The sound of hammered metal is heard and then softer, but undeniable thud of a large body striking the stone floor.
Grimlock slows as he stealthily makes his way between the snipers. The westernmost sniper appears to be looking around for something but fails to track Grimlock as he sneaks his way past. The north sniper appears to be taking pot shot at the sound of the melee.
Heavy footsteps can be heard running south as Grimlock moves between the snipers. Grimlock guesses it is the ogre. The steps stop and then run just as fast back north, this time accompanied by slightly softer steps; a very large orc or maybe a bugbear.
The steps reach the area of the northeast passage and a frantic melee restarts followed by a loud thud of a very large body striking the stone floor.
Bhut assists Dalic but mumbles his disagreement in so doing. They both lay into the mercenaries cell bars and quickly pry open a large enough space to gain entrance in order to free the soldier from his chains.
The elf maiden informs with a whisper, “Find me a couple short, stouts poles and I can fashion a splint for Errius’ leg.”
A sudden change of status draws the attention to the company in the western passage. Southar has taken up the lantern and unhooded it, illuminating the area around them. He charges eastward toward the sound of battle. Southar exits the room charging into the eastern tunnel.
The illumination from the lantern was not enough to light up the southern prison cells or the occupants therein.
As Speck looks cautiously around for anything other than skittish horses, Southar takes the lantern, unhoods it, and charges eastward across the room towards the sound of battle. In so doing, he illuminates the center of the room as he runs.
The floor of this circular room (approx. 180 feet across) is strewn with straw, offal and rotting feed. There are six horses tethered to iron rings bolted to the floor in the center of the room. The horses are frightened. The north and south extremes of the room remain shadowed in darkness and reveal nothing of detail. The ceiling is domed above reaching 50 feet. The walls are decorated with intricate bas-reliefs depicting scenes of dwarven heroics. The dwarven artistry has been defaced.
Southar quickly passes by Speck, crosses the room and enters the tunnel beyond leaving his companions once again in the darkness.
The occasional metallic sound comes from the darkness in the southern portion of the room.
Grimlock uses his stealth to sneak up behind the westernmost orc sniper. He eliminates the sniper with a deadly thrust of his blade across its neck.
The other two snipers do not appear to have noticed Grimlock as they are now both firing blindly into the melee.
Tathar fires his bow from the seated position seeming as if he were comfortable doing so. Tathar takes caution so as not to strike Peylae or Bofor. The bugbear dodges one of the missiles and the other deflects off of its splint mail armor.
Peylae conjures up another electrical charge on her hand but fails to grasp the dexterous bugbear. Bofor misses it as well with his war hammer.
The bugbear skillfully jabs its heavy spear over the top of Bofor’s shield striking him square in the chest. Although the tip does not break through the armor, the force of the blow is damaging enough (8, 7/41). Bofor is barely able to keep from having the wind knocked out of his lungs. The tenacious dwarf remains standing.
Two more bolts deflect off of stone in the general area of the melee as the snipers fire blindly into the fight.
Cirdan moves up the hallway until a barricade of bodies comes into view at the entrance to the main chamber. An orc sniper hides behind the bodies. Piled before it are an ogre, several orcs and Ide. Cirdan is roughly 60 feet southeast of the orc, still in the passageway.
Tathar regains his feet and steps back into the tunnel slightly to try and get some protection from errant quarrels.
The bugbear lunges forward attempting to skewer the dwarf. Bofor deflects the blow with his shield. Using his advantage, Bofor steps in and smashes the bugbear’s face with his war hammer (5, 12/17).
Simultaneously, Peylae lays her sparking hand upon its right thigh discharging the pent up charge (8, 4/17).
The bugbear cries out in pain through broken teeth. Showing elite fighting skill, it engages Bofor one handed with its spear while backhanding Peylae with its heavy fist (3(1), 15(13)/16). Peylae is knocked back a step but remains in the fight.
The orc sniper gets off a lucky shot. The bolt streaks into the battle and bites deep into flesh. To the bugbears demise, the bolt strikes him in the left ribs and punctures both his lungs (8, -4/17). It drops to the ground dying from the mortal blow.
Cirdan Saralonde moves up the hallway doing his best to be quiet. He reaches the main chamber and slides around the piles of bodies the orc is using for cover. Something catches the orcs attention and it spins towards Cirdan and lets a bolt fly in panic. The missile flies just wide of Cirdan, striking the wall and deflecting harmlessly away.
Grimlock sneaks up behind the southern orc sniper and efficiently and quietly brings death upon it. The other orc continues to send bolts into the battle without noticing Grimlock.
Southar clears the tunnel and runs out into the main chamber.
Kuba asks Breymeer, “If you can get that torch out so we can see, let’s join the melee ahead.”
Breymeer is already doing just that. Removing the torch, the room illuminates with more light. Breymeer’s face betrays his displeasure with the party always splitting up and running off without warning.
Breymeer has his sword in one hand and torch in the other.
Speck, slightly surprised by Southar running past says to Kuba and Breymeer, "Come on guys." Speck takes off after Southar, attempting to keep up with his little legs.
Dalic and Bhut, working together, free the mercenary. Dalic addresses the other prisoners, “We'll be back fer da others.” Needing a better weapon, he points Bhut to the north, “Secret door. We are ta retrieve our gear.”
The mercenary tests his leg and finds it will not hold much weight. He nods to his rescuers, “I shall give it a try.”
The room becomes brighter as Breymeer removes his magical torch. Speck, Kuba and Breymeer cross the room and enter into the eastern passageway to join the other melee seemingly having not seen or heard the prisoners in the still dark southern section of the room.
The elf, watching the others run past, petitions, “Master dwarf, Honorable Man, I am not some hapless wit. I am certainly of more use than this hobbled caravan guard. Free me and I can aid you and then assist the soldier’s mobility issue.”
Cirdan sees the orc sentry put his guard down. It appears in a panic. It clambers over the bodies in an attempt to flee southeast down the passageway.
Cirdan pounces upon the orc stabbing his dagger deep into its back as Cirdan materializes. The orc succumbs to the blow and collapses onto the dead pile.
Cirdan immediately uses his magic to return to invisibility.
The sound of the melee to the north has ended.
From the west comes a charge. Southar, holding a lantern and sword, leads the charge. He nears the center column of the room. Behind him is Breymeer, holding a torch with a brilliant white light, also enters the room with Kuba and behind them, Speck.
Grimlock sneaks up behind the final orc sniper with ease and eliminates him while he is reloading his crossbow.
The sound of the melee at the northeast tunnel has ended.
From the west comes a charge. Southar, holding a lantern and sword, leads the charge. He nears the center column of the room. Behind him is Breymeer, holding a torch with a brilliant white light, also enters the room with Kuba and behind them, Speck.
Tathar quickly calls upon aid and is healed some (+2, 11/24). Peylae collects herself and Bofor also calls upon aid for healing (+8, 15/41).
From the west comes a charge. Southar, holding a lantern and sword, leads the charge. He nears the center column of the room. Behind him is Breymeer, holding a torch with a brilliant white light, also enters the room with Kuba and behind them, Speck.
The light from Southar and Breymeer fades into the eastern tunnel.
Dalic nods, forgetting Bhut is relatively blind and replies, “We make it so.” Dalic and Bhut free the elf as well.
Once free, Dalic instructs the others to wait in her cell while he retrieves their plundered weapons.
Dalic and the elf cross the room. By turning the norther torch sconce, they open and then enter the secret door on the north wall.
Southar and company find the room dark and now quiet. Coming past the large central column, Southar slows, ready for a fight. Kuba, Breymeer and Speck all catch up in turn. Breymeer’s magical torch casting light much farther than the lantern.
There are five trap doors opened 90 degrees with shallow pits revealed. The doors were obviously being used as cover for sniper pits. Over half dozen dead orcs are scattered in the area of the pits, some shot with arrows, some cut down by sword.
Peylae, Tathar and Bofor call out and approach from the northeastern passage. They are all injured with Peylae fairing better than Bofor and Tathar.
At the northeast tunnel entrance are the bodies of a bugbear and an ogre.
By exploring south, the southeastern exit reveals a pile of orc bodies, an ogre body and Ide Otneaux’s broken body.
Peylae quickly brings the western exploration group up to speed. All known enemy have been slain with the exception of a wizard who turned invisible in this room a while back and has not been seen or heard from since.
Grimlock and Cirdan were to have come to this room by the southern passage but have not been seen since either.
Dalic and Bhut were captured by the orcs and are now missing in action. It is believed they were hauled off to the west.
Breymeer advises the eastern group of their encounter entering from the west. A small group of orcs and a bugbear were slain. They did not take the time to search the chamber well as they ran through to aid with the battle here. There were several horses tied in the center of the chamber but the northern and southern tips of the room remain unknown as the light sources were not powerful enough to reveal them as the western crew ran through.
Cirdan, looking around from the southeast area of the room, sees no further enemy nor any invisible mage.
The secret door opens revealing a smaller northeast corridor. It has a nearly 10 foot high ceiling and is roughly 8 feet wide. The tunnel is roughly carved and obviously not the work of dwarves. It is unlit.
Dalic and the elf move about 90 feet through the passage before it splits straight north and straight east. To the east, it continues roughly straight out of the range of Dalic’s vision. To the north, it continues north about 75 feet to a wooden door. A side tunnel to the west brakes off the corridor about 20 feet north of north/east split.
Dalic leads the elf to the western branch. They walk down to the end of the hall and check on the door. It is stuck fast. Dalic tries to shoulder it open to no avail. Dalic attempts to pry the lock. Nothing seems to be able to circumvent the door.
Pausing, Dalic speaks to the elf, “Are you able to aid me with my health or this door?”
The elf responds confidently, “Your health, yes.” She takes the dagger from Dalic and cuts strips from his cloak. She applies them to his injuries. “The door? Not at the moment.”
Dalic receives his dagger back and leads the elf to the northern door. To their surprise, the door opens easy enough.
The room is roughly rectangular. It is 60 feet east/west and 45 feet north/south. The floor to this room consists of three raised tiers, each tier approximately 5 feet above the one beneath. The effect resembles a ziggurat. The top is 10 feet long and 5 feet wide. The ceiling is 30 feet high.
The room is dimly lit by some mysterious illumination.
A voice calls out, speaking the non-common human Suel language. The voice is coming from higher up the pyramid. The voice is coming from somewhere up the ziggurat.
Sorry. Been meaning to post for some time. I really like how you run your campaign. Is it doable FtF game? So much good dialogue that I assume it is online. I just re-read the Bone Hill adventure. I actually read part of it, adding pictures from my MM, to my son. He loved the zombies!
I thought the necromancer was great. Some of the best stuff I've read. I have to start the LLL part of over as I forgot what was happening. Anyway, keep up the great work!
It is play by post email. It is a very slow way to play but it can add a lot of detail. I have a mix of players. Some add a lot, others are too busy to add much. I am just glad they are playing. Currently there are 8 players running 10 characters.
We did a table-top session with some other characters in February. They were created to go to Garrotten and assaulted the keep in attempts to overthrow the Mayor and her minions. I will not be posting that entire adventure as I did not take notes. There will likely be a summary at some point. The party did pretty well but many of the bad guys got away. As a result, the bad guys and their orc allies raided Restenford and burned many parts of it (set up for L4).
This is my first crack at DMing Lendore Island. It has been really fun so far.
At that moment, several glowing missiles appear and streak down towards Dalic and the elf. The first bolt strikes Dalic in the back as he goes for cover followed immediately by a second (4, -4/30). He gasps as the energy pulses through his body driving him to the stone floor. He sees a final bolts strike the elf (4, 3/8). Dalic remains conscious long enough to see the elf withstand the assault. On the second tier of the ziggurat appears the green robed wizard sneering at his advantage. Dalic then slips into oblivion.
The elf runs to the dwarf’s aid, trying in vain to bring him back to consciousness. Grabbing a dagger, the elf turns to face the green mage.
The green mage laughs with a deep evil grin. It pulls itself up onto the top tier of the ziggurat as the elf throws the dagger at him. The dagger strikes the mage in the back but falls harmlessly away.
As the mage reaches the top tier, his bellowing laugh fills the room. His body begins to de-materialize as his voice calls down in the common speech, “Leave now or lose your soul!”
The words hang in the air as the mage, in a swirl of color, blurs into a green mist and then disappears.
Tathar calls upon Sehanine to heal himself (+2, 11/24).
Tathar addresses Bofor in what is long-winded for Tathar, "My brother cleric, I am exhausted and will not have the strength to heal our friends until I pray to Sehanine and enter the reverie. Please do what you can for them."
Tathar sets about searching the bodies for anything the party can use. During which time he rubs some ash upon his face reapplying his black face paint.
Grimlock rises from one of the orc sniper pits where he had secreted himself. His sword is bloodied. It is clear that he had worked his way through the sniper pits and eliminated them.
Cirdan’s voice calls out to Peylae, “I am here as well. I took out an orc trying to sneak off towards the ogre chamber <sneeze>.” Cirdan appears to have been affected by something as he routinely coughs and sneezes or clears his throat. He remains invisible. “I am searching for the green mage. I should be able to see him, even hidden though he may be. Cover me.”
With the lantern open and Breymeer’s magical torch out, the group searches the large main chamber and then moves off into the western chamber.
The western chamber, 150 feet across with similarly designed dwarven images on the walls and a 50 feet high ceiling.
The western group crossed the room in a hurry. Coming back now and searching slowly shows the horses remain tethered to iron rings bolted into the floor. Scattered around them is straw, offal and rotting feed. The southern wall contains eight cages serving as cells. Four of them have bent bars.
Bhut stands nearby. He appears to have escaped the cages. His weapons have been taken. He stands with a dagger. “I have been unable to free the rest of the prisoners. Dalic and an elf went north through a secret door.”
In the third cage is a human male is in his late 40s and appears to be a commoner. He is of average build and has short cut red hair along with a full beard partially hiding the swelling in his face from a recent beating.
To his east, in cell four, is a mid-teen age male. He also has red hair; longer than the others. He has a family resemblance to the older man; likely his father or uncle. He is fit but also injured from a recent pummeling. He is dressed as a commoner.
Both of the above prisoners still have their hands and feet shackled. Their hand manacles are chained to an iron ring secured into the wall.
The final human male, east of the teenager in cage five, is a 30-something male. He is stronger in appearance having a fighter’s build. He has a light colored mustache and blond hair shaved close. He wears chain mail armor. His leg is swollen, possibly broken, from a severe bludgeoning strike. This man’s cage has bent bars and he has been freed from his shackles. He leans heavily against the iron bars resting his injured leg.
The other cages are empty and intact excepting the final cage which has the bars bent.
From the north, pulling open a concealed door, enters an elf. She is very winded as she drags Dalic’s body into the doorway. She collapses, “He needs aid. We were ambushed by a mage in a green robe. He is gone. He disappeared atop some type of strange pyramid.”
The elf wears a skin tight grey bodysuit chased with gold threat and covered with a hoodless scarlet cloak held in place by a thin but sturdy gold cord. The gold trim accents her body lines and curves. The material consists of something very shimmering. She wears tight elbow length gloves of similar material. Her blonde hair falls to mid back. Her hair parts in the middle and is held off her face by her long ears. Her eyes appear green and her skin, as with most elves, is as pale as fresh cream. She is obviously pretty even through the bruising on her face.
The party finds Dalic unconscious but stable. The elf reports, “We were hit by magical arrows. I was able to keep him stable after he fell.” The party can see she is also injured and in significant pain.
Bofor comes to the aid of the dwarf. Praying, Dalic’s injuries are eased (+6, 2/30). Bofor also prays for aid for the elf that saved Dalic (+3, 6/8).
Cirdan and company move north and explore the secret passage. The passage is crudely excavated and obviously not the work of the original dwarves. It is nearly 10 feet high and 8 feet wide. It is unlit. The party finds it travels northeast before splitting straight north and straight east.
The eastern passage parallels the tunnel to the south between the chamber with the horses and the main central chamber. Where the tunnel meets the main central chamber, there is another concealed door, obvious from this side, that enters to the northwestern arc of the room. The passage continues around the circumference of the room, gaining elevation as it travels east. This tunnel terminates at an observation post. Cut into the southern wall is a 3 inch slit. Looking through the slit, one can observe the main chamber.
The northern passage terminates in a door with one side passage going west to a door.
The northern door is opened to reveal a 60 foot wide room east/west and 45 feet deep. The floor of the room consists of three raised tiers, each tier approximately 5 feet above the one beneath. The effect resembles a ziggurat. The top is 10 feet long and 5 feet wide. The ceiling is 30 feet high. The room is dimly lit by some unknown source.
The top of this ziggurat is where the elf maiden says the green robed mage vaporized. She said he did not just blip out but instead spun into a green mist and then just vaporized. The description appears similar to what happened to Grimlock and Cirdan when Horan the mage would teleport them to and fro in the Hepmonaland jungle.
Cirdan can see the mage is no longer in the room, visible or invisible.
The group moves to the western room finding the door completely unmoving. Speck steps forward with a grin and a few small metal tools in hand. He goes to work on the locking mechanism and soon has the door swinging inward.
The sight in the room brings glee to the group. Inside the room is the orcs treasure room. There are two large chests, a weapons rack and a small pile of gear.
The gear belongs to Dalic and Bhut. The weapons rack contains Dalic and Bhut’s confiscated weapons. In addition, there is a hand axe, a bastard sword and a long sword. The axe is a metal head mounted on a bronzewood shaft. The metal head is engraved with the dwarven rune for strength. The bastard sword has a steel blade mounted into a leather wrapped steel hilt. The leather appears well cured. The sword retains a keen edge. The long sword has a silver blade mounted upon a steel hilt. The steel grip and pommel are designed with images of wolves.
The two chests are examined and appear clear of traps. Opening the chests reveals a mass of treasure.
The first chest contains copper coins, thousands in count (7,940 cp), a golden circlet and a book chased with gold and scarlet coloring. The book appears to be a spellbook and is quickly seized by the elf. “These are mine.” She places the golden circlet on her head. It fits perfectly and completes her outfit.
The second chest contains electrum (643 ep), silver (697 sp) and gold (1,470 gp).
In addition to the treasure room, the party collects up the remaining coin purses from the dead enemy. Cirdan advises to use caution in the sleeping pallets as he came across one trapped with sneezing powder. He continues to suffer from hives, sneezing and coughing. In addition, the weapons are piled in the main orc chamber for possible use or later sale.
The group frees the final two men and discovers they are father and son. They earn their keep by making deliveries between Loreltarma and the Lake Farmin/Restenford area. The solider is one of their men-at-arms. The elf had paid them to allow her to accompany the caravan to make a delivery of specialty goods to the house of a mage named Pelltar in Restenford.
The caravan was attacked by an orc raid. Most were slaughtered. The horses were taken along with the caravan survivors. The wagons were broken up for firewood and torches. The four prisoners and horses in the chamber are all that are left.
The father’s name is Lidulf, his son is Ernald, the soldier is Errius and the elf is Aravae.
The party agrees it needs to set guards and rest and recuperate. It is around mid-afternoon.
Grimlock, standing before the treasure horde and weapons rack, declares, “I could use the long sword. I have been looking in each city for something like this. I would not be so ill equipped to deal with the undead with this I think.”
Grimlock takes the silver wolf sword from the shelf and examines it, “Is everyone okay with that?” There is no objection.
The axe catches Breymeer’s eye. He hefts it and check out the feel, "If no one objects I think I can put this to good use." The hard wood of the bronzewood tree feels good in his hand. The bronzewood is one of the hardest woods known. There are no objections to Breymeer claiming the axe.
Dalic claims the newly found bastard sword as his own. He straps the blade of Dalgur to his back and sets the new blade to his hip. There is no objections to Dalic claiming the blade.
Dalic travels back to retrieve his daggers and caltrops which had been strewn about in battle. As he departs, he requests the healers assist him with his wounds upon his return as their deity allows.
Bofor looks with disgust at Dalic as he leaves but says nothing.
For the time being, the treasure chests are left in the treasure room.
Tathar, with some assistance, recovers Ide's body and searches her stuff for all that can be used or sold. She has already been plundered by the orcs and the whereabouts of her things is unknown except her giant axe.
Tathar creates a funeral pyre out of wood and other combustible material he scavanges and places her on it. It is unknown if she had any reverence for a particular deity.
Tathar holds a small ceremony for any who wish to gather in which he calls upon the gods to take her spirit to the next plane. All who fought with her show their respect. It is obvious, her strength in combat will be sorely missed.
After the ceremony, Tathar offers to give a once-over physical assessment to the caged persons. They accept his help. Aravae and Peylae both assist having skill in first aid.
Tathar searches around for bow parts but only finds crossbow material. He recovers the arrows he can find and then waits for nightfall to pray.
As the day drifts into late afternoon, the party forms a conference.
Grimlock requests Cirdan, “While you remain unseen, will you return to Belina and advise her we will need at least two days to work deeper into the fortress.”
Breymeer suggests, “I will find Belina so she knows all is good in hopes she'll stick around with horses. After meeting with her, I’ll be back to help clear this foul place of slave taking bastards.”
Cirdan makes his observations known, "It is clear to me that clearing this mine of the evil that inhabits it will take longer than Belina will wait. I am guessing Lindulf and Ernald have no desire to enter the delve with us, but Errius and Aravae may be eager to seek revenge for the wrongs they have been caused and wish to join us. I do not speak for anyone but myself; my suggestion is this: We take the horses, loaded with the treasure, and send Lindulf, Ernald and a couple others back to Belina. Belina can get these gentlemen back to Farmin and get them on their way. The treasure she can leave at the castle for our return. We can also let Belina know that we will find our way back to Farmin, and if we do not return to assume the worst. We should rest here for a day, tomorrow our healers, their gods willing, can restore our health and on the second day we enter the delve."
Lindulf, Ernald and Errius decline the offer to enter the delve. Lindulf and Ernald claim to be simple merchant and Errius is their hired guard.
Aravae accepts the offer to continue into the delve, “I have lost the goods I was responsible for getting to Restenford. I would be happy to join this expedition in order to recoup my losses. I intent to travel to Lake Farmin with whomever travels there prior to returning to aid in the expedition.”
After some discussion, the party decides to send the treasure, under guard, back to Lake Farmin. Not having full trust in the castle administration, the party finally agrees to secure the money on the Ungohling under the security of Comus and the crew. The Ungohling will stay docked or weigh anchor at or near Lake Farmin until the party’s return.
Peylae, Breymeer, and Aravae agree to travel with Lindulf, Ernald and Errius to find Belina and bring the treasure to Lake Farmin.
The away team begins to organize to leave and the others begin making defensive positions before nightfall. Cirdan ensures the gong is recovered. The party has the use of the gong and the horn in the event of trouble.
As the party is preparing defenses, an interesting interaction occurs. Dalic, having returned from recovering his equipment, takes a rest near the party. He leans up against the wall, letting out a sigh.
Bofor grimaces at the sight of Dalic. No longer able to hold his tongue, the dwarven priest unleashes on Dalic, "I don't know or much care how you came into the company of these good folk or how they would even have you, but I know what you are! Your fancy skin coloring cannot hide your duergar nature. Your evil, self-serving and barbaric kind have no purpose above ground with the good folk of these islands. I have half the mind to either pile you up with the rest of the enemy or drive you from these honorable halls you disgrace with your presence."
Dalic remains silent. There is not much to say to this and certainly nothing he can change as he is indeed duergar.
Bofor begins to lay into him again, but for some reason makes no physical motion toward Dalic to fulfill his aforementioned threats, "More puzzling than your origins is the fact that you indeed fight well alongside this party." Bofor scoffs, "As if it would even be possible for your kind to form the bound I might confuse you as having with this crew!" He stammers, seeing no response from Dalic. "How could this be? I would have said I knew better had I not seen you with mine own eyes. I'd call it a ruse if I hadn't seen you fight. The way you battle leaves no room for dishonesty."
The air rides tense with the lingering phrase left apparently unmet in its tone.
Dalic breaks the silence, "I belong nowhere but here with these'n. I be duergar. Dalgur Steelcoat be my given name. Me family was killed by mine own clan and I be sold as a slave ta tha drow an' others. Placed in tha fightin' pits and wagered on ta kill or die was tha only life I knew 'for bein' bought an' freed in Restenford. I travel now wit these'n a free dwarf. Free of tha duergar, free of the pits an' free ab me clan. By birth I be duergar. By choice I be Dalic."
The last words are clearly satisfying to the gray dwarf as he closes his eyes and lets his head fall back to the chamber wall he is sitting against. Unafraid of the consequences of being outed as a duergar the fighter clearly is more at home now than he has ever been in his life.
Bofor's shoulders relax a bit. He says nothing for a while, pondering the simple yet extremely revealing information about Dalic. Finally, he relents, "I have never met a creature the likes of Dalic Steelcoat. You force me to change my position in a most surprising manner."
And thus the mysterious powers of the strange dwarf are revealed. Yet, the party does not appear to be anymore uneasy with the duergar dwarf then they had been before knowing his origins. The duergar dwarf is battle crazy and completely lacks caution but he has been nothing but loyal to the group and has given his blood freely for them.
Thus, Dalic Steelcoat, in the presence of the similarly strange snake-skinned Southar, finds himself completely at home with this party.
The away team departs. Their intent is to stay in Lake Farmin overnight and return the following day. The horses, calmed by Breymeer, travel with the away team.
Bofor Barrelmace, calling upon his deity for aid, brings healing to Bhut, Tathar and himself. Then, he approaches Dalic, “If you have indeed turned from your evil ways, may the deities of the dwarves shine upon you and keep you true.” With that, Bofor brings some healing to Dalic as well.
After the sun sets, Tathar walks to the outside open air to pray, he finds peace on the eastern platform in the light of the moon as it peeks often between the scattered clouds.
The away team rendezvous with Belina without problems and makes their way to Lake Farmin without incident.
The following day, Harvester 25th, brings more clouds and some rain.
The away team secures the treasure upon the Ungohling and returns to the dwarven complex without trouble. Their only encounter was with a watchful cougar that spied them as they climbed the central hill towards the eastern entrance to the mines.
Those in the mines take the day to rest. The elf and dwarf priests continue to bring aid at the blessings of their respective deities.
The day passes without any issues. The entire adventure group is reunited when the away team returns.
The party prepares to penetrate deeper into the delve upon waking.
Harvester 26, 577 arrives peacefully. After rising and preparing for the day, including meditation and study for the spellcasters, the group prepares for its next expedition being ready by 8 AM.
Even though the party made significant defensive positions and preparations, including several traps set by Southar, no counter attack is made. In fact, the dwarven halls remain quiet during the day and two nights of rest.
The party, with the blessings of Sehanine and Fortubo, are near fully healed and prepared for the trek into the lower level.
The temperatures outside have fallen into the mid to low 60s as the broken clouds are blown about by a moderate wind. They spit occasional rain.
Inside the delve, the stone walls are cool; roughly 60 degrees.
Breymeer, torch in hand, Southar with one of the hooded lanterns (unlit), and the rest of the group gather at the secret door in the ogre’s chamber.
The door itself is well concealed into the wall. Bofor walks over to the wall and feels around carefully. A small stone sinks into the wall under the pressure of Bofor’s hand. The door swings silently inward at a slow, constant speed.
Musty air and swirls of dust greet the party as the door opens. Beyond the door is a ten foot wide tunnel that descends at a 25 degree angle downward to the west out of view. A quarter-inch thick layer of dust coats the floor. It is obvious nothing has passed this way in a very long time.
Just beyond the door is illuminated some ancient dwarven runes scratched in the wall just inside the arc of the door on the tunnel wall. Below the writing is a desiccated skeleton of what appears to be a dwarf. The skeleton wears the same layer of dust.
The center of the tunnel has a set of rusted iron rails, about three feet apart. The rails run continuously west into the darkness. Bofor comments, “They are for the ore cars that once worked here.” Dust covers them as well.
Bofor looks down at the skeleton while muttering a prayer. He then steps forward and reads aloud the writing on the wall:
Curse the darkness that lies below
And all the horrors it hath spawned
Foesmiter tried and Foesmiter died
His foolish bravery has doomed us all
The tunnel appears carved from seamless stone by the dwarven miners. At the edge of the torchlight, an iron sconce is set into the wall on the left side of the wall. An unlit torch remains in the sconce.
The passage beyond is still and quiet.
Grimlock and Cirdan are both invisible; their presence only detected by the sound of their voice and the soft falling of their steps. Often, they walk so silently their footfalls go unnoticed.
Grimlock wants to take rear guard.
Cirdan, looking over the corpse of the dwarf, chooses to walk near the middle.
Tathar, examining the ceiling, also chooses the middle of the group.
Breymeer steps to the front of the group, torch and sword in hand.
Bhut, needing the light of the torch to see by, steps alongside Breymeer in the front row.
Dalic gravitates towards his companion Bhut and steps in front of him, “Ye can see o’er me head.” Bhut takes the second rank instead. Dalic has his new found sword in hand. He has taken to calling his new sword "the Delven Bastard" and thinks himself clever for coming up with the name. For the fact his weapons are two-handed in nature he does not carry a light. Besides, his duergar eyes find little need for extra lighting.
Southar comments, “I wisssh we would have had Belina return inssstead of sssssstaying in Farmin. Ssssssshe would have ssssstayed with the horsssssesssss in the horsssse chamber. Now we will have to carry the plunder oursssselvessss.” His voice carries some contempt. “I ssssshall lead assssss I posssssssesssss the greatesssst sssskilllsss.” Southar scouts out ahead of the group with his lantern in one hand and shield in the other. His long sword ‘Bloodletter’ sits loose in his scabbard.
Bofor steps in line behind Breymeer.
The elves take up the center, Tathar, Cirdan, Aravae and Peylae.
The next rank is covered by Kuba and Speck.
Grimlock, as stated, takes up rear guard.
Marching Order:
Southar
Breymeer Dalic
Bofor Bhut
Tathar Cirdan
Aravae Peylae
Kuba Speck
Grimlock
Southar steps into the passageway. His forked tongue licks the air in quick repetitions. He moves ahead of the group by about 25 feet. He carefully checks the floor, walls as ceiling. He moves slow enough to allow Speck to keep pace.
The party files in behind Southar and follow him down the passageway.
The passageway drops sharply. The seamless walls only broken up by unlit torches in sconces every 60 or 70 feet. Very occasionally the stone walls have cracks or chipped stone. They in no way effect the structural integrity of the mine shaft.
The rails continue on ahead of the party.
After nearly 300 feet, the party approaches a chamber. The entrance to the chamber remains about 50 feet ahead of Southar and therefore 75 feet ahead of Breymeer and Dalic.
The size of the chamber is hard to estimate but the glint of some type of metal objects reflects in Southar’s lantern light. The metal objects appear to be at floor level or within a few feet of the floor.
Southar and the front ranks move closer to the room. Dalic continues to check for traps and anomalous formations. Dalic, never one to show fear, moves up slowly behind Southar; keeping a reactionary space between them.
Breymeer hands his magical torch back to Bofor, “Hold this a moment.” Breymeer then switches to his bow and calls forward to Southar, “If anything attacks you Southar, arrows will find their mark.”
Bofor takes the torch and advances up with Dalic, staying about 20 feet behind Southar. With his free hand he palms a throwing hammer.
Bhut, having Breymeer halt with his bow in front of him, takes a step to Breymeer’s left in case a charge is in order. He slowly drifts forward in anticipation.
The elves hold back for now as Tathar holds out his hand to pause them. Tathar whispers to the elves, “The last time I entered a cavern not knowing what was there, I got hit in the gut by an invisible ogre. The time before that was a fireball. Let’s wait.” They wait for what Southar uncovers.
The elves holding up prevents forward movement from those in the rear. Speck readies his bow and Kuba watches with his shield and bastard sword in hand. Somewhere behind them, Grimlock is presumed to be. If necessary, those behind the elves can move through their ranks as needed.
Southar fearlessly moves up to the edge of the room and illuminates it with his lantern. He calls back over his shoulder a description of the room and its contents.
The 90 ft diameter room is circular with a 30 ft high domed ceiling. Strewn about the room are picks, shovels, and other digging equipment; none of which is salvageable. In the center of the room is an ore car mounted on the rusty rails. Along the walls are ten wooden beds upon which lie ten stout skeletons.
From the eastern entrance Southar stands near, he can see a north-northwesterly passage leading out of the chamber.
Southar sets down the lantern and pulls out Bloodletter. Shield and sword in hand, Southar glides into the room. The chamber’s far walls are too distant to be defined by the lantern light. Southar can make out about half of the room with detail.
Dalic watches Southar’s movements, prepared to aid him if necessary.
Behind them, Breymeer stows his bow and takes out both of his dwarven hand axes. Breymeer eyes the room suspiciously.
Bofor asks quietly, “Does it look to be more of my kinfolk?”
Bhut remains alert, muscles tense.
The elves begin to creep forward.
Southar moves into the room towards the nearest skeleton. His sword is out before him as he approaches to molest the skeleton to test if it will animate. Southar walks to the north as it is the closest arc to the exit on the NNW portion of the chamber.
As soon as Southar enters the room, in perfect unison, ten dwarven skeletons sit up on their beds. The skulls upon their boney shoulders each turn to glare at Southar. Each wields a hand axe with a bony hand.
Southar backs up to the entrance of the room in attempt to funnel the skeletons. Hearing Dalic charging up behind him, Southar leaves him room to join the fray.
Dalic indeed joins Southar at the entrance to the room, “Stick ta-gethah, don’t split off!”
Bhut calls forward, “I have never encountered such things, what is the best way to destroy these skeletons?”
Bofor calls back to him, “Bludgeon them if you can. Just don’t try to stab them. Won’t do you much good.”
Bhut looks at his axes, “I like to slice and dice!” He grins as he moves forward to battle.
Both Bofor and Bhut move forward. Bofor places his throwing hammer back on his belt. He tucks the magical torch into his belt as well and then arms himself with his mace and readies his shield. The light of the magical torch, though somewhat blocked to the rear, continues to shine forward illuminating the darker parts of the room to some degree.
Hearing the enemy is skeletons, Kuba arms himself with his war harmmer while Speck, and presumably Grimlock, remain at the rear. Kuba does not yet try and move up past the elves; keeping rear guard instead.
Tathar moves up quickly at the first indication of undead. By the sounds of the light elvish footsteps, Cirdan has done the same. They both bypass Breymeer on their move forward. The party starts to bottleneck in the hallway.
Tathar, seeing the undead, stows his bow and draw his staff. Being log jammed in the hallway, he takes a defensive position and awaits the fight.
Aravae and Peylae hold their ground for the time being.
As Southar defensively steps back into the hallway, the skeletons stop their advance. They remain animated but only stand and watch the party. Tension builds as Southar and Dalic find themselves in a standoff with the ten undead dwarves.
Breymeer, convinced the rear is secure, and having his pride hurt the elves moved into battle ahead of him, switches one axe out for a mace and moves up to attack.
Kuba and Speck move past Aravae and Peylae as they fall in behind Breymeer with Speck falling behind a little and hugging the shadows along the wall. Aravae and Paylae do not advance. They monitor the rear.
Bhut, confused, asks, “Why did they stop?” He tries to relax his muscles in preparattion for combat.
Dalic holds his attack. Seeing the skeletons not advancing tests a theory, “Lemme try somethin’,” he tells the party as he walks calmly into the room.
The skeletons do not advance on him even though two are within striking distance.
Bofor steps in next to Dalic, “These are my kin. They do not appear willing to attack their own kind. Even a duergar it appears.”
Dalic motions for Bofor to join him, “We will scout tha room. Iffen there be a way ta pass without a fight, we’ll fine’ it.”
Dalic begins searching the room for some type of barricade or item to form help form a safe path across the room. Bofor joins him.
The skeletons at the eastern passage block the entrance to the rest of the party. The skeletons make no further hostile actions. Their hollow eye sockets stare at the group endlessly.
One item appears to be an obvious solution. Bofor points it out first, “That ore cart. Maybe we can use it to shuttle the others.” It sits upon the rails the group has been following. The rails bend through the room and continue down the NNW passage.
Inspection shows the cart is currently held in place on the rails by a large chunk of stone. The rails have a significant downward slope to them. It appears the cart, if not restrained, would naturally pass through the room under the power of gravity.
Southar comments, “We will want to go across the room. We either have to coordinate killing the skeletons or you dwarves will have to figure out a way to get us across. Some testing may be in order.”
The cart appears to be able to hold up to three man sized persons comfortably.
Dalic suggests another option as well, “We could try’n tie ‘em together wit’ rope.”
As the debate continues at the front ranks, Grimlock’s bodiless voice calls forward, “I vote for just whacking them to release them from their bony prisons.”
Tathar’s voice competes with Grimlock’s, “Bofor, these are no ordinary undead skeletons. If they were, they would attack with mindless abandon. The fact that they won't attack dwarfs suggests that your kin put them here as a protective device, which is highlighted by the fact that there were no tracks in the thin layer of dust. None of the mine's recent inhabitants have been through the secret door we just passed through. Perhaps dispelling magic will do the trick?"
Dalic steps ahead of the cart and pulls the stone from the front of the ore car. Bofor joins him, holding the car in place. The cart groans against its still wheels. Dalic, using his strength, breaks the cart free of its eternal rest. The car moves with annoying metal on metal squeaking that levels off after about ten feet of movement. Dalic moves around to the front and begins to drag the car back to the group, "Anyone spry enough ta try a test run? Hop in. Up ta three."
Bofor pushes and Dalic pulls the car into the corridor out of the apparent reach of the the skeletons.
Bofor palms his holy symbol and prepares for the worse. Bofor answers Tathar, “I know not what keeps my kin from our hero’s halls. If this does not work, do as you see fit.”
Southar removes his great helmet and casts it uncaringly to the side. He wears a grin upon his scaled face, “Letsss give thisss a try. I will be the tesst sssubject." Southar climbs skillfully into the ore cart.
Whether it is a distrust of the ore cart or Southar, no one else jumps into the cart.”
Dalic asks Southar for his rope to secure the ore car just in case. Southar complies.
Dalic suggests to Southar, “Use yer shield ta wall off or cap tha cart fer protection er concealin' an we be off.” Dalic gives the car a running start and launches it toward the other side of the room. The rope trails behind the car. The car moves at a slow but steady pace; about that of a walking man.
The moment the car enters the room, the skeletons focus on it. They move away from the walls towards the car. It rolls too quickly between the two skeletons watching the eastern passage. The two skeletons on the NNW passage step in front of the car’s path.
Bofor boldly holds his holy symbol out before him, “Rest my kin!” The two skeletons at the eastern entrance, the two along the northern wall and one of the skeletons blocking the NNW passage come apart and fall into piles of bones.
The three of the four southern skeleton cannot reach the rails in time to attack. The fourth reaches the car as it approaches the NNE exit. It hammers downward with his hand axe. The axe strikes the golden shield and busts into several pieces.
The echo of a hearty laugh echoes up from the rear as Grimlock laughs at the goofiness of the predicament. Aravae and Peylae each move forward and catch up to the rear of the group. Even though Grimlock appears to be behind the two elf maidens, they remain vigilant to a rear attack.
The ore cart and Southar reach the edge of the room. The ore cart runs over the skeleton guarding the far passage. It blows apart into numerous shards of bone.
A light glows from under the golden shield as Southar had grabbed the lantern moments before jumping into the car. The passage on the far side of the room continues its downward slope. The car lumbers along.
Dalic calls to arms, “They be chasin’ the cart, we be free ta fall in. All ta arms an’lay ‘em to rest. Take advantage ab tha new flank!" Dalic charges the second closest skeleton to him and turns his sword blade sideways using it like a club against the skeleton. The sword bashes the bones apart and it collapses to the floor.
Breymeer follows Dalic’s charge, working his way past Bhut and Bofor. Using an axe and a mace Breymeer knocks away part of the rib cage of the closest skeleton; the one Dalic bypassed. It remains standing (5, 3/8).
Tathar steps into the room and presents his holy symbol to the remaining skeletons, “By Sehanine, let us pass.” The remaining skeletons begin the back away towards the outer walls.
On Tathar’s heels comes the sound of running feet. Cirdan skillfully steps between the other party members as he runs into the room attempting to catch up to the car. He is able to overcome the trailing rope.
Grimlock’s banter continues from within the eastern passageway, “Our mage is chasing down an ore cart with the golden shield in it in an attempt to out muscle the ore cart! A MAGE NO LESS! Sounds like the tall tales we hear at the inn!”
Cirdan’s running into the room caused little dusty explosions every time his foot fell upon the ground. The rope dragging behind the ore car left a line upon the dusty floor. Just before exiting the room, the rope mark disappears and Cirdan’s dusty footfalls turn into two foot drags. The rope becomes taut and level with the ground. It appears Cirdan is skiing behind the ore car.
Grimlock continues to boil with laughter.
The ore cart, lit by the light of the lantern, continues down the passage with Southar, and apparently now Cirdan, along for the ride.
Tathar begins to look about the room, examining it with his elf eyes for anything that may have been overlooked with a cursory glance.
Dalic moves about the room bashing the skeletons to bits with the ‘Delven Bastard’. Dalic has moved straight south and destroyed the bony animation as it back steps. Dalic turns his attention to the western remaining two.
Breymeer begins to run after the ore car with Bhut entering the room and running with similar intent some 30 feet behind Breymeer. Both head for the far passage.
Kuba and Speck enter the room carefully. Speck has his short sword out and stays close to Kuba.
Peylae and Aravae also move up but hold in the passage just shy of entering the room.
Grimlock, as given away by his voice, is still roughly 100 feet east of the group in the eastern passageway.
The skeletons do not advance, overpowered by Sehanine.
Peylae and Aravae make notice of Grimlock as he enters the room between them. They continue to hold at the eastern entrance.
Tathar continues to move about the room exploring. All the while, he keeps the two remaining skeletons at bay.
Kuba and Speck are still monitoring for trouble along with Bofor who holds the magical torch.
Meanwhile, down the passageway, Cirdan, still dragging along behind the car, calls ahead to Southar, “Do you really want to risk going off a cliff?” Southar appears to be enjoying himself.
Breymeer overtakes Cirdan and catches up to the car. Bhut is only moments behind Breymeer. They grab onto the rear of the car. The added drag on the car begins to slow its momentum. Dalic, running hard behind them, soon closes to within a few paces of the slowing Cirdan.
The walls of the passageway open into a chamber as the car comes slowly to a creaking halt. Southar, smiling, holds his lantern aloft illuminating most of the chamber. The room is large, appearing to be of similar size as the previous chamber; a round chamber 90 feet in diameter with a domed ceiling 30 feet overhead.
The rails continue through this chamber curving slightly to the right as the pass into the darkness of a northeastern tunnel. The room contains the crumbling remains of wood benches, tables and two large bellows. The bellows, which point down along the track, appear to have been used to circulate air as opposed to fanning flames. They are somewhat tattered and age appears to have rendered them inoperable. The room contains a similar undisturbed layer of dust.
Back in the chamber with the skeletons, the remaining party members hear the cart come to a slow halt. Looking down the passageway, they can see Southar’s lantern illuminating a new chamber. The passageway between the chambers is 150 feet long.
Grimlock’s voices, “Looks like it’s time to fall back into line and catch up.”
Tathar addresses Bofor, “Bofor, I think we need to aid the bones of your kin to their eternal rest. It is right to do that for them and we do not need undead behind us when we know not what is in front.”
Bofor agrees. He presents his holy symbol again and speaks, “My kinsman, you have done your duty with honor. We will route the evil from this mine. Go now and rest with our fathers.”
The remaining skeletons pause for a moment before coming apart and dropping to the floor into piles of loose bones.
Bofor and Kuba lead the halfling and remaining elves deeper into the mine. Moving to the next chamber, they find it secured already.
Dalic questions the disposition of the remaining skeletons. Discovering their fate, he appears content.
Bofor returns the magical torch to Breymeer.
Cirdan chocks the wheels of the ore car to keep it for rolling downward into the dark passage. He uses some of the rotting wood from the tables and benches. Once the weight of the car pins the block of wood to the rail, it appears to hold.
Southar unties his rope and stows it in his pack.
Taking a moment to look around the room, the party finds nothing more of interest. As before, it appears nothing has disturbed this room for hundreds of years.
The party reforms its columns and continues its descent. Bofor comments, “We are already over 300 feet below the main level above. I pray our luck holds out.”
The group moves cautiously down the perfectly cut stone passageway. The rails and floor remain dust covered. Tathar, and others, keep vigilant of the walls and ceilings as well.
After 300 feet, the passage opens into another room. It enters from the southwest. After carefully approaching, Southar exclaims, “I am sssssscertainly glad I didn’t go in there!”
Peering in, the room is revealed to be another large circular room, slightly bigger than the last. The room’s diameter is 120 feet. The magical torch illuminates a large crevice running across the room from southeast to the northwest. The rails are broken and twisted as they end at the crevice. On the far side of the nearly 10 foot wide crevice, the rails begin again. A second ore car sits upon them. It is significantly rustier and does not reflect light as well. The crevice extends beyond the domes ceiling 30 feet overhead and also into the southeastern and northwestern walls. The rails do not extend more than a foot or so from either side of the crevice. What used to span the crevice appears to have fallen long ago. Nothing spans the gap to allow travel across.
Behind the second ore car, at floor level, is a small glowing ball of light. It is initially very faint but appears to be growing in size and intensity.
In the very shadowy eastern wall, the group can barely make out what appears to be another passageway exiting the room. Only the large dark spot on the wall hints at its location.
Grimlock pauses in the passageway, turns, and begins watching the rear.
Breymeer boldly walks into the room towards the eastern exit. He pauses at the edge of the chasm and looks towards the other passageway. His torch illuminates the room fully in its bright white light. The tunnel is only partially lit; enough to discover it appears to be similarly constructed as the other tunnels within the hill. The rails continue downward into the eastern tunnel.
Dalic pouts a bit as he laments the loss of his rope to the fireball. He awaits further ideas.
The rest of the group remains in column formation waiting for a plan.
Meanwhile the light behind the rusty ore car appears to have gone out or been overpowered by the pure white light of the magical torch.
Speck, trying to peek around others and standing on his tippy toes, pipes up from the rear of the group, “Shouldn’t we go in and face whatever is in the room together rather than crowding this cramped corridor?” He starts to walk forward among the others.
Kuba adds on Speck’s behalf, “The halfling is right. Let’s get moving.”
Cirdan and Tathar move up next to Breymeer at the end of the trench. Cirdan lights a torch and drops it into the trench. The torch falls for a couple seconds revealing the depth to be over 50 feet. The torch remains burning at the bottom of the chasm displaying a bottom full of jagged and busted rocks.
Tathar quietly sighs, “Too bad all the wood we have come across is rotted beyond use.”
Tathar hands his backpack to Cirdan and steps back from the ravine. Running forward he leaps across the 10 foot gap in an elongated dive. He immediately tumbles into a roll and comes up behind the ore car prepared for trouble. The glow appears to have vanished from behind the car.
Cirdan throws Tathar’s pack across to him.
Cirdan suggests to Breymeer, “Cover that torch a moment to see if the glow is still there.” Breymeer complies and covers the bright white light of the torch. The glow of the burning torch in the chasm only dimly lights the room above and there is no glow behind the rusted ore car.
Southar, seeing Breymeer cover the torch, guesses at the intent and shutters his lantern.
It is then the glowing sphere becomes clear. The sphere has somehow shifted in both location and form. What was once a glowing ball behind the ore car has become a translucent image of a dwarf warrior in full battle armor standing directly before Bhut. Helmetless, its hazy visage depicts not fear or hate; but instead an intensity of purpose in its nebulous eyes.
The ghostly apparition has grasp onto Bhuts arms, one in each hand. Bhut remains mute and unmoving. Bhut’s eyes show no thought. He appears to lack the will to react.
Speck has advanced up to directly behind Bhut. He stops his advance at the sudden appearance of trouble.
Bofor exclaims in disbelief, nearly under his breath, “Khorliss Foesmiter, the great dwarf warrior!”
Dalic quickly positions himself behind the figure and places an aimed slash at the base of the figure’s skull. The hazy apparition fades and wisps just below the stroke of the blade. The stroke of the blade passes by the chest of Bhut without hitting him.
Cirdan moves to the north to gain a reactionary gap as he watches the spirit.
Tathar, looking across the ravine, speaks, “We should retrieve the other mine cart so we can anchor a rope to each side and have a way back.”
Breymeer lays his torch down and takes a hand axe in each hand. He moves up on the battle with the spectre. He keeps an eye out for other danger.
Bofor takes his holy symbol in hand. The symbol is a silver hammer with a golden head; the symbol of Fortubo. “Klorliss Foesmiter, step back. We continue your mission. Do not harm us.”
The spirit lets go of Bhut and begins to float backwards along the southwest wall.
Bhut drops to one knee and inhales a gasp of air. He appears slightly pale and weak of will but otherwise unharmed.
A low voice calls out from the spirit, speaking in the dwarven language. Bofor quickly translates as it speaks, “He says, ‘I know you not’”. Bofor continues to summarize Klorliss: He is very angry it took us so long to return. He wishes not to harm us but he has a great desire to slay Frelpic, the twisted dwarven priest who slay Klorliss. He will not rest until Frelpic is slain.
Grimlock says nothing and continues to watch the rear.
Breymeer stands ready. He watches as the encounter with the spirit plays out and gazes about for other possible threats.
Cirdan suggests, “Maybe he will accompany us and give guidance or help.” He addresses Dalic, “Can you get more information out of him?”
Dalic is bemused at the idea of having a spirited comrade. “Fight wit us not against, great warrior. Let us finish this fight tagether!” He stands down his attack on the spirit.
Bofor interjects, “I fear if I release this spirit, it may again prey upon us.” Bofor continues to hold it back with the bold display of his holy hammer symbol.
Bhut, meanwhile, regains his composure and continues with the group, unsure of what just happened to him. He looks about, “Anyone have some ale to drink to aid in my recovery.”
Klorliss Foesmiter, continuing to slowly float in retreat from Bofor, switches to the common language, “I am bound here by death unless you give me the aid of one of your bodies. The man warrior is my choice. I will relinquish the body when the swine Frelpic joins the dead he commands.”
“Warrior man,” Klorliss looks directly at Bhut, “shall I have the aid of your body?”
Speck takes a very large halfling step away from Bhut.
Bhut appears shocked at the request as all eyes fall upon him. “I am afraid of this spirit not releasing my body after the quest is complete. I am compelled to refuse. How do the rest of you feel?”
Dalic gives and immediate answer by stepping in front of Bhut. Dalic points his sword brazenly at the spirit. "This 'ere be a good man. I will nae let ye take inta 'im. I shall put ye ta rest wit this blade should ye try it! Rather, I challenge ye. Fight me. If ye shall win ye can take this fine dwarven body till the foe be slain. I hab more'n 'nuf evil days behind me ta be deservin' such a fate; after ye be bound ta release me or face the wrath ab tha priests. Iffen ye lose, me blade shall gib ye rest. These are tha terms iffen ye will not or cannot help us otherwise."
Dalic glances harshly to the others indicating not to interfere yet.
Bofor continues to hold the spirit at bay as the situation plays out.
Klorliss hisses in what appears to be a laugh, “It appears I chose a warrior that is close of heart to this deep dwarf. I am known for slaying the dark elves,” he glances the way of the Tathar and Cirdan as the other elves have not yet revealed themselves, “but I have laid low many a duergar as well.”
Klorliss continues to slowly float away from the dwarven holy symbol. “Put away your hammer, Priest of Fortubo, and this duergar shall be your guide.”
Curiosity gets the better of Grimlock. Unseen he moves forward to witness the battle to come.
Breymeer pipes in, “Spirit, you say you want Frelpic and his evil gone so help bring us to them or get out of the way.”
Cirdan’s bodiless voice adds, “Dalic, we need information. If you defeat this spirit, we lose possible vital information.” From the sound of his voice, Cirdan has moved north of the group yet still on the west side of the crevice.
Bhut takes a step back and gives a nod to Dalic as a thank you.
Dalic nods to Bofor indicating his wish to have the spirit released.
Bofor pauses, considering the wisdom of the party. “Dalic, I do not doubt your heroism but Cirdan is correct. Master Foesmiter may have more to share. I only fear what death may have done to his soul.” Bofor continues to hold the spirit at bay.
“Priest of Fortubo, this I know. Frelpic smote me here with a magical hammer and I am forever bound to this chamber. I singularly desire Frelpic’s demise. You are no more a tool to this end than my great sword. I know not what political reason humans and elves have been allowed into our clan’s mine, nor do I care anymore.”
The shimmering image of the dwarf morphs back to a ball of light as the spirit continues, “If you are so great priest, release me from my hell. If unable or unwilling, stow your symbol and allow me to humble this too proud duergar. If you fear for his heartless soul, then continue on.”
The light floats over the ravine alone the southern wall, now more difficult to see in its ball form among the bright light of Breymeer’s torch which lies upon the chamber floor. “Be warned, I carried a sword of great power. It is nothing to trifle with. Without me, should you find it, may Fortubo and the great dwarven deities have mercy on your soul.”
As the parlay continues, Tathar walks off to the eastern tunnel while being observant of the contents of the room on the eastern side of the ravine. Finding nothing of interest other than the rails and the ore car, he peers into the tunnel. It continues easterly without interruption past the edge of his vision. As the spirit gets towards his side of the ravine, Tathar prepares again for trouble.
Bofor tells the group, “Master Foesmiter indeed carried a great weapon of power. If the enemy now has it, we may very well be in dire danger. Either way, legends record how Master Foesmiter and his band of followers independently ravaged drow enclaves without the support and often guidance of the clan. He forsake the can’s council and would answer to none. Whether it was the sword’s will or Master Foesmiter’s, none now know; except him.” Bofor Barrelmace points to the glowing ball hovering above the chasm.
Breymeer returns to his torch and picks it up. He begins to examine the chasm for a way across.
Dalic relaxes his stance. “We have found swords, yes?” He holds out the Delven Bastard. “We must check all weapons for magic.” He continues to present his sword for inspection.
Grimlock blurts out, “Why not let Dalic have a go at the spirit? It seems like a fitting tale to tell and a benefit to us all when he wins. I say let him have a go if he desires it.”
Bofor thinks for just a moment, “I believe I can drive him back should things turn sour. Ready yourself Dalic! You’re free to give it a go.”
“Offer accepted!” exclaims the spirit.
A grin of pleasure crosses Dalic’s face. He drops a foot back from his inspection stance and readies his blade for combat.
Bofor releases the spirit as he lowers his symbol. The spirit ball moves quickly towards Dalic and settles upon the floor half way between Dalic and the ravine. The ball changes back to the image of the great Klorliss Foesmiter. With a similar grin on its face, Klorliss raises his arm and beckons Dalic’s assault with the waving of his hand, “Come duergar. Make your move. We will finish this adventure together. Literally.”
“May Fortubo guide your blade,” encourages Bofor as moves farther into the room towards Breymeer.
Dalic charges the spirit as Grimlock advises Bofor, “You must not intervene if Dalic falters. He accepted the terms of their duel and it would leave him honorless if you stepped in. The ghost never said he would harm Dalic but only to use him as a vassal. Unless the ghost intentionally puts Dalic in a suicidal situation, we must not intervene.”
Dalic cries out a dwarven battle cry as he rushes into battle. At the last second he side steps the spirit. The spirit lurches forward, grasping at the air from which Dalic just vacated. Dalic slashes through the spirit’s torso with the Delven Bastard (2, 19/21). The illumination of the spirit shimmers where the blade cuts through. The visage of the ghost shows a flash of anger.
Dalic moves in a circular pattern around the spirit. He continually works his feet to gain a flanking attack. Dalic pounces in and out, strafing at the spirit with his sword. The ghostly apparition deftly avoids Dalic’s blade.
The spirit anticipates one of Dalic’s strikes and grabs the duergar around his neck with both hands (-6 wisdom, 7/13). For a moment Dalic’s eyes flash concern until he realizes he can breath fully. Dalic chops through both arms of the ghost causing a disruption in the translucent haze (2, 17/21). Dalic recovers but appears slightly slouched in his posture. He shows no sign of physical injury but lacks the fearless confidence he possessed just moments ago.
Having stepped back from the spirit, Dalic straightens himself while twirling his blade menacingly.
The spirit makes a bold rush at Dalic who side steps. Dalic brings his blade across the spirit’s shoulders in a level arc. The blade passes between the shoulders and the head. Its neck shimmers in a visual disruption (2, 15/21). The results are not as Dalic had envisioned.
The spirit pounces, grabbing Dalic’s primary sword arm momentarily before Dalic tactically breaks free (-4 wisdom, 3/13). Dalic rolls to the side but remains on one knee. Again, he appears uninjured but lacks the will to stand.
“You’re foolish arrogance is costing you dearly, duergar.” The spirit sneers as it mocks Dalic.
Dalic, grunting as if under a heavy burden, stands. Determination fills his eyes and no fear is seen within the deep dwarf. Dalic grips the leather wrapped hilt of his sword and charges forward. He raises he blade level with the spirit’s heart and prepares to stab it through as if with a spear. At the last moment, the spirit dodges the piercing blow so Dalic steps to the side and brings the sword through the spirit from the rear in a slash that would have removed an ogre’s head (2, 13/21).
The ghost does not turn, its hazy image simply reforms facing Dalic.
Dalic looks dejected as the spirit pounces. It wraps its hands around Dalic’s neck again. This time Dalic’s will can hold out no longer. Dalic falls backwards upon the cold stone floor and the image of Foesmiter turns to translucent mist and floats into Dalic’s nose and open mouth.
Dalic gasps as a seizure takes hold. It lasts but a moment and a stillness falls across the room. The other party members realize they are now holding their own breath in anticipation.
Slowly the body of Dalic begins to move. He rolls onto his side and pushes himself up into a seated position, “Well, that was certainly fun. Now then, let us find this Frelpic shall we?”
The dwarf stands and picks up his sword. He takes several practice strokes with it. Seemingly finding it acceptable, he returns the blade to its sheath.
The voice and the body appear to be Dalic but the speech pattern and accent is no longer the duergar’s. It appears the spirit has taken over.
Kuba, with caution in his voice, voices a general statement to anyone listening, “The help of a spirit guided dwarf will help our situation.” Speck, looking up at his friend, nods in agreement.
Cirdan is the first to address Foesmiter, "Master Foesmiter, my name is Cirdan Saralonde, a High Elf from the land of Celene. You cannot see me because of the spell of invisibility that shrouds me, but I want you to know I am here. I and my companions have been hired by your clan, under the guidance of Bofor, to rid the delve of the evil that slew you and your warriors. Please do not be angered at our presence here, it is an honor for us to see such craftmanship with stone. What can you tell us of the evil we face?"
“I can tell you it shall suffer me before the life is drained from this body,” replies the spirit as it checks its new body over. It feels for weapon locations and checks Dalic’s packs and pouches for items.
Breymeer throws several of his items across in order to lighten his load. With a running start, he leaps the chasm. His foot reaches the very edge and slips downward. The momentum of the jump takes his body forward but he drives his knee into the ground hard as he crashes to the ground (2, 45/47). He stands, testing his leg as he winces in pain. He finds himself still stable and the initial pain soon ebbs.
Southar shakes his head at Breymeer’s haste. Southar removes his rope from his pouch, walks to the edge of the chasm and points to the rusty ore car on the eastern side of the void, “Wrap around the axle and return to me.” The rope does as commanded. It snakes out across the void staying taut above the open space below it by using is leverage off the western floor. The rope wraps around the closest axle of the ore car and returns to Southar. “Get the other ore car.”
Breymeer throws an additional length of rope across that is secured across the top of the ore cars giving a bit more stability to those crossing the lower lengths of rope.
Breymeer and Tathar then covered the eastern exit. They walk partially down the tunnel and set up a forward observation post.
The initial ore car is gathered by the strong men and brought to the room where the wheels are re-chocked to stop its movement. Southar orders his rope to secure itself and before a half hour has passed, there are three rope lengths spanning the void.
Another 15 minutes pass as the remaining party members take their turn at crossing the makeshift bridge. Many do it on their hands and knees. The more dexterous walk across. The slender rope proves to be incredibly strong and reliable.
With the crossing completed, Grimlock warns Dalic, “Lead on spirit as we wish to aid you as we has conjoining goals, BUT, be it known to you, we will not stand by and allow you to recklessly jeopardize the vassal you possess. We will allow you to be as reckless as you have already witnessed of OUR duergar but no more. Do we understand each other?”
“Do not threaten me elf-man. It is the dwarves that battle under earth and stone. You may sing and dance a merry song glorifying my victory once complete. I have a great respect for your dark cousins that dwell below the earth, for they are truly a challenging foe. The rest of your lot, tip-toeing through the treetops, are not so well suited for delves such as this.” It appears Klorliss Foesmiter is no more friendly than the duergar whose body he possessed.
The party enters the eastern tunnel and joins Breymeer and Tathar who have nothing to report other than the temperature seems to be decreasing slightly as the depth increases.
Bofor estimates the party is now nearly 400 feet below the floor of the main orc chambers above.
Once reunited, Breymeer asks the spirit "Which way to rid this place of evil? Lead the way.”
Dalic steps to the front of the group and takes point, removing the Delven Bastard from its sheath. A grin crosses the duergar’s face in such a way that causes his companions to reflect upon the possessed dwarf plunging through Bone Keep with his ‘fear lantern’.
Peylae questions, “I can’t help but ponder what ill lay ahead that is more concerning than that which now leads us?”
Aravae finds herself comforted by those around her as she steps into her place in the column.
Bofor, keeping his holy symbol very accessible, keeps an unblinking eye upon Dalic.
Dalic’s mind drifts off as the spirit overwhelms him. His body goes numb as his mind fades. Voices and sounds around him are muffled as if through a curtain or hearing it from another chamber. Dalic’s vision goes dark. In Dalic’s mind, now completely disconnected from his body, he ponders, “W’at er da true intentions once ta final foe is smitt’n herein?”
“Do not interfere!” Dalic’s mind cowers at the strength of will Foesmiter presents. His voice overwhelming Dalic’s mind.
“Tell da others I am intact and at peace.” Dalic wishes. The voice of Foesmiter does not respond. Dalic feels a great sadness as loneliness envelopes him. He realizes his fondness for his traveling companions. He also becomes very aware of how much despair this new loneliness brings him.
Breymeer, Southar, Kuba, Dalic and Bhut approach the chamber finding it another circular room with a 90 foot diameter. The domed ceiling rises to a height of 30 feet overhead. The party approaches the room from the east/northeast. There is one exit to the west/southwest.
The ore car rails continue into the center of the room where they terminate at an iron stop raised from the floor and spiked into place.
The floor is covered with an unbroken layer of dust.
The sound of water dripping echoes from the west/southwest passageway.
Grimlock holds a small conference with Bofor, Cirdan, Tathar and Peylae as the lead element approaches the next chamber.
Aravae and Speck stand between the two groups watching for danger while the others hold their conference.
Grimlock questions how to deal with the spirit if and when the group wants it out of Dalic. “We can’t assume turning it will work,” Grimlock warns Bofor. “Is there any way to hold Dalic by spell or otherwise? If we are able to hold Dalic, will the spirit leave him? When the spirit leaves him can we kill it if we are presented with no other options? What does it take to kill it? Did Dalic even injure it during their duel?”
Bofor responds, “I believe the spirit can be kept at bay by the power of Fortubo’s symbol. As for holding Dalic, Fortubo willing, I should be able to hold him as well. The result on the spirit is uncertain.”
Peylae adds, “As far as killing it, I believe the spirit was affected by Dalic’s Delven Bastard. As for other weapons, I dare not guess. If it comes to it, I plan to use magic over steel.”
Grimlock nods, “I would rely on magic prior to steel as well. A barrage of magical missiles from Peylae, Cirdan and myself should make decent work on it.”
“That being said,” Grimlock continues, “if things go bad and we need to act against the spirit, what should the plan be?” Grimlock answers his own question, “Bofor should attempt to turn the spirit out of Dalic. If he is unsuccessful, Bofor should try and hold him by spell. He should make repeated attempts if need be. That should not hurt Dalic. When the spirit leaves him, we will hold attack to see what it does.”
Bofor agrees, “I will do as advised. It sounds like sound counsel to me.”
Grimlock finishes with, “If anyone fires upon the spirit, I say we all let loose immediately. We can figure out if we are wrong later but I won’t be too upset if we just send another undead back to the dead.”
Cirdan adds, "Right now we have little choice. I think we must see this through to its end. If it does not release Dalic when it has finished its task, I think we need to destroy it, even if it means destroying Dalic. He would not want to live like that."
Tathar nods in agreement to Cirdan.
Peylae gives her consent to the plan as well. She cautions, “Let us be prudent in our attempts to save Dalic.” He voice lowers and she looks over her shoulder before completing her thought, “But if Dalic must be sacrificed to save others, so be it. His recklessness is hardly outdone by his courage.”
The council is ended. Speck and Aravae join the foursome in entering the room with the warriors.
As the elves, Bofor and Speck enter the room, Breymeer addresses them, "Anything we should be aware of before we proceed?" Breymeer appears a little annoyed with the lack of group brotherhood and separation.
Bofor quickly interjects while letting Breymeer see him give a very slight nod towards Dalic, “We were formulating our attack strategies as we continue forward should any unforeseen danger arise.”
Bhut, unconcerned about the council, curses under his breath at another domed room. He looks around the room for any signs of danger as Dalic Foesmiter saunters over to the exiting passage and carefully peers around the corner to make out what he can see with his dark vision; Delven Bastard in hand.
The shaft before Dalic continues straight beyond the limits of Dalic’s eyes.
Bofor, seeing the end of the rail line, exclaims, “Search the southern walls! I was told our clan secreted a passageway at the end of the rail line.” He walks purposefully across the chamber and begins to inspect the southern wall.
Dalic tries to call out to his friends but the inky darkness absorbs the sounds before they leave him. Nearly crippled with depression, Dalic searches his mind. Lost in a black void, his internal voice is all that tells Dalic he yet lives. At least Dalic hopes he yet lives. Dalic concentrates, making an attempt to read Foesmiter's thoughts. Only deafening silence can be found. Dalic calms himself. This is a fight he has never prepared for. He longs for some recess in which he can find comfort, shelter or knowledge. There is only quiet blackness to be found; broken only by his own thoughts.
Dalic Foesmiter perks at the direction from Bofor and eagerly strafes along the southern wall feeling for abnormalities in the rock, grasping at any protrusions. He says nothing. His sneer is constant and somehow deeply troublesome even more so than the grimaces Dalic was known for.
Speck and Grimlock join Dalic in his search, each taking their own section of wall.
Breymeer and Kuba stand guard, watching both passages for trouble.
Bhut also walks over to the southern wall and begins his search
Bhut asks Tathar, “Does pressing on the wall open it or is there another method?” Bhut puts up his arm and rests his weight upon the torch sconce mounted near him on the wall. It pushes into the wall away from him. A distinct ‘click’ is heard and a previously concealed portal pushes slightly into the southern wall just west of center.
During the time in the chamber, word is passed among the party members.
Cirdan walks by Breymeer and whispers to him as he passes, “We have a plan to defeat the spirit should the need arise.”
Peylae passes the information onto Aravae and Speck, who appears to have ease dropped, gives the update to Kuba.
Tathar moves next to Bhut to search the southern wall. While doing so, he gives a similar update to the warrior, “If the spirit turns on us, we will do all we can to save Dalic.”
The information is not yet passed onto Southar.
Dalic Steelcoat, with the only tool at his disposal apparently being his thoughts, tries to visualize the structure of his mind taking painful measure to account for the separate categories he holds dear. He visualizes these manifesting through the void in hopes to create for himself a more comforting environment if only imagined. He thinks of his training and what he would imagine the library of these thoughts to look like. He pictures the pathways of thought as hallways that lead to other knowledge bases such as dwarven history, engineering, tactics and intimidation. He falters at the realization that the majority of his mental faculties have been dedicated to strife and destruction. A natural side effect of his time in the pits and his slavery, true: but somehow hauntingly lonely.
He grasps now for memories in hope that they might somehow adorn this imaginary fortress of bloodshed and battle that structures his mind. He thinks of Grimlock and the pain he felt each time he looked on Dalic with suspicion. He thinks of Cirdan and his willingness to pass over doubt in Dalics motives. He thinks of Southar rescuing him at bone keep. He thinks of the silent kinship he has found in his fellow warrior Bhut. He mourns the loss of Ide, Tarstar and all the others that have passed. He opens his mind to evaluate the darkness again. Would his thoughts whether through the structure of his mind or the emotion of his memories change his surrounding or impact them at all?
He finds it impossible to located any connection with his body.
He bellows out without direction to see if one mournful cry, with all the emotion he could muster, might pierce his inky prison. He calls out vainly as if lost in a great valley between snowcapped mountaintops. For some reason, he calls a name, “Bofor.”
Tathar, in an uncharacteristically humorous tone, replies to Bhut, “Normally, you say ‘speak friend and enter’ but your way works as well.”
Dalic Foesmiter simply states, “Onward and downward.” He wears a nasty grin upon his face, clearly eager to doll out his vengeance. He enters the secret passage cautiously.
Bhut walks over and enters next.
Grimlock falls back to his rear guard position as the remaining party members begin to fall into place and enter the secret passageway.
The passageway appears to be made by the dwarves as it is nearly identical to the previous passages. It is carved from the surrounding stone. Old tarnished torch sconces continue to line the left side wall at roughly every 60 to 70 feet. Most no longer hold torches. Those that do are badly rotted. It is very straight in construction and travels just west of directly south. As with the other passages, this one angles downward.
“We are roughly 500 feet down now,” notes Bofor, “From here the mine tunnel should continue to spiral downward. Be on guard, I know not what the dwarves uncovered in the depths.”
The passageway is nearly 250 feet long. The party moves carefully down its length and examines the room at its end. The room is circular with a domed ceiling. The diameter is 60 feet with a ceiling height of 25 feet. There are tools and digging equipment heaped upon the floor. The items appear rusty and useless.
The room itself appears to have a general glow to it; much less intensity than Breymeer’s torch but present none the less. The light intensity is similar to that of a quarter moon. A passageway leads west northwest from the chamber. The chamber travels straight, albeit sloping downward, past the limits of the torch illumination.
Dalic begins a drudging campaign through his mind, shuffling through the darkness in hopes he might find something. He notes that this kind of darkness is unlike any he has ever encountered. As a duergar, even in the darkest tunnels, he was always able to make some sort of visual sense of his surroundings. He grasps for any details of his surroundings inside his mind that he might use as aid in his fight to regain control of his body or at least the ability to see through his physical eyes again.
Finding neither his body nor his vision, Dalic takes the smallest amount of solace from the fact he has himself. Dalic thinks of his blind fighting skills. Sadly, without his hearing or awareness of his body, the skill fails to aid him.
Dalic Foesmiter strides across the chamber towards the next tunnel. He is indifferent to the tools and other debris in the room.
The party follows Dalic. While doing so, Kuba inspects the floor and finds only the party has disturbed the layer of dust. Also, Breymeer falls to the rear of the party, “The dwarves are better suited to lead this expedition. My talents lay in the wilderness.” Breymeer takes up rear guard behind the elves along with Kuba, Speck and the invisible Grimlock.
As Dalic moves westerly along the passage, he suddenly holds up a hand indicating the others to stop. Obediently, the group halts and becomes quiet and attentive.
Dalic probes the ground ahead of him with the blade of Dalgur finding a very thin crack running perpendicular across the entire length of the hallway. The crack also runs up either side of the hallway. For whatever reason, a large section of the stone floor has been separated from the otherwise solid rock.
Bofor comments, “Good eye there dwarf.” The comment appears to have been made showing honest respect. “The elder clansmen told me of this pit although I did not know its exact whereabouts. A dwarf’s eyes ought not to miss it I reckon. Anyway, there should be some type of locking mechanism beyond if we can get to it. No one knew what condition it was left in. I will follow Dalic ahead and signal back should we find it safe to continue.”
Bofor looks at Dalic Foesmiter with a grin, “You first.”
Dalic Steelcoat, if only for the briefest moment, catches a glimpse of Foesmiter’s thoughts. Dalic can only ascertain a few details and even at that he can only believe them to be true. First, his body is well. He continues to be with his friends. They are still deep underground. They are continuing to travel deeper into the mine shafts. And finally, Foesmiter still seeks his nemesis.
Dalic Steelcoat tries to latch onto the senses in order to learn how to reconnect to them at will. He does so quietly, hoping to avoid the wrathful bellows of the symbiotic spirit. Only darkness is to be found but Dalic is somewhat comforted that Foesmiter did not detect his attempt.
Dalic Steelcoat tries to latch onto the senses in order to learn how to reconnect to them at will. He does so quietly, hoping to avoid the wrathful bellows of the symbiotic spirit. Only darkness is to be found but Dalic is somewhat comforted that Foesmiter did not detect his attempt.
Dalic Foesmiter proceeds cautiously across the cut stone. He looks on Bofor with suspicion. Bofor walks just behind Dalic. Both appear ready to react should the floor shift. The dwarves certainly do not have the reflexes bestowed upon the elves, or even Southar for that matter. Dalic’s plate armor gives him no further advantage.
The duo makes it to the far side of the cut stone without it making so much as the slightest movement. Dalic runs his blade along the fine crack marking the far side of the cut stone. It measures roughly 20 feet. No change to the sound of their footsteps can be heard. The party is unable to determine if the cut stone spans any openings below.
Odd as it is. No dangers can be determined. “Bofor warns, be careful crossing. I am not certain how this stone may move should it do so.”
Dalic smugly smirks to himself and begins searching around the floor and walls on the far side of the cut stone. Bofor joins him.
Speck pipes in, “It may be sensitive to anything different from the average dwarven weight.”
Bhut suggests, “Only one crossing at a time.” He steps to the side hinting at the fact he does not want to be the next to cross.
Speck sheepishly volunteers to go next, “I am very light footed. Maybe someone can tie a rope around my waist just in case something goes bad.”
Southar does just so using his magic rope.
While Southar is retrieving his rope, Kuba, with concern in his voice, tells Speck, “Maybe I should go first with the rope tied to me.”
Speck insists he go first. Kuba, without walking onto the cut stone, looks at the side walls and ceiling near the cut stone, “This may be a trigger stone that will drop something from above or collapse from the side.”
Speck nimbly crosses the cut stone without incident.
His success is repeated by the elves, Peylae, Aravae.
Cirdan, Grimlock, Tathar, Breymeer, Kuba, Southar and Bhut remain. They looks at each other to see who will be the next to test fate against the cut stone.
Cirdan and Tathar each take their turn crossing the cut stone without incident.
Grimlock, the half elven, holds from crossing. Breymeer and Bhut also wait as Kuba moves forward to Southar.
Southar ties the rope to Kuba and he begins carefully crossing the cut stone.
Kuba move very cautiously knowing full well he weighs more than any of the previous stone crossers.
He reaches the half way point and takes a deep breath. He takes several more steps when the cut stone moves.
The dwarven engineering operates smoothly. The cut stone rotates around a central axis point. The western half that contains Kuba begins to drop quickly as the eastern portion raises.
Below the cut stone is a 20 foot deep pit.
Grimlock leaps partially onto the raising east end of the cut stone, throwing his weight onto it. His attempt is in vain so he quickly drops back onto the solid stone floor. The sound of gears indicates some type of mechanism is tilting the floor.
Southar holds tight onto the rope, keeping his balance as the raising cut stone pulls stiffly on the rope.
Kuba’s feet quickly slip out from beneath him and the rope around his waist goes taut. He is quickly hanging in the air over the open pit as the cut stone drops out from below him. The pulling of the rope leaves Kuba nearly 25 feet above the pit floor. He dangles only 5 feet from the passageway ceiling.
The cut stone continues its quick rotation until reaching the 90 degree point. An audible click is heard as the cut stone stops. It now completely blocks the passageway. The magical rope holding Kuba maintains its integrity as it is pinched by the cut stone.
Grimlock, Southar, Breymeer and Bhut are east of the cut stone. Kuba hangs upon the rope on the western side of the cut stone. The rest of the party is on the ledge on the western side of the cut stone.
The pit is a cut rectangle, 20 feet long, 20 feet deep and 10 feet wide. Fifteen feet above the pit floor are two circular holes in the northern wall. Each hole is 18 inches in diameter. There is one hole on the east side of the now vertical cut stone and the other on the west side. The holes are centered between the ledges and the cut stone. Two holes in the floor, of similar size, are covered by heavy steel grates. Each floor hole is located below the wall hole and centered on each side.
From the large holes in the wall are grating sounds followed by gurgling water. Seconds later, both tubes begin dumping clear water into the pit as a very fast rate. Both tubes are dispensing water full tube with significant pressure. The water shoots nearly across the 10 foot width of the pit.
The holes in the floor echo some type of grating as well. They appear to have been sealed as the water level is quickly raising.
Grimlock grabs onto the rope with Southar and pulls in vain. The rope is pinched too tightly between the cut stone and the ceiling to budge.
Bhut begins to panic slightly, “I cannot swim!”
Grimlock looks around. The east side is the high side. About 40 feet of passageway remain between the last room and the pit. Nothing blocks the retreat.
“You won’t drown.” Southar dryly informs Bhut.
The both look down as see the east side of the pit continues to fill with water; now about 10% full.
Kuba remains hanging from the rope. He appears to be calculating his options. He watches the water and the stone closely.
The water continues to rise. It has filled about 10% of the western side of the pit.
Bofor and Dalic search the nearby walls in vain for some type of level or mechanism. The walls remain unbroken and smooth; carved from the natural rock.
Peylae observes, “I hope this passageway continues for some distance if this water continues to rise. We are on the wrong side of this cut stone should the flood continue.”
Kuba, once the cut stone locks into place, loses all vision as the western passageway goes black. Both the lantern and Breymeer’s torch are on the east side of the cut stone.
The sound of the turbulent water rages below Kuba although he remains dry and safe at the moment.
Dalic’s dark vision adjusts to the lack of light. He laughs, finding humor in the vision of Kuba suspended from the rope. He continues working his way westerly down the passageway while looking for some type of release mechanism.
Speck, Tathar and Cirdan aid in the search.
Peylae and Aravae remain near the edge of the pit and talk to Kuba over the sound of the rushing water. The female voices help reassure Kuba.
The four searchers work their way down the passageway trying any variance in the stone and all torch brackets. The cracks in the smooth wall are few and far between and reveal no secrets. The torch brackets do not aid them either.
After 270 feet, and nearly an hour of searching, the passageway opens into a 90 foot wide circular room. The 30 foot high domed ceiling is illuminated by some type of magical dweomer. The illumination is equivalent to dim moonlight. Set in the northwest and northeast portions of the room are niches. Each is 10 feet wide, 20 feet tall and 10 feet deep. On the back wall of the northwest niche are two iron levers, about four feet above the floor.
The floor is covered with undisturbed dust.
An exit passage leaves the room to the north-northeast.
Grimlock’s bodiless voice is nearly drown out by the sound of the rushing water, “I bet the trap will reset after a set time. Kuba is safe assuming he is just dangling there like a worm on a hook. I question whether the water will stop when it reaches floor level. I will check the rear.”
Grimlock runs off to the rear and sets up guard on the far side of the previous chamber.
Bhut recommends letting go of the rope, “It is stuck against the ceiling. It won’t be going anywhere.”
Southar holds the rope, his forked tongue darting from his mouth as he speaks, “If the ssssstone moves again, Kuba would drop into the water.”
Breymeer waits cautiously.
The water rises higher and higher. It eventually rises to a point about 5 feet below the floor level. A sudden wave, several feet across and nearly 10 feet high, rises from the turbulent water. It resembles some type of pseudopod. It appears to be made of water.
The pseudopod rises and forms rapidly. It lunges out at Southar like a snake. Only Southar’s exceptional dexterity keeps him from being engulfed by the wave.
Breymeer sets his torch on the ground and grabs his mace. With axe and mace in hand, he stands ready. He closes on the creature for an attack being mindful of the edge of the water filled pit.
The wave sloshes across the edge of the corridor floor attempting to pull Breymeer in. Breymeer is able to jump over the wave. Doing so keeps him from making any accurate attack. Both of his blows fail to strike the pseudopod.
During the pseudopod's sweep, Breymeer's torch is knocked into the water and begins bobbing around like a cork.
Southar and Bhut begin to back away from the pit. Southar lets go of his rope and arms himself with his longsword.
Meanwhile, the sound of the shouts and excitement reach Grimlock’s ear. Something is amiss back at the pit.
Dalic moves directly across the room as Cirdan asks Bofor, “Would these be the levers to reset the trap?”
Bofor nods in the affirmative, “I am guessing so.”
Tathar follows Dalic across the room but heads instead for the exterior passage. As the two reach the point where they can see into the northeast niche, they notice the glitter of gold. Reflecting from the rear of the niche, exposed in the back wall, is a thick vein of gold. Eight mining picks stand against the walls. At the base of the wall are various-sized chunks of rock and small nuggets of gold. The picks appear to be rusty but solid. The floor of the niche is covered in a undisturbed layer of dust.
Dalic, mission driven, ignores the gold and marches directly to the left lever and pulls it down with vigor.
The muffled sounds of mechanical gears and grinding stone are heard to the east. Peylae’s voice, though softened by the distance, can be heard shouting, “The wall is lowering!”
As the wall lowers, the rope is freed from its bonds. Now unheld on the eastern end, it quickly begins to slip to the west. Kuba begins an immediate descent towards the water.
Aravae shouts something mystical and Kuba’s descent is immediately slowed buying him considerable time to react before being deposited into the deep water filled pit wearing armor.
Breymeer continues to battle with the wave as Kuba and Southar move in to aid him. Axe, mace and sword cut and smash away at the water. The three warriors appear as three tots at the beach contesting to make the biggest splash.
The wave fails to pull anyone into the water.
Grimlock appears in the passageway standing at the edge of the eastern room. Two missiles appear next to him and streak unerringly into the wave depositing their energy into it.
The wave lowers back into the water.
The water level stops rising near the top of the pit. The warriors back away from the pit although they remain wary of attack.
Ten then twenty minutes pass and the water calms a bit.
Without warning, gears are heard and the wall begins to lower back to the east. The rope that held Kuba whips into motion and Kuba begins to drop to the west. A wave of water sweeps across the edge of the pit but the warriors have backed away. The creature returns below the surface as the cut stone lowers down upon it.
Aravae’s voice is heard as she casts some type of spell.
As the cut stone settles back to level, Kuba is seen being half pulled and washed out of the pit and onto the solid stone floor. The rising cut stone boosting him out of what promised to be a watery grave. The elf maidens, Peylae and Aravae, both aided in Kuba’s rescue. Southar’s magic rope remains tied to Kuba and is safe. Breymeer’s magical torch is lost under the cut stone.
Dalic, Cirdan, Tathar and Speck are not near the western side of the pit. It appears they have gone west along the passageway.
A new set of gears goes in motion and the floor drains become open. Water begins to drain away from under the cut stone.
Finally, a loud click is heard from underneath the cut stone.
Kuba attempts to push off and jump from the cut stone to the solid tunnel floor on the west edge of the pit. He stumbles during the attempt falling forward and looking to be crushed or drown as the cut stone closes level with the floor. Thanks to Aravae’s spell, Kuba’s tumble appears in what looks like slow motion. Peylae is able to reach out her hand and Kuba grabs at it frantically. Clasping palms, Peylae tries to pull Kuba up while Aravae holds her by the shoulders trying to keep her from being dragged downward with the muscled human warrior.
The two elves lack the muscle to yank Kuba to freedom. Just ahead of the closing cut stone, water boils upward from the closing cut stone as it rises from the depths. The upward push of the water raises Kuba up enough to where he is able to scramble to safety.
As the cut stone stops level with the floor, a second series of gears are heard. The floor drains in the put are unstopped and the water begins to drain from the pit.
Breymeer, Southar, Bhut and Grimlock appear on guard. The floor is soaking wet as are the three human (or once human in the case of Southar). It appears they fought with something that rose out of the watery pit. They appear relieved the cut stone has put a lid on the pit.
Dalic, seemingly satisfied with his first attempt, gleefully pulls down on the second lever. A loud click is heard underneath the cut stone. Logic suggests the cut stone has been locked into position. This logic is, however, untested.
Cirdan, Tathar and Speck watch the exit tunnel. Tathar, having abnormally good vision in the dark, even for an elf, reports a long, dull hallway ahead. Speck eyes the gold in the northeast niche while Cirdan remains alert for trouble.
Hearing what appeared to be the floor locking into place, Breymeer orders, “Let’s move on and get the hell out of here.”
Grimlock is already ahead of him. The nimble half-elf runs across the cut stone trying to be light on his feet.
Breymeer is the next across. He reaches the safety of the passage beyond.
Southar and Bhut cross as well without incident.
The group moves forward to the next chamber.
It is a similarly circular chamber with a domed ceiling. There is one passageway leading from the room in a north-northeastern direction. One either side of the exit passage, two niches accent the room, one to the northwest and one to the northeast. Each is 10 feet wide, 20 feet tall and 10 feet deep. Dalic is in the northwest niche where two levers are located on the back wall. Dalic has moved them both to the down position. In the northeast niche is an exposed vein of gold along with chunks of rock and gold scattered upon the floor. Lining the wall are several picks. Speck has moved forward to inspect the gold there.
Bofor cautions, “The gold in that niche belongs to the mine and therefore is the rightful property of the clan.”
The halfling appears to ignore Bofor completely. Strangely, instead of picking up the loose gold nuggets, Speck picks up a pick and begins working at chipping more nuggets of the stone wall as the rear of the niche. The small framed halfling struggles a bit with the pick but works diligently at his task.
Breymeer again relinquishes his front position to the dwarves and takes up rear guard ahead of the invisible Grimlock. Having enough light to see by from Southar’s lantern, Breymeer readies a torch in his pack but takes two weapons to hand, his mace and the hand axe with the dwarven rune. While the party assembles, Breymeer takes a final sweep of the room finding nothing else of interest. He has little interest in treasure and doesn’t dispute Bofor’s claim to the gold.
Dalic sneers at the halfling and confronts him. “Get back to the task at hand you greedy speck of a thing!” Dalic forcefully grabs the pick to halt its motion for emphasis.
Kuba steps forward in defense of his little friend as Dalic pries the pick from the halfling’s hands.
Kuba guides his confused little friend out of the niche, “What happened Kuba? I care not to mine gold!” Speck appears to have been seduced somehow. Kuba continues to drag him along and joins the rear ranks as the party enters the exit passage heading north-northeast.
As the group continues down the sloping passage, the rock strata changes to a lighter shade. “We are nearly 700 feet below the main chambers above,“ advises Bofor. As the depth increases, the temperature slowly decreases. It is now roughly in the low 50 degree range.
The party approaches the next chamber and is surprised to find it cut into a hexagonal shape as opposed to circular. The chamber is a full 100 feet across and boasts a 60 feet above. The chamber appears to have been chipped from the inside of a monstrously huge quartz crystal. The walls are faceted in great reflecting planes. A large 10’ diameter pillar of transparent crystal supports the ceiling above. Embedded in the sides of the pillar are hundreds of fist sized glowing stones that are reflected and seemingly multiplied in the myriad facets of the room. The room has a magical glow to it that seems to emanates from the stones of the central pillar.
Southar’s lantern causes the lighting of the room to intensity to a painful glow. Dalic shields his eyes, wincing painfully. Southar hoods the lantern as the group enters the chamber.
Flanking the southeastern exit are two crystalline niches measuring 8 feet wide, 8 feet deep and 16 feet tall.
Built into the back of the southernmost niche is a shelf, upon which rests seven crystal statuettes depicting dwarves. Each statuette stands 2 feet tall.
The northernmost niche contains a green crystal alter dedicated to dwarven deities.
Neither the statuettes nor the altar appear to have been desecrated. The dust on the floor remains undisturbed prior to the party entering.
Bofor looks over the shrines, “This is a holy room. We should not disturb it.”
Dalic Foesmiter avoids the pillar and moves across the room to the exit passageway. The group falls in behind him.
In what seems to be the rough standard, the passageway continues a little over 300 feet as it descents to nearly 750 feet below the upper chambers. The floor of the passage is covered with an undisturbed layer of dust.
Within the first 100 feet, Bofor and Foesmiter stop the group. A measured, metallic ringing can be heard in the distance echoing up the passageway from the darkness beyond Southar’s lantern. A faint glow can be seen from the distant chamber. Roughly 200 feet separate the dwarves and the distant chamber.
Dalic Foesmiter pushes onward confidently entering the next chamber. The dwarf, even in possessed form, appears to pride himself on his bravery even though the elves perceive it as foolish recklessness.
Bofor Barrelmace keeps step with Dalic and the rest of the group hesitantly follows suit. Breymeer appears more and more uncomfortable in the alien deep dark much preferring the open air of the wooded realms. Southar, the transformed Gnarley Forest Ranger, in contrast, seems to be more at home now in the sloping cool stone chambers.
The elves continue to take up the center of the column as Breymeer, Kuba, Speck and Grimlock remain as rear guard.
The metallic ringing continues and grows louder as the party nears the next chamber. A glow from inside the room shows it is slightly illuminated. The glow is consistent with that of a fire or similar source.
The group reaches the chamber and the dwarves peer in. The room is a very large circular chamber some 120 feet in diameter with a 40 foot high ceiling. The room is lit by the fitful glow of a forge in the center of the room.
A dwaven smith stands over an anvil next to the forge and pounds on an ornate long sword. The hilt of the sword consists of intertwined dragon necks terminating at the pommel where several dragon heads reflects light from there ruby eyes.
The smith holds the sword up and examines it. He mutters over some imperceivable imperfection and thrusts the blade back into the forge. The smith, although facing the party, pays it no attention. He is solely focused on his work.
Looking around the room, an eastern tunnel appears to slope upward while a southwestern tunnel slopes down from the room.
A continuous layer of dust coats the chamber floors and as much of the exit passages as can be seen.
Dalic Foesmiter grins fiendishly. “Mine enemies will find doom at my touch once again! Zalco, old friend, ignore my appearance I beg you; it is I, Klorliss Foesmiter, come to fight along your side once again!” The air has become cool enough to see Dalic’s breath as he speaks.
Bofor becomes very concerned. He raises he shield and tightens his grip on his weapon while taking a step away from Dalic preparing to take action against him or the smith.
Southar steps into the chamber and moves to the west holding the lamp aloft while Bhut moves in to the east while he watches for the next action, eyeing the southwest tunnel.
The column moves closer to the chamber. Cirdan and Tathar hold in the passage entrance not wanting to expose themselves to any more danger than necessary. The elves watch anticipating trouble.
Dalic takes a step forward, reaching out his hand while demanding, “Ghostly smith, relinquish this blade to the only one worthy to wield it! I am The Foesmiter! You will render the sword unto me!”
In a blink of an eye, the smith disappears from view only to reappear in front of Dalic and Bofor. The smith appears to be a non-corporal wearing semi-transparent dwarven mail. Its eyes burn as bright red orbs in the blackness beneath its great helm. A shadowy braided beard hangs from underneath the helm. Its body disappears below the torso into a wispy blackness. It hold Zalco menacingly if front of itself. A deep voice, speaking very articulate common, emanates from where the smith stands, “You keep strange company of late my old friend.”
The undead smith lashes out at Bofor Barrelmace with Zalco. The blow cuts through the chain links of Bofor’s mail cutting across his chest (10, 31/41). Bofor reels a few steps backwards but stays on his feet. The spirit is upon him instantly; its eyes burning brighter with hate. In a shadowy motion, the spirit lays its left hand upon Bofor’s face. He screams out in pain as his face burns at the cold touch from beyond the grave (1, 30/41 touch, 5, 25/36(41) energy drain, -2 Wisdom, No Con loss). Bofor’s life force weakens as he desperately grasps for his holy symbol.
Dalic Foesmiter moves in to support Bofor. Whether he is intent on helping the dwarf or recovering Zalco is unknown. Dalic furiously swings the Delven Bastard; placing a very targeted slice aimed to decapitate the spirit in one fail swoop. The blow cuts just below the darkened helm of the spirit. The Delven Bastard cuts straight through the inky black form spewing forth black vapors (12, 11/23).
Dalic is unable to take his symbol in hand as he begins to call out to the stone hall making deities for aid.
The spirit ignores Dalic and continues it savage attack on the dwaven priest.
As a side note: I use a houserule for energy drain. Each "level" lost is 1d8 permanent hit points and 1d4 ability score points (most often wisdom). Some undead drain more than wisdom. The ability scores come back slowly on their own over time. (1 point a week for full rest).
The hit points take on a new look. (damage taken, hit points left/total hit points(original hit points if restored by magic)). There are some notes I kept as well for the energy drain and saving throws, etc.
Speck and Kuba remain in the rear on guard after allowing Grimlock to pass forward past them. His unseen presence betrayed by a slight rush of wind as he slips past before going completely into stealth mode.
Cirdan passes by Bhut on the eastern side of the passageway; whispering to Bhut as he passes to ensure Bhut does not take him for another spirit.
Tathar steps in to the west, removing his holy symbol and holy water as he side steps past Southar.
Breymeer, axe and mace in hand, begins moving up the column towards the melee.
Peylae holds at her position as Aravae prepares spell components.
Bofor remains on the defensive, using his shield and flail for cover. Using Zalco, the spirit hacks away at the dwarf in vain. It slams the long sword repeatedly into Bofor’s shield sending echoes through the chamber.
Dalic Foesmiter expertly cuts through the air with the Delven Bastard. The blow passes through the spirit’s right arm. Zalco, the ruby eyed dragon sword, tumbles from the undead’s grasp and clatters to the stone floor at Dalic’s feet.
With a follow-up blow, Dalic pulls his arm back and drives his bastard sword into the misty spirit’s neck at the base of the helm. Within the helm, they eyes glow brightest red and then fade to points. The blackness of the body trembles at the edge of cohesiveness, darkness twisting around the offending blade. As the red orbs blink from view, the swirling mass blows apart into wisps of black shadows escaping into the cool chamber air.
The blade of Dalic’s sword is transformed to a non-reflective dead black shade. The sword is all that remains where the wraith once was.
“Well struck warrior! Now, who shall claim me if not one such as you Master Dwarf!” a voice calls out to Dalic.
Bofor drops to his knees on the stone floor in relief. He watches Dalic while grasping his deity’s symbol.
Bhut walks towards the southwest passage and says, “I wish to explore this way.”
Dalic Foesmiter triumphantly inspects the newly blackened Delvin Bastard, quite pleased with himself, before stowing it. He reaches down to grasp ahold of Zalco. While doing so he reads aloud the inscription upon its blade, "Master of order, I beckon you to slay my foes! Let disorder fall in my wake and enemies find doom at my touch!"
Tathar, is a shockingly commanding voice, yells to Dalic, “STOP!” Dalic, either by choice or otherwise, holds perfectly in his position just inches from grasping the sword’s pommel.
“You are not of the living Foesmiter. And the undead have no care of the living. I will not stand by and watch you become even stronger. Kuba, Breymeer, Grimlock or Pinn’r; one of you should claim that sword.”
Bofor takes the opportunity to pray for healing upon himself (+6, 31(36)). The cut on his chest closes and heals considerably.
Dalic Steelcoat feels something similar to the energy of an approaching thunderstorm. The darkness pulls at Dalic harder threatening to pull him into the void.
Tathar approaches Bofor, “I do not like this, my cleric cousin. What are your thoughts? I think we should be rid of this spirit and give Dalic back his body. Do we yet need this spirit or should we find our way on our own?”
Bofor spits, “I think it is all coming to a head as we speak.” He motions to the sword as he prepares his holy symbol.
Bhut stops walking across the chamber turns towards the sword. Breymeer moves forward a step. Kuba tries to move through the crowd but it is obvious Grimlock and Dalic are going to reach the blade first.
Dalic chuckles wryly. "Good luck to you all in that endeavor. I have kept to my word and shown no cause for such hostility. This sword is right for my wielding and mine alone . . .” As Dalic reaches down for the blade a body rushes past him like a breezes. In a tumbling roll, the invisible Grimlock, having snuck upon the group during the melee with the spirit, grabs the blade and rolls away. The sword remains visible. Dalic, with pit fighter skill, grabs quickly for the blade and also gets a hand upon it. As Grimlock completes his roll, the sword rips from Dalic’s hand and Grimlock, judging by the sword’s elevation from the ground, rises triumphantly with the blade.
Dalic Foesmiter immediately draws the dwarven bastard and challenges Grimlock.
“Withdraw Foesmiter! I can sense you have joined yourself with one I would oppose.” The voice comes from where Grimlock stands. “I have now chosen this warrior to be my vassal. With this vassal, my dear Foesmiter, we shall kill the dwarven priests. Starting with that one!”
Zalco, parallel to the ground, turns like a compass needle until it points directly at Bofor Barrelmace.
Bofor, having prepared a defensive plan, quickly prays, “Deities of stone. Hold these two as still as the mountain rock.”
Zalco holds steady in mid-air. It does not move further to strike at Bofor. It shouts out something in elvish.
Dalic stops moving as well as if turned to a statue. The image of Khorliss Foesmiter, transparent and ghostlike, appears and drifts from Dalic Steelcoat’s body. “The blade is as much a spirit as I am and nearly as charismatic. You will not be able to control it. Relinquish Zalco to me so that I might control it.” Khorliss Foesmiter drifts over to where Zalco floats in the air, his hands held out before it as if searching for the one who wields Zalco.
The blade give a dire warning, “Stop the dwarven priest before he claims you all!” It then shouts something out in elvish.
Tathar removes his serpent staff and moves to the west away from Bofor.
Elves hear – “Elf yet unseen behind the priest, act now and slay the dwarven priest! Allow the elves to become the champions of this campaign!”
Dalic Steelcoat – A sudden rush of wind blows Dalic into the void. Falling, falling, his mind races for anything real in the inky blackness. The faster he falls, the more illuminated the air becomes until the deep, dark chasm glows bright; blindingly bright. In a flash, the light lessons and focuses until it becomes a vision. Dalic finds himself in a large circular chamber with his friends around him. Foesmiter moves away from Dalic towards a floating sword. Bofor looks upon Dalic with anxiety. There are sounds. Threats and warnings. Shouts in elvish. Dalic realizes he is back among the living only he still cannot control his body. As much as he wills to move or speak, he is held fast.
Kuba enters the room ready for melee, his bastard sword and shield are poised for action. He stops just inside the room on the north side of a line formed by Tathar, Southar and Breymeer. Bofor takes up a defensive posture, looking around for who is likely to come to his aid. He moves in just behind Kuba in an attempt to distance himself from those that may do him harm.
Bhut backs away, moving closer to the wall near the southwest passage he had originally been heading towards.
Cirdan and Tathar speak over each other.
Tathar asks Bofor to release Dalic in order for him to reclaim his body before Foesmiter returns to it.
Cirdan calls back to Zalco in the common language, “I will not kill any person on the command of a talking sword that I have just met. Especially when the sword has not told me why.”
Bofor, finding wisdom in the Sehanine priest’s words, releases Dalic from the spell.
Dalic appears extremely confused and struggles to take in the scene. He takes a defensive position, drawing the Delven Bastard. “I’m back,” he says sheepishly with an apologetic grin.
Grimlock, or at least the hovering sword remain in place. The sword does not reply to Cirdan as Foesmiter begins an assault on Grimlock (-5 temp wisdom 7 (12(13))).
Grimlock, Grimlock can feel his will to resist Foesmiter fading quickly. Zalco forces Grimlock to release his will allowing Foesmiter to enter him.
The standoff continues.
Breymeer struggles to make sense of the chaos. He keeps his back to the wall waiting to see what happens.
Dalic positions himself between Zalco and Bofor in a defensive position.
Tathar directs a statement to Bofor, “You should release Grimlock too now, and let him defend himself against the spirit. We can attempt to hold him again after Foesmiter has been dealt with.”
While Tathar is making his request, the spirit fades from view.
Bofor answers, “I dare not release him, especially now. I fear the spirit has overcome Grimlock.”
Zalco breaks his silence, “The half elf will do. He has nearly the strength of the dwarves and will serve my purpose just the same.”
The sword appears to be retracted and it disappears from view as Grimlock’s voice calls forth, “Nice try priest. You have no power over me.” His voice grows louder as he addresses the group, “I shall let this dwarven priest survive only if you aid me in my quest. I have no need for him but it appears you may. Aid me in slaying the priest that slew me and your priest shall live. His protection shall not be my concern. We must now head deeper into the mine.”
Grimlock’s footsteps are audible as he strides confidently towards the center of the room. The forge has faded from view leaving only an aged anvil and Zalco’s gem scabbard.
Grimlock seizes the gem encrusted scabbard. Grimlock’s footfalls and the visible scabbard make their way towards the western entrance, “Fall in and follow me!” With an incantation, the sword and scabbard disappear from view
The group appears uneasy. Most members appear willing to follow Grimlock’s voice but several remain unconvinced.
Tathar announces, looking toward Bofor, “What just happened here? What has become of Foesmiter?”
Bofor looks downtrodden, “I fear Grimlock has been seized by Foesmiter.”
As Bofor begins to answer, Tathar looks upon Dalic, “Are you well? Can you continue or do you need some time or aid?”
Dalic scoffs, "Spirit takes Dalic and grabs a sword, everyone attacks. Spirit grab Grimlock, evil talking sword, tries kill Bofor, takes shiny scabbard and all follow. Me thinks not. I fer one be tired ab this'n nonsense. Fer all'n we known this coul' be tha evil tha' haunts tha delve an' it be playin' wit us as meat suits till we kill each oth'r. Bind Grimlock fer his own sake and remove tha evil talking sword. Dalic goes no further wit Foesmiter an' Zalco at tha helm." Dalic is clearly beaten. His voice is defeated and weak. He is steady only in his resolve to no longer be controlled by his former captor.
Kuba speaks out, supporting Dalic, "We are here to rid this place of the orcs, are we not? These ghostly dwarves are more of a hindrance than help."
Speck observes the discussion as he moves into the room saying nothing.
Bhut hails the group, “Something comes up the passage!”
Looking past Bhut, several skeletal and corporal undead walk towards the group. They are only about 20 feet down the passageway from the chamber. They appear to be the remains of dwarven warriors wearing what is left of their rotting armor and weapons. They number nearly a half dozen.
Cirdan hears an unknown voice calls out, “The dwarves have tricked you. Leave while you still can.”
The dwarven and orcish undead continue to make their way up the passageway. What animosity they had for each other in life has long since passed in death.
The lead two are skeletal dwarves. They wear the remnants of chain mail shirts and carry small shields and rusty short swords.
Following in behind the animated skeletons are four orc corpses. The remains of their scale mail armor adorn their mummified bodies. Pure hate burns in their dead eyes. The move forward with clawed hands reaching forward to rend the bodies of the living.
Bhut, with a mild smirk on his face, takes out both of his axes and slowly begins to walk down the southwestern passage towards the approaching undead.
Bhut greets the dead but 5 feet into the passageway. He swings away at both skeletons. His first blow falls upon the aged steel helm of his adversary. The helmet collapses crushing the skull down into the ribs. The body falls apart in turn, scattering the bones to the floor. Bhut’s second blow takes the remaining skeleton’s spine from its pelvis causing a similar collapse of the creature.
Before he can admire his work, the zombie-like creatures scramble upon him with speed; much faster than the zombies of the Bone Hill courtyard.
Bhut is able to deflect the first blows but the second zombie give him a five finger death punch to the guts nearly knocking the wind from Bhut (1, 25/28, 4 hit points drained, 21/24(28), -2 Wisdom).
Dalic, quick to fade back, attempts to lead a retreat. "Let us fall back to tha previous room, pinch them off in the corridor back there."
Breymeer is of Dalic’s persuasion, "If our goal is not to rid this godforsaken place of undead let's remove ourselves from this evil place. What say all we back out and if they follow we can prepare for them where we are closer to getting out of here."
Peylae and Aravae hold their positions alternating from watching the northwest passage behind them and the events in the chamber ahead of them.
Bofor moves instead to the west to gain a line of sight on the approaching dead. During his move he calls back to Dalic and Breymeer, “You have signed a contract with our clan to aid in the defeat of the evil that inhabits this mine. If you leave now, you will have violated that contract.” Turning his attention back to the incoming dead, he points his hammer shaped symbol towards the southwest passage, “Back vile dead! These are dwarven halls!”
Kuba stows his sword and arms himself with his war hammer.
Tathar moves ahead and takes cover behind the anvil with his moon shaped holy symbol out.
Southar readies his golden shield and slides along the western wall to give himself more space for melee.
Grimlock moves silently to the southern wall and waits to see how the battle plays out.
Cirdan can see Grimlock’s footfalls moving south to the southern chamber wall at the most southern portion of the room some 25 feet west of the southwest passage.
Dalic hears an unknown voice call out, “You are wise in your tactics. That shallow dwelling dwarf knows little. It is not a violation of the contract to have superior battle tactics.”
Dalic calls forward again, "Retreat not! But regroup for better position in the other room. We are ta engage them there!" Dalic takes a few steps into the corridor checking to see you will follow.
“I don’t think they are going to back out of here Dalic,” Peylae calls to the druegar as she moves past him into the chamber with Aravae in tow.
The two elven maidens move into the chamber and take up a position between Bofor and Tathar. Both prepare spellcraft should the creeping dead break through Bhut’s defense.
Bofor unclasps his hammer from his belt and readies his shield while watching the east flank of the group. He continues to persuade them to honor their commitment.
Tathar holds his position by the anvil.
Southar holds against the west wall.
Speck is crouched against the west wall between Southar and the northwest exit.
Cirdan yells, “P’innr, move back and let them come. It looks as if others want to have fun too!” Cirdan’s voice comes from near the eastern passageway.
Bhut continues his melee but heeds Cirdan’s voice and takes a short step back to allow any allies to enter the battle. He holds the line at the entrance to the room. Bhut swings one axe at the dead while parrying their blows with the other. Neither the living nor the dead were able to land a telling blow in the flurry of arms and axes.
Kuba crosses the chamber and enters into the melee on Bhut’s right side. Kuba uses his shield to fend off the powerful blows of the undead. Seeing an opening, he swings his hammer and smashes his foe’s head in popping out an eye (11, 2/13). It continues to fight on.
Breymeer is torn between decisions. He looks to back out with Dalic but he cannot get himself to leave his comrades fighting the dead. He sighs, longing for the fresh air and open wilderness of his homeland. He grips his weapons tight, shakes his head and follows Kuba into the fray.
Kuba and Bhut have the passageway held so Breymeer takes a position nearby to give aid should either of them falter.
Dalic hears the voice continue, “The dwarven priest is playing you for a fool. He will get you all killed! Take him out and save your friends.”
Bofor takes aim with a war hammer and heaves it towards the melee in the southwest passage as he prays for aid. The hammer makes several rotations before disappearing completely.
Bhut continues his attack. He focuses both axes on the target to his left. His first axe blow falls directly upon the chest of the creature’s chest. The force of the mighty blow knocks the creature to the ground but fails to penetrate the dead orc’s skin. Immediately, the dead orc in the second rank claws it way forward over its downed companion.
Bhut calls out as he swings his other axe, saying, “Dalic, if you were half the size and half the man of me, then you would aid in the fight.” The second blow catches the incoming corpse across the left thigh but it fails to cut the mummified skin.
Breymeer steps in between Kuba and Bhut and attacks the advancing orc corpse. His mace catches the creature on the right shoulder while his dwarven hammer smashes into the left side of its neck (9, 12/21). There is an audible snapping sound as the spine breaks and its head begins to flop like a rag doll.
The creature continues its relentless attack on Bhut clawing him on the left thigh in the process (1, 20/24(28), 1 hit point drained (19/23(28), -3 wisdom). The graveyard touch is cold upon his skin although it fails to do much damage. Bhut begins to look less confident.
The corpse Bhut dropped with his axe begins scrambles to regain its feet behind the orc with the broken neck. As it does so, Bofor’s hammer reappears out of thin air appearing now as a translucent greyish colored hammer. The head of the hammer glows slightly as it begins bludgeoning the rising corpse on its exposed back cracking ribs (5, 16/21).
Kuba, meanwhile, finishes what he started. Another blow from his dwarven made war hammer finishes crushing the head of the corpse upon him. It drops to the stone floor, lifeless again.
The final corpse quickly scrambles up and engages Kuba. Using his shield, Kuba is able to keep the blows at bay as he engages his new enemy.
Tathar leaves his cover behind the anvil and goes to Dalic’s aid finding him of broken spirit. Normally the taunt from his axe wielding companion, P’innr Bhut, would have rallied the duergar warrior.
Dalic speaks aloud, in fragmented sentences, to no one in particular, "Dalic will not harm 'im, ...friends need me to... Bofor has trapped us all..." He crumbles a bit falling to one knee, head down. He appears weary, bearing almost no semblance of a willingness to fight any longer. He looks more defeated than ever. He pays no attention to Tathar as he arrives to aid him.
Southar remains still against the wall. Speck remains crouched just north of Southar watching the battle. The elf maidens remain in the center of the room waiting for the next development.
Dalic, finally succumbs to the calling voice, “Indeed Bofor has trapped you all. He plans to add you to the vile dead that guard his chambers. He has tricked you all. Kill him now. You do not want to lose your only true friends to this trickster.” Dalic steels himself to his new task.
Cirdan moves a few more feet closer to Grimlock. He is now less than 10 feet away from the half-elf.
Grimlock remains stationary evaluating the situation and waiting for an opening to head down the southwest passage. The sword whispers to Grimlock, “The invisible elf is creeping in on you from the east.”
Grimlock can see there are fresh footsteps in the dust covering the floor. The steps move along the wall towards him from the eastern passage entrance where Cirdan was last known to be.
Tathar asks Sehanine Moonbow to restore strength to the broken duergar warrior (+6 wisdom, 9/13).
Dalic, showing improved will, stands and takes the Devlin Bastard in hand. He turns his attention to the chamber and marches forward. Strangely, instead of turning south towards the battle with the undead, he turns east and charges Bofor, “Da’ vile trickster shall taste da blade o’ justice.”
Aravae shouts a warning to Bofor who turns to face the rushing Dalic. Bofor’s magical hammer fades and disappears.
Dalic, eyes red and mouth foamed, closes in as Bofor calls for aid against him, “Stop as still as the stone beneath your feet.” Dalic comes to a stop just before Bofor; frozen with his sword raised above him in a mighty stroke.
Peylae shouts a warning, “Something vile is working against us!”
Speck, more worried than normal, holds his positioning.
Southar also holds.
The melee continues in the southwestern passage.
Kuba introduces his new foe to his dwarven hammer striking it in the abdomen (8, 12/20). Quick use of his shield protects him from harm.
Breymeer continue to hack at whatever appears a threat. He pounds the one facing Kuba with his mace, hitting it across the left arm. It remains in the fight. Next, he brings his dwarven hand axe against the orc body facing Bhut. This blow takes the creature in the neck severing it from its body. The undead monster drops unmoving to the floor.
The creature Bhut had previously de-cleated, clambers past the falling corpse as Breymeer is recovering from his axe stroke. Bhut steps ahead swinging his axes. He misses clean with the first blow but the second catches if full in the shoulder. The axe fails to cut the tough hide but does knock it flat the ground a second time. It fails to strike Bhut as it falls supine.
Southar hears a voice calling to him, “Snake warrior, come and guard the eastern hall. Let no one pass.” Southar resists the idea and holds his position.
Speck continues to watch the events unfold.
Southar remains still and unmoving against the wall. His golden shield has dulled to the color of the stone. Moments later, Southar is all but unnoticeable where he once stood.
Bofor defensively backs away from Dalic towards Aravae looking for assistance, “How can we control Dalic and bring him back to himself without doing permanent harm?”
“I know not!” Aravae admits. “Let us bind him for now. Take out a rope.”
Peylae watches for danger as the elven mage and dwarven priest search the duergar warrior for rope.
In Dalic’s eye one can almost read the stubborn but vain attempt his brain makes to break the hold upon his body.
In the southwestern passageway, the orc facing Breymeer rakes him across the abdomen (1, 45/47, 4 hit points drained (41/43(47)), -2 wisdom 14/16). Breymeer recoils from the cold gravetouch.
Breymeer gains his footing and returns to bash and hack at the dead orcs. With his mace he smashes his opponent across the shoulder. The blow nearly knocks the creature to the ground. As it recovers from the blow, Breymeer fails to follow up with a successful strike with his axe.
The zombie before Bhut remains on all fours and claws out towards the human warrior. The thick fingerclaws cut into Bhuts left hip (2, 17/23(28), 1 hit point drained (16/22(28)), -3 wisdom 5(11)). The blow creates a physical reaction in Bhut beyond the pain. He steps back, shoulders slumping. He calls out, “Maybe we should retreat to the room with the statuettes while we can.” He swings his axes. His first blow, enfeebled by his waning inner strength, is ineffective. He digs deep and brings his second blow with more fury forcing the creature to remain down upon its knees.
Kuba waits for a gap to re-enter the melee.
Kuba hears, “I need your help, please cover the eastern passage and do not let these fools in.” The voice sounds friendly and inviting. Kuba feels a compulsion to act but decides to stay and aid his friends in the battle instead.
Aravae and Bofor cannot find rope in Dalic’s gear. It then dawns on Bofor, “Dalic was in the fireball attack and his rope was likely burned.”
Bofor then falls silent as if thinking. Without speaking, he rises and walks towards the eastern chamber.
Peylae shouts at the dwarf priest, “Where are you going?” She then calls out a general warning, “Something foul is at work here!” She moves to the anvil for some form of cover.
Tathar evaluates the party member’s actions trying to make sense of the situation and the strangeness of some of his companions.
Speck stays small and huddles near the northwestern passage.
Southar has disappeared having completely blended with the wall.
Seeing Bhut’s condition Breymeer states, "Back out of here Bhut!"
Bhut is already on the move. Breymeer covers Bhut’s withdrawl from the battle. Bhut retreats to the center of the room and drops to his knees. On top of the pain he feels and evil force starting to flow through his veins. He calls to the group for medical aid as Bofor walks past.
Ignoring Bhut’s calls for aid, Bofor continues to the eastern passage, turns, and takes up a defensive position there saying, “You shall not pass!”
Breymeer makes a fighting withdrawl into room allowing Kuba to rejoin the attack. As he retreats, the zombies move forward on him; one standing and one crawling forward. Breymeer hammers the standing enemy with his mace knocking it back a step as he backs into the room. Using the dwarven hornwood handled hand axe, Breymeer splits the back of the head open on the one crawling towards him (9, 7/21).
Even with a split head, it lunges forward, on hand and knee, clawing Breymeer across the right foot (4, 37/43(47), 4 hit points drained (33/39(47)), -3 wisdom (11/16)). Breymeer cries out in pain. The injury does not appear to cut his flesh too deeply but the blow shutters the human warrior.
Kuba, seeing the opening, re-enters the battle alongside Breymeer. They are now a few steps back into the room. Kuba strikes the standing orc as it bounces from Breymeer’s mace. The blow breaks completely through its sternum shattering ribs and dead organs (5, 7/20). The vile undead orc punches Kuba square in the face (1, 32/36, 2 hit points drained (30/34(36)), - 1 wisdom 13/14). The gravetouch is like ice on his soul.
Tathar removes a coil of rope and advances to the anvil. He hands the rope to Peylae, “Tie him firm, feet and arms, then keep watch over him. I will see to Bhut.” Tathar moves over to Bhut, “What is the matter?”
Bhut is bruised and cut but none of the injuries appears life threatening. Bhut’s will to fight appears much more battered than his body would indicate. A defeated look has started to form itself upon his face.
Peylae moves to tie Dalic but as soon as she turns toward him, she finds he is already on the move somehow. Bofor is motioning to Dalic, “Come my dwarven brother.” Dalic jogs over and takes a guarded position next to Bofor. They both stand in the entrance to the eastern passage facing inward toward the chamber.
As Peylae takes in the turn in events she throws the rope over her shoulder. Suddenly, she shrieks in shock, “I can’t see!” She drops to her hands and knees and begins to back up searching out the anvil for cover.
It appears Peylae is the only one affected. The room remains dully light by whatever magical illumination it contained as well as the hooded lantern that Southar must have placed on the ground at the entrance to the northwestern passage.
Aravae runs to Peylae’s side to check on her condition.
Kuba yanks his hammer from his adversary’s chest cavity with all his might. Ribs, organs and gore are torn out as Kuba frees the hammer. At the same time, he bashes his shield forward into the body knocking it away from him to avoid any possible retaliation. None comes. The orc falls supine and remains unmoving.
Breymeer gives what he can as well. He bashes the zombie on the back with his mace driving it downward. It pounces forward as Breymeer cuts at it with his axe. The axe blow swings high as the corpse gets tangled with the body of the one Kuba just finished off. It can only manage a weak forward lunge before ending up prone at Breymeer’s feet. It scrambles to recover but continues to slip on the gore on the floor, unable to immediately rise up to attack.
As Tathar begins to help Bhut, he suddenly freezes and holds his hands in front of his face as if blinded. He feels around for several moments realizing he has suffered the same fate as Peylae.
Peylae, sensing something happened to Tathar, cries out, “This is starting to go very poorly. What bedevils us?”
Bhut remains silent, either unwilling or unable to speak. He has a look of sorrow on his face.
Aravae tries to calm the others, “Let’s think this through. We obviously need to change tactics.” The elf is clearly concerned.
At the melee, the final grave menace clambers to its feet to better fight both human warriors. In so doing, it exposes itself to their wrath. Breymeer smashes it across the jaw with his mace. It just grins at him. Breymeer tries to stroke it with his hand axe but the creature deflects the blow harmlessly off with its arm. It lunges at Breymeer only to be met with Kuba’s hammer. Swinging from the rear as it passes him by, Kuba catches the creature at the base of the neck dislodging the head. The head flies end over end into the room and comes to rest to the south of Bhut.
Breymeer gives out a call of victory, a deep chested barbarian cry. Kuba nods affirmatively to him. The human warriors have prevailed. The sight of the fallen dead give Bhut some encouragement and he sighs in relief.
Next to Bhut, with the calm of a devout priest, Tathar stands, removes his holy symbol and starts to pray to Sehanine. "Sehanine, my goddess, I ask your aid in removing the magic that is plaguing us! Mistress of illusion, I beg you, remove this blindness and reveal all that is hidden!"
Tathar’s vision returns. He catches the glint of the lantern light reflecting upon his crescent moon symbol. Sehanine has answered him.
Peylae as well. She looks over to the elven priest with seeing eyes. “Thank you! Sehanine’s light is a true blessing.”
Aravae looks at the other two elves showing more confidence at the return of their sight, “What shall we do? Where is our foe?”
Even Bhut, although not blinded, has the energy to fight on should an enemy be discovered.
Speck holds his position. He is very relieved Kuba has survived the encounter with the walking dead.
Dalic and Bofor stand imposingly in the eastern passage.
Southar, Grimlock and Cirdan remain unseen.
Kuba watches the southwestern passage during the reprieve from battle.
Breymeer moves east further into the room. He puts his back against the wall and catches his breath while taking inventory of his wounds, “What do we do next?”
Grimlock’s voice is heard directly between the two human warriors, “Congratulations my comrades on the victory well fought. We must hurry. Quickly, our goal lies beyond this room.” Grimlock begins to head down the southwestern passage.
Cirdan directs a question at Bofor and Dalic. "Bofor, WHAT shall not pass? And Dalic, why are you now standing side by side with a priest you wanted to kill moments ago? SPEAK, for you know more than you have heretofore said!" Cirdan’s voice puts him just a little east of Breymeer.
Tathar, showing a bit of anger says, "The undead have been sent back to the abyss, but something or someone is casting spells on us! Cirdan, Grimlock, Southar! Why do you not help?"
Suddenly, from the dark eastern passageway, three greenish colored missiles come darting out of the darkness beyond Bofor and Dalic. The missiles fly by the dwarves.
The missiles streak straight and unerringly, striking the three elves near the anvil. Aravae is struck in the left thigh (5, 3/8), Peylae in the lower right leg (5, 11/16) and Tathar square in the chest (5, 19/24).
Tathar runs to the northwestern passage where he is out of the line of sight from the eastern passage. He goes to Southar's lantern and begins to cover it. The room darkens some before he realizes the light from the illusionary forge has disappeared when the forge faded from view. Tathar allows a low level of light to escape the lantern and gives his reasoning, "When Foesmiter was in spectre form we could not see his green orb unless the light was low...look now for such signs now."
No such illumination is seen.
Meanwhile, Aravae takes cover by the anvil. Peylae joins her while she tries in vain to see up the eastern passage, “I cannot see much beyond the dwarves.” Aravae begins to dig out components for a spell.
Bhut is confused by the sudden attack and stands momentarily flat footed. He had just been waiting for an opportunity to thank Tathar Surion for his aid to the party when the missiles struck the elves.
Dalic and Bofor, hear a voice just before the missile strike, “The elves are plotting to take the dwarven relics from the mine. The sneaky fairy pixies must be stopped. Keep them from this passage at all costs!”
Despite the elves being trusted allies in the past, the voice makes sense and is believed in full. There is no doubt they have duped the dwarves. They have already seized Zalco! The elves must not have any dwarven treasure!
Bhut, struggling in the low light, watches the passageways for activity.
Aravae stands and quickly works her way through a spell. The floor of the eastern passageway, roughly 30 feet past the dwarves, begins to glow with a magical light similar in strength to a torch. It shows the hall extending further into the darkness. Just past the edge of the light, it appears the room may widen and two large objects, large bellows by the look of them, are mounted facing easterly. They are similar to the previous bellows encountered on the way down.
Just after Aravae casts her spell, three more missles fly in from the eastern passage. The originated on the north side of the bellows. Bhut shouts a warning but the missiles strike their targets.
Bhut is struck in the right hand (2, 14/22(28)) but he is able to keep his grip on his axe. Peylae is struck in the left thigh (4, 7/16) and Aravae is struck in the chest (5, -2/8, missed system shock - dead).
Grimlock quietly slips down the southwestern passage. His footsteps quickly fall silent and the disturbances in the dust continue off into the darkness.
Speck makes his way along the western wall where he joins up with Kuba who in turn moves into the room and joins Breymeer against the southern wall just east of the southwestern passage.
Breymeer calls Bofor out on his previous comments in regards to Breymeer’s plan to move tactically to a previous room, “Bofor, your lack of trust and assumption that I would consider leaving my comrades in battle is unacceptable to me. If your trust in me is lacking, tell me now.”
Cirdan yells forth, "There is a mage somewhere up the eastern passage and Bofor and Dalic are under his spell. Fall back to the previous room. If he sends a ball of fire into this room, it will engulf us all. Make him come to us, so we don't have to fight through Bofor and Dalic to get to him."
Cirdan move to the north wall by way of the west wall. As he is passing where Southar was last seen he quietly say, "Southar you stay here, if you will, and attack from the back if he follows us."
Cirdan, still invisible, leaves Southar and moves towards the northwest tunnel where Tathar has picked up the lantern ordering, “Follow me.”
Tathar, lantern in hand, heads up the northwestern passage dropping the chamber into near complete darkness. Only the residual light from Aravae’s spell illuminates the room.
Peylae grabs onto Bhut’s arm. “Help me stabilize Aravae and I will guide you as we get the three of us out of the line of fire. With any luck, whatever is down that hall can’t see us.”
Dalic speaks aloud to the elves. "Comrades, we hab come far enough. There be nothin more for ye ta steal from tha dwarves. None tha I be lettin ye anyhow! Return Zalco and leave this place or we will take ye from it.”
Bofor says something to Dalic assuring they are working together. Bofor readies his weapons to defend the passage from any incursion. He repeats the statement, “You shall not pass!”
Dalic and Bofor hear the voice. It continues to encourage them and adds, “The humans. The humans are turning on us as well. Let us charge out and take them now before they can regroup! Now, kill them all now or drive them from our mine!!”
The order again seems plausible. The humans and elves do indeed appear to have joined together against the dwarves. The duergar and the dwarf priest, in a very strange alliance, feel the need to destroy the usurpers or die trying.
Dalic turns to face Bofor while backpedaling towards the anvil, “I will not harm me friends Bofor!”
Bofor removes a war hammer from his belt and throws it towards the anvil. It begins to radiate a dull grey light as it animates to attack. The hammer gets caught up in a mass of stringy webs shooting across the room from just north of Southar where Cirdan was last heard to be. The webbing connects floor to ceiling about 5 feet into the room from the eastern chamber. The mass is 20 feet wide but narrows as it enters the eastern passageway blocking any passage and binding Dalic and Bofor within.
Bhut, seeing the eastern threat temporarily removed, scans the other two passages for threats. The light from Southar’s lantern increases in illumination again as Tathar unshutters it in the northwestern passage. Tathar set the lantern down in the passage outlining the exit for the humans still in the near dark room. Bhut stows one of his axes as he prepares to drag Aravae out of the line of fire.
Peylae tries in vain to stabilize Aravae. She is soon helped as Tathar jogs up and kneels next to the downed elf. The Sehanine priest quickly ascertains the elf maiden has passed from this world. He quietly shakes his head confirming Peylae’s fear. Aravae has died.
Kuba comments to Breymeer, “This is getting out of hand. Do we stay here, follow the elves or head deeper in?”
As an answer, Breymeer slip around the corner of the SW passage trying to hide while others retreat. He puts away his melee weapons and takes out his bow and the obsidian arrow.”
Kuba follows suit with Speck quickly taking up the rear. They move as quietly as they can with Breymeer and Speck moving soundlessly.
Speck gives the visually challenged human warriors and update in regards to the web being cast.
Southar materializes from the wall where he had stood. He pulls a torch out of his pack and gets it ignited. The torch sputters to life giving the room a little more illumination. The western portion of the room, from northwest passage to southwest passage and out to the anvil are generally illuminated.
Southar, hears a voice telling him to burn the dwarves within the web before they can free themselves.
Grimlock, moves down the southwestern passageway. He jogs cautiously but trying to be silent. He can slow as needed. He has covered approx. 300 feet and has reached the chamber.
It is 120 feet across, has a 60 foot high domed ceiling and is illuminated by some magical light that seems to concentrate at a rock ledge in the NW corner.
The walls are decorated in alternating sections of bas-reliefs and bare rock. The carvings depict acts of dwarven heroes.
On the NW wall of the chamber, a ledge is carved from the rock about 25 feet from the floor. The glow seems to concentrate here. The rock supporting the ledge rises sheer and smooth from the floor, as do the immediate surrounding walls. Once a great majestic stone staircase rose to the ledge from the floor of the room, free standing like a flying buttress, but is had fallen, and large pieces of rock litter the floor.
Plainly visible upon the ledge is a throne carved out of granite. Upon it sits a dwarven skeleton. Upon its head rests a great helm.
The SW exit is blocked by five huge timbers. The timbers are braced with piles or rubble and held in place by other timbers.
The webbing contracts and distorts as Dalic rips and cuts his way through; cursing Bofor the entire time. Dalic comes into view as he fights his way through the final bits of webbing.
Bofor is nowhere in sight. His location in the webbing is unknown.
Tathar stands up from examining Aravae and, with an angry look on his face, asks Paylae, "Can you make me invisible?"
Peylae quickly answers, “No, I cannot.”
From near the NW passage, Cirdan inquires, "What is your plan?"
Tathar goes to Cirdan’s voice. Finding the elf nobleman, Tathar explains, "When those webs are gone, I am going to take a cone of silence to the spell caster in the next chamber. Let the others know so we can eliminate this threat as a group."
Cirdan does not hesitate. He pulls a few components from his pocket, encases one in the other, and completes the intricate magic. When finished, he touches Tathar. Tathar vanishes from sight.
Southar passes by Tathar as the snake-like ranger crosses the room. Southar bypasses Peylae and Kuba, bee-lining towards the webs. “I will take out the webssssss,” he hisses as he tosses the torch into the webbing.
The magical web ignites and the fire begins to spread very quickly.
Dalic, seeing the danger, puts more energy into his struggles. Before the flames can reach him, Dalic frees himself and steps safely into the chamber; free of the burning webs.
Breymeer, black arrow nocked, watches the webbing burn. He waits for a target to appear.
Kuba stands next to him preparing the shield the ranger from melee should it come.
Speck watches the southwestern passage for any possible ambush of approaching undead.
Grimlock quickly and quietly crosses the large chamber. He moves to the east corner where the ledge meets the wall. Using the two walls for leverage, Grimlock begins a slow ascent up the sheer side of the ledge towards the throne.
The fire spreads across the webbing as if it were a jack pine forest. Bofor screams in pain from the center of the webbing (5, 20/36(41)). Flames and smoke billow into the air illuminating the room with wavering firelight.
Tathar moves far enough away from Cirdan to keep the elf nobleman out of the elf priest’s spell range. He calls upon Sehanine to bless him with silence. Instantly, the area around Tathar falls quiet.
Cirdan also works his magic. Cirdan cancels any magical spells upon Bofor and Dalic. The burning web instantly disappears leaving only the smoke and soot hanging in the air of the chamber and eastern hall. The magical light Aravae placed in the hall appears to have flickered out along with her lifeforce.
The room remains lit by Southar’s still burning torch. It lies on the chamber floor just ahead of him near the wall just north of the eastern chamber. It casts some light on the eastern end of the room but the hallway remains hidden in shadow and smoke. Southar stands perplexed for a moment.
Bofor, seemingly confused at his sudden change of heart, finds his animosity towards his elven friends has faded. Unfortunately, he does remember the pain of the fire. He beats the flame out of his cloak calls upon Fortubo for aid (+5, 25/36(41)). His burns mend leaving him with scorched hair, beard and cloak.
Dalic grunts his frustration about feeling like a meat suit and focuses his gaze down the hall toward the direction the missiles came. He pulls out two of his throwing daggers and looks down the hall for a target. Not finding one, even with his blind fighting skills, he begins to enlarge himself.
Southar also appears stunned for a moment contemplating why he just lit the webbing on fire with his friends so encapsulated.
Breymeer calls out to the others, “Draw out whatever this thing is and I will ambush it!” He stands ready with his magical arrow nocked.
Kuba holds his position as Breymeer’s first line of defense while Speck continues to monitor for other threats; his halfling ears checking for the slightest sounds.
A rattle of bones brings attention to the eastern hall. The skeleton of a snake, some 12 feet in length, comes slithering out of the darkness. Its skull resembles that of a human except it has fangs. A bluish electrical charge arcs between its teeth. A cold, cruel light burns in the creature’s eye sockets giving it an air of unspeakable hatred and malice. Its tail ends in a wicked barb nearly the size of a short sword.
The creature appears to be some type of dead version of the snake-beast some of the party members encountered in the jungle city warehouse.
The creature jets past Bofor uncoiling as it does so. Dalic faces the danger while forcing his body to enlarge to that of a very stocky man. The undead snake strikes Dalic on the front left shoulder. Its teeth puncture his plate armor but barely break the skin (1, 29/30(39), immune to poison). The pent up electrical charge conducts through Dalic’s body and armor causing him to cry out from the painful shock (13, 16/30(39)). The force of the shocking impact knocks Dalic off his feet. The oversized dwarf is knocked supine in front of the now coiling skeleton.
Bofor is dumbstruck as the creature’s tail whips into his chest stabbing him through his armor (8, 17/36(41), made poison save).
Breymeer finally has the target he has been holding for. His bowstring sings as the obsidian arrow streaks across the room. It strikes the snake upon the skull, cracking the cranium plate (9, 44/53). He removes a normal sheaf arrow from his quiver on his second shot. This arrow ricochets off the tail barb chipping a small amount of bone as it does so (2, 42/53).
Southar is unable to immediately gather himself for a counter attack. He raises his long sword and shield defensively in reaction to the sudden attack.
Peylae and Bhut are also both caught off guard by the sudden appearance of this vile critter.
Dalic scrambles to his feet under the coiled threat of the snake creature.
Bofor, being temporarily ignored, quickly calls for healing aid (+8, 25/36(41)). The injury to his chest closes considerably.
The creature ignores Dalic for the moment and turns towards Southar. Its demon-like eyes stare at the snake-warrior and some type of exchange takes place.
Southar suddenly charges Dalic yelling, “Stop!” Southar attempts to knock him over with a shield rush. Dalic stands and takes the rush in stride. Both dwarf and snake-man retain their feet. Southar attempts to wrap his sword arm around the dwarf’s neck, “Stop attacking it!” With his increased size and strength, Dalic breaks free from the ranger.
Cirdan calls to Peylae, “Give it everything you have.” He runs up the northwest passage. He returns quickly with the un-shuttered lantern illuminating the room significantly more than Southar’s torch.
Bhut asks the party for advice on attacking such a thing, feeling the mild embarrassment from the previous monsters he was unable to destroy.
Peylae casts her defensive spell creating five duplicates of herself. She then answers Bhut, “Have at it Bhut. Use your axes. Breymeer’s arrows are damaging it, magical or otherwise.”
Bhut charges forward attacking its north flank with both his axes. He strikes it once clearning several ribs off its left side (7, 35/53)
Kuba, telling Speck to stay put and keep alert, advances defensively toward the melee with shield up and hammer in hand. He stops short of the area lit by the torch being some 10 feet from the snake creature finding he has suddenly lost his hearing. He holds for an opportunity to strike when the creature is unprepared.
The sounds of the battle disappear. The actions continues but nothing is heard of it.
The explanation of the lack of sound becomes evident when the elven priest, Tathar, appears suddenly at the snake’s south flank. He has struck it with his yuan-ti cobra staff (6, 29/53).
Breymeer continues to fire arrows across the dark chamber into the snake creature. The first arrow misses its mark and strikes the chamber wall above the eastern passage. The second arrow strikes the creature in the ribs knocking one off its spine (4, 25/53).
As the snake creature stares into Southar’s snake eyes, he hears a voice telling him to halt the dwarves assault. Use whatever force is necessary if they do not comply. Southar feels a strange bond with the fellow snake like creature.
Bofor Barrelmace backs away from the serpent, “Fortubo, hide me from this monstrosity.” Bofor boldly holds his hammer symbol between himself and the serpent.
The skeletal serpent ignores Bofor and instead stabs its tail barb at Bhut as he moves in to attack. The piercing blow luckily deflects off his armored helmet leaving Bhut’s ears ringing but unharmed.
Missile fire rains down upon the creature. Both of Breymeer’s arrows fly errantly but Cirdan, materializing by the northwest passage, sets down the lantern and conjures up two glowing arrows. He sends them forth and each strikes the creature at the base of its head (5, 20/53 and 3, 17/53).
Bhut swings for the fence with both axes. His first strike severs the barb from the tail (7, 10/53) while his follow-up blow misses.
Southar swings Bloodletter at Dalic. The blow bounces harmlessly off the metal shoulder plate of Dalic’s dwarven armor.
Dalic ignores the snake-faced ranger and attacks the undead serpent. Dalic slices as it uncoils to bite at Tathar. Dalic’s first blow takes the snake just below the head (13, -3/53) and his follow-up stroke strikes the creature upon the top of its neck cutting through the spine (12, -15/53).
The head drops in front of Tathar unable to bite him. Tathar cracks it across the skull with his yuan-ti staff (4, -19/53) and Kuba steps in, repeating the blow to the skull with his dwarven war hammer (16, -35/53) and his hand axe simultaneously (6, -41/53). The skull shatters into a multitude of pieces. What remains of the eye sockets are empty. The cold light has vanished.
Southar stops his attack on Dalic and looks down upon the slain undead serpent creature, “I am ssssorry dwarf. It did not have to be dessstroyed sssso calloussssly.” Southar appears upset by its loss.
Cirdan approaches Aravae’s body. He asks Peylae, who is still surrounded by mirror images of herself, for help. It appears Cirdan, who has removed his blanket from his pack, intends to have Peylae strip Aravae of her possessions but Peylae is in disagreement, “Noble Cirdan, I know you mean well so I shall secure her tiara and her spellbook but I will not dishonor her by disrobing her. Aravae said she was bringing Pelltar supplies. Maybe he can aid us with information on her family to return her items. Until then, I agree the spellbook may be useful to many of us.” Peylae secures the tiara and book. “I am afraid we can not take her with us further into the mine.”
Cirdan changes subjects, "I need to rest and study. If we run into magic like this again, I will not have the ability to dispel it, as with this battle. We will be fighting each other, instead of our enemies."
Peylae, hoping the matter is settled, advises, “I need some time to restore my armor. It was lost when Tathar returned my sight.” She begins a lengthy incantation. This has been known to take the mages up to 10 minutes to complete.
Tathar picks up Southar’s dropped torch and walks into the eastern tunnel to investigate a small chamber some 50 feet down the tunnel. As he exits the chamber, Peylae requests, “Tathar, would you aid Aravae on her journey should we be unable to remove her body from the mine. This is no place for an elf maiden to remain.”
Bofor regroups near the anvil at the center of the room, “I have some strength left to aid those that are injured.”
Dalic inquires aloud, "Where be da Foesmiter? Bofor, hab'n we completed our task? Grimlock, where are ye and what of Zalco? We must protect ourselves from its charms." He begins searching the area keeping diligent for more signs of trouble.
Bofor answers Dalic as the dwarf warrior watches Tathar move up the eastern passage. “This should not be the end of the mines. The is certainly more to be explored.
Grimlock makes no comment in response to Dalic.
Kuba informs the group Grimlock appeared to have gone down the southwestern tunnel during the battle. Breymeer concurs, “He left just after the felling of the undead.” Breymeer taps one of the orc corpses with his foot for clarity.
Speck has been watching for activity in the passage. The halfling has not heard nor seen anything indicating Grimlock’s location.
Bhut expresses his interest, “I still want to go down the southwest passage, but after encountering those beasts, I am hesitant to do so without more help.”
Southar stands but remains silent. He displays no aggressiveness towards Dalic or other party members. He appears to be burdened mainly with his thoughts.
Tathar, walks soundlessly up the eastern passage. After 50 feet, it widens into a room 25 feet across. Mounted in the room are two very large, eastern facing, bellows. They are mounted just north and south of the room center allowing passage between them. Both are torn and tattered. They are similar to the ones encountered earlier and are likely part of the old ventilation system. Beyond the room the eastern passage once continued. It is now completely collapsed and blocked by large rocks and debris. The collapse does not look recent.
In the small chamber is a large barrel on the north side of the north bellows. The barrel is old but intact. The barrel is missing its lid. Looking into the barrel, Tathar can see it contains many hundreds of coins. Nearly half the coins are silver with the other half being gold and electrum. Tathar estimates there are nearly 1500 coins in total.
Grimlock, continues to climb. As he nears the top, he hears a voice. It speaks first in dwarvish. It says several sentences and then speaks in the common tongue, “Continue on your quest. You have no rightful claim to this throne.” Grimlock cannot see the throne and cannot ascertain which direction the voice came from. He simply heard it.
Once Grimlock reaches the top, he can see the skeleton is that of a dwarf. It is dressed in what used to be a royal robe of earthen color. The robe is mostly rotted and useless. A royal cloak drapes is shoulders. It is of a greyish color and rotted. The helm upon its head however is intact.
The great helm is made of fine steel. Laid over the top of the steel is a gold ridge running the rear of the helmet to the front. The ridge is designed to look like a hammer's handle. The face shield, also made of gold, is in the shape of the hammer head, like a Crockett mallet. The face shield is designed to slide up. It is currently covering the skeletons face. The helm is etched in intricate mithral designs and dwarven runes.
The skeleton sits unmoving on a stone throne of granite. As Grimlock gains his feet and stands upon the ridge, a reddish glow appears behind the hammer styled visor and he hears, "You are no rightful heir to the throne. Continue on your quest with dwarven blessings. Come closer and die."
Breymeer wonders the chamber looking for his spent arrows. He locates his obsidian arrow and two other sheaf arrows. The other three are lost or broken.
Tathar is in the eastern passage checking the area around the bellows and a bit further east for anomalies in the walls, floors and ceiling.
Dalic is visibly frustrated with the situation. "I be weary friends. Just one hit from tha last beast has left me wit likely with little ability to withstand tha same torment. I am drained of my resolve yet in part for me encounters wit spirits. Any help woul' be taken as a great kindness..."
He crouches letting the blackened Delven Bastard rest haphazardly in front of him, still in hand but tip grazing the dusty floor. He remains enlarged so the sight is truly an oddity to behold due to his duerger proportions.
He chuckles lightly, "Master Bhut, you must teach me the ways ye use two blades ta fight. Within this'n size," he gestures to his current form, "me swords should truly be put ta tha same use as yern axes."
"We hab few choices. We mus' go after Grimlock. Tha sword be a danger ta him an' us. Someone made mention ab alters in another chamber. Let us rest there lest we find our quest falters 'fore finality. I will nae abandoned Grim ta this place, but we need ta regroup. How long has it been? My memory fails with Foesmiter ta blame."
Bofor Barrelmace approaches Dalic and lays his hand on the duergar’s shoulder while whispering a prayer. Dalic appears a bit better (+3, 19/30(39)).
Peylae looks to Bhut and then Dalic, “If you two wish to continue just a bit farther, I will go with you to see what has become of Grimlock. I know we are battered but before we rest I would like to see if anything has befallen him. Maybe one of the trackers could aid us.”
Peylae continues, speaking now to Cirdan, “When Tathar returns to the chamber, those not coming with me can rally back at the altar room and await us.”
Cirdan seems surprised she wants to continue on.
Tathar, finds nothing among the stone to indicate a hidden portal. The fallen stone blocking the passage appears to be solid and complete. No easy means will get the stone out of the way.
Grimlock, standing at the edge of the ledge, calls upon magic to levitate his body upwards. Reaching the domed ceiling, he pushes himself to align himself with the edge of the ledge and prepares to levitate the crown off the skeletons head.
It responds to his actions, “You were warned.” A reddish light illuminates brighter under the helm and the world becomes blurred to Grimlock before fading away completely.
An immensely bright light replaces the darkness. Grimlock begins to ponder if he has somehow been slain by the skeletal creature. Before he can draw his conclusion, the brilliant white light illuminates a chamber below Grimlock.
The circular chamber is 90 feet across with a 30 foot domed ceiling. It appears consistent with the other dwarven carved rooms. Grimlock must still be in the delve somewhere. The white light appears to emanate from above Grimlock, magical in nature. The entire room is brightly lit.
Arranged about the walls are twelve decrepit wooden beds that have more or less collapsed upon themselves. At the foot of each bed is a wooden locker.
Directly below Grimlock is a sight that makes his blood run cold. Three dwaves stand in a line facing another creature. The dwarves are obviously long since dead, their bodies essentially mummified within their chain mail armor. They have shields upon their backs depicting the clan. Hammers adorn their belts. They appear to stand attentively listening to the other creature give orders.
The other creature stands larger than a man and is bipedal. His body is heavily muscled and covered by barbs and spiny projections. I has a long thick tail, also covered in barbs. Its fingers end in unusually long sharp claws. Eyes darting eyes give it a nervous appearance.
At Grimlock’s arrival, the fiend looks up at him and snarls. The evil sounds that permeates the room tells Grimlock a quick death would be an answered prayer at the hands of this beast. Grimlock levitates just below ceiling height at the center of the chamber.
Cirdan attempts to counter Peylae’s request with wisdom, “Let us camp here. There is only one passage behind us that we have not explored, so we can be almost certain that we have no enemies that way.”
In total silence, Tathar re-appears room from the eastern passageway. He starts talking, but he makes no sound. Looking surprised and somewhat foolish, he pauses for a moment as if in prayer and the dead-silent area surrounding his immediate vicinity comes alive with sound again. "Sorry, forgot about that. There is another room with bellows, and a passage that has caved in. It looks impassable and solid by my untrained eye. I found no secret doors or passages, but there is a barrel with about 1500 coins of silver, gold and electrum. I believe we can consider it ours as it seems to be the treasure of the snake creature we just defeated, and not property of the Dwarves." He moves over to the anvil and sits. "I need to rest and pray to Sehanine. If we can do this, I can ask Sehanine now to help heal the company's wounds. If we cannot, I will save what healing Sehanine may grant for more dire circumstances."
Peylae, mustering help, places Aravae’s body just into the eastern passage. She lays Aravae upon her own wool blanket, “We shall return here for her.”
Tathar, realizing the party's intent to split, shares his thoughts, "I think it folly to split the company again. I think we should all go, or all stay."
Finishing placing Aravae in the passage, Peylae looks to the group, “I agree Tathar. We are stronger as a group. But I will not leave the half-elf to the sword without checking a little farther. We can retreat as needed. This damn delve has cost us two lives already. I wish not to make it more in hasty decisions but I would like to think if it was any one of us off alone others would come to our aid.”
Dalic steps forward and reluctantly agrees to accompany Peylae. Bofor also steps forward to which Peylae comments, “For all the faults of the dwarves, bravery and honor are not one of them. Your kind has my eternal respect.”
Breymeer, the bearded northman, steps forward, “I will go but I prefer rear guard and let our more dungeon skilled and night visioned experts lead the way.” It is obvious the man is not afraid, simply giving the honor to others.
Bhut replies with a grin, "I will go with pleasure, my oddly looking short friend." Bhut pats Dalic on the back.
Kuba and Speck, seemingly inseparable, both give their intent to continue.
Cirdan just shakes his head and joins the group.
Tathar joins as well. He steps to one of the dwarf skeletons felled by Bhut and picks up its rusty small shield.
Gathering up, the group moves together down the southwestern passageway. They cover approx. 300 feet without incident before reaching the next chamber.
It is 120 feet across, has a 60 foot high domed ceiling and is illuminated by some magical light that seems to concentrate at a rock ledge in the NW corner.
The walls are decorated in alternating sections of bas-reliefs and bare rock. The carvings depict acts of dwarven heroes.
On the NW wall of the chamber, a ledge is carved from the rock about 25 feet from the floor. The glow seems to concentrate here. The rock supporting the ledge rises sheer and smooth from the floor, as do the immediate surrounding walls. Once a great majestic stone staircase rose to the ledge from the floor of the room, free standing like a flying buttress, but is had fallen, and large pieces of rock litter the floor.
Plainly visible upon the ledge is a throne carved out of granite. Upon it sits a dwarven skeleton. Upon its head rests a great helm. The skeleton is dressed in what used to be a royal robe of earthen color. The robe is mostly rotted and useless. A royal cloak drapes its shoulders. It is of a greyish color and rotted. The helm upon its head however is intact. The great helm is made of fine steel. Laid over the top of the steel is a gold ridge running the rear of the helmet to the front. The ridge is designed to look like a hammer's handle. The face shield, also made of gold, is in the shape of the hammer head, like a Crockett mallet. The face shield is designed to slide up. It is currently covering the skeletons face. The helm is etched in intricate mithral designs and dwarven runes.
The skeleton sits unmoving on a stone throne of granite its skeletal hands resting on its lap.
A passage once exited to the southwest. It is now blocked by five huge timbers. The timbers are braced with piles or rubble and held in place by other timbers.
The layer of dust upon the floor has been disturbed in places. Several tracks appear to either come or go from the passage and scatter into the room.
Grimlock releases the energies that maintain his levitation before he has a chance to think of an action. Zalco’s voice encourages the half-elf, “You are a great warrior! Slay this vile devil!”
As Grimlock freefalls, it becomes apparent the sword has taken control. He inverts the blade and grips the hilt with two hands. The fiend fans out its arms and hisses, “You shall die slowly!”
The overconfident fiend underestimated the half-elf. Grimlock cries out as the tip of the blade bites into the fiend’s flesh where the left arm meets its shoulder, “I slay you with Zalco, the mightiest weapon ever forged!”
The sword buries itself to the hilt into the vile creature. Grimlock can feel pure evil from the hellish beast.
Grimlock tumbles away from the creature ripping the sword from the wound as he does so. Grimlock tumbles and rolls along the stone floor battering and bruising himself (5, 17/22(25)).
“Your last thought shall be of the might sword Zalco, you foul spawn of the hells,” Zalco calls out in triumph.
Grimlock comes to his feet to see a look of shock on the fiend. From where the wound struck the devil a blackness is quickly spreading. Within seconds it creeps across its body like water across a hard surface. As the blackness spreads, it leaves and absent void behind it. The devil begins to issue a curse upon Grimlock but it fades to nothingness with a look of horror and shock in its evil eyes. Nothing of the beast remains.
The three zombies stand flat footed just 15 feet from Grimlock, the devil slaying half-elf, weilder of Zalco, the greatest sword ever forged.
“Now lay low these vile zombies and lets find the hammer wielding priest!” Zalco spurns Grimlock to action.
Bofor looks upon the throne with reverence, “There sits Brakuk of clan Thesdrorlum, Lord of Khoulgumlir.” As the group looks upon Bofor, he adds, “Khoulgumlir is what the clan named this mine. Brakuk was the overseer. It appears he, and all others, were lost with the mine.”
Dalic, though not of the near-surface dwelling dwarfs, feels a sense of respect for the overlord. Wary of the undead, Dalic eyes the skeleton for any sign of animation. He holds his blackened bastard sword at the ready.
Southar begins examining the tracks in the dust. Breymeer quickly joins him.
Peylae verbalizes, “Dead end. What became of Grimlock?”
Bhut moves into the room, happy it is not unlit.
After a quick survey, the room appears to be free of dangers other than the skeleton.
The rangers report there are seven sets of tracks. Six belong to the undead that moved up the passageway and attacked the party in the previous chamber. It appears they had been stationary in this room, lying upon the floor until the moment they rose and walked to their final melee. The final set of tracks belongs to Grimlock. He traversed the room heading directly to the northeast corner of the ledge; where the outcropping meets the outside wall. It appears he scaled the wall for the tracks end there. There is not other sign of him.
Little Speck follows the rangers to the base of the ledge. He begins to scale up the wall.
Kuba follows his little friend. Kuba stands near with his war hammer in hand watching for any sign of danger.
Bofor, seeing no further exits, suggests falling back and for rest before digging out the next passage and possibly awakening something worse than they just faced. He watches the ascent of the halfling towards the throne.
The sight of the dwarven skeleton strengthens Bofor's resolve. The fallen dwarves here shall have their honor returned. The mine shall be liberated. Bofor can’t help but feel honor being of the same clan as the great dwarves of Khoulgumlir. Bofor watches the halfling to make certain he is only looking for Grimlock. Should the halfling disrespect the Throne of Khoulgulir or Lord Brakuk, and armed response from Bofor will be required.
Grimlock discovers he is able to battle with the wills of the Zalco and Foesmiter. He begins to finger for a bit of webbing for a spell but Foesmiter takes over and Grimlock is bent to his will.
Grimlock forgoes the spell and charges into the line of zombies, concentrating on the right flank. With his elvish speed and human strength, emboldened by the magical sword and spirit of Khorliss Foesmiter, Grimlock hacks the head clean off the first standing corpse. Kicking the body out of his way, Grimlock turns to face the final two as they begin chanting in an unholy prayer.
Grimlock feels the evil energy surround his body, he grows sluggish but overcomes the feeling. As he turns to slay the second creature a wave of fear strikes him. Again, his internal resolve wins out and the empowered half-elf presses his attack.
Cirdan advises, "Southar, why don't you just use your rope?"
“Ssssssure.” Southar walks over to the corner near Speck and begins to remove his rope.
Tathar accompanies Southar to the wall and starts feeling around the ground and walls. While doing so, he removes his bow; keeping it ready for any sudden surprises.
“You have no right to this throne,” A voice calls out from above, first in the language of dwarfs and then in common. All are held fast by the voice.
The light, previously concentrated around the throne, begins to pulse brighter and brighter until it is unbearable causing all to shield their eyes. A rush of energy envelopes each adventurer and a sound similar to rushing wind is heard. As the light fades in intensity, the dwarf’s voice calls out again in both languages, “The gods may aid you in your quest but, like your companion, you tarry here too long and meddle where you do not belong.” The volume of the voice trails off as the light fades.
<Breymeer - Room 19> The light fades to black and Breymeer finds himself completely in the dark. He can determine he stands on a hard, likely stone, floor. Within seconds, the sound of boots upon the stone floor is heard. There are two unknowns walking towards him. He can pick out the sound of chainmail shirts rustling as they approach. Breymeer has a sense that unless these two approaching are party members, he is now alone.
<Bhut & Bofor - Room 20>, The light fades to black and Bhut and Bofor find themselves completely in the dark. Some form of illumination can be seen ahead. It is several hundred feet away and only gives enough light to show the duo stand in a chamber of unknown size. The light betrays the location of a passageway leaving the chamber they stand in. It is very dark otherwise. The air of the chamber seems a bit less stale than the previous chambers. The cause is undetermined. None of the other party members can be seen or heard.
Bofor is quiet for a few seconds and then, as his eyes adjust, he informs Bhut, “We stand in the center of a chamber some 120 feet across. The passage that leads to the light goes to the SW. There is a passage behind us leading to the east-southeast. We are slightly deeper than we were before. This chamber has smooth carved walls, a circular shape and domes ceiling as the other chambers. We certainly are still in the delve.
A soft voice speaking dwarvish comes to Bofor’s mind, “Do not fear honorable servant of Fortubo. I surround you like the very stone of the oerth. I am here in your time of need. Now see this task to completion.” A rush of warm energy passes through his body and although he still shows his injuries, his spirit and reverence feel as refreshed as a spring day. <Back to 14 spell points>
<Dalic - Room 25>, The light fades to black and then in an instant flashes to brilliant white light. As the duergar shields his eyes, they begin to adjust. He stands in a 90 foot diameter chamber with a 45 foot domed ceiling above. The room is smoothly carves as the other chambers of the dwarven delve. Dalic stands in the center of the chamber. He quickly determines he is facing south. A passage behind him leads to the northeast. A second passage in front of him leads to the southeast. The room is illuminated brightly by some magical source. It feels slightly colder here than it did in the throne room.
In the southwestern portion of the chamber, the smooth walls have been mined away. Dozens of chunks of mithryl lay about the floor at the base of the wall. Three dwarves work tirelessly with picks chipping stone from the wall. They are dressed in chain mail armor and have hammers on their belts in addition to the picks they work with. Their true identity is given away by the tight rotted skin, missing patches of hair and poor condition of their armor. These fellas are walking dead.
<Speck - Room 26> The light fades to black before slowly returning to a soft, magical glow. Speck finds himself alone. A brief moment of horror runs through him before he is able to calm himself. He looks around nervously attempting to get his bearings. He unconsciously moves backward to a wall and gets quiet and low.
He finds himself in a very large natural chamber. Gone are the smooth dwarven worked walls. The room appears to be some 150 feet long and 120 feet wide. It is very irregular shaped. The ceiling rises to an average height of 30 feet with little variation.
The wall behind Speck feels cold to the touch, as does the air. Speck can see his breath. Looking behind him, Speck realizes he stands in front of an iron door molded in the shape of a dwarf. The door is barred from his side.
From somewhere further into the cavern, Speck’s halfling ears pick up the soft sound of someone chanting. He cannot make out the language or what is being said. There appears to be only one voice. Speck does not recognize it.
From the other side of the door, Speck can make out the sound of metallic objects striking stone repeatedly. The strikes appear to be random without any noticeable rhythm.
<Tathar - Room 27> The light fades to black and Tathar finds himself standing in complete and utter darkness. In darkness such as this even the eyes blessed by Sehanine can not pierce the inky blackness. The air is becoming more chilled here.
A soft voice speaking elven comes to Tathar’s mind, “Do not fear my child. I am with you even in the deepest, darkest holes of the oerth.” A rush of warm energy passes through his body and his spirit and reverence feel as refreshed as a spring day. <Back to 11 spell points>
<Cirdan, Kuba, Southar - Room 28> The light fades to black as gravity begins to pull at the bodies of Cirdan, Kuba and Southar. They are falling. It lasts but a brief moment when impact occurs. The trio lands on a pile of rubbish by the smell. In fact, the horrid smell quickly becomes overpowering. Stomachs begin to turn and it is a fight to keep from vomiting. The trio’s sight returns, illuminated by Southar’s lantern. They quickly determine no one else is with them.
They are on a huge trash and dung heap in a naturally formed cavern. It is some 60 feet wide and longer than the lantern will illuminate in either direction. About 40 feet away, a natural passageway leads out of the room. The pile of filth increases in depth the farther into the room one goes from the passageway. The trio, being about half way across the room, are about 15 feet above the level of the door. The air is chilly made worse by the wetness of the dung pile
The trash and dung heap appears relatively fresh, at least on the top layers. It appears the orcs have somehow managed to transport their excrement and garage to this chamber. All three of the adventurers are now smeared with orc dung.
Just as they are getting their bearings, there is movement in the dung heap some 30 feet from the characters; almost straight in from the door. The rubbish pile is rising in an area nearly 8 to 10 feet in diameter!
Grimlock, with the backstroke, removes the head from the second zombie. He side-steps the collapsing corpse and drives his shield down onto the right thigh of the final zombie shattering the bone (6, 4/10). The zombie latches onto the shield for balance and reaches around the side of it with its dead hand striking Grimlock on his left thigh while cursing the half-elf to its vile undead deity in its dwarvish tongue. Pain shoots through Grimlock’s leg as the blow causes a deep bruise (8, 9/22(25)).
#19 Breymeer slowly back-peddles trying to move to get his back against wall. "Identify yourselves." He readies his dwarven axes, one the finely crafted battle axe and the other the hornwood hand axe.
The creatures come closer and closer. The smell of death and decay betray their identity in the darkness. Breymeer defends himself as they move in for melee.
#20 - Bhut asks for assistance in navigating the dark room. As he tries to walk with his arms extended to make sure he doesn't walk into anything.
Bofor reaches out and touches Bhut to reassure him. “If you wish, can bring forth light should Fortubo bless us with our request.” Bofor looks around for a few more seconds before adding, “It appears there are several wooden trunks along the north wall . . .”
Bofor’s comment is interrupted as the sound of footsteps and chain mail can be heard approaching from the downward passage.
#21 <Peylae arrived in room 21. She has followed the zombies north towards Bofor and Bhut.>
#24 Grimlock forces the creature back with his shield while setting it up for a stroke from his Zalco. The zombie is slow and easy to outmaneuver. Before it can utter another foul curse, Grimlock cuts it deep across the abdomen spilling its long dead contents. The dwarf body collapses to the floor unmoving.
“A battle well fought!” congratulates Zalco. “With my supreme power, let me aid this mighty new warrior.” Grimlock feels a rush of energy course through his body. To his amazement, his body quickly heals of all injury.
Grimlock’s confidence grows along with the healing energies.
Grimlock’s eyes dart around the room. He sees no more threats. His elvish ears quickly pick up a pounding of metal on stone coming from the passage that travels deeper down into the mines. It does not sound as if it is coming closer. It does not sound like a melee. It sounds like metal on stone.
The other passage appears to climb in elevation. As Grimlock faces the passage leading up, the downward passage is nearly 90 degrees to his right.
Grimlock pulls the required components from his pouch and elicits the magic that renders him invisible.
A quick survey of the dead shows the still each have a coin purse. He quickly collects the purses and finds dozens of gold coins between them (61gp).
Moving to the footlockers, he ransacks them finding gold in just over half of them. Including the purses, he gathers up a total of over 300 coins (318 gp).
As Grimlock is placing the last of the gold into his pouches, he hears the clanking of armor approaching from the downward passage. It sounds to be only one individual moving at a brisk pace but short of a run.
#25 Dalic is confused and disoriented and resolves to find his friends or escape. Stubbornness tells him to slaughter all enemies but experience has shown that he will continue fighting until downed and he has no backup to save him at this point.
Dalic wills himself invisible and heads for the passage leading up. He moves at a brisk pace. The sound of the pounding tools covering his footsteps as he heads away from the miners.
He moves up the passageway towards another well lit chamber of identical size to the one he just left. The brightness of both chambers being enough to cause the duergar great discomfort.
The room is carved from the stone in a circular shape with the common domed ceiling. As he nears the chamber, he can see several dead and rotten dwarf corpses near the center of the chamber. They wear chain mail armor in poor condition. Strangely, dispite their decay, they appear recently defeated.
Along the outer walls are lined twelve decrepit wooden beds that have more or less collapsed upon themselves. At the foot of each bed is a wooden locker; each having been ransacked.
Dalic is yet 40 feet from entering the room. From where he is now, he cannot see any other passageages connecting to the upcoming chamber.
#26 Speck draws his short sword very slowly and begins to move towards the voice with stealth. He moves counter-clockwise around the room, staying in the darkness and moving as quiet as a pad footed halfling can. Like a mouse, he sneaks along, keeping the wall on his right, until he comes to a small encampment among the numerous stalactites and stalagmites. He has travelled almost 150 feet.
From his vantage point, he can see several things.
First off, there is a passageway leading away from the room on the opposite site of the encampment. It is over 60 feet away and partially screened by the natural rock formations.
Secondly, the encampment itself shelters only one man. There is a rough pile of clothing laid upon the ground for a bed. A small firepit, currently extinguished, is placed near the bedding.
Sitting on the bedding is a green robed individual. A large book is open in the it’s lap. He appears to be a man; or at least a biped and man-sized. He sits facing nearly away from Speck making it difficult for Speck to see underneath its raised hood. The humming and chanting sounds are coming from the green robed man.
#27 Tathar drops to his knees and prays, thanking Sehanine for her gifts and guidance. He listens for a few moments but hears nothing. Feeling secure enough, he pulls a torch out and light it with his flint and steel.
Looking around, Tathar quickly notices the torchlight is greatly stifled in this horrible darkness. He finds he can only see the length of an outstretched arm.
Tathar does note he is in a narrow natural passageway. It is not more than 10 feet wide. The air has a chill and the elf can see his own breath. The passageway continues into the blackness both ahead of his and behind him.
#28 Kuba declares, “Oh dung! This can't be good.”
Cirdan climbs across the rubbish with all possible haste toward the cavern opening. He heads directly down the rubbish embankment towards the stone floor before angling to the natural opening.
Southar grips his shield and Bloodletter, waiting for whatever may rise out of the filth.
He doesn’t have to wait long. As Cirdan reaches the stone floor, the filth erupts into the air and a foul beast scrambles across the debris heap towards the wallowing fighters. The terrifying creature moves along using three thick legs. Its bloated body is over six feet in diameter with grey, dung smeared, skin. Three eyes are mounted on a leaflike stalk, nearly two feet long, that grows up from its body. Two other longer tentacles end in leaf shaped, spiny pads. Most horrifying is the creature’s mouth. Mounted in the center of its disgusting body, the huge mouth opens to expose two rows of long, razor sharp teeth.
The fighters feel an overwhelming sense that this creature has found its next meal as it closes in for the kill.
#19 Breymeer bellows out a battle cry and calls, “Give me light!”
Breymeer’s request is met with a hammer fall upon his left thigh shooting pain across his leg (3, 30/37(47)).
A second blow deflects off the dwarven battle axe which Breymeer quickly swing offensively. His battle axe makes contact with a shield.
With his hand axe, Breymeer battles the other attacker. His axe bounces off a body covered in chain mail armor. Breymeer is unsure if he damaged it.
Breymeer battles courageously using smell, sound and feel. As he battles, the faintest of lights comes into view. It appears to be far off and gives Breymeer no help in his current battle.
#20 Bofor touches the exposed handle of one of Bhut’s throwing knives and calls for Fortubo’s aid, “Bright light from this darkness.” The knife handle begins to glow and quickly brightens bringing with it light to the chamber. The handle glows bright enough to essentially illuminate the large chamber. Since the knife is sheathed near Bhut’s abdomen, the area behind Bhut is greatly shadowed.
The now lit room reveals two dwarves, both in chain mail armor and carrying shields, entering the room from the downhill passage. The first removes a war hammer from its belt and continues purposefully towards Bofor and Bhut.
The second stops and mutters something in the dwarf language to which Bofor warns, “It is a vile priest!”
The dwarves move very stiff and clumsy. It appears they may be walking dead.
From the passage behind the zombies, a twang is heard. An arrow pierces the spellcasters throat disrupting whatever vile power it was calling forth (1, 14/15). A second bowstring is soon heard and an arrow strikes the zombies thigh (1, 13/15).
From the uphill passage, a war cry echoes through the passage. The two immediately recognize it as coming from the barbarian of the northland, Breymeer. The voice indicates the warrior is some distance up the passage and not close enough to help the dwarf priest or fellow human warrior. The clang of metal on metal hints that Breymeer is in combat.
<Peylae has stopped and is shooting arrows to keep the spellcaster busy>
#24 Grimlock waits by the entrance where he heard the movement coming from hanging back a few feet against the wall.
The metallic footfalls continue and grow closer and closer. Just a few feet into the passageway they pause. Grimlock sees nothing. To his surprise, the footfalls suddenly start up again.
Something in heavy metal armor, likely plate mail, jogs into the room and, by the sound of it, heads for the other exit from the chamber.
Dalic continues forward in search of a continued route or evidence of who or what has slain the enemy and where they have gone. Upon entering the chamber, Dalic immediately sees a second passage leading from the room. That passage continues a slow ascent. Dalic heads across the chamber towards the other tunnel. The tunnel extends well past the limits of Dalic’s vision.
#26 Speck stops, remaining motionless. He watches the person closely.
For several minutes the person continues its chanting and sing song speech. Dalic can not understand the language. Speck does make out the burn and soot marks on its green robes.
The group that entered the hill from the east spoke of a green robed wizard. Could Speck have stumbled across him? If so, the party spoke of the wizard’s ability to conjure up balls of fire that it threw at Speck’s comrades.
If this is truly the mage, as Speck is convincing himself, the man is most likely studying his book of spells and regaining his powers.
#27 Tathar puts a hand out in front of him so he does not run into anything, and holds the torch closer to the floor so he doesn't fall or step into anything, and move approx 20' down the passage testing to see if the thick darkness goes away. It does not.
Tathar continues slowly and carefully. He commits himself to listening; trying to use his keen hearing to make up for his retricted vision.
After another ten feet, Tathar comes to fork. The tunnel he follows has a second tunnel that opens to the right travelling nearly 90 degrees to the right.
#28 Kuba, having heard dark tavern tales, shouts, “Double dung! An Otyugh!" Kuba begins to scramble down the embankment, "Cirdan wait!" Making ground away from the creature, Kuba shouts back, "Let's get out of here Southar!"
Meanwhile, Cirdan stops and removes a scroll from his possessions. Cirdan opens it and reads some magic from the parchment that Kuba could never hope to understand. Cirdan appears satisfied with the result even though Kuba saw now results himself.
The dung creature attacks Southar. Its first barbed tentacle bounces harmlessly off Southar’s golden shield. Its gnashes its teeth as its second tentacle wraps Southar’s right thigh, the barbs cutting into his flesh (5, 45/52). Southar’s leg is grappled and the creature continues to flay at his flesh (4, 41/52).
The snake-man responds, hacking at the offending tentacle with Bloodletter. The longsword cuts a deep gash in the tentacle spilling blood upon the dung pile (17, 33/50). The otyugh re-doubles its efforts, moving slightly to its left trying to cut Southar off from his companions. Southar’s thigh remains trapped by the creature.
#19 Breymeer, fearing he may have slipped in over his head, hacks away with fury. Not knowing if his opponents can see in the dark, he feints with his hand axe and drives his battle axe down. It makes contact, severing through muscle and bone. The sound of a shield hitting the floor indicates Breymeer has severed its arm. The thud of a body striking the floor soon thereafter gives the warrior hope.
His building confidence is held in check as a war hammer grazes his forehead (2, 28/39(47)).
#20 Bhut, using both axes, quickly slashes at the dwarf zombie. He slashes with his off hand striking it in the chest (10, 15/25). Chain links and bone fly from the impact and the force of the blow knocks the skeleton flat to the stone floor. Bhut follows up with an overhand attack with his strong hand. The blow would have proved fatal but the dead warrior pulls its shield in harms way at the last moment. The axe cuts through the shield crushing ribs and dead organs (11, 4/25).
Bofor presents his hammer symbol and commands, “This is Khoulgumlir! And it belongs to the Dwarves of Thesdrorlum! Back now, back to your graves!”
Both zombies turn away from the Bofor and try to escape away.
As the wounded zombie tries to clatter away, Bhut presses his attack. He slams his axe onto its back severing the spine. The body stops moving.
The other zombie disappears down the passage from whence it came. Shortly thereafter a much relieves and grinning Peylae enters the chamber with her bow in hand, “That vile thing ran past me towards a well lit chamber. It contains several large basins filled with foul smelling liquid.”
“Airweed,” comments Bofor, “It is used to help give good air to deep mines. Not the prettiest to smell however.”
Looking around, aided by the light from Bhut’s knife handle, the three can see several storage trunks on the north wall. Next to them is a wooden rack holding a half dozen pole arms.
The sound of metal on metal combat can be heard some distance downt he passage nearly opposite from where Peylae entered.
#23 Dalic pushes on while looking for disturbance in the dust and dirt of the floor. He finds telling layer of dust is gone. There is enough traffic to cause the center of the walkway to be free of obvious tracks. Giving a grunt, he continues away from the lit chamber into the dark passage. He allows his eyes to adjust thankful to be back into a duergar friendly environment.
Dalic jogs down the long corridor all the while ascending a slow slope. After nearly 500 feet, he approaches another lit chamber. Slowing, Dalic approaches to assess the situation.
The chamber is the common circular design with a high domed ceiling. The room is 90 feet across. It appears this room was once used as a barracks. Arranged abou the wals are seven decrepit bunks. Each bunk has a footlocker located at its base.
There are two other exits from the chamber. A passage to the right continues uphill. There is a stairwell to the left. It appears to rise sharply in a series of short switchbacks.
Near the stairwell, the bodies of three deteriorated dwarves stand as if ready for an attack. Their armor and weapons show they have been here for a long time. Across the room, two other dwarves, long since dead, stand and watch the stairwell as if waiting for something. All have chain mail, shields and war hammers. The three by the stairs have their hammers at the ready. The other two do not.
Grimlock quietly follows the heavy footsteps nearly 500 feet up a dark passage to another illuminated chamber.
#26 Very carefully, Speck quietly sheaths his sword and prepares his short bow. He then continues to sneak along the wall behind the mage towards the exit using the rock formations as additional cover.
The mage, appearing to be lost in concentration, ignores the halfling.
Speck continues past the mage successfully and enters the tunnel. It is of natural formation with a chill in the air. The halfling can see his breath.
A shriek of pain echoes from somewhere in the tunnel ahead of Speck.
The mage looks up from his studies.
#27 Tathar continues slowly forward, keeping to the same passage. He creeps forward another 100 feet before coming to a fork in the road. Both passages continue on in his general direction of travel, one on the left side and one on the right.
While he is deciding which way to go, the faint sound of a struggle ahead of him reaches his ear. It is too difficult to tell much from the sounds.
In addition, a black blob drops from above striking mainly his shield and shield arm. A heavy smell of acid accompanies the attack. His shield and armor immediately begin to dissolve and his skin burns with excruciating pain causing Tathar to shriek with pain (17, 2/24). With his extreme dexterity, he tumbles clear of the creature.
Tathar comes to his feet freeing himself of the shield as he does. The creature is only about 6 feet away. The torch Tathar had in his hand dropped to the cave floor during the attack. It now sits between the elf and the nearly 5 foot in diameter black blob.
The blob begins to rotate around the torch clockwise.
Tathar’s arm screams in pain but the damage seems to be running its course. The shield continues to dissolve on the floor. Tathars armor has been destroyed from the shoulder down.
#28 The thorny tentacle continues to rend Southar’s leg (5, 36/52) until another slash from Bloodletter cuts Southar free (10, 23/50). The tentacle severs and falls to the trash pile.
A sense of anger comes from the creature as it lashes and bites at Southar without effect.
Cirdan removes a blanket from his pack, "Come on, Kuba, he's gonna need our help, and he won't run. He probably thinks he's invincible. I blame that cursed shield of his."
Kuba, having stashed his sword while navigating down the heap, turns with his bow in hand. He begins sending arrows into the creature. Both arrows penetrate the thick hide (7, 16/50 and 8, 8/50).
A sudden shriek of pain is heard from the passage out of the room. Its echoing causes direction and distance to be distorted beyond calculation.
#19 Breymeer continues flailing away in the pitch darkness while bellowing another war cry. His hand axe meets rotted flesh, busting through the chain links just below the ribs (8, 17/25). The blow from his battle axe is deflected by the dead creature’s shield. Judging from the size and reach of his opponent, Breymeer calculates he is fighting dead dwarves.
Just as the undead warrior is deflecting Breymeer’s battle axe, it drives its own war hammer down onto Breymeer’s exposed left thigh (3, 25/37(47)).
A faint light begins to creep towards the room from a passageway as Breymeer battles. Something with a bright light is closing on the room. I can be no more than one minute away.
#20 Bofor celebrates his successful turning of the undead!
Another war cry echoes into the chamber. The sound carries with it a sense of urgency as if the warrior is fighting for his life. Peylae calls the priest and the warrior forward, “Our comrade needs us. Let us not tarry.”
Bhut, snagging the coin purse from the defeated undead warrior (19gp), walks to the storage trunks and tosses the lids off them, “Rotted weapons.” He looks disappointed. Taking a breath and spinning his axes in his hands, he takes off after the dwarf and the elf who are now jogging forward at the edge of Bhut’s magical light.
Paylae has her short sword out now and Bofor readied his shield and hammer.
#23 Dalic plans to continue by taking the path of least resistance and starts for the passage up away from the enemies. He gets only a step when he hears Grimlock’s voice maybe 15 or 20 feet behind him, “Dalic, are your wits about you? It is grim!” Grimlock is not visible.
#26 Speck stops and tries to remain out of sight. Speck is 60 some feet from the mage and has a screen of natural rock formations partially obscuring his movement. The halfling quickly ducks out of sight.
The mage stands and laughs to himself, “Devour it my little pet!” Unless Speck is mistaken, the mage appears human and vile at that.
The mage’s voice changes to a dialect Speck does not understand. The mage begins some type of magic spell or conjuration.
#27 Tathar circles the far side of the torch and blindly moves down the tunnel he thinks the sounds came from while trying to put some distance between himself and the black blob.
To keep from getting lost, Tathar keeps to the wall on his left as he has since he started. He travels about 90 feet before he stops and removes an oil flask from his possessions.
Tathar pours a line across the floor and partially up each side wall. He is relieved to find the passage is yet only 10 feet wide. Using his flint and steel, he puts spark to a torch and torch to the oil. His defensive line comes to life. It creates only a dull light.
He can see nothing close behind him. Ahead of him, the passage forks again. One half remains travelling in his general direction of travel. The other departs at a 90 degree angle to the right. He can not see more than 5 feet from burning fire line and 3 feet from his torch.
Seeminly secure for the moment, Tathar puts his hand to his symbol and prays.
#28 Cirdan, seeing that Southar and Kuba should have this trash-monster under control, heads towards the tunnel at speed. He moves 75 feet down the passage until it comes to a tee. He pauses for his eyes to adjust having left the illumination provided by Southar’s lantern.
Cirdan stops and listens hard. All has fallen quiet, other than the battle on the dung pile. Nothing is visible other than natural passage to the right or left to the extent of Cirdan’s vision.
It is noticeably colder in the passageway.
Southar drives his sword into the beast just above its mouth. The sword sinks to its pommel and blood sprays out when Southar removes the blade.
At that moment, the garbage pile erupts some 40 feet from Kuba; just past the passageway opening. A second creature, a little smaller than the first, has burst through the dung pile onto the stone floor. It lumbers forward on three short stout legs; its mouth open. Its tongue licks the air as it moves forward. Southar and Kuba can feel the creature’s blood lust for fresh meat.
Like a skilled hunter of great beasts, Kuba releases two arrows into the creature as it bears down on him. Both streak unerringly into their target (14, 16/30 and 8, 8/30).
The temptation of having a fresh meal is too great for the severly wounded creature. It continues its attack, seeking to make prey out of the hunter before it.
It rakes Kuba across the neck with its left tentacle (3, 38/45(47)) and grapples him around his waist with its right. The thorny pads cut into his skin as the creature lifts the warrior into the air above its mouth (4, 34/45(47)). The toothy mouth bites down at Kuba’s flailing feet. Kuba’s boot takes the blunt of the blow but his ankle is cut and bruised none the less (2, 32/45(47)).
#19 Breymeer’s attacks become more focused fearing whatever may be coming. He drives his battle axe through the leg of his opponent (9, 8/25). As gravity takes the creature down, Breymeer hacks it in the chest (7, 1/25). The vile undead is heard to fall upon the floor yet it sweeps its hammer at Breymeer. They blow carries no energy and Breymeer’s boot protects him from damage.
The light grows steadily closer as the final undead warrior scrambles upon the ground to continue combat with Breymeer.
#20 The sound of combat continues while the trio jogs closer. Bhut and Peylae keep a slow pace as Bofor can not run as fast as them. For now, none appear willing to separate. The security in numbers outweighing the urgency to investigate the battle ahead.
#23 Dalic turns abruptly whispering back, “Aye Grim it is, as well are you.” Dalic’s voice shows pleasure in having a companion but he quickly falls silent again knowing they are not alone and must remain quiet.
Grimlock, also playing mute, does not return a comment.
#26 Speck’s first arrow strikes a stalagmite half way to the spellbinder as it completes its spell.
Speck takes a fine bead and lets the string sing a second time. As the arrow flies the gap between the halfling and the mage, the mage disappears from sight. The tactic is in vain as Speck’s arrow strikes hard into an invisible object, stopping in mid air (12, 0/20; awesome crit). The tip of the arrow and the feathers can be seen but the shaft disappears as it is stuck in the mage’s head. The arrow takes an arc towards the floor and bounces once before coming to rest.
#27 Tathar administers aid to his arm while watching for the pudding to be coming via wall or ceiling! (+2, 4/24). As he is binding himself, Cirdan’s voice is clearly heard through the darkness in the direction Tathar is travelling. Cirdan is calling out, “TATHAR! GRIMLOCK!”
The distance to the echoing voice is hard to judge in the underground darkness but it seems to be only a few hundred yards ahead of him.
#28 Southar charges down the hill to aid Kuba. His blow bounces off the thick hide of the dung creature. It tries to bite Southar in return but Southar shoves his golden shield into its mouth instead fouling its attempt. With its free tentacle, it rakes Southar across his good leg. The spiny barbs are unable to pierce the ranger’s scaled skin. With quickness and strength, Southar avoids being grappled like Kuba.
Kuba drops his bow and pulls his sword. The room is getting darker as the creature squeezes the air out of his lungs all while digging its barbed pad deeper into his skin (5, 27/45(47)).
Cirdan, standing outside of the room in the hall, calls out loudly, “TATHAR! GRIMLOCK!”
<Skirpus, a bone devil, hears Cirdan calling. Skirpus turns invisible>
#19 Breymeer swings his hand axe at the downed foe but strikes the stone floor instead. In a retaliatory strike, the dead dwarf smashes his hammer into Breymeer’s forearm causing a wound (8, 17/39(47)), stunning the arm and causing Breymeer to drop his hand axe.
Breymeer cries out in pain. His cry quickly becomes another war cry as he smashes the dwarf’s skull to pieces with his battle axe.
The echo of his war cry dies off and there are no other sounds in the chamber other than Breymeer’s heavy breath.
#20 The trio moves forward to a tee. Another cry of pain calls out, echoing in from the right side of the tee. There is nearly no doubt the sound comes from Breymeer. The cry of pain turns into a war cry and heavy smashing is heard along with the ring of metal on stone. Then, all falls silent.
Peylae heads to the right and Bofor and Bhut follow suit. They slow and approach the chamber cautiously.
The chamber is similar to the others. This one is 90 feet across with the now common domed ceiling and smooth walls. In the center of the room are two lumps in chain mail. They appear to be the remains of dwarves recently laid low.
Peylae calls out softly, “Breymeer, do you yet live?”
#23 Grimlock suggests Dalic work their way back to where Grimlock stands. Dalic does just that, reaching out and grasping onto Grimlock’s shoulder; a feat that is quite easy to do as the duergar is still enlarged and considerably bigger the half elf in height and girth.
Grimlock whispers, “I am going to levitate you and push you along. Do not move or make noise as we sneak past the zombies and climb up the stairs.
Dalic agrees, “I’m game.”
As Grimlock prepares his spell, he adds, “If need arise, I will surround the three by the stairs in a mass of webs so we can attack the other two.”
Dalic vocalizes an understanding.
Grimlock completes the spell and Dalic feels his stomach turn as he rises a foot off the floor. He signals to Grimlock and the half elf begins to push the duergar through the air towards the chamber.
#26 Speck stows his bow and once again take out his stout dwarven short sword. He makes a careful advance back to the Mage. Speck feels for the mage's invisible body with the sword. He finds it and run it through just to make sure he is dead. The mage’s body gives no hint of life.
Speck looks around to confirm there are no other immediate threat. Finding none, he starts a careful search of the place looking for things of value.
First thing, Speck locates the mage's spell book and secures it in his pack for his magic using companions. Next to the spell book, Speck locates a small coin pouch. It is tied shut but appears to contain several dozen coins.
#27 Tathar responds to Cirdan’s hail, "I'm here, are you alone?"
Cirdan calls back, "No, Southar and Kuba are here, but they are fighting a creature Kuba called an otyugh. Can you come to my voice?"
Tathar pauses, looks around for the black oozing death and prays for healing (+4, 8/25).
<Skirpus teleports up behind Cirdan>
#28 Kuba hacks away at the tough hide of the otyugh nearly severing the tentacle that holds him aloft. Southar lunges forward and drives his sword to the hilt into the creature. It collapses to the ground unable to deliver a bite to the ranger with the golden shield.
Kuba hits the ground with a thud. The debris and feces softening the blow. Kuba begins to vomit at the smell. Southar appears to be handling it better.
#19 Breymeer responds, “Yes, I’m still with the living, though I’ve been better.” Peylae walks into the chamber, backlit from the passageway. Breymeer continues, “And you are a pleasant sight. An update on the rest of our party would be appreciated.
On cue, Bofor Barrelmace and P’innr Bhut walk into the room behind Peylae. “Counting you, we are only four strong. I know not where the other seven are.”
The foursome are all injured to some degree. Breymeer appears the worst of the four. He appears to have significantly injured a hand as he does not use it.
Bhut has a brightly glowing knife handle sticking out of his belt. It illuminates the room. The room is 90 feet in diameter, circular with a domes ceiling. Some wood debris hints at the room previous usage being that of a barracks. The two dead dwarf zombies are all that remain in the room.
There is another passageway on the far side of the chamber. It leads to a set of winding stairs that drop swiftly downward. Each step is one foot wide and one foot down. The stairs appear to take a series of switchbacks and landings similar to that of a modern building stairwell.
#23 The sound of battle ceases as Grimlock pushes Dalic silently across the floor. Stealthier than a farm mouse and quieter than the hunting owl, Grimlock passes first one and then the other two dead dwarven warriors guarding the flight of stairs.
The half elf and the duergar are nearly holding their breath as Grimlock concentrates to elevate Dalic as Grimlock begins to ascend the steeply banked narrow stairs. Each step is a foot wide and raises a foot.
Progress is slow but steady. Still, not further sound of battle comes from above.
#26 Speck, finding nothing much else of interest at the camp site, moves to the body. He quickly re-locates it by the arrow sticking vertically into the air, half invisible.
Speck pats the body down and finds the mage appears to be a human male garbed in robes. Speck finds some adornments on the body. It carries a dagger in a sheath, two rings (one per hand) and thick metal bracelets. The ring on the left hand appears to feel generally smooth and plain. The ring from the right hand has some type of large round generally circular protrusion rising from it. The footwear is in very poor cond1ell of smoke and soot to it.
Being that all the items are invisible, Speck can not make out many details from them.
#27 Tathar, still secure from the black acid blob, cures his wounds again (+8, 16/24).
#28 Kuba empties his stomach a final time and recovers from his retching. He does his best to tidy up as good an orc feces covered person can, and grab his bow off the floor. As he limps away from the dung pile he says, "I fear some kind of disease may overtake me if I don't find a way to clean up and get healed of these wounds."
Southar looks concerned as he glances over his own injuries.
The two warriors begin to exit the room. Cirdan has gone past a little wiggle in the exit passageway. He is not visible in the lantern light. He most certainly had yelled for Tathar from a little farther down this passage.
Cirdan’s hair stands up on his neck as he feels a sudden presence just behind him. A foul odor of decay and rot surrounds the elf nobleman. This smell overpowers that of the orc dung and trash. Cirdan fights off an overwhelming wave of fear as he turns to face this new devilry. He finds there is nothing to be seen.
His elf ears pick up a slight rattle of bone as he hears in his head, “Come with me now or I shall torture you until the very end of time.”
A horrifying creature materializes from thin air. It stands nine feet tall, bony and wretched. It appears to be a dried husk of generally human form. Its skin is stretched tightly across its frame. Its nearly human shaped skull is fearsome to behold. A long barbed tail extends from the back of its hip structure. It resembles a tail of a scorpion. Its eye sockets glow red with the flames of hell. Pure evil, malice, hatred and rage emanate from them.
Cirdan can see out of the corner of his eye, the light from Southar’s lantern is approaching from the garbage dump. They must only be 50 or so feet away, just barely screened by a little wiggle in the passageway between the elf mage and the human warrior and once-human ranger.
#19 Bofor walks up to Breymeer as Peylae begins addressing his arm wound (+3, 20/39(47)). Bofor prays for Breymeer’s healing (+5, 25/39(47)). Feeling returns to Breymeer’s arm and the wound goes away.
Bhut has crossed the chamber. He stops at the top of the steep downward stairs and looks over the shoulder to see if anyone is following him.
Now that Breymeer’s arm appears functional, the human, the elf and the dwarf join Bhut.
The Bhut and Bofor take the lead with Breymeer and Peylae taking position behind them. The stairs are very steep, dusty and appear unused. They are designed similar to a hotel stairwell with a series of switchbacks and landings. Each step has a one foot tread and a one foot riser.
#23 Grimlock continues to elevate Dalic up the steep stairwell. He safely arrives at the first landing up, then the second.
As the two make the turn up the third flight, the sound of activity above reaches their ears. Also, something is creating white light from few flights above. Because of the switchbacks, the direct light does not reach the duo.
From what they can make out, a group of several individuals are a few landings above them. They have some type of white light. It is not a lantern or torchlight.
#26 Speck finishes stripping the mage of whatever he can find. He leaves only the singed robe so as not to denude the body.
Speck returns to the camp location. He searches the area for unusual features like freshly refilled holes or rocks placed in piles to conceal objects. He remains ever silent alert to the surroundings.
#27 Tathar continues forward another 40 feet or so. He reaches another side passage. This one cuts off nearly 90 degrees to his right. The passage he is in appears to continue forward as well. Tathar cannot detect anything that would indicate the ooze is following him.
Cirdan’s voice suddenly calls out, "Kuba, Southar hurry up, there is a big, scary, evil-looking creature here that says we have to go with it or be tortured for all eternity!"
The voice is coming from just ahead of Tathar and to the left. The voice sounds relatively close. Maybe a hundred yards or so at most. Tathar cannot see in the dark far enough ahead to decipher what exact path to take. He can safely eliminate the new passage to his right. His only real choice at this point is to move forward if he wishes to locate Cirdan.
#28 Kuba sticks with Southar as they move down the passage. They make it around the little wiggle in the passageway and can see Cirdan standing at a tee intersection about 15 feet in front of them. Kuba had been in mid sentence talking to Southar, but he trails off, “Hopefully we can find a way to regroup with everyone and find some water to wash wi . . .”
Cirdan is facing down a 9 foot tall skeleton of pure evil. It is bony and wretched. It appears to be a dried husk of generally human form. Its skin is stretched tightly across its frame. Its nearly human shaped skull is fearsome to behold. A long barbed tail extends from the back of its hip structure. It resembles a tail of a scorpion. Its eye sockets glow red with the flames of hell. Pure evil, malice, hatred and rage emanate from them.
Cirdan and the creature are conversing. Southar and Kuba have walked interrupted to hear Cirdan say to the creature, "Okay, I'll come with you, but can we wait for my friends? They are almost here, and I would hate to get split up in this place."
Seeing the warriors arriving, Cirdan yells, "Kuba, Southar hurry up, there is a big, scary, evil-looking creature here that says we have to go with it or be tortured for all eternity!"
The creature snaps his fingers and a wall of crystal clear ice appears between Cirdan and his companions in the passageway. “You are brave my elven toy. This shall give me much enjoyment. Please, call more of your friends.”
#19 Bofor and Bhut lead a slow descent down the steep stairwell. Not halfway down the first flight of stairs, Bhut steps down and the stair tread drops about one inch under his weight as he mutters, “Uh oh!”
A nearly imperceptible click is heard behind the party as the back wall of the initial landing swings forward under the weight of a very heavy, ten foot in diameter, perfectly round stone.
The stone drops to the floor with a thundering ‘thud’ that is nearly felt in the very stone itself. Its inertia moves it across the landing and over the cusp of the first step.
The stone immediately begins a descent of the stairwell toward the party. The chipping of the stone steps as it falls betrays the weight of it. The stone quickly gains momentum.
“Run!” shrieks Peylae as she tries to push Bofor into a run.
#23 Grimlock and Dalic are but a few steps into the third flight when something above gives them a start. A very loud ‘thud’ is heard and nearly felt in the stone itself. A grinding of stone, like that of a massive millstone, is heard from above. It is quickly followed by a deafening noise.
Peylae’s voice is heard echoing down the stairwell, “Run!”
It takes but a breath for the multi-talented half-elf and the dark dwarf to figure out the situation. Something immensely heavy is coming down the stairwell and it is gaining speed as it comes.
#26 Speck continues his cautious search.
#27 Tathar whispers a final prayer to ease the pain of his acid burns. Sehanine grants his prayer (+5, 21/24). His injury from the ooze is all but healed.
#28 Horrified, Southar and Kuba find the wall of ice is nearly a foot thick. They are unable to aid their noble elf friend. They watch as the events unfold.
Cirdan looks at the ice wall then back at the creature. He drops his blanket and put his hands on his hips. "Okay, I guess we're traveling alone. Let me call and see if any of the others are in the area." Cirdan hopes his movements distract from his real objective as he plots to get at his spell components.
Cirdan, in an attempted slight of hand, pulls out a piece of string and a bit of wood. He attempts to hide the semantic movements in his calling for friends, "LaLa, Tinkie-Winkie can yo hear me? Any of my servants, unseen out there?”
Cirdan, sensing he has conjured his servant, looks at the creature, “You better be careful one may grab your tail and smack your head, repeatedly."
The creature is not so easily fooled. As something grabs its tail, the creature springs an attack. Cirdan weaves and dodges as its left clawed hand sweeps harmlessly past his cheek. Its right hand claws Cirdan across the left upper arm opening a small wound (2, 24/26).
The tail lashes lighting quick and Cirdan knows his unseen servant has been destroyed.
The skeletal face opens and a hellish hiss sounds followed by its teeth snapping shut inches from Cirdan’s face as the elf backpeddles to create distance. “Don’t toy with me elf. You live by my leave.” The voice in Cirdan’s head shows its anger.
“Now walk past me or I shall rip out your heart and eat it with your friends as my audience.” Cirdan senses it has no further patience.
#19 Breymeer drives to the side of the chamber and tries to find shelter in the space between the round edge of the boulder and the squareness of the stairwell. Amazingly, the boulder passes by him without harm; bouncing just enough to allow him room against the wall.
Bofor and Bhut flee around the corner and begin their descent of the next flight of stairs.
Peylae, trying to slow her stride behind the dwarf, stumbles and sprawls out, very un-elflike, onto the stairwell. She tries to roll to the side out of the way of the boulder. She pins her body against the wall but the boulder goes over her left leg (13, -2/16). The boulder leaves her unmoving on the stairwell, her left leg badly damaged.
Dalic calls out, “Release me and run!”
Grimlock lowers the duergar to the ground. As soon as gravity is working again, Dalic begins running down the steps. His powerful legs carry him down the flights of stairs and into the chamber where the zombies, now alerted to trouble, prepare for melee.
As the duergar retreats, Grimlock pulls a bit of webbing from his pocket and begins his spell. Webbing begins to shoot from Grimlock’s fingertips as he coats the stairwell with thick heavy webs.
Bofor and Bhut round the corner. They can not see the fleeing duergar or Grimlock as they are both still invisible. They can hear sounds of Dalic’s plate mail as he charges down the stairs. They can see the strands of webbing coming at them from Grimlock’s unseen hand.
Bofor and Bhut are both able to avoid getting caught in the webbing. They continue to flee down the stairwell arriving in the next chamber just behind Dalic.
Grimlock completes his spell and turns to flee.
The boulder slams into the webbing shredding it as the strands are unable to contain the mass of the boulder. It continues around the corner from the 4th flight to the 3rd. Its momentum begins to slow from the webbing and the change of direction.
Strands of webbing pop and pull loose. The boulder is slowed significantly but gravity pulls at it continuously. It continues to churn through the webs. Grimlock turns the corner from the 3rd flight to the 2nd as the webbing loses the battle. The boulder rips free and begins to gain speed somewhat hindered by the stinky mess that encompasses it.
The first thing to enter the chamber at the base of the stairs is the invisible duergar. The only thing giving him away is the pounding of his feet and the clanging of his plate mail.
Next enter Bofor and Bhut. Grimlock can be heard, but not seen, coming down the last flight of stairs just behind the dwarf and human. A flight behind Grimlock, the aweful weight of the boulder continues to crash down.
The chamber is brightly lit. It is 90 feet across, has a domed ceiling and adorned with bunks. At the base of each bunk is a foot locker. All are in poor shape.
Three long dead dwarven warriors guarding the stairwell charge into combat. They have chain mail armor, shields and hammers. Two other dwarves in chain mail armor, stand farther back from the melee.
#26 Speck continues his search.
#27 Tathar continues cautiously towards Cirdan’s voice. He follows the wall another 40 feet. It opens to a small chamber or wide part of the passageway. He is unable to see very far. He knows Cirdans voice came from his left so he continues to follow the wall at it turns gradually 90 degrees to his left.
To Tathar’s surprise, he can suddenly see again. It is generally dark. There is a passage directly on ahead of him. The passage has a slight bend to the left. It is enough that Tathar can only see out about 60 feet ahead of him.
He can hear commotion farther down the natural passageway. It appears to be just a short distance out of view. It is close enough he can hear Cirdan speaking but can not decipher the words.
#28 Cirdan picks up his blanket and apply a corner of it to his cheek to stem the bleeding, "Which way, your smelliness?" Cirdan moves past the unholy creature and waits for a direction.
Kuba says to Southar, "A pile of dung behind us and sure death in front. We may be safe on this side of the ice wall but there is no honor in that. We can't just let that hellish creature kill him. We should break this wall of ice and aid in the battle. Better to die fighting."
Kuba takes out his war hammer to tries to break the wall.
With a wave of the fiend’s hand, part of the ice wall sheers off and tips towards Southar and Kuba, breaking into a multitude of pieces as it does so. They are unable to escape completely from it. Kuba tries to dive out of the way and is knocked to the ground in the process (8, 19/30(34)). Southar keeps his feet protected partially by his shield although he still takes a partial impact (9, 27/52).
“Now go, elf. Walk towards the death that awaits you or I will continue to torture your friends.” The fiend’s eyes shows no empathy.
#23 Breymeer rushes to Peylae’s aid. He finds her body convulsing. Her eyes are rolled back in her head and she is no longer breathing. He leg is completely crushed. Her heart stops and her body twitches a few final times before becoming still.
Breymeer removes his bow and obsidian arrow and begins to descend the stairs.
Grimlock’s footsteps pattern off into the room between the dwarven zombie warriors.
Dalic side steps out of the tunnel and into the chamber to escape the boulder.
Bhut runs forward as well, both axes whirling. He meets his opponent with a frenzied attack. His first axe is deflected by its old, rusty shield. The second axe blow cuts into its right shoulder (6, 17/23).
Bofor steps to the side of the stairwell in attempt of avoiding the boulder. He removes his hammer symbol and faces the fallen dwarves, “Back you twisted souls. Get back!”
All of the fallen dwarves begin a march towards the downward sloping passage that exits the room to the right of the stairwell.
Bhut takes advantage of the situation and lays another blow upon the zombie, striking a nasty gash upon its left thigh (8, 9/23) dropping the dwarf to its knees.
The boulder makes its entrance into the room as the dwarven zombies attempt to cross its path to flee. The zombie Bhut knocked to its knees is the first to be crushed. As the boulder continues to roll, the residue of the webbing pickups up the body. A second dwarf warrior is crushed beneath the boulder and it too is picked up. Like a rolling dwarf fly paper, the boulder picks up a third dwarf zombie as the two that had been along the near wall attempted to cross in front of it.
The boulder rolls over and over the bodies stuck to the residue crushing them repeatedly before it smashes into the far wall, crushing a cot and footlocker in the process.
The two remaining zombies continue to flee towards the downward sloping passage.
#26 Speck continues his search.
#27 Tathar holds tight listening for the dialog to continue. He prepares for actions should a scuffle break out. For now, it appears the dialog does indeed continue.
#28 Cirdan says, "Aren't we always walking towards our death? I mean elves don't really die, they just move on, but sooner or later we all come to the end of the road." As he speaking, Cirdan moves slowly to the right past the creature.
Kuba gets to his feet, draws his sword and with shield on his other arm, prepares for battle. Southar moves forward as well. The remnants of the ice wall come crashing down upon itself. The passage is back open to Cirdan although the footing has become treacherous.
The bony devil looks with disgust as the two warriors move forward for the attack. “You will soon all die very painfully.” It disappears from view, vanishing into the cool cavern air.
#23 Breymeer appears at the edge of the stairs and takes survey of the situation. Seeing the dead fleeing the room, he releases the tension from his obsidian arrow he has half drawn with his bow, “Peylae is down on the stairs above me. She was crushed to death by the boulder.”
Bofor turns to head up the stairs, “I will check on her, who is with me?”
Dalic, unseen, stands his ground, staying prepared for any sudden counter-attack.
Bhut also pauses, catching his breath.
The footlocker lids start opening on their own, one and then the other. It appears something, or someone, is pilfering them. A collection of old sacks is collected. Each sack disappears suddenly once lifted out of the locker.
Grimlock, Inside the sacks are gold coins, nearly 300 in all (285 gp total).
#26 Speck continues to filter through and inspect items and questionable areas. He continues his surveillance for wandering critters and possible booby-traps.
#27 Tathar, now able to see better, monitors the walls, floor and ceiling behind and above him for the ooze while listening to the activities further up the hall. A light illuminates ahead of him as he can hear quiet talking. He is near certain it is his comrades. The hissing voice of Southar appears to echo down the passageway although Tathar is not able to make out the words, just the drawn out ‘s’.
#28 Cirdan intently listens to try and detect if the horror moved off while invisible or if it teleported in some way. He smells the air, finding the scent of it is fading. It appears it has moved off, for now.
Kuba and Southar, who retrieves his lantern again, join Cirdan at the intersection of the two passages.
“Have I ssssssscared it off?” questions Southar as his forked tongue licks the air.
#23 Bofor turns his attention to investigate what appears to be the looting of the foot lockers which belong rightfully to Bofor’s clan. Bofor calls out a warning, “Those footlockers belong to the Thesdrorlum clan of Khoulgumlir. I am Bofor Barrelmace of clan Thesdrorlum. I demand you stop your pilfering and return what is not yours.”
The sacks are dropped to the floor, “No bother, I seek the priest not treasure.” Grimlock’s matter-of-fact voice passes by the group and his footsteps indicate he is heading deeper down into the mine. His footsteps quickly fade from hearing as he turns to stealth movements.
Dalic suggests the group keep moving. "Let's put tagether a map in tha sand ta see where everyone has been an go from there." He traces what he can on the floor of where he has been.
Dalic points just to the left of the staircase. “That is north.”
The group compares notes for several minutes and comes up with a rough idea of what they have covered so far.
Grimlock moves down the downsloping passage into the darkness. His eyes quickly adjust. He continues down a long, arrow straight passageway arriving back at the original chamber he fought the fiend and zombies in.
Turning to his left, Grimlock crosses the room and continues deeper into the mine down another dwarven carved passageway.
#26 Speck finishes ransacking the camping site. It appears this is a makeshift arrangement. It does not appear the mage was here more than a day or two. Speck assumes the party must have displaced him from the upper chambers with the defeat of the orc stronghold.
#28 Kuba tries to find some humor in his battered condition. He replies to Southar, "I think you stunk it away."
Cirdan adds, "I wouldn't give you all the credit," motioning to Kuba, "but yeah, I think it knew it couldn't defeat us all. Don't worry 'Snakey-licks' I am sure you haven't seen the last of that guy. Which way do we go?"
As the company of three converse and try to determine the next course of action, a light from the left side of the tee intersection can be seen fast approaching. Cridan whispers, "Tathar. I was talking to him before Senior Stinky arrived."
In a moment, Tathar wordlessly joins the group, hands his torch to Kuba and pulls the blanket away from Cirdan's cheek. He dresses the wound as best he can, sewing the wound shut (+1, 25/26). He eyes Southar and Kuba, "Either of you hurt?"
They both look worse for wear. Tathar begins to address their injuries while he speaks (Kuba +3, 22/45(47)) and Southar +1, 28/52).
Gesturing to the way he just came from, Tathar warns, "There is a blob that drops acid back there and some unnatural darkness covers the area."
Accenting the truth to Tathar’s words, his left arm has no clothing, armor or shield and his skin is red from a newly healed injury.
He takes his torch back from Kuba and stands silent waiting to see how the group wants to proceed. The passage remains quiet; the air quite cool now like a crisp autumn night.
#23 Dalic looks clearly annoyed at Grimlock’s disappearance and suggests the group go after him.
Bofor also feels inclined to follow the unseen Grimlock as best they can. “Grimlock continues in the correct direcdtion. We should continue on to accomplish this mission.”
Bhut will follow his little friends.
The going is slow as the two stocky-legged dwarves slow the human warriors greatly. No doubt, the half-elf is outdistancing the trio quickly.
#24 Grimlock moves swiftly down the passage. He can detect the sound of metal on stone but Foesmiter pushes the half-elf forward. Grimlock battles internally with the spirit. Although Grimlock seems to have some control or influence over the sword, the spirit is a tyrant. Grimlock can not get his brain to slow his body.
Grimlock enters the next chamber and stops to look around. It is a 90 foot diameter domed chamber. The chamber is illuminated by some magical bright light. Three dwarves, zombies by the look of them, are working tirelessly at mining ore from the southwestern wall. The zombies wear the tell-tale chain mail armor and have hammers on their belts. They pick away at the stone with picks.
Many chunks of rough mithril ore lay upon the floor near the zombies. They continue to chip into the ore in the wall without appearing to notice the arrival of Grimlock.
A passage is visible across the room and slightly to Grimlock’s left. Foesmiter spurs the half-elf to move again. He bee-lines for the next passage. Foesmiter intentionally moves with rogue stealth.
#26 Speck arms himself with his short sword and sneaks his way down the corridor. “The door to the room is barred for a reason,” the halfling concludes. The passage twists and turns but seems to generally head in the same direction. The air is chilly. Speck is encumbered a little from the booty. Although keeping a keen ear, he detects no sounds of his companions or any potential danger. The poor halfling appears to be alone.
A sudden blackness lies ahead of Speck. His eyes can not pierce it. “I am brave, but not that brave,” thinks Speck. He backtracks away from the darkness and finds a spot among the natural rock formations to keep well hidden. He chooses a spot where he can keep and eye and ear open for dangers, “or hopefully a friend.” He misses his companion Kuba very much.
Speck tucks in just a little away from the green robed mage’s camp. He is sheltered by several stalagmites near a jut of rock between two alcoves. In this manner, Speck can stay concealed and watch his flanks. If need be, he can retreat into one of the alcoves.
Speck takes out some rations and picks at them. He misses a good home cooked meal. While he eats, he checks out some fo the loot he has discovered.
#28 Tathar, seeing Kuba and Southar are both more injured than the manly warriors are indicating, prays for the repair of some of their hurts (Southar +6, 34/52 and Kuba +7, 29/45(47)).
There is no indication the evil fiend is nearby.
#24 The two human warriors follow the dwarf and the duergar slowly down the passageway. A distinct sound of metal on stone can be heard echoing from in the distance.
Dalic advises the others he had been in the two chambers ahead. There should be three dead dwarf zombies that someone else slew in the first room. It appears to have once been a barracks. In the next chamber, Dalic reports there are several zombies mining. It is them that make the sounds the group can hear.
As stated, the party eventually reaches the 90 foot diameter domed chamber and finds three slain zombies. The room is illuminated brightly by some mystical source. Arranged about the walls are twelve decrepit wooden beds. At the foot of each bed is a ransacked foot locker.
Bofor curses, “Grimlock, that thief! We need to pick up the pace before he pilfers the entire mine my clan’s possessions.”
A passage leads generally southeast from the chamber. Bofor picks up the pace and the others fall in line. He is near a jog as he enters the passage. He continues his pace.
Dalic, still invisible, can be heard next to him as his plate mail armor gives his general location. His heavy footsteps hint that he has enlarged himself. He has no trouble keeping pace at a quick walk.
The two humans are at a fast walk.
The sound of the mining tools gets louder and louder as the foursome makes their way through the passageway ever sloping downhill.
#26 Grimlock clears the chamber with the mining dwarves and heads down the next passageway. He travels nearly 300 feet before an obstacle stops him.
The corridor ends at an iron door molded in the likeness of a dwarf. The figure holds a trident and wears a seven-pointed crown. There is not lock mechanism.
#27 Speck starts to munch some rations while he begins to organize his loot.
#28 An uneasy quiet surrounds the four adventurers. Nothing ominous, just quiet. Tathar described the horrible darkness and acidic creature down the left passage. The other three did not see any exits in the foul smelling garbage dump.
The only other known route is to the right. Southar’s lantern lights it to a distance of 60 feet. Tathar can make out just a bit farther. Either way, the passage appears to continue generally straight.
#24 The two dwarves continue to lead the two humans toward the undead miners. Kuba’s illuminated knife handle lighting the way.
As they approach, the sound of the picks on stone gets louder. The room ahead is lit brightly by some type of magical light. The foursome makes last second plans before entering the room.
#26 Foesmiter’s will is nearly overpowering on Grimlock, “Open this door with whatever means you have.”
Grimlock, being nearly depleted of energy, counters the spirit in his head, “Use my scroll and save our store of energy for the battle ahead.”
“Make it so!” Foesmiter orders. Grimlock removes the scroll from his possessions and reads the magical runes and inscriptions. With a final word, a bar raises on the eastern side of the door and Grimlock Foesmiter pushes his way into the chamber beyond.
He finds himself in a very large natural chamber lit by a soft magical glow. Gone are the smooth dwarven worked walls. The room appears to be some 150 feet long and 120 feet wide. It is very irregular shaped. The ceiling rises to an average height of 30 feet with little variation. There are many huge stalactites and stalagmites adorning the chamber.
Speck is only one bite into his foot and has only begun to pull out his treasures when a sound gives him a sudden start.
The bar on the steel dwarven shaped door on the western end of the chamber suddenly rises on its own. The door itself opens by itself. Past the door is a smooth walled passageway leading away from the door into the darkness. There is nothing in the passage beyond except the sound of mining tools upon stone. The sound is much louder now with the door open. It must be coming from only a few hundred feet down the passageway beyond.
#28 Kuba states the near obvious, "Well? Onward?" Kuba motions towards the "safe" direction away from the darkness and trash pit. "We need to regroup before we are all killed. I hate to imagine what little Speck's fate was."
Cirdan supports continuing in that direction, but first he removes a few small items from his pocket and melds them together. With a few strange words, he disappears from view.
Southar, shield and lantern, leads the way forward into the cold darkness. His sword, ‘Bloodletter’ rest loose in his scabbard.
Kuba takes up his flank while the two elves fall into rear guard.
Tathar is back to his quiet self. He keeps peering at the walls and ceiling nervously.
The passageway continues over four hundred feet slowly bending to the left. The last one hundred feet made a more significant sweeping turn. One could estimate the entire passage length has changed the foursome’s direction by 90 degrees to the left.
The passageway continues to get colder and colder. A bit of frost begins to appear on the exposed stone of the passageway.
At the edge of Southar’s lantern light, some 30 feet ahead, the passage begins to quickly open into a large frigid chamber. Frost covers exposed rock. The studs on Kuba and Southar’s armor frost over and Tathar’s armor become cold to the touch.
#25 As the chamber nears, Breymeer ensures he has an arrow strung, “I will weaken them as you close for melee.”
Bofor readies his hammer and shield, Dalic has the ‘Delven Bastard’ out and Bhut has a battle axe in each hand and a sly grin on his face.
The group charges into the chamber fanning out so that each dwarf and Bhut each have a miner in their sights. The dwarves go right and Bhut goes left leaving room for Breymeer's archery. Breymeer begins to send arrows at the chain armored miners.
The miners turn to face the charge. The one on the party’s left wiilds a great hammer, the middle miner grabs a second pick and the third grabs a shield off the ground. With weapons in hand they ramble across the chamber to meet the attack head on in true dwarf style.
#26 Speck shrugs off the strange movement of the door but keeps an eye and ear keen for movement. He lays out his spoils from the Green Mage. The spell must have wore off of them for they are now visible. He has four gems, an aquamarine (500gp), two corals (100gp each) and a onyx (50gp) and 35gp in loose coins. Also, there is a gold ring with a raised skull, a second gold ring of plain design, thick metal bracelets and a sheathed dagger.
Speck munches satisfactorily at his find.
Grimlock creeps his way across the center of the strangely lit chamber. When he reaches the center of the chamber, he can make out three observations.
First, Speck is to about 30 feet to Grimlock’s right with his back up against a stalagmite watching the open door and inspecting a collection of treasure in front of him. There appears to be gems, coins, and possibly some jewelry. He munches on some rations as he fiddles with the treasure. Speck does not give any hint that he is aware of Grimlock.
Second, there is a campsite on the other side of some stalagmites farther from the doorway. It appears to be some type of bedroll and other items. It appears it has been well ransacked.
Finally, there is a passage leading away from the room on the opposite end of the chamber from the door Grimlock entered.
#29 Unseen, Cirdan pulls his blanket tighter around him, and volunteer to sneak up a peek into the room.
Tathar removes his blanket from his pack and wrap it around himself.
Kuba and Southar brave the chill air.
Cirdan moves ahead to the edge of Southar’s lanternlight. As the expanse of the chamber begins to open, the temperature plummets stinging Cirdan’s exposed cheeks. Some malign power effects the very air. It is as cold as a mid-winters day. The frost on the rocks is a constant. The temperature hovers just below freezing.
#25 Breymeer’s bowstring sings it song as the ranger from the north begins sticking arrows into the zombies.
His first arrow flies between his charging companions and strikes the central miner in the right arm (2, 15/17). The second strikes it in the right ankle (2, 13/17). The zombie continues unfazed; arrows sticking out of its appendages.
Dalic, completing his wide arcing charge, slams into the center miner. The echo of Dalic’s armor the only warning given of impending doom. The zombie’s chain armor splits open exploding in a shower of rings as the dwarf’s abdomen opens up, spilling its contents onto the floor (13, 0/17). The duergar warrior reappears before the mortally wounded zombie, gore covering the ‘Delven Bastard’. The dwarf zombie looks small next to the enlarged duergar as it tips forward unmoving.
Breymeer’s third arrow streaks past Bhut striking the miner in the head (2, 19/21). Bhut finishes his charge. His right hand is extended behind him with his arm fully extended, axe flailing in the air. His left hand is across his body, axe gripped tight.
The dwarf raises both of its picks, crossing them in front of itself menacingly.
Bhut begins his swing as the miner brings the picks into play. Bhut’s left battle axe slashes sidearm and opens a huge gash in the dead dwarf’s left leg (8, 11/21) dropping the creature to its knees. It nearly dodges Bhut’s right axe but it takes the dwarf lightly across the top of its left shoulder (3, 8/21).
The miner retaliates by driving one pick into Bhut’s groin (5, 17/30(36)). The second pick comes overhand down into Bhut’s neck (5, 12/30(36)). The human warrior is staggered but remains in the melee.
As Bhut is recovering from the blows, Breymeer’s last arrow streaks in and sticks the miner in the chest (2, 6/21). With an arrow sticking out of its gob and one in its chest, it moves to finish off Bhut.
Meanwhile, Bofor charges wide to the right flank. Hammer and shield meet pick and shield. Bofor feints high and swings low, smashing his opponent’s foot (3, 20/23). The blow throws the zombie’s timing off and his blow is easily avoided by Bofor.
#26 Grimlock tells Foesmiter the halfling is an important ally. Grimlock convinces the spirit to sneak over and observe the halfling. Grimlock sneaks up behind the partially hidden halfling, finding a good observation point behind the stone just west of the halfling.
Grimlock watches the halfling for a few minutes while the diminutive rogue finishes his meal and toys with its treasure. Grimlock wonders how he got separated from the group. Could Speck have been enspelled somehow?
Grimlock wills to removes a copper coin from his pouch and tosses it near Speck to gauge his reaction.
“What is your purpose for this?” asks Foesmiter. The two engage in a mental discussion until Foesmiter is convinced of Grimlock’s purpose. “Do not delay more than necessary. I will seek the priest alone if necessary but having your henchmen will aid in dealing with other foes.”
Grimlock Foesmiter tosses the coin about fifteen feet to the east of Speck.
Speck wraps up his lunch and finishes admiring his loot. He secures the dagger to his belt and begins to place items back into his pouches when a slightly metallic clatter is heard. Something small, such as a stone, bounces a short distance across the floor. Its location is not visible to Speck although the sound indicates it is close by. Speck quickly finishes stowing his treasure and shrinks back farther into the shadows and looks around.
Grimlock’s voice cuts the suspense, "So Speck, by the size of your loot pile you must not have heard we aren't to take loot from the mine. What say you?”
#29 Nothing appears to be moving in the cold darkness ahead. Kuba, Southar and Tathar await Cirdan’s return.
#25 Breymeer, seeing Bhut in trouble, removes his obsidian arrow from his quiver and takes careful aim. He looses the arrow and it flies true, piercing the dead dwarf’s armor center chest (4, 2/21). The force of the arrow knocks the miner flat on his back.
As the zombie struggles to get back up, Bhut removes its head with a swipe from his battle axe. He breathes a sigh of relief as the undead miner drops to the floor.
Bofor changes his battle tactics and goes after the zombie with shield and hammer. He tries to shield bash his opponent but the blow is met with the zombie’s shield. A loud clang, like a bell, echoes through the chamber.
Bofor shifts his body to his right and hammers the dwarf in the side of its thigh shattering its femur (5, 15/23).
Dalic steps in on the wounded zombies exposed flank. He runs his blade through the creatures guts then quickly removes the blade returning it in a sweeping motion that cuts through the miner’s neck. Body and head drop to the floor.
Breymeer holds his last shot. He stands in the passage opening looking for more targets.
#26 Speck, a little startled by the voice from nowhere, responds, "Ummm.... This stuff came from that mage over there." He motions to the side of the cavern with the exit tunnel. Upon realizing what he is pointing at is not visible Speck continues, “What is with you guys always making yourselves unseen?" He pauses as he realizes that is what he does all the time just without magic. "Ummm.... OK.... Look, that guy wasn't very nice. He seemed to be one of our enemies. So I sneaked up and put an arrow into his head. I couldn't leave all the goodies he had just laying there. I also got this." He pulls out the mage's spell book. "It is no use to me, but you magic minded folks might find it useful."
Grimlock asks to examine it. With some difficulty, Speck finally locates Grimlock’s invisible hands. The book seems to float in mid air as Grimlock examines it. While paging through the book, Grimlock continues his questioning of Speck, “How did you get down here all by yourself?”
"We entered a room with a throne in it up on a platform. The throne had a dwarven skeleton sitting on it. I was climbing up the platform when suddenly a voice called out saying something about not having any right to the throne and that we stayed there to long and POOF!, I found myself here alone. I have no idea where everyone else went. I wasn't about to go through that door,” Speck points at the now unbarred and open door, “and I heard some chanting over here. The chanting I heard was the Mage. I was just going to just sneak by but he said things that showed he was no friend of our group and then started casting a spell so I shot at him hoping to disrupt his spell. My first shot missed but the second shot hit true just as he vanished from sight."
Grimlock and Speck walk over to the body of the mage. It is still invisible. Its location is marked by a vertical arrow. Only the back half of the arrow is visible and it appears to float a little off the ground.
Grimlock examines the body by feel. The arrow indeed pierced the mages head. His skin is bubbled and burned as are his robes and what remains of his boots. The garments are basically destroyed.
As the half-elf and the halfling kneel next to the body, the sound of a melee breaks out. The sounds echo down the chamber beyond the steel dwarf shaped door. The sound of metal on metal, shouts, painful cries and the twinging of a bowstring. A very loud bang, followed by a few more seconds of combat finish out the battle. In less that 30 seconds, the melee ends.
#29 Cirdan returns to those waiting. He shivers slightly. He explains the room opens into a large cold cavern. There are no threats detected.
The foursome begins to move into the chamber.
The cold is immediate but stabilized. It cuts through the clothing and armor. Southar and Kuba, both still damp from the feces pit, begin to shiver noticeable more than the elves who are draped in their wool blankets.
Grimlock wishes to investigate the sound of battle knowing it is likely his companions. Grimlock greatly desires their aid for he does not wish to explore along.
Foesmiter, wishing to continue forward, relents but only long enough to see if the priest was involved in the battle. Foesmiter will only give the others a moment to join forces and move on. Foesmiter warns Grimlock he is tiring of his delays.
Zalco adds, “You are a great warrior when you wield me, fear not being alone.”
Grimlock, losing the battle of wills against the dual threat, know he will soon be overborne by the will of the spirit and the sword to a dark void in his own mind.
Speck says, "Sounds like there's some action to avoid down that corridor." He will turn his attention towards the steel door keeping an eye out for any trouble coming through.
Grimlock, to Speck’s disappointment, counters, “Let's head towards the battle. I will go ahead a few and make a click sound if you are to to move forward. Two clicks means stop and hide. One click to move again. I will move towards sounds and click every 10 feet ‘til I see or feel anything is off.”
Grimlock moves towards the sound of the battle with Speck in tow. Both move with stealth. Grimlock suddenly pauses to add, “Oh, keep what he found to yourself as will I. I would like to examine the loot later to see if it has magical properties. We will figure it out later or back at town.”
With that the two rogues make their way past the steel dwarf door and back to the room with the undead dwarf miners. Speck follows the click sounds by Grimlock. They move into the smooth dwarf carved passageway. They make only 90 feet before the encounter some of their companions coming towards them; their arrival given away by the light from Bhut’s illuminated knife handle.
Dalic motions for the others to follow into the next chamber as he walks toward the corridor.
All three warriors and the priest show signs of battle.
Bhut, the worst off of the group, warns he needs aid and will not be able to continue much farther without it.
Breymeer, bearing numerous cuts and bruises, suggests, “We should heal best we can and get as much of the group back together as possible and finish clearing this godforsaken place in force. Anyone know where rest of our party is?”
Bofor, looking to his companions, halts Dalic momentarily and begins to tend to the injured before moving on. (Breymeer +5, 30/39(47), Dalic +6, 25/30(39), Bhut +11, 23/30(31), Bofor +6, 31/36(41)).
The two humans and two dwarves begin their descent into the far tunnel. About 120 feet down the passageway they have an encounter.
Grimlock’s bodyless voice hails the Breymeer, Bofor, Dalic and Bhut as they move in formation down the passage, “I assume the vile priest was not among those you battled. To me now, we must move deeper into the mine. The voice is coming from a short distance further down the descending passageway.
Grimlock remains unseen as the halfling Speck steps from that shadows at the edge of Kuba’s magical light. He looks very relieved to have found so many of his traveling companions although the look of sorry at not seeing Kuba can be interpreted from his eyes as the halfling surveys the group.
The two groups mingle together feeling an improved sense of confidence. They inform each other of what has transpired since being separated. Breymeer, Bhut, Dalic and Bofor have been moving from chamber to chamber working their way down. They have slain many dwarven zombies in the process. Grimlock was just ahead of them with Foesmiter forcing him ahead in search of the priest. They lost Peylae to a boulder trap along the way. Speck advises he encountered some type of spellcaster and slew him as he tried to enspell the halfling.
There are now only four missing from the group not counting the two elves that perished. Grimlock Foesmiter pushes the others to continue on. Only deeper into the delve will their friends, and the vile priest, be found.
Speck warns they will soon encounter some type of impenetrable darkness ahead.
The group continues on to the end of the dwarven carved passage where an iron door, molded in the likeness of a dwarf and wearing a seven pointed crown while holding a trident, sits open into a natural chamber beyond. A bar for the door lays upon the floor unbroken.
The roughly hewn chamber is lit by a soft magical light. The cavern ceiling is roughly 30 feet high. Many huge stalactites and stalagmites adorn it.
Speck leads the group through the chamber. He passes by a bedroll and small campsite. He identifies it as belonging to the mage he slew. He also points out where the body is reported to lay although nothing is visible save an arrow. Only the back half of the arrow is visible seeming to levitate about 8 inches off the group. Speck solves the puzzle by explaining the mage was going invisible when he put an arrow between his eyes. He fell dead here.
To the east of the mage is an exit tunnel. It is also rough stone; gone are the smooth walls of the dwarf chambers previously encountered. Speck warns the eternal darkness begins just a short distance down that tunnel.
Bofor identifies the direction toward the tunnel as easterly. He give the depth at about 1300 feet below the orc chambers above.
Kuba quietly makes a statement of the obvious, "This is really starting to suck. Battered, bruised, covered in dung, and now freezing. I would say it can't get any worse but that would only ensure that it does."
Feeling the same dejection as Kuba, the group continues to move forward crossing the frigid chamber, staying towards the middle. It takes a little over a minute to cross the approximate 350 foot distance. The chamber widens to roughly 120 feet across before narrowing down again. This neck seems to twist its way into another chamber.
True to Kuba’s prediction, things get worse. The temperature begins to drop and ice replaces frost in the neck between the chambers. The ice clings to the floor, walls and ceiling. The icy floor causing poor footing and any further travel will be at a slower, more careful rate. The air stings exposed flesh. Kuba and Southar are visibly shaking as their bodies try and counter the cold. Even the blankets Cirdan and Tathar wear and giving less protection in this icebox.
Grimlock struggles to speak to his companions but the spirit has shut him out. Grimlock can hear his voice speaking in his own head but his will to speak outright is smothered before the words can reach his own lips.
Grimlock desires to know more about Peylae’s fate. What of her spellbook? It is possible one of the others carries it but none of them mentioned it.
Grimlock begins to fear this quest may be the end of him. He trusts not the spirit and can only hope the sword’s power is enough to keep the half-elf alive.
“We must press on,” Grimlock Foesmiter encourages, “We have slain all that this mine could muster. Let the priest lay ahead!”
Grimlock leads the group east through the remains of the chamber and into the rough passageway beyond. The passage is nearly 10 feet wide with a ceiling heigh that varies from 9 to 13 feet as the generally natural passage winds its way along.
True to Speck’s warning, after almost 200 feet, a wall of utter blackness can be seen. As the part approaches closer, Bhut’s magical light cuts into the blackness but only about 10 feet. Enough that the party can see the passageway continues on the other side.
Tathar’s eyes go blank. He becomes unsteady and must be helped to the ground. By all estimations, he is healthy but he appears to be in some type of trance or enspellment.
He remains in this state for nearly 30 seconds. Cirdan lifts him from the ground to keep the extreme cold from setting into Tathar’s body.
Consciousness returns and Tathar is again able to stand under his own power.
While in the trance, Tathar suddenly hears a soft elven voice in his head, “Tathar, two of our kind have begun their journey in this dwarfhome but countless more shall perish if you fail. You must persevere.”
The voice fades and a series of images flash through Tathar’s mind. First, the grandness of a large natural cavern with sparkling ice coating the walls, floor and ceiling. The walls reflecting light in a gorgeous display. Next, a descending stone stairwell opening into a natural cavern of bare stone with several large pools of liquid. Tathar next sees a vision of a huge statue at the end of a large rectangular room. The statue is cut from a redish hued stone. It depicts some type of a devil. It is humanoid shaped with huge ruby eyes cut to those similar to a fly. Horns sweep back from his head.
A final vision jars Tathar from his trance. The image in Tathar’s head is that of his companions, Grimlock, Speck, Dalic, Bofor, Bhut and Breymeer entering the magical darkness oblivious to the dangers its twisting passages hold.
Bofor runs his sleeve under his nose and strokes his beard as the party contemplates how to continue.
Bhut remains silent while his duergar companion steps forward. Dalic asks the group how they feel about him working himself into a near battle frenzy so he is at his fiercest when they next encounter the enemy.
Speck remains armed with his short sword and quietly finds a comfy position in the middle of the group.
Grimlock Foesmiter orders, “On me, stay with me through the darkness. Keep in close contact.”
The group has fallen into a rough marching order. Grimlock is in the lead followed by Dalic and Bofor. Speck and Bhut take up the third rank. Breymeer tails along in the rear.
The group moves forward into the darkness. It is oppressing. It cuts visual senses down to nil and appears to have some sort of deafening effect on sounds, muffling them a bit.
The moment Bhut reaches the wall of darkness, the brightness of his knife handle begins to flicker. The illumination is then pulled from the handle and is smothered by the darkness.
Grimlock, Bofor, Dalic and Speck can see in the blackness with their darkvision but only to a slight degree. Anything past an arms length is lost in the sea of ink.
Bhut can not see his own nose.
Breymeer remains on the lit side of the column as it comes to a stop to analyze the new situation.
Tathar manages to regain his feet, then immediately drops to his knees. Bowing his head, as if praying, he mumbles, "I serve thee, my queen." He then pops to his feet and looks at the small group. There is an excited look on his face that borders on wild, the moons around his eyes almost seeming to glow. The look of a zealot. He removes a second blanket from his pack and hands it to Kuba. "Sehanine, whose beauty and grace shines like the moon, has seen fit to guide us!"
"Paylae has perished," he states softly and flatly, "and the rest of our friends are behind us, coming this way. We must go to them!"
Without waiting to see if the others follow, Tathar turns and starts moving at a fast walk that borders on running. His torch is out before him and the excitement of having been contacted by his deity is evident in his body-language.
Cirdan looks at the yuan-ti and the human, "Well, there you have it, then." The elf nobleman turns and follows Tathar.
Kuba and Southar, shaking with cold, follow suit. Division now seems to spell certain peril. They put their hope in the moon-eyed elf and cross the large cavern as quickly as their cold legs will carry them. Southar appears to be struggling more than Kuba in the cold now.
Tathar reaches the entrance to the large chamber and stops. The rest of the group catches up to him and witnesses the dilemma for themselves.
At the edge of Southar’s lantern light, some 60 feet away, the smaller garbage beast, showing all of its scars and cuts, slowly trudges towards the large chamber. One of its spiked appendages remains severed near the end. It and the intact appendage flail before its body. Its eye stalk looks about with dead eyes. The smell of gore, dung and filth filters up the hallway.
The party checks their supplies for illumination. Both Grimlock and Breymeer have torches. Bofor remembers he had stowed one of the hooded lanterns offered for the adventure. The beacon lantern was discovered to have been destroyed at some point along the way.
Bofor, removes a lantern and an oil flask from his pack, “Didn’t think we would need this.” He has the lantern sputtering to life within a minute. In the blackness, the light it provides is muted. Instead of illuminating a 60 foot radius, the lantern only dimly gives 15 feet of shadowy light.
Exploring ahead, the party can see the passageway quickly splits into three tunnels.
Kuba prepares to once again fight the now undead otyugh. Armed with his bastard sword, shield at the ready, he prepares for melee, “Oh great! This thing again. And where is that bony devil we ran into earlier?”
Southar also raises his sword and shield for battle, “Gone to hell for reinforsssssmentssss! Bring them all, I fear them not!” Southar’s golden shield reflects the Tathar’s torchlight.
Tathar sets his torch down, undrapes his blanket from his shoulders and draws his bow. The arrow streaks down the passageway. It bounces harmlessly off the thick hide of the dung covered creature.
Unseen, Cirdan takes a position behind Kuba and Southar, hand on his dagger.
The dung-eating otyugh covers half of the distance between it and the party. It continues to amble forward, teeth bruxing as it comes.
Grimlock begins to go straight. Bhut wishes to go right. Dalic, holding off on psyching himself up, wants to go left.
Speck sighs, saying quietly, “Great, we just got back together and now another opportunity to get split up.
Bofor holds, “Are there any signs that any of the paths are more or less used?”
Breymeer, already checking the floor, answers, “What ever is causing this unnatural darkness obviously knows we’re here and we’ll be in a bad way. They’re probably just waiting for us. Let’s go carefully and my suggestion is we don’t split up.”
After making a quick examination a short distance down each tunnel, Breymeer concludes, “There are recent tracks in the right hand tunnel. They are almost non-existant. Only an occasional disturbance could I find on the stone floor. I saw nothing to indicate travel in the other passages.”
Grimlock gets pushy, “Fine. Let’s go.” He changes direction and begins to head down the right tunnel.
Tathar releases two more arrows as the dung eater comes closer. The first arrow again bounces off the thick hide but the second arrow pierces the creature (8, 22/30).
Appendages flailing, it lumbers into the front rank of Kuba and Southar.
Kuba slashes it across the already sliced up torso (15, 7/30) spilling filth and gore upon his hand. The numbing cold and gore cause Kuba to loose his grip. His sword drops to the floor near his feet.
Southar takes a step ahead to protect Kuba so he can retrieve his weapon. Southar smashes the dead menace with his golden shield (2, 5/30) before burying ‘Bloodletter’ up to the hilt into it. Its triple stout legs fail and the creature collapses to the floor ahead of the snake-skinned ranger. He withdraws his sword triumphantly until the smell wafts into the group.
All four adventurers become nauseated and begin throwing up. Kuba can only dry heave as he has given up all he had in his stomach during the first encounter.
The consensus is to follow the tracks to the right.
The passage goes only about 60 feet before it forks. The path you are on appears to continue forward while a second tunnel opens to the left.
Breymeer begins looking for tracks again. He curses. It appears he can no longer find the previous track. He is unsure which tunnel the tracks go into; if any.
Speck is the first to hear a sound, followed by Grimlock and then the humans. The dwarves struggle but cannot decipher what it is the others hear.
Faintly, something calls from the darkness beyond. It seems to come down both tunnels ahead of the group. It is certainly not coming from behind. It sounds as if someone were shouting through water. The source can not be guessed.
Grimlock Foesmiter gets excited, “Forward now! My prey may be near!”
The four adventures recover from their nausea. Kuba collects his dropped sword. They move around the otyugh and make their way quickly but carefully towards the garbage pit room. Once there, Tathar begins calling out to Grimlock.
Kuba spits as he passes the garbage pit. His mouth waters in preparation to vomit. He is able to hold himself together and the group makes it past the foul dump.
Tathar continues to call out as the group continues, backtracking Tathar’s travels to the mystical darkness. As he stated, a sheer wall of darkness is encountered in the passageway. Southar’s lantern cuts only about 10 to 15 feet into it.
The group stops as Tathar continues to call out to Grimlock. He calls out the half-elf’s name and shouts warnings about the vile acidic black ooze that inhabits the darkness.
Breymeer suggests, “Grimlock, why not call your foe and taunt it out to us while we back off the to four way passage area behind us where we can set up and be ready. We will have room to attack as a party instead of all of us cramming down this tunnel where we’re we have limited fighting ability as we walk headfirst into whatever?”
“We have no time to pander here!” replies Grimlock.
Bofor shares his wisdom, “Breymeer, tactically, that is wise but I fear we must continue on. Therefore, I think the wisest plan is to continue to stay along the right tunnel at each intersection until we reach the end and must explore a different branch. It will be easier to track what we’ve explored that way.”
Dalic steps behind Grimlock Foesmiter, “Not a great plan but it be tha only one we hab.”
Bhut falls in and follows the group while Speck remains secure in the middle, his ears searching the air to try and decipher the sounds.
The group moves farther down the right hand passageway, traveling some 75 feet or so. The passage they are in continues bending to the right. A second tunnel opens to the left but travels only about 15 to 20 feet before making a tee to the left and right.
Breymeer begins scouring the ground but struggles to find any sensible tracks.
The noise continues from the east. It can now be made out more clearly. It is someone shouting. What they are saying appears a bit clouded and muffled yet. It does seem that someone is calling into the darkness. The noise echos in from both the tunnel the party stands in but also from the tunnel that now branches off. It appears to drift in from the easterly side of the tee intersection.
Speck struggles to hear more clearly but the darkness smothers any of the words carried along the stone walls.
Grimlock Foesmiter leads the group forward, “Yes, we must stay to the right for now. Stay silent to not give our position away.” The spirit possessed half-elf remains invisible but his voice leads the way.
The muffling effect of the darkness aids in keeping the parties movement quiet. It is not without sound as a few of the party members are in metal armor.
The party continues to stay to the right wall passing an additional 3 left branches from the passageway. Breymeer does not pause to check for tracks as the party appears to be committed to the right branches for now. The party remains on a general easterly course.
The darkness weighs on the party like a heavy blanket as they continue along. The voice in the east grows slowly louder and clear. Speck makes out the voice. It is that of Tathar the moon-eyed Priest of Sehanine!
For several minutes the group continues forward and the voice gets stronger. Tathar is calling Grimlock’s name and giving dire warnings about an acidic black ooze-type creature that inhabits the darkness. Tathar’s voice and the warning of the dangerous predator push the party on, moving slowly and cautiously. Six sets of eyes watch in vain in the darkness for a strange oozing creature.
Tathar’s voice gets stronger and stronger until the darkness ahead gives way to a fuzzy greyness. There in the passageway before the group is Tathar, Kuba and Southar. Kuba and Southar have various degrees of filth covering them. It is a combination of dung and garbage. They smell of sewer and filth.
The party moves forward and the greyness gives way to normal vision again. Hearing becomes normal. The path of darkness has been overcome.
Tathar and company spend less than five minutes at the eastern edge of the darkness. Tathar calls out to Grimlock giving warnings about the black creature in the darkness. The calling appears to pay off as the blackness suddenly surrenders to a dull gray that becomes a lantern light. Through the wall of darkness steps several of the missing party members.
First through are the dwarves, Dalic and Bofor. Bofor carries a hooded lantern. Next is Bhut and Speck followed by Breymeer.
Cirdan, invisible, makes his presence known when he verbalizes, “Is Grimlock with you?”
Grimlock Foesmiter answers but is very blunt, “Indeed. You stand in the way of progress. Move aside and fall in if you wish. I seek to eliminate Freplic the traitor!”
Tathar gives his wisdom, “Let us move away from this unnatural darkness, we have much to discuss; I have much to share. There is a more defensible spot behind us where we can rest and decide on how to proceed.”
Tathar turns to head up the passageway. Grimlock pushes his way to the lead next to Tathar, who holds a torch. Cirdan and Southar, carrying the first lantern, turn on their heels and fall into the 2nd rank. Speck, despite Kuba’s overpowering stench, comes up and takes the 3rd row. His happiness at rejoining Kuba can not be hidden. Dalic, his enlarged human sized self, and Bofor, carrying the second lantern, take up the 4th row. Bhut and Breymeer take up the rear.
No sooner has the group turned to move down the passageway, when Southar’s lantern light illuminates a shadowy figure standing at the very edge of the illumination. Standing where the passageway makes a slight curve to the left is a dead dwarf in chain mail armor. He holds a shield and has a hammer upon his belt. He stands in the center of the passageway mumbling something to himself. The distance between the group and the undead dwarf is nearly 60 feet.
Zalco, the long sword, urges Grimlock forward at the same time Foesmiter’s spirit easily overcomes Grimlock’s will, “Move forward! Now! Frelpic can not be much farther! Slay all the traitors in your path.”
Foesmiter, not relenting control over Grimlock’s body, searches Grimlock’s thoughs for his stealth tactics, “We shall slip forward unnoticed while we can and slay all we can!”
Zalco sends a surge of energy through Grimlock’s body, “Kill the vile zombie!” Foesmiter relents to Zalco and forces Grimlock into a run, blade out. The half elf quickly closes on the dead dwarf.
Breymeer, bow in hand, shouts, “Move left and allow me room to shoot the undead dwarf!” Before anyone can respond or comply, chaos erupts as Bofor removes his holy symbol, “Back my fallen cousin!” The dead dwarf sentry cowers and sulks away into the darkness.
Grimlock’s blade, Zalco, lurches forward and Grimlock breaks into a run chasing down the dead sentry. The half elf rampages around the corner and into the darkness beyond.
Dalic gets excited at the progress and nearly pushes the rest of the group forward in anticipation for battle.
The party tries to muster but a wave of energy washes over the front ranks effecting Southar, Kuba and Speck. Southar and Speck strain to overcome their muscles locking rigidly in place. They are vicorious in willing themselves free of the spell but Kuba is not so fortunate. He is held fast and unmoving; standing in his upright position.
A voice, unspoken but heard by all but Grimlock, threatens, “Give up the noble elf-blood and you shall be allowed to leave. Refusal and his fate shall be shared by all.” The voice, low and slow spoken, issues hates and malice upon every word. It is spoken in the common tongue.
The clacking sound of moving bone alerts the party to the rear of the column. The smell of death, decay and rot wafts into the ranks of adventurers. From the utter darkness comes a shadowed figure in the greyness between the void and the shell of illumination that surrounds the group.
The figure grows in height as it stands generally erect and enters the light. Standing all of nine feet tall, the generally human shaped creature consists of nothing more than skin stretched tightly over a bony frame. It is wretched to behold. Its spine continues through the hip to form a long, scorpion-like tail that ends in a sharp bony barb. It carries a six foot ‘wishbone’ in its hands. Both sides of the wishbone end with sharply barbed protrusions. Its eyes burn white hot with hatred and pure evil.
Grimlock reaches the fleeing zombie and bashes it with his dwarven made shield. The undead dwarven warrior is knocked flat to the ground (5, 14/19). Grimlock follows up with a slash from Zalco cutting a long stripe across its lower back (10, 4/19).
Grimlock becomes visible standing over the wounded zombie. It begins to rise, spinning to face Grimlock as it does so, hammer in hand.
Tathar comes running up to aid Grimlock just in time to see a second zombie moving into the battle. It is only 30 feet behind the one Grimlock de-cleated.
Southar watches the battle begin with the large skeletal fiend while keeping an eye toward the open corridor.
Cirdan remains invisible and quiet. His actions pass unnoticed.
Speck remains by Kuba’s side unsure of what actions to take next. Kuba remains fixed in his unmoving position.
“So much fer keepin’ quiet!” Dalic mutters as he begins to work himself into a battle frenzy. He watches intently for a way to move up on the foe but Bhut and Breymeer block his advance at this point.
Bofor prays as he casts a hammer forward towards the towering skeleton. The hammer begins to glow and dance as if under Bofor’s control. The hammer strikes at the advancing fiend but is parried to the side by its hook shaped bone weapon. The hammer returns to harry the fiend.
It stabs its barbed hook as it advances into Bhut and Breymeer. The barbed bone hits Bhut across the left arm cutting a gash from shoulder to elbow (10, 13/30(36)).
Bhut advances a step, “Hack its legs and bring this enemy to a more friendlier height!” Bhut chops at its bony legs but neither of his axes make a clean strike.
Breymeer, who had been shouldering his bow during the initial rush, removes his axes and hacks at the skeleton. His battle axe misses its mark but his hand axe strikes it on the left shin chipping the bone (6, 34/40).
The scorpion tail, with lightning speed, strikes forward and cuts into Bhut’s leather armor covering his heart. The leather is damaged but is strong enough to shelter Bhut from harm. At the same time, it bites down on Bhut who wisely moves his metal helmeted head into the bite to protect his neck and shoulders. Bhut again avoids harm.
With the creature engaged with Bhut, Breymeer attempts to skirt by it. Breymeer slams his battle axe into its left hip but the dwarven blade fails to cut the hide stretched over bone. It appears to have done no harm what-so-ever. Breymeer’s dwarven rune carved hand axe does cause harm. He drives the axe down on the creature’s left foot as he bobs and weaves his way past the fiend. The axe cuts away several of its toes (6, 28/40). Breymeer succeeds in achieving the creatures rear flank.
As Breymeer slides to the flank, Bhut attacks with one axe while keeping the other for defense. His blow misses its mark as he falls into a defensive crouch. The creature’s barbed bone hook is stabbed forward towards Bhut’s right shoulder. Bhut’s tactic works. He is able to parry the blow with his free axe. His victory is short lived. The fiend bites down again aiming for Bhut’s neck. Again, Bhut uses his metal helmet to protect himself from harm. The impact of bone on metal is enough to distract Bhut from the tail. In a flash, its tail is brought forth. It darts into the open face of his helm cutting a gash in the soft skin (8, 5/30(36)).
Dalic slips carefully between Bhut and Bofor to take Breymeer’s place. He continues to chant and rage, escalating his fighting spirit.
Bofor helps cover Dalic’s move by striking the beast across the face with his spiritual hammer (2, 26/40). “How do you like it spawn of hell!”
Tathar removes his moon shaped symbol and orders the incoming zombie to retreat. Both zombies scramble to flee from Sehanine’s power.
Grimlock easily dispatches the one that scrambles at his feet. The other turns before coming into range of Zalco and Grimlock Foesmiter.
“Come priest! Surely the undead must lead to the dwarven cleric. Your aid will speed the evil priest’s demise. Come now!” Grimlock Foesmiter hastens down the passageway once more nearly tripping in his excitement as his shield gets caught on the downed zombie. The shield is freed quickly and Grimlock continues on.
Tathar responds to Grimlock in Tathar’s quiet but zealous tone, “The evil priest needs to be dispatched, I agree! But we face a more sinister and powerful evil down here! A Demon, I think, and we need to proceed with all possible strength! I will help our friends and then we will proceed as a group!” He turns to see how the battle fares behind.
Grimlock, unconcerned at being left alone, runs down the second zombie and chops off its right foot with Bloodletter (14, 8/22). He collides with the zombie attempting a shield bash. The zombie, reacting to the attack, had spun to face Grimlock. In so doing, it drops its hammer as it grabs onto Grimlock’s shield as it falls backwards onto the floor. The weight of the zombie pulls the shield from Grimlock’s arm.
The fiend has allowed itself to be surrounded and the slaughter begins. Breymeer smashes his battle axe into the creatures tail effectively knocking its scorpion-like strike out of whack (7, 19/40) while hacking into its right thigh with his hand axe (8, 11/40). The bone snaps under the blow.
Dalic, spittle flying from the corners of his mouth, lays into the fiend with Delven Bastard. Following Bhut’s tactics, Dalic slashes the creature across the right thigh (11, 0/40). The right femur snaps as well.
Bofor commands his hammer to strike but it fails to make a telling blow. A throwing knife also flies harmlessly by.
As the creature totters on broken legs, a second throwing knife strikes home, sinking to the hilt in the fiends left eye. The hellish creature falls to its left in front of Bhut. Bhut smashes its skull to pieces with his axes.
Bofor’s spiritual hammer floats over the bony corpse as Bofor stands ready for further trouble.
Tathar rejoins the group as the creature is dispatched back to hell.
The prone zombie, holding Grimlock’s shield against its chest and its own shield in its left arm, creates a virtual shell over its head and torso. It kicks wildly at Grimlock with its good leg. It is punished for its effort as Girmlock hacks off its other leg at the shin with his mighty longsword (7, 1/22). The zombie thrashes about beneath the shields.
A sound of moving bones alerts the Grimlock to a presence in the tunnel to his east. The smell of death, decay and rot drifts in the air. Appearing in the darkness on the far side of the fork, in the left passage, is a shadowed figure. As it stands, all of nine feet tall, the generally human shaped creature appears made of nothing more than skin stretched tightly over a bony frame. It is wretched to behold. Its spine continues through the hip to form a long, scorpion-like tail that ends in a sharp bony barb. Its eyes burn white hot with hatred, malice and pure evil. Its hands end in horrible claws.
Grimlock faces a second fiend. Zalco goes mad with rage overwhelming Grimlock and Foesmiter, “Kill the vile devil!” Grimlock’s ego is shuttered and his consciousness holds on for the ride as Zalco forces Grimlock forward into battle. The handicapped zombie rolls to its knees and block’s Grimlock’s advance momentarily.
Zalco stabs between the shields and drives the zombie back to the floor unmoving.
At the sight of Zalco, the fiend visibly recoils. Grimlock hears a voice although the fiend’s sharp toothed mouth does not move, “You shall die beneath the weight of the dead!” With a wave of its arm a cold draft spins behind Grimlock. Snow and ice spin tightly as the draft becomes a whirlwind. Within moments, a solid wall of ice has formed across the passageway just behind Grimlock cutting him off from his companions.
A vile laughter fills Grimlock’s mind as the half-elf bends to retrieve his shield and advance on the fiend.
As Grimlock closes on the fiend, a creature crawls out from the right fork, blocking Grimlock’s advance.
The terrifying creature ambles along on three stout legs. Its bloated body is over six feet in diameter with grey, dung smeared, skin. Three lifeless eyes are mounted on a leaflike stalk, nearly two feet long, that grows up from its body. Two other longer tentacles, one of them nearly severed in half, end in leaf shaped, spiny pads. Most horrifying is the creature’s mouth. Mounted in the center of its disgusting body, the huge mouth opens to expose two rows of long, razor sharp teeth. Two arrows protrude from the creature’s body and a large hold hints at a deep sword puncture.
To make matters worse, the sound of booted feet and metal armor can be heard approaching from the left passage. The exact number is not clear to Grimlock’s elven ears but two or three slowly marching foes seems reasonable.
Southar watches the tunnel, his lantern held aloft.
Speck retrieves his throwing knife from the gore that was the fiend’s head. The halfling begins to survey the body. Speck’s ear tells him that Cirdan has joined him, although the elf noble remains unseen. Cirdan, using a dagger, works the barb free from the end of the scorpion-like tail. It disappears as he secures it in his pack.
Kuba’s will battles with the enspellment that binds him so. Fighting, despite his drained inner strength from fighting undead, Kuba detects a fluctuation in energy that holds him. He wills his body free and to his amazement, he regains the ability to move.
Tathar, appearing jazzed up for some reason, assesses the group for injury. Bhut cuts through the crowd to Tathar, “Please aid me.” Bhut looks disappointed in his performance and constant abuse from the enemy. His face and left arm showing recent cuts.
Tathar looks at Bhut but fails to see the damage to Bhut. Tathar only sees Bhut’s smooth face under the open faced helmet. The cut to Bhut’s left arm does not, to Tathar, appear to exist.
Cirdan recommends burning the carcass, "We don't need this thing coming back to unlife on us.” Tathar, for the moment, steps away from Bhut without aiding him. Tathar approaches the fiend’s body and puts his torch to it. The flames appears to have absolutely no effect on the creature.
Bofor looks quizzically at the Sehanine priest and then heals Bhut himself (+6, 11/30(36)).
“You will make a might warrior when I raise you from the dead to serve our cause!” With that, the bone fiend disappears.
The strange three legged, tentacled creature moves in to devour Grimlock. The shuffling of booted feet continues from the eastern darkness.
Grimlock hastily slips his shield onto his arm as the creature closes in on him. The end of each tentacle is leaf shaped and lined with sharp spikes.
The creature’s gaping mouth comes at Grimlock. He covers the attack with a shield bash knocking out a few teeth (5, 37/42). The creature attempts to wraps its tentacle around Grimlock’s shield and shield arm but is unable to bind them.
Grimlock slashes at its body, Zalco cuts deeply into the tough hide (18, 19/42). The blow opens a large gash in its body.
The creature lashes out and its remaining tentacle wraps around Grimlock’s head. Its spiked palm cuts deeply into Grimlock’s skin nearly scalping him (8, 21/29(32)). The creature continues to hold its grip. Grimlock can feel the creature begin to try and lift him into the air.
“We have it where we want it now! Slay the beast!” cries out Zalco. “And then after that devil!”
“And the dwarven priest!” adds Foesmiter.
Grimlock only wishes to slay this abomination. If only he could have cast his spells instead of melee. Grimlock wills his body to fight on through the pain.
“Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em,” declares Bofor. Speck thinks longingly of his pipe.
“Breymeer nearly orders, “Let’s finish searching this dung hole. Anyone know what lies ahead? I’m ready to finish this feces nest and feel fresh air and sun on my back.”
Suddenly, a second bone fiend appears east of Southar some 35 feet. This one does not carry the barbed hook in its hands. It points to Cirdan Saralone with its right index finger extended from its hand. Telepathically, in a dark broken form of the common language, the creature threatens, “The elf noble shall be my sacrifice or you shall all be thrown in the pit of hell!”
“Toying with you has grown dull. I wish to taste blood!” It turns its palm upward and beckons Cirdan forward with its index finger. “Come hither!”
Southar sets his lantern on the ground, “He hassss ssssspellworksss! I am invincssable, I’ll keep him occupied!” With flash of golden shield and steel, Southar charges the fiend.
At the sight of Southar’s charge, the creature goes into a trance and calls forth, “Rise! Rise up and feast upon their flesh!”
Dalic follows Southar, now nearly berserk with fury and rage. In this condition, he easily parts the group as they give him plenty of room to pass. Dalic calls upon them as he passes, “On me!” He charges the fiend as well.
Breymeer, taking advantage of the parting of the group, stows his axes and removes his bow and obsidian arrow. Tathar moves to the north side of the passage as Breymeer takes several steps forward for a clear shot. Using quick but deadly aim, Breymeer looses the arrow down the passageway. It zips past Kuba and flies true striking the fiend in the abdomen. The arrow darts through the tight skin and sinks into the spine where it meets the hip (10, 30/40).
As Dalic charges past, Bofor engages the fiend using the blessed hammer. Bofor wills it to attack the fiend. The hammer streaks like lightning down the passageway past Dalic, Kuba and Southar. The hammer strikes true hammering away at the left side of the fiend’s hip (3, 27/30).
Kuba turns to face the foe, bastard sword and shield at the ready. He does not charge forward but remains in place slightly advanced from the rest of the group.
Speck removes two throwing knives and moves up behind Kuba. The halfling awaits a clear target.
P’innr Bhut holds his ground. The last battle with the now dead fiend took a toll on the sellsword from the Wild Coast. Although able to fight if needed, he chooses to stay on the defensive for now. He joins Breymeer in the rear defense.
Cirdan studies the situation remaining somewhere near the west edge of the party. As the two elves, Cirdan and Tathar, are not as engaged in the battle, they are the only two that notice the dead fiend begin to stir. Its head patches itself back together as the body becomes whole and alive!
The charge reaches its destination. Both warriors slow as the near the fiend; filled with apprehension and doubt. A wave of fear rocks both of them like and avalanche. Both steel themselves and find the grit to fight on. They power through and, Southar with Bloodletter and Dalic with the Delven Bastard, lay into the devil much to its surprise as it comes out of its trance to defend itself.
Bloodletter hacks off the creature’s left arm (7, 20/40). Dalic, working on the injured hip, cuts clean through felling the fiend (20, 0/40). It falls in two parts to the ground. Its hate filled eyes go dark as the abysmal life force leaves it. The skin vaporizes and the bones turn to dust in an instant. The obsidian arrow rests among the dust on the stone floor.
As the devil dissolves to dust, Dalic goes berserk with a fury beyond control. Southar steps back as the battle raging duergar sets about his next task of destruction.
Back among the group, the original fiend, now whole again begins to rise. Tathar and Cirdan are forced against the wall of darkness while Bhut backs up into Bofor who gives him space. Breymeer is also moved to the east as the foursome prepare to meet the challenge.
Breymeer prepares his axes for some work.
Grimlock smashes his shield into its mouth again knocking out more teeth (6, 13/42). Rotating his hips, Grimlock buries Zalco into the dung monster a second time. The steel digs deep into its center (14, -1/42). Its legs wobble and then fail. It drops in place and its tentacles droop to the floor tearing at Grimlock’s skin as the one peels away from Grimlock’s face (2, 19/29(32), infected with fatal disease).
Grimlock has no time to tarry as two zombies close on him. One charges with its hammer and shield and the other stops and begins to chant.
Cirdan, having kept an eye on the creature, removes his blanket from his pack the moment the fiend’s head begins to reassemble. The elf noble drapes the blanket across the center of the body and throws himself upon it attempting to grapple the creature’s arms and tail. In so doing, Cirdan’s body becomes visible during the struggle. In a frenzy, the elf noble struggles with the creature but quickly finds its strength far superior to his own impressive strength.
Quickly drawing forth the snake shaped dagger he plundered from the yuan-ti, Cirdan cuts the fiend across and flailing arm as he rolls off preparing to defend himself (7, 33/40).
The fiend rakes him lightly with its claws across the back of his head during the retreat (2, 23/25).
To help aid in Cirdan’s retreat, Tathar takes his snake staff in hand and pummels the fiend across the back, “By Sehanine and all that is holy, back to hell with you!” (5, 28/40). After delivering the blow, Tathar steps back to allow the warriors to fill in the fighting ranks.
Bhut, pressed into service by the proximity of the threat, wields his axes as the threat of an early death rises from the stone floor. He chops the creature across a femur as it rises (8, 20/40) and his second axe takes the fiend across the arm that struck Cirdan, severing it (8, 12/40).
The scorpion tail flashes forward darting behind Bhut and stabbing him in the back (6, 5/30(36)). It pulls him forward as the devil bits down into Bhut’s shoulder tearing away muscle (7, -2/30(36)). The hellish beast drops Bhut’s limp body to the floor as it tears its barbed tail from Bhut’s back.
Breymeer steps between Bhut and the fiend swinging his hand axe to create space. The creature grazes the northman across his neck (1, 29/39(47)). Breymeer steps towards the nightmarish beast and drives his battle axe into its wounded leg breaking the bone (4, 8/40).
Speck lets fly a throwing knife hitting the foe in the right shoulder (3, 5/40) as Kuba moves past the halfling to protect his little friend. Bofor’s spiritual hammer zips by and strikes its bony head dazing it. Using his shield as protection to gain ground, Kuba slashes across the good leg severing it at the knee. The fiend again drops to the ground quivering as death retakes it.
Dalic and Southar charge back towards the newly rising fiend. The fiend is destroyed by the time Southar stops to get his lantern.
Dalic stops his charge. His eyes are bloodshot. Foam and spittle circle his mouth. His veins are pulsing with energy. Dalic looks around, searching for anything threatening that needs to be killed. His face is red with fury.
Southar, seeing no sense in speaking to the duergar and fearing being this close to him, runs off to the east in pursuit of Grimlock. His lantern light illuminates his progress as he disappears around the corner from view.
Southar, shield in one hand and sword and lantern held in the other, runs speedily down the passageway, passing a fallen dwarf zombie on his way. He slows as he comes to a sheer wall of ice completely blocking the passageway. It appears as thick as the covering on a mid winter’s pond.
A warm impulse comes over him radiating up from his sword arm. Unconsciously he sets down the lantern and raises Bloodletter to the wall. He touches the tip of the blade to the ice. Using his shield hand, he grasps the end of the pommel to touch the ruby encrusted there. The ruby pulses once with red light sending the pulse up the grove in the blade. The grove, normally glowing a soft red, displays the pulse as it travels from handle to tip. When the energy pulse reaches the ice wall, the wall cracks entirely. It then breaks apart into millions of small crystal pieces resembling snowflakes. They swirl into a tight whirlwind and as absorb into the tip of the sword. The processs takes just seconds to complete. The central groove illuminates a bright red for a moment as the energy is transferred back down to the ruby which glows red in turn. The sword returns to its normal soft glow as Southar picks up his lantern and continues up the passage.
Grimlock, sword and shield in hand, ducks down behind the fallen dung soaked creature and waits to jump the charging zombie and shield himself from whatever enspellment the second foe is conjuring.
A numbness begins to creep over Grimlock’s body and he squats. His elven resistance to the magic is overcome and Grimlock’s joints and muscle lock rigid. He finds himself unable to move.
Zalco screams at him in elvish, “Noooooo! Fool. Your weakness will cost us.”
Foesmiter seconds Zalco’s opinion, “Never trust an elf!”
If Grimlock’s mind wasn’t burdened enough with the spirits plaguing him, his day turns for the worse as the charging zombie rounds the fallen corpse and sees the immobile Grimlock. It lays into the half elf with its hammer and shield. Its hammer blow is low into Grimlock’s legs to unsteady him (2, 17/29(32)) and the shield bash completes the mission as Grimlock is sprawled out helpless (3, 14/29(32)). The dwarven zombie moves in above Grimlock intent on smashing the half-elf’s brains out of his head. Grimlock is unable to will his body to move. Death appears certain.
Tathar rushes to Bhut to give him aid and finds him unconscious but in stable condition. He tends to his wounds with bandages and care.
Cirdan removes the regrown tail stinger from the dead creature and places that with the other in his pack. He also retrieves his blanket.
Breymeer chops the head off the twice defeated devil. He turns up the passageway to follow Southar and Grimlock stopping to collects his black arrow from the dust of the other defeated fiend.
Speck retrieves his throwing knife.
A sound of combat echoes from the east. It appears to be coming from the intersection with passage to the garbage chamber (for those of you that had been that far).
Kuba, upon hearing the melee, calls to Speck, “We better go help over there. Hurry Speck!” As speck takes his knife to hand, the human and halfling duo turn to move up the corridor.
At the sound of combat, Dalic perks up. He frantically and blindly rushes towards it rounding the bend in the passage, disappearing from view.
Shortly thereafter, the sound of the combat is accentuated by a loud metallic ring. This is quickly followed by Dalic’s insane war cry.
The spirit of Foesmiter, displayed as a ball of light, floats from Grimlock’s body as Grimlock feels Foesmiter’s hold upon his will disappear. The spirit has left him. Zalco remains in his sword hand. Still held, Grimlock is dejected. His will to fight is gone. He feels like an empty shell of himself. He is broken.
Helplessly, Grimlock watches as the zombie turns and cocks back the swing that will end his life. The room begins to lighten with an unsteady glow as Grimlock prepares to take his final breath.
With a minimal sense of relief, Grimlock realizes the significance of the illumination. Southar, with golden shield in his left hand and a lantern and Bloodletter in his right hand, is running up the corridor as fast as his legs can carry him. The bouncing lantern creates dancing shadows on the passage walls.
The zombie ignores the helpless Grimlock for the moment and turns to face Southar chanting a prayer as it does so.
A wave of fear washes over Southar but in his state of overinflated ego, he brushes the feeling aside. His momentum carries him strongly into the dwarf. Southar tucks behind his shield and tries to protect the lantern he has gripped along with his sword in his sword hand.
The force behind the impact is immense (4, 15/19). The blow knocks the dead dwarf soldier/priest several feet backwards onto the floor next to Grimlock. Unfortunately, Southar gets tangled in the two bodies and looses his own balance bouncing off the dead garbage creature and falling to the floor himself. Southar protects the lantern as he falls and is able to keep it from breaking or spilling burning oil.
To make matters worse, the second dwarf soldier/priest steps around the garbage beast corpse and lays into Southar with his hammer. The hammer ricochets off of the golden shield with a loud metallic ring.
The standing zombie looks up the corridor as it realizes a second threat is coming its way. It is a fierce sight. The plate mail adorned duergar, eyes blood red, with foamed lips cursing out a battle cry, is coming into the lantern light at full charge. His Delven Bastard gripped as the berserked warrior prepares to lay death and destruction upon all who oppose him; friend or foe.
Foesmiter’s spirit transforms from a ball of light into the spirit form of the great dwarven warrior.
Zalco beckons Southar, “Great warrior! Grasp me and win the day!”
Grimlock, enspelled, remains still upon the floor his eyes open and alive but unfocused.
Southar sets his lantern on the ground and returns Bloodletter to his scabbard. He rolls nimbly towards Zalco and removes the sword from Grimlock’s grasp. Southar rises to his feet to resume the melee.
“Yes!” calls out Zalco. “Let’s roll! Invincible without me, together we shall be all conquering!”
The proned zombie gets to its knees. It prays as it throws its hammer at the charging Dalic. The hammer flies through the air sounding with the buzzing of a cloud of flies. The hammer deflects harmlessly off Dalic’s shin plate. Instead of falling to the ground, the hammer rises to continue combat with Dalic.
Dalic, ignoring the hammer, turns his berserked rage against the spirit that had possessed him. He ignores the dwarf zombies and releases his worst on Foesmiter. Dalic runs the ebbon bladed Delven Bastard through the spirits incorporal chest. The spirit reaches for Dalic, wrapping both its hands around his neck (-2 wis, 7(13)) as the duergar removes the blade slashing through Khorliss Foesmiter’s neck.
The incorporeal spirit’s form looses cohesion and vaporizes into the air. Foesmiter’s voice, fading with the image, calls forth, “Finish this for the clan . . .”
Footsteps proceed Breymeer’s arrival as he comes into view of the lantern light. He is charging into battle with battle axe and hand axe flashing.
Seeing reinforcements arriving, the second dwarf soldier/priest calls upon vile powers directing the energies against Breymeer, Dalic and Southar.
Southar, in his increased might and domineering will, brushes off the spell.
Dalic, in a battle rage, is also unaffected.
Breymeer, closing in on a charge, is overcome by the power called forth by the dead warrior/priest. He stops running and stands still, axes posed for an attack that Breymeer cannot deliver. His charge stops 10 feet from his enemy.
Speck, Kuba, Cirdan and Tathar, torch and staff in hand, all move farther east along the passageway following the sound of battle.
Bofor attends to Bhut. The dwarf priest calls upon Fortubo to aid the fallen warrior not wanting to leave him in such an unconscious state. Healing energies course through Bhut (+4, 2/30(37). The human warrior opens his eyes, strength quickly returning to him. He finds he is able to stand and continue. The duo is lit by the lantern light from Bofor’s lantern that sits on the floor next to them.
Bofor’s spirit hammer has disappeared.
Bofor and Bhut watch the rear as they move towards the battle. Bhut, although showing injury, moves very well. He remembers a killing blow fall upon him and then blackness. Once he gained consciousness, his vigor returned immediately.
Dalic, in his enlarged form, uses his unnatural strength to cut clean through the zombie’s pelvis from right hip to left thigh. It drops without getting off another spell.
Southar runs Zalco through the kneeling zombie’s abdomen (9, 6/19). It ignores the injury as it concentrates on commanding its hammer to continue attacking Dalic. The hammer catches Dalic in the side of the head (2, 33<38 berserked>/40(49)) causing a wound and knocking him to his knees. The blow would have knocked out most mortals but Dalic, in his battle fury, rages on.
Kuba arrives. Seeing Dalic’s opponent down, he engages the kneeling spellcaster with his bastard sword. The dwarf attempts to deflect the blow with his shield. Kuba drives the length of his bastard sword over the top of its shield. The blow catches the spellcaster full in the face turning it back into a lifeless corpse as it slides backward off the blade.
In an act of bravery, Speck steps between Breymeer and the melee. The halfling keeps his short sword at the ready. He gives a sigh of relief seeing all the zombies are down and unmoving.
Tathar and Cirdan also both arrive. Tathar brings out his holy symbol to drive off the undead but pauses as he watches the last one perish.
Cirdan moves up to Grimlock to give him aid. He finds the half-elf alive but unresponsive. He is conscious but paralyzed or held in some magical fashion. Breymeer is in a similar state.
The sound of moans and shuffling footsteps are easily heard as the symphony of combat falls quiet. The sound comes from the darkness to the east, beyond the garbage creature’s corpse that partially blocks the center of the passageway.
Southar, Zalco, lantern and the golden shield before him, moves up the passageway towards the approaching horde.
Dalic jumps up from his knees. Tathar carefully approaches Dalic. After hearing the sound of the enemy, Dalic charges forward seeking combat. Tathar is wise enough not to try and stop the battle raged duergar.
Cirdan tries to wake Grimlock but the half-elf does not respond. In a display of his strength, Cirdan lifts Grimlock and throws him over his shoulder.
Kuba, in the lead element of the group holds his ground and prepares for battle.
Speck stays near Breymeer who appears yet unable to fend for himself.
Bofor and Bhut arrive from the rear.
A sound echoes down the passageway that raises the hairs of one’s neck. An immense impact of iron on stone is heard. Every few seconds the sound is repeated as if the gods themselves were hammering the stones of the mountain.
The distance to the sound cannot be judged for it is too far off and echoes through many chambers. There is one thing that is certain; it came from deeper in the mine.
Southar & Dalic cannot hear the sound of the approaching horde over the heavy footsteps of the charging duergar and considerable softer snake-man.
The pair round a slight jog in the passageway that takes them a little right and then back to the left.
Quickly thereafter, Southar’s lantern light glitters off the dull chain armor and shields of three dead dwarven soldiers/priests. They are positioned in a defensive wall, one up and two behind. All three are chanting or praying in some fashion.
The attack is immediate. Southar and Dalic are met by a flying hammer. Dalic handily deflects the missile with Delven Bastard. The hammer turns and continues to harry Southar and Dalic.
A sudden fear comes over Southar at the same time both adventurers feel a sluggish pull on their muscles.
Dalic remains unaffected by the spellcasters. He throws a seemingly unintentional wild elbow in Southar’s direction and then rampages on. The hammer follows Dalic like a barn fly. It hammers in vain upon his plate mail armor. The undead dwarf at the lead of the trio controls the hammer.
Southar fights the power that stiffens his muscles. After a few hard fought steps, Southar regains his vigor, sets down the lantern and charges ahead just behind Dalic.
“Did I not speak the truth! We are invincible!” cries Zalco.
The dwarf soldier/priests attempt a shield wall.
Dalic smashes into their line slashing with his bastard sword. His first blow is blocked by the lead dwarf’s shield. Sliding between the shields, his follow up strike cuts deeply into the head of the second dwarf who stands on Dalic’s left (16, 8/24).
Southar attacks the third dwarf. Zalco cuts through the rusty shield and it’s the dwarf’s neck (12, 5/17). The blow exposes the dwarf and Southar brings his shield into play, swinging it sidearm. The edge of the shield catches the dwarf at the eyebrows and its head is destroyed. It flops over unmoving. “Another one bites the dust!” cries Zalco victoriously.
The dwarf ahead of Dalic reaches out and touches him on the left shoulder while cursing the duergar. The evil touch causes Dalic pain (4, 29<34>/40(49)).
The heavy pounding sound, nearly rhythmic, continues but does not appear to be coming noticeably closer. It resembles immense footsteps.
Kuba leads the charge up the passageway. He moves carefully to avoid an ambush or trap.
Bofor, Tathar and Cirdan follow. Cirdan still fireman carries Grimlock.
As they move forward, over the sound of combat, Zalco’s voice can be clearly heard, “Another one bites the dust!”
They can see Southar’s lantern light just around the bend.
Breymeer cannot move yet and Speck stays behind to protect him. Bhut also remains behind but moves ahead of Speck to the tee intersection to watch both ways. The halfling watches the rear.
The heavy pounding sound, nearly rhythmic, continues but does not appear to be coming noticeably closer. It resembles immense footsteps.
Dalic continues his onslaught, chopping through the right shoulder of the zombie before him. The body and arm fall separately to the floor; defeated.
The sole remaining continues to command its floating hammer against Dalic who easily blocks it with his shield.
Southar engages the final zombie. He strikes, leading with his shield. The zombie steps away from the force of the blow. Southar swings Zalco but the blow is defected off the zombie’s shield.
The battle continues while Kuba comes into the lantern light. He moves carefully up towards the battle.
Behind Kuba, Tathar appears. Then Cirdan carrying an unmoving Grimlock. They are followed by Bofor.
Down the northern tunnel, deeper into the mine, the heavy pounding sound continues.
Bhut remains vigilant at the tee intersection. The sound of the melee continues up the passageway.
The heavy pounding sound also continues but much farther away.
Speck watches the rear as Breymeer remains fixed and unresponsive.
The heavy pounding from deep in the mine continues as the battle comes to an end.
The final zombie falls under the blows of Delven Bastard and Zalco. Southar is careful to keep his distance from the battle crazed dwarf; he keeps the golden shield up in case the berserker sees the snake-man as a threat.
As the zombie drops, its spell-enchanted hammer disappears.
Most of the group begins to re-organize near Southar and Dalic.
Speck and Bhut remain with Breymeer guarding the helpless warrior.
A strange thing happens next. Those harmed by the hook armed bone fiend have their injuries fade until the hurts are gone completely as if they had never happened. Breymeer, Cirdan, and Bhut all have injuries disappear.
Bhut is the most affected. He now stands completely healed.
Cirdan feels a strangeness among his belongings. Checking, both of the tails from the hook armed bone fiend have disappeared completely leaving no trace.
“Illusions!” guesses Cirdan with his spellweaving background, “The damnation was an illusion!”
Over a period of several minutes, as the party deals with the changing events, Tathar’s torch burns out leaving the illumination to the lanterns held by Southar and Bofor.
Dalic shrinks back down to his normal size. Exhausted, and having no more enemies to face, the duergar collapses against the tunnel wall, physically spent from his fighting.
Grimlock slowly regains use of his body and comes out of the enspellment. Breymeer soon follows; again standing under his own power.
Kuba, Speck and Breymeer join the group in the passageway.
Finally, the heavy pounding ceases. It never appears to have come much closer and certainly does not threaten to approach now. Somewhere, deeper in the mine, whatever caused the sound has come to rest.
Dalic stands, wipes the foam from his mouth and checks himself over. For the most part, he remains relatively healthy suffering a few minor cuts and bruises. “Aye!” he speaks, announcing his readiness.
A calm and quiet settles upon the passageway. The only sounds are those of the party; a creak of leather or the shifting of chain or plate armor. The rest of the mine is a quiet as death.
Dalic approaches Tathar and asks the elf priest to administer whatever aid he can to his head wound (+2, 31/40(49)). Grimlock gets in line to have his head bandaged as well (+3, 17/29(32)). The priest quickly has the two wrapped in strips cut from cloak and blanket.
Looking over the party, Tathar can see everyone is relatively healthy. Only Cirdan and Grimlock have wounds and they are not severe.
Bofor, appearing to analyze the party as well, states, “I suggest we continue exploring under the initial plan. Keeping to the right most tunnels.”
Cirdan counters, "I recommend we rest, regain our strength, study our spells then continue, fully prepared to meet this creature and destroy it. I have no desire for my body to find its eternal rest in this place!"
Kuba seconds the motion, "I agree, now that things are quiet we might want to take time to rest."
Speck adds, as he plugs his nose and waves his hand fanning the stink of Kuba away, "Yes, and maybe clean up a bit." Moving away from Kuba and towards Grimlock he says, "I'm hungry. Maybe we should stop a while and have something to eat and figure out our next move."
Grimlock, looking dejected, is the most beat up looking party member. He questions the duergar, “Dalic, how long for his will to return after Foesmiter left you?” He looks to the party in general, “I need a few minutes to rest. I wish to rest and eat some rations.”
Grimlock sits against the passage wall. He looks to the snake-man ranger, “Southar, thank you for your help although I wish you to return Zalco to me when my will has returned. Will you do so?”
Zalco answers in elvish, “I choose to stay with Southar. Should you find yourself worthy again, half-elf. You can pry me from his cold, dead hands! There is a priest to slay in vengeance for Foesmiter. One of you, should you be brave enough, shall fulfill this destiny.”
The elves translate the statement for the rest of the adventurers.
A pause follows and the group settles in for food and a breather. Speck drops down next to Grimlock looking at him with concern. He pulls open his pack and pulls out food and water for the half-elf.
In the quiet that follows, with each adventurer silently contemplating the current situation, Tathar uncharacteristically speaks. In a quiet voice he states to no one in particular, "I have seen what the dwarves uncovered." His eyes close for several moments as if recalling his thoughts. "We will continue through a cavern of sparkling ice. We will descend a stone stairwell that enters into a cavern with large pools. In a rectangular room we will find a statue cut from reddish stone. It is of a devil. A huge statue with huge ruby eyes and horns that sweep back from its head." He pauses a moment and then opens his eyes. He looks at the party members with a primal fire burning in his eyes. "This, Sehanine has shown me! Her message is this: If we do not persevere and rid this delve of the evil that inhabits it, many will die.”
Dalic, unfearing, offers his sword, “I am prepared to continue.”
Bhut, Bofor, and Southar pledge to continue.
The group is refreshed some by the rest but it is cold in the tunnel and once the group pauses, it causes the sweat to chill and the adventurers to get a chill.
The group spends about ten minutes at rest, eating, changing bandages, etc.
As the group packs up and prepares to move out, Grimlock voices a complaint to Tathar, “I do not understand what got into you but I hardly agree with you abandoning me when I was alone fighting zombies. You left me alone. Why? It almost cost me my life if not for Southar. I was alone and you returned to aid eight companions.”
When Speck opens his pack to give food and water to Grimlock, he slyly motions into his pack indicating the loot and give a quizzical look to Grimlock. Using thieves cant, the halfling hints that he wants find out if he has some magic items.
During the muster to continue, Cirdan approaches Grimlock and questions him privately. Cirdan asks Grimlock how he fares and finds the half-elf weak of will but otherwise normal. Cirdan asks Grimlock if he recovered Paelae's spellbook.
Tathar looks calmly at Dalic, “When you were drained by Foesmiter. Did the power of Sehanine give you strength of will?”
“Aye,” answers Dalic.
Tathar approaches Grimlock, “When I left you, you were in no danger. I am not obligated to follow you to death because you were possessed. Hold still . . .” Tathar takes a hold of Grimlock and prays to Sehanine, asking that his strength of will return to him (+4 wis, 8/12). Grimlock is noticeably improved.
Tathar backs away from Grimlock, “I am now of little use to the company as a healer. I must rest and pray to Sehanine. I vote for falling back to a more defensible position and taking an extended rest.”
Grimlock, standing straighter, asks the entire group but specifically calls out each member who was with Paylea when she died. “Why was she left behind? She was incredibly important to us and a friend. In addition, her spellbook was not retrieved which would have served us well now. We seem to not care what happens down here. Are we under some kind of enchantment? We are leaving companions behind! There are illusions of injuries and walls, how can we trust images from gods? This all sounds to be something too powerful for us to deal with especially in our weak state; by which I mean our ability to use magic. Both Tathar and Bofor are sapped of spiritual strength. I vote we return to the first level and fortify and rest. If we are worried about a black blob then ready any fire we have. I would rather fight it now and clear out our retreat then proceed and have to flee through it in even a weaker state.”
He next focuses on Southar. “For the matter of Zalco, Southar, I am not asking Zalco to return to me . . . I am asking you if you will return it when I am able. If you are choosing not to, I would ask you to do two things for me. First, place it out the ground and all of us should step back from it. I have had the pleasure of both Zalco and Foesmitter being in my head; I know a great many things about both of their plans and how they intended to carry them out. Even more interesting is they did not always agree on the ultimate goal they each have. This I will comment on further after Southar responds with his actions.”
Southar looks coldly at Grimlock, “You were too weak and now your greed wissssshesss the blade’ssss return. Zalco and I will be moving deeper into the mine to finisssssssh thissss tassssk. I fear not devil nor priest.”
He begins to walk slowly backward heading north down the sloping passageway.
Bofor cautions, “I am for pressing on, but would warn those who would want to stay and rest, the treasure belonging to the dwarves and the mine are not yours for the taking.” The looks from Speck to Grimlock before breaking his gaze and following Southar.
Dalic concludes, “I fear there will be just as much resistance back up the mine facing undead. I am steadfast to make the final leg.” Dalic joins Bofor and Southar.
Speck votes, “I will happily go back for a day's rest.”
Kuba looks at his dung covered clothing, “I need to clean up a heal a bit but if the majority wants to continue, I am able to fight on.” Speck shugs, “I will follow the big guy, he has kept me safe so far.”
Bhut, having come into friendship with the crazy duergar, votes to continue on.
Cirdan has already voiced his opinion to rest and regroup.
Breymeer holds his tongue and watches how the scenario plays out.
Dalic quickly interjects having seen the decision go a certain way in the past, "Whatever the decision, we must not split up. I fear we will all fall victim to the Delve should we not stick together. We can make quick work of nearly anything we encounter if we remain together, just look at the enemies we have faced since regrouping in this lower section. No more than a few moments pass from their appearance before they are no longer a threat when we focus our efforts. The same will be true of what lies ahead. Those unable to contribute but save for the most dire situations must and should do just that. Save your strength if you must, but destroying the evil ahead may be the only way to grant safe passage back to where we came from. We have able bodies for melee and range, armed with weapons that can kill the mystic vile things that lurk here. Let those able to cut through to our final safe return. The magicks can be spared for the final push iff'n need be but we must finish ahead if we are ever to make it back.”
Grimlock, putting off Dalic’s words for a moment, lowers his voice so that Southar cannot hear him, “We must be quick as he will charge on as Zalco has taken control of him. We cannot abandon him but we cannot proceed as it will be to our doom.”
“Does anyone have anything to hold him and if not I suggest we take him by surprise and overbear him. That sword must be removed from him and stowed. It will be needed for the final tasks to be completed.”
“I vote we overbear him if there is no magic which can hold him. All those in favor, say Aye.”
Dalic continues, calling after the snake-man as he walks away from the group, “Southar there is no point in hiding the fact Zalco is swaying your actions. Grim and Dalic hab' both felt it an' I know more than I ever knew how ta tell a possession when I sees it. We will free you yet but that cannot be tha fight of now. Fight it if ye can an we can shield ourselves from whatever Zalco has in store fer us, but iff'n ye cannot free yerself, embrace Zalco for his power and help us finish this.”
Dalic then threatens the sword, “A warning ta ye as well Zalco. Foesmiter was strong enough ta control yer sway before he was extinguished by mine blade. Remember this. Twas by my blade your master perished. You are outmatched should anythin' befall me friends.”
Lastly, Dalic addresses Grimlock, “Grim, leavin Peylae was not ideal. We must retrieve her at once when the time is not ill-fitting our survival. Let us make an accord to ensure we all escape this Delve in life or death. Our comrad's remains will not be left to this evil pit. I will stake my life to fulfill this accord."
Dalic takes a breath. Winded from probably the most he has ever spoken in a group in his entire life. Instead of cowering at the exposure now though he smirks as if he just defeated a foe in speaking so.
Grimlock replies soberly, “Dalic no one questions your might of arms or will in battle, but I do not choose to go into battle with such foes. We are talking about DEMONS and DEVILS, without magic on our side. Our healers are spent on their ability to render aid. Do you warriors feel our chance of victory is great with no healing and magic? If you do, then you don't truly appreciate and understand the powers outside of muscle and steel. I was stopped dead in my tracks due to magic of which a novice priest can cast and with no ability to dispel the effects our many can be reduced to few in a heartbeat. I will not continue under the circumstances. Your wisdom is true with staying together but if I proceed further with you we will be together in death. I have chosen my course, if you choose the same we need to stop Southar now! If not, I will take my leave."
Dalic after exchanging words with a few party members and watching as the party splinters, becomes agitated.
Breymeer supports Grimlock, “I believe it would be best for our healers and spell casters to rest for us to finish off our devil foe.”
Bhut, Bofor and Southar continue down the passageway. Bofor calls back, “Dalic is correct. We must press on.” Bhut pauses momentarily to see if Dalic follows deeper into the mine.
Grimlock watches the group carefully.
The others are gathered together as the situation comes to the cusp of a decision.
Kuba and Speck begin prepare to withdraw.
The elves hold a quick conference. Tathar advises, “I can hold him but only for a few seconds and that is only if he is overcome by the spell’s effects. If his will is too strong, there will be no effect on him at all. We will have one chance to overpower him if the spell is successful.”
Tathar removes his hemp rope and gives it to Speck. “If we are able to get control of him, and if he will not come with us, threaten to take his shield. I believe it is cursed and he will do anything to keep it. Everybody get close, and if he stops moving, pounce on him at once.”
Cirdan adds, “If Tathar cannot hold him, I may be able to hold him with webs. I say we let Tathar try, and if he keeps moving, I will cast webs directly in front of him, where he will have little chance of escape. I am, maybe, the strongest, I will get him from behind. Others grab his legs and arms. If I see the spell has had no effect, I will call forth the webs.”
Breymeer cautions, “I stand by the belief that our only hope is to get our magic folks what they need. I will stay with them. I believe it is the only way to accomplish our mission successfully. The others may continue if they wish. Those continuing on and splitting up the group have made their choice and fighting them is not productive.”
Bofor stops, seeing the discord, he gives a dwarven version of a rally speech, “You elves are spreading cowardice at the final leg of the journey. You very own god said we are near and even shows your cleric the way.” Bofor is obviously showing his bias towards elves.
“You pointy-eared forest sprites cower in the face of danger. Fine then. I release you from your contract. It was a fool’s errand to employ the elves in the first place. Keep the non-mine treasure you have acquired so far as payment. If your fragile bones can carry it that is. Run to your forests and strengthen yourselves.” He spits upon the floor and directs his attention to the humans.
“Don’t let the gentle fairies dissuade you men. I have seen strong men and you are among that rank. Come Dalic, let us who belong in the mountains lead these brave men forward to victory before the elves have them singing, painting and planting gardens. You are suppose to be the heroes of Restenford. Stiffen your spine and see this through.”
“Come Dalic, if death shall find us, it shall be in glorious battle not in dishonorable retreat!”
The appearance of the dwarf priest calling upon the duergar warrior for aid would seem odd any any other time and place.
Grimlock walks with a purpose towards Bofor as Tathar looses an arrow from his bow. The arrow passes Bofor near his head; an obvious intentional near miss. Tathar immediately nochs another arrow. “If you question my loyalty to Sehanine again, or call me a coward again, only one of us will live! If it weren’t for the elves, you would have died in the cages on the first level! Or have been overcome by the magic with the skeletal snake! You are the coward if you count the dwarves abandoning this delve and hiding behind your forges in Farmin, waiting for humans and elves with enough spine to come here! By my count, two elves have already died for your cause! Take back your words!”
Before Bofor can speak, Grimlock walks up and punches Bofor hard in the face with a right fist. “For insulting me and my kin.” Grimlock prepares for Bofor’s counter.
Bofor speaks through a split lip and blood washed teeth, “Well, ya see lads, the elves have some fight in them yet. And I insult not your god. It is ye who appears to tarry when the way has been shown.”
Bofor turns and catches up to Southar.
Dalic replies, "It is my greatest honor to travel with these, my now brethren. I have a duty to you all in a sense for I don wan ta see another man fall. I trust any of you ta make it ta safety back that way without me as well. I would be cursed by thought iffen even one should fall moving forward should I not join to aid them. If there be any of my company going forward I will too. This includes the demon stricken Southar. I will join Southar into battle to hopefully save him for the day he is free of Zalco."
Bhut nods in agreement to his little friend. Dalic and Bhut fall in behind them. The foursome leave the rest of the group to withdraw in peace.
Southar looks back at the group, his snake eyes showing a strong will and his forked tongue licking the air through a large grin, “Do assss you wisssshhh. We ssshhall be fighting and winning!"
Dalic chuckles at the sight of bofor being struck in the face. "Ha. Sorry. Should have seen that coming. An by tha way dear Bofor, ye be much less kin ta me than these'n elves. Don't be so quick ta count me in mutual opposition ta them."
Breymeer can hold his tongue no longer. “Bofor, your mouth has irked me to a point where I can take no more. We’re obviously not retreating, just taking time to finish this contract, as you call it, properly. And I believe your attitude needs an adjustment!” Breymeer begins to stride towards Bofor with his axes in hand. “Your option dwarf, fists or steel?”
Bofor spouts back, “If you still have fight in ya, bring it into the mine. That is where I will be if you wish to fight me.”
Breymeer pauses as the dwarf appears to back down.
Bofor takes a few steps and pauses. He looks back to Breymeer and the elves, “I fear my tongue has spoke too strongly my bearded friend. I thank you in advance should I never see you humans and elves again. You have fought hard to this point. I suppose someone should clear the path out of the mine for us. Should you remain in the hill upon our completion, I will consider your part of the bargain upheld.”
Kuba calls to Bofor, “When we return, we will know where to find you. We can just follow the trail of defeated dwarf zombies.”
“Sssseee you ssssssoooon!” Southar grins, checks his shield and grips Zalco.
Bofor sets the second lantern down upon the floor, “You may need this.”
Passing for a fairwell, the short burst of insults and a solid punch to the nose represent the splintering of the group.
Bofor puts his hand on Dalics back and allows the duergar to pass. Dalic steps up to Southar’s side. Dalic has the black bladed Delven Bastard in hand.
Bofor, taking Southar’s lantern from the ranger to free up his sword hand, steps behind Dalic. Bhut, axes at the ready, steps in behind Southar.
Dalic gives a look back to his only friends and, with a nearly imperceptible nod, he turns his collar toward the task at hand.
The foursome walks down the passageway and eventually the lantern light slips from view.
Grimlock waits until the foursome are beyond sight before speaking again. “I suggest we follow at a distance; unknown to them. Maybe us being split is not a bad option. We can act as rear guard and back them up. I do have some magic left but would like more health restored if any can aid me.”
Grimlock pauses to study the group. Breymeer interjects, “If we follow, Bofor gets his way. This is bull.” He looks more disturbed than normal. “But I will do whatever we decide.”
Grimlock encourages support for his idea, “Tathar you still are a dead shot with your bow. We have two fighters. Anything the others engage, we can judge if they need assistance. I can go invisible and track them, reporting back to our group. We will live if we leave but without them we cannot finish this mission.” Grimlock gets a grin on his face, “But then again, we are not under contract and now can take what we wish.”
Speck’s ears perk up.
Tathar watches the other group leave with an arrow still notched, a fire still burning in his moon-eyed face. “Bofor has paid me a mortal insult. He has questioned my loyalty to my deity and has not retracted his words. For anyone to do this is inexcusable, but for a fellow priest, it is . . . unforgivable. If he will not take back his words, I will push on in hopes that I may help him pass on.”
Tathar walks over to Grimlock and states, “By anyone going to heal Grimlock, you mean Tathar? Will you help me with Bofor? He owes me an apology.”
Grimlock agrees to accompany Tathar but he wants to follow his plan of stealth.
Tathar lays his hands on Grimlock’s shoulders and mutters a prayer, “May Sehanine ease your pain my half-brother (+7, 24/29(32)).”
Cirdan watches the other group depart, knowing one is cursed, one is a warmonger, one is stupid and the last is going along for the glory. “I am still for falling back and resting. They seem to have forgotten there is a mage to be dealt with besides this demon Tathar talks of. I trust Sehanine. She is a beautiful, illusion-filled elfin deity. If she says we must prevail, then we must, but I am the only one truly able to deal with the mage, and I have no, well, almost no ability to call upon magic. I need rest and to study.”
Speck tugs on Cirdan’s arm. “I have slain a mage. A green robed fella. When everything went poof in the throne room, I found myself alone in a cavern. I had no idea where everyone else went. There was a door that I wasn't about to go through and I heard some chanting from near by. The chanting I heard was the Mage. I was just going to just sneak by but he said things that showed he was no friend of our group and then started casting a spell so I shot at him hoping to disrupt his spell. My first shot missed but the second shot hit true just as he vanished from sight. I only found him because half my arrow was still visible. He lays dead in the chamber on the far side of the magical darkness." Speck points back in the direction of the black ooze layer and chamber beyond.
Cirdan looks pleased at the defeat of the enemy mage but still shakes his head, looking to the north, deeper into the mine. “We’re all going, aren’t we?”
Looking about the group, it appears the elves are fully intending to continue after the dwarves. Kuba lets out a sigh and Speck steps closer to his warrior friend. Breymeer just shakes his head, “This is madness. But, I will remain at your side.”
With a quick spell, Grimlock vanishes from sight.
The foursome moves north down the passageway. The temperature continues to fall as they move deeper into the mine. The walls soon become white with hints of frost. The passageway opens to a very large cavern. The walls of the cavern are completely frosted over. The temperature hovers at freezing sending a chill through the adventurers.
Following Bofor’s wishes, the group moves up keeping the east wall within sight. The western wall quickly drops out of clear view. The lantern light flickers off the shadowy western wall showing the cavern varies from 120 to 150 feet wide. The ceiling rises to the edge of the latern light at 60 feet in height.
The eastern wall is very uneven, jutting into the room and retreating again to the east several times creating unseen pockets the group is forced to tactically work their way past. It makes for a long 350 foot walk. The temperature grows steadily colder and the frost turns to ice as the chamber necks back down to a wide passageway bending to the northwest. The connecting chamber is generally about 30 feet wide and 100 feet long.
The foursome moves carefully through the transition from one cavern chamber to the next. The room is very irregular shaped but essentially the same size as the previous expanse. It stretches over 300 feet heading generally northwest. The ice-coated cavern is filled with stalactites and stalagmites, some of which have joined to form columns that support the 60 foot high ceiling. Icicles clinging to the ceiling occasionally fall to the floor, shattering like glass.
The walls and the floors are very slick. The temperature is far below freezing. Southar, appearing to be more susceptible to the cold, shivers like his human companion Bhut. Dalic also is beginning to show a reaction to the cold; frost coats his beard. Bofor, stouter that the others, only now begins to show his discomfort. He, too, has a white frost on his beard.
The foursome take their time crossing the treacherous icy coated chamber. The footing is very slick and the many stalagtites and stalagmites offer many hiding spots for ambush. Dispite the obvious tactical advantages offered by the icy chamber, no attack comes. In fact, they place seems vacant.
The cold begins to take its toll on the group as they get half way across the chamber. Exposed flesh stings and becomes red. Numbness creeps upon fingers, ears and noses. Dalic’s plate mail has frosted as have the rings of Bofor’s chain mail and the studs on Southar’s leather. The metal armor acts as a conduit for the cold as it easily crosses from metal armor though sweat soaks padding.
The party begins to contemplate a retreat until an illumination radiates bright enough to be seen to the north although the far end of the chamber is mainly screened by an outcropping of wall and a large pillar of ice. The group is unable to make out the source of the light.
Grimlock lays out his plan, “I will stay back bout forty or fifty feet, moving silent. The rest of you stay back about 150 feet. I will move back and forth to report. If I throw one stone, keep coming, two stones means stop and hold and a handful means run up at full speed. I will make clicking sounds when I approach you. Hood the lantern so the dwarves do not see your light. Kuba will have to cope; help guide him if he needs it.”
Speck arms himself with his bow while Kuba keeps his sword and shield ready for melee. The halfling walks beside his human friend with his free hand helping to guide the warrior. Kuba holds the handle of the hooded lantern in his sword hand. He shutters the lantern to keep the light all but out. The human can see only a few feet of floor in front of himself as he relies on his companion for guidance.
Tathar moves behind Grimlock with whomever wants to join him. He looks in vain for the arrow shot past Bofor. He will keep his bow out.
Cirdan moves to the middle. He drapes his blanket across his shoulders warning everyone, "It's gonna get cold."
Breymeer has his bow in hand. His vision is lost at the shuttering of the lamp so he moves up directly behind Kuba; keeping very close.
Grimlock, unseen, moves ahead of the group. Tathar falls in next, staying slightly ahead of Cirdan, Speck and the humans. Cirdan walks just ahead of the humans.
Following the path north. The temperature continues to fall as they move deeper into the mine. The walls soon become white with hints of frost. The passageway opens to a very large cavern. The walls of the cavern are completely frosted over. The temperature hovers at freezing sending a chill through the adventurers. The foursome continues on through this chamber, staying to the right. The elf led group follows.
Grimlock watches the dwarf led group move across the chamber. The western wall quickly drops out of clear view. The lantern light flickers off the shadowy western wall showing the cavern varies from 120 to 150 feet wide. The ceiling rises to the edge of the latern light at 60 feet in height.
The eastern wall is very uneven, jutting into the room and retreating again to the east several times creating unseen pockets the group is forced to tactically work their way past. It makes for a long 350 foot walk. The temperature grows steadily colder and the frost turns to ice as the chamber necks back down to a wide passageway bending to the northwest. The connecting chamber is generally about 30 feet wide and 100 feet long.
As the dwarf led group exits the cold chamber, Grimlock returns and throws one stone toward Tathar advising him to continue forward.
Grimlock moves up to the wide passage between chambers as his companions begin to cross the large cold chamber behind him.
Dalic saunters on, keeping a steady pace while avoiding risk of falling. He shows steady determination to take the chamber while avoiding any unneccesary exposure to the cold.
Passing by the obstructions, the far end of the chamber comes into view. The ice covered walls are a constant excepting the glowing light illuminating a descending stairwell moving slightly to the north-northeast. The stairs are long and steep traveling down nearly 60 feet at a 45 degree angle down. The stairwell is only about 10 feet wide. At the bottom, it opens up to the right and begins to widen.
The foursome gathers near the top of the stairs trying to steal a peak into the area below but it betrays nothing. The press of the cold forces the foursome to make a hasty decision; go down the stairs or risk injury from extended exposure.
The dwarves, stout people by nature, have resisted the cold better than the humans. Even with the metal armor on, they shiver but remain unharmed by the frigid temperatures. Bhut, in non-metal armor, rattling like a baby toy, is very cold but yet unharmed. Southar, on the other hand, has begun to show more problems from the cold. He shivers uncontrollably and he is becoming more sluggish (4, 30/52).
Up the stairway radiates a warmth although the cause of the warmth does not appear to be related to the magical radiance that illuminates the stairs in a powerful white light. Dalic is forced to shield his eyes as the light bites painfully at them. The others are forced to pause until their own eyes adjust. The foursome moves ahead, reaching the bottom of the stairwell. They pass by a distinct line of frost near the ceiling level of the chamber at the base of the stairs.
The stairway gives way to a wide passage to the northeast. It quickly opens into a generally square chamber. As the group moves to the edge of the chamber it becomes apparent this chamber is also illuminated by some similar magical light. The light of the chamber is dimmer, much to Dalic’s relief.
The room is bare rock with a 25 to 30 foot irregular ceiling. A narrow natural passageway, some 8 to 10 feet across, leads into the darkness to the northeast.
A large iron statue of a dwarf warrior in full plate armor and a great helm stands as a sentry near the northwest side of the room. A might sword is sheathed upon its back. It faces the center of the room. The surface of the armor is smooth and finely crafted by the hands of the dwarves. This fact is accentuated by the dwarven runes that adorns it.
This room appears to be the source of the increasing temperature. This chamber is well above freezing again. In fact, with each step away from the stairwell, the warmer it gets.
Grimlock returns to tailing the dwarves as the rest of his companions bundle up for the cold chamber that lays before them.
As they make their way across the chamber, Grimlock watches the dwarves cross an ice covered chamber. The room is very irregular shaped but essentially the same size as the previous expanse. It stretches over 300 feet heading generally northwest. The ice-coated cavern is filled with stalactites and stalagmites, some of which have joined to form columns that support the 60 foot high ceiling. Icicles clinging to the ceiling occasionally fall to the floor, shattering like glass.
The dwarf group moves slowly. The walls and the floors are very slick. The temperature is far below freezing.
Grimlock shadows them long enough to see them reach a descending stairwell at the north end of the chamber. As they descend, Grimlock returns to his companions.
The short time he was in the ice filled chamber betrayed the extremely cold temperature in the chamber. His fingers and toes began to numb and the bite of the air threatened to frostbite his face. Only by wrapping in his cloak did Grimlock avoid the damaging effects of the air.
Grimlock sees Tathar and the others as they gather in the area between cold chambers. They await a signal from the half-elf.
As the group slowly presses into the room, multiple low basins come into view. Each circular stone basin is 20 feet in diameter and rises about a foot from the floor. An unpleasant odor fills the air yet the air seems fresher here than other chambers. Each basin is filled with a low, tangled, lichen-like plant. The sickly purple stuff grows in a brown sludge that fills the bottom half of each basin. Dalic recognizes the trick immediately as Bofor explains, “For those that do not already know, that is Airweed. It helps to make the air less stale. It does carry an odor unfortunately. It is a harmless smell anyway.”
Dalic speaks, “If the swords we know this, many be evil in tha pit here. Bofor, can you sense evil in it? Is it likely trapped? I say we ignore the sword for now and press in avoiding the statue.”
“You would perish without me,” calls Zalco. “I am the greatest sword ever forged and he who wields me shall fear nothing. But if you do not want my help. I shall give you none.”
Bofor tries to interrupt Zalco, “I can ask Fortubo to show me the presence of evil here if you wish. I am getting near exhaustion though and fear I should say my power for any dangers we may encounter. If need arise, I can try and counter the evil by asking Fortubo to bless us.”
Bhut redirects the conversation, “Dalic, I agree we need to avoid that statue, it has a foul look to it.”
“Let’sssssss prossseed, ssssshall we?” asks Southar. The snake-man appears to be gaining his strength back now that the temperature is more reptile friendly.
The sound of steel rubbing on steel is heard to the north drawing the adventure’s attention to the statue. Its head, once staring directly forward, has moved slightly to the right and it now appears to stare directly at the group.
Grimlock’s whispered voice warns of his approach. He brief’s the group and warns them to bundle up for the next chamber.
Once briefed, Cirdan says, “Let us cross quickly to avoid the cold as much as possible, but watch vigilantly for falling ice and monsters.”
Grimlock moves ahead of the group as the halfling’s pace slows the difficult crossing of the ice coated passageway.
Although bundled, the frigid air of the room quickly begins to take its toll on exposed flesh or partially covered bodies. Those in metal armor find it a conductor for the heat sapping air. Fingers go numb, noses sting painfully, exposed flesh reddens. The desire to speed up creeps into the conscious but to do so would invite falls and possible injuries.
As the party crosses the room, a faint light appears from around a small outcropping on the east wall. Drawing the group in like insects to light, they round the bend to see a very well lit stairwell descending deeper into the mine. The stairwell is roughly 10 feet wide with a little larger head clearance. The source of the light is unknown but it is a brilliant white light that just seems to be everywhere on the stairwell.
It is assumed Grimock has descended to scout ahead. There has been no other obvious other paths to follow.
Grimlock moves slowly down the brightly lit stairwell. It radiates a warmth although the cause of the warmth does not appear to be related to the magic that illuminates the stairs. Grimlock passes a distinct line of frost near the ceiling level of the chamber at the base of the stairs.
The stairway gives way to a wide passage to the northeast. It quickly opens into a generally square chamber. The dwarf group has moved to the edge of the chamber. The chamber is also illuminated by some similar magical light although it is dimmer than the stairwell.
The room is bare rock with a 25 to 30 foot irregular ceiling. A narrow natural passageway, some 8 to 10 feet across, leads into the darkness to the northeast.
Grimlock steps soundlessly up behind the group to examine the room. The group has been conversing quietly as the half-elf arrives. Grimlock does not hear what it was they were discussing as he stays a fair distance from Zalco remembering the sword was able to sense Cirdan even while the elf was invisible.
Looking around the room, Grimlock sees a large iron statue of a dwarf warrior in full plate armor and a great helm stands as a sentry near the northwest side of the room. A might sword is sheathed upon its back. It faces the center of the room. The surface of the armor is smooth and finely crafted by the hands of the dwarves. This fact is accentuated by the dwarven runes that adorns it.
The room also contains four stone basins. Each circular stone basin is 20 feet in diameter and rises about a foot from the floor. An unpleasant odor fills the air yet the air seems fresher here than other chambers. Each basin is filled with a low, tangled, lichen-like plant. The sickly purple stuff grows in a brown sludge that fills the bottom half of each basin.
The air is much warmer in this chamber than above. This chamber is well above freezing again. In fact, with each step away from the stairwell, the warmer it gets.
The sound of steel rubbing on steel is heard to the north drawing Grimlock’s attention to the statue. Its head, once staring directly forward, has moved slightly to the right and it now appears to stare directly at the group.
Grimlock stealthily watches the dwarf group’s reaction.
Dalic quickly quips, "Based on tha statue coming to life, I thinks it be evil . . ." His statement trails off as he readies his daggers for a ranges attack. "Goin' in we shoul focus on ranged attacks when possible and gang up our melee when necessary."
Southar bangs Zalco on his golden shield, “Finally, a worthy opponent!” Southar moves forward a couple steps and then breaks into a charge with a hissing war cry.
Zalco joins the shout, “Vengeance!!!”
“I will flank it to the right!” Bofor offers. He skirts along the east wall.
Bhut follows his companions lead. He stows his axes and withdraws a throwing knife in each hand.
The statue squares is shoulders to Southar’s charge. Its right hand reaches to the hilt of the great sword sheathed on its back. Its left hand forms a fist as it drops its right leg slightly back, squatting a bit in preparation to strike. It moves with a ponderous yet smooth gait.
The elf group arrives at the top of the stairs awaiting the return of their spy. They remain flanked on either side as the powerful light shines brightly on anyone looking down the stairwell. The precaution is taken even though the dwarf group is not visible at the bottom.
Breymeer shakes his head, “I am an idiot for following.”
A warmth appears to drift up the stairwell. It is all the group can do not to break cover and move down the stairwell to avoid the extreme cold. Everyone shivers and fingers and toes have started to if not already gone numb.
The quivering is interrupted as Cirdan mumbles a short song, just loud enough for the group to hear,
"Ohhhh, how I love the feywine!
It's the only good glass of cheer!
Once we go in to the bright light,
We'll drink it every day of the year!"
It is obviously an elven celebration song and Cirdan is making fun of going into the lighted stairs as he thinks they are going to their deaths.
Tathar, trying in vain to shake off the cold (1, 20/24) snickers a bit at the joke.
The sudden sound of a sword banging on a shield catches the elf group off guard. It echoes up the stairwell from below; just out of sight. The group next hears Southar shout, “Finally, a worthy opponent!” Southar then gives a hissing war cry. By the sound of the cry, Southar is running generally away from where the elf group now stands.
Grimlock throws a handful of stones up the stairwell toward his waiting companions. He then turns and moves forward to watch the melee.
While Southar charges wildly ahead, Bhut stays put and throws both knives from where he stands. He is at the limits of his arm so he is forced to put a significant arc to the blades. Neither blade connects with its target.
Dalic runs a wide arc to the right toward the exit and juts back left calling to Southar to flank left. Southar adjusts accordingly.
The statue turns towards Southar as he closes in from the left flank. As planned, this exposes the iron statue’s rear flank to Dalic. The duergar positions himself where the statue’s back faces him within accurate throwing range for his daggers.
Bofor continues to move up the right flank.
Southar reaches the towering animated statue as it draws its sword from its sheath. The thick blade is eight inches wide and nearly six feet long. The blade is made of sharpened steel set into an iron pommel. Fearlessly Southar drives Zalco into a joint near the creature’s waist. Shockingly, the blade cuts into the iron being (13, 79/92).
“Watch it!” warns Zalco.
As if shooing away a fly, the iron behemoth swats at Southar with its free hand. Southar blocks the blow with his shield while spinning away from the forceful impact. His shield rings and the impact stings the ranger’s arm but he remains upright and unharmed.
Cirdan looks at Breymeer and Kuba. "Well, it's warmer in the light and there sounds like entertainment to watch, shall we?"
Tathar rallies to Cirdan, "We are not dead yet, noble elf, and Sehanine has charged us with prevailing over this foe. Get moving."
Cirdan, being sobered by Tathar's words, nods and starts down the stairs. Tathar follows. Two small impacts on the stairwell are heard as two invisible stones are thrown, one after the other, as a signal to stop. The two elves cease their descent. Grimlock has signaled a stop.
Cirdan signals the two human warriors and the halfling sneak to halt. Cirdan remains halted a few steps down from the top.
Tathar continues to descend carefully. Staying to the right, Tathar makes it to the bottom few steps before he stops his advance to study the room.
A loud clang rings from out of view in the chamber below. Judging from the sounds of previous encounters, something very large has struck Southar’s golden shield.
Tathar can see Bhut standing about forty feet in front of him. He has just launched a dagger at a target. Judging from the angle of departure, the target is near maximum range (roughly 90 feet). The wall of the stairwell prevents Tathar from seeing further into the room but it also acts to hide him. He slips slowly forward along the final ten feet of wall hoping not to be spied by anyone. Tathar is unsure where Grimlock went after tossing the stones up the stairwell.
Kuba and Speck remain in the upper chamber peaking down the stairwell. Now that they have quit moving, the arctic cold of the chamber creeps into their body relentlessly.
Cirdan remains a few steps down from the top. It is obvious the cold is not as invasive where he stands.
Breymeer, the bearded northman, is not one to pass on a fight. He moves quickly down the stairwell, “We choose to come here. Let’s get into this battle!” The stairwell warms as Breymeer descends. The line of frost ends just above the level of the ceiling of the chamber below. The chamber below is well above freezing and illuminated evenly by some unknown source of light. It is dimmer than the intense illumination of the stairwell.
The sound of the battle increases in intensity. The ringing of steel on iron along with shouts and orders. It appears the dwarf group is becoming fully engaged with something or someone.
The stairway gives way to a wide passage to the northeast. It quickly opens into a generally square chamber. The room is bare rock with a 25 to 30 foot irregular ceiling. A narrow natural passageway, some 8 to 10 feet across, leads into the darkness to the northeast.
A twelve feet tall iron statue of a dwarf warrior in full plate armor and a great helm battles Southar near the northwest side of the room. A might sword in its hand. The thick sword is the length of a man and 8 inches across the blade. The surface of the dwarf’s armor is smooth and finely crafted by the hands of the dwarf craftsmen. This fact is accentuated by the dwarven runes that adorns it.
Scattered about the room are four circular stone basin is 20 feet in diameter and rises about a foot from the floor. An unpleasant odor fills the air yet the air seems fresher here than other chambers. Each basin is filled with a low, tangled, lichen-like plant. The sickly purple stuff grows in a brown sludge that fills the bottom half of each basin.
Tathar remains in the stairwell on high alert.
Bofor moves up the east wall carefully. He has reached the northeast basin and uses it for partial cover as he skirts around its eastern arc.
Bhut charges from just ahead of the stairwell towards the giant iron dwarf. As he runs, he removes both of his axes.
Dalic lets two daggers fly and strafes to his right to get a more direct line at the statues back. The first dagger strikes the statue clean in the back of the neck but deflects harmlessly off. The second dagger deflects off the back of the right shoulder. Neither appears to have had any effect on the iron dwarf. It completely ignores the attack.
Bhut arrives as the iron dwarf releases a blast of noxious orange gaseous vapors from its mouth at Southar. The vapors billow out filling about a ten foot cube ahead of the statue. Using his superior dexterity, Southar dodges to the side of the gas and drives Zalco into the iron dwarf’s left ankle damaging the joint (6, 73/92).
The gas hangs heavy in the air being slow to disperse further into the chamber.
Bhut, keeping one axe to parry, brings the other axe down upon the back of the dwarf’s left thigh as the statue brings its leg forward while swinging a killing stroke towards Southar. The blade rings as it deflects off the solid iron leg. Bhut’s hand stings from the impact but he retains his grip of the weapon. Even though the blow does not seem to harm the leg, it is not without effect. The blow throws off the balance of the iron dwarf just enough to cause its swing to come across too high. The nimble snake-man easily dodges the cutting stroke. The iron dwarf regains its footing and fights on, continuing to face the scale skinned ranger. The step of the iron giant creates a small shock wave that reverberates through the chamber nearly stunning those close by.
Grimlock turns his attention to the closest basin. He sneaks quietly along the southern wall to the protection of the small rock outcropping near the edge of the southeast basin.
He ponders what the basins are for. He guesses they have something to do with defeating the iron dwarf. Seeing the ineffectiveness of everything but Zalco so far, he assumes he has no ability to harm it. Grimlock contemplates how to prevent the others from walking into a death trap.
Fearing a trap within the basin, Grimlock stands ten feet from the stone basin. He tosses an invisible bolt towards the large interior of the basin. The shaft lands and quickly sinks metal tip down. Grimlock can see the pressure the bolt puts on the vegetation. The amount of vegetation prevents the bolt from falling far beneath the surface.
From where he stands, Grimlock detects no reaction to the wood, quill or metal.
Grimlock draws his sword and sticks it into the vegetation testing to see if it grabs the blade. Nothing happens. He places his sword into Zalco’s scabbard and moves forward towards the melee rounding the raised pool in the process.
Breymeer’s deep war cry alerts his companions of his charge. Not having a clear shot, Breymeer charges with his dwarven made battle axe and hand axe. Tathar remains behind near the base of the stairwell.
The cold finally takes its toll on Kuba and Speck. They can no longer resist the comfort offered by the warm radiating from below. Kuba decides to follow Breymeer into the battle. Speck follows closely on his heels. They pass Cirdan as the move down to the base of the stairs. The air warms as they descend. They pass by a distinct line of frost near the ceiling level of the chamber at the base of the stairs.
Kuba moves slowly to allow Speck to keep up. As they near the bottom of the stairs, Tathar comes into view. The elf stands at the bottom of the stairs looking into the room. The sound of battle spurns the human and the halfling to hurry to the base of the stairs.
The stairway gives way to a wide passage to the northeast. It quickly opens into a generally square chamber. As they move to the edge of the chamber it becomes apparent this chamber is illuminated by some similar magical light. The light of the chamber is dimmer than that of the stairwell.
The room is bare rock with a 25 to 30 foot irregular ceiling. A narrow natural passageway, some 8 to 10 feet across, leads into the darkness to the northeast.
A twelve foot tall iron statue of a dwarf warrior in full plate armor and a great helm stands as a sentry near the northwest side of the room. A might sword is sheathed upon its back. It faces the center of the room. The surface of the armor is smooth and finely crafted by the hands of the dwarves. This fact is accentuated by the dwarven runes that adorns it.
This room appears to be the source of the increasing temperature. This chamber is well above freezing again. In fact, with each step away from the stairwell, the warmer it gets.
The room also contains four low basins. Each circular stone basin is 20 feet in diameter and rises about a foot from the floor. An unpleasant odor fills the air yet the air seems fresher here than other chambers. Each basin is filled with a low, tangled, lichen-like plant. The sickly purple stuff grows in a brown sludge that fills the bottom half of each basin.
They move up next to Tathar.
Bofor approaches the iron dwarf from the rear closing half the distance from the eastern wall to the melee. He moves carefully around the low stone basin deciding what his next move should be.
Dalic, seeing common steel does little damage to the iron dwarf, charges in for a direct assault on the giant’s back. He draws the Delven Bastard during the charge.
The gas cloud expands outward away from the statue forcing Southar to move a few feet counter-clockwise around the iron dwarf. The iron dwarf turns with pounding footsteps to match Southar’s move. The vibrations can be felt in the solid stone floor.
Southar darts in and drives the point Zalco into the dwarf. The blade slips into the molded beard cutting deep into its throat (28, 45/92). The iron dwarf’s head reels back as it swings wildly at the Gnarley Forest ranger. The great sword arcs toward Southar and he instinctively pulls up his shield. Steel meets gold. The overwhelming strength of the blow drives Southar back hard into the wall crushing him painfully (15, 15/52). If not for the magical shield, Southar would have been hacked in half.
“We are invincible!” cries Zalco as Southar remains standing. The blow has rocked the snake-man but he brushes off the pain to remain in the fight.
Bhut chops at the rear of the statue but fails to do more than put small scratches into the hard iron foe.
Breymeer’s charge closes in at the same time as Dalic’s. With the new positioning of the statue, both warriors slam into the rear of the enemy while staying to the east of the gas cloud.
Breymeer hacks with both of his axes. He delivers two telling blows. The dwarf forged battle axe puts a faint mark across the iron dwarf’s back. The hand axe cuts deeper into the back of the left knee joint (1, 44/92).
Dalic drives Delven Bastard into the dwarf’s back with both hands (4, 40/92). The black blade cuts through the iron dwarf and sticks out its chest. The iron figure kicks its foot back to crush the duergar. Dalic tries avoid the blow but is partially caught by its crushing weight. His plate mail armor saves him from death. Instead of turning Dalic into a gore stain, the armor deflects much of the blow knocking Dalic away from the smashing step. The duergar is badly battered and knocked back five feet but he remains alive, conscious and on his feet (24, 7/40(49)).
Kuba catches a glimpse of the massive iron creature. He stows his sword and takes out his war hammer. Telling Speck to stay put, Kuba enters the chamber to join in on the attack. He moves up carefully as he studies the battle and the large iron dwarf’s movements. Kuba reaches the western basin.
Bhut continues to hack away in vain behind the left knee with one axe while defending with the other.
Zalco begins a continuous string of shouts and chants; all designed to steel the nerves of the embattled warriors.
Dalic, reeling from the blow, knows there is no way to survive unless the giant is taken off kilter. He targets the legs of the beast hoping to slash completely through at least one of them. The Devlen Bastard slashes a deep trough in the right ankle of the iron giant (9, 31/92).
After hacking at the leg Dalic strafes with the body to ensure he isn't hit by the falling giant showing his experience gained in the fighting pits. While moving, he catches a glimpse of Breymeer and grins. "Welcome ta tha fight!"
Dalic silently prays that he doesn't catch another blow like the last one and trusts his size will work to his advantage in dodging another blow.
The iron adversary spins to face those to its rear. Using the force of his spin, it brings its gargantuan blade around in a massive descending arc. The sword cuts the air just above Bhut’s head. Dalic, moving to his left, remains under the stroke. Breymeer is caught fully by the blade. The bearded ranger reacts to the attack with an attempted parry bring both of his axes up to deflect the blow. The haft of his dwarven crafted battle axes is cut in two but his dwarven runed hand axe takes the blow as it impacts into the side of Breymeer’s head. The dwarven metal holds strong keeping Breymeer’s head attached to his body. Unfortunately, the blow still impacts the side of the ranger’s head causing serious blunt force injuries. He is instantly thrown back and to his left; nearly 10 feet. His body is as limp as a boned fish. His stout hand axe drops five feet to the left of where the ranger had previously stood. It comes to rest at the edge of the slowly expanding gas cloud.
Breymeer lay in a pile on the chamber floor; unmoving. The expanding cloud of gas threatens to overtake the northman’s body.
Southar, emboldened by Zalco’s encouragements, steps forward renewing his attack. He drives his blade deep into the left hip joint (16, 15/92).
Bofor, holding up by the eastern basin stands ready with his shield and hammer poised. Seeing Breymeer go down, he rushes over to aid him. He reaches his fallen comrade and checks for signs of life.
Tathar moves over to his right and inspect the southern basin while keeping an eye on the action. On high guard, he visually inspects the basin’s contents finding nothing alarming about it.
Cirdan keeps an eye on the fight and an eye on the staircase. Speck remains at the base of the stairs as suggested by Kuba.
Grimlock charges forward to the west side of the northern basin. His footfalls are unheard above the ringing and cries of the nearby melee. He sees Breymeer fall but also witnesses Bofor’s move to aid the ranger. Grimlock continues to his destination and continues to analyze the battle.
Bofor is surprised to find Breymeer’s head intact. The ranger is breathing shallowly and appears to have no mortal wounds. The dwarf priest calls on Fortubo to aid the fallen ranger and lays his hands upon Breymeer’s head (+5, 5/49(57)). The ranger’s eyes slowly open. He remains confused and very weak.
The dissipating gas begins to drift over the dwarf and man. Bofor begins to drag Breymeer away from the gas.
Grimlock’s voice carries over the battlefield. It comes from the north end of the room near the northern basin. “Southar, slide Bloodletter over to the north basin so that I may use it and join the fight!”
Kuba, seeing Breymeer nearly beheaded, makes a cautious approach. He keeps his shield ready to block any attacks. He moves in swinging for the knees. The human warrior catches the inside of a knee sending a ringing throughout the room as the dwarven war hammer finds its mark.
At the same time, Southar, ignoring Grimlock’s voice, drives Zalco, who is still shouting triumphantly, into the iron dwarf’s lower back (14, 1/92). The towering iron dwarf begins to teeter.
Dalic exploits the advantage. Dalic strikes with the Delven Bastard. The first blow deflects off the knee attacked by Kuba. Dalic weaves to his right.
The backstroke of the iron dwarf’s blade blow crosses above Dalic’s head, deflects off Kuba’s shield and catches P’innr Bhut full. Bhut, having kept one axe on the defensive, catches the great sword just below the head of the axe. The haft snaps like a dry twig. The deflection is enough to save Bhut’s life. Flattening his body with the force of the blow, Bhut is able to take the impact from the flat of the blade as opposed to the edge. The impact hits him in the left upper arm. The force of the blow knocks the sellsword a few steps back. To everyone’s surprise, the street fighter keeps his feet although the blow has knocked his helmet clean off his head. Bhut’s left arm aches greatly as the huge blade has wounded his entire upper arm.
After ducking the blade, Dalic slashes at the right knee and then rolls between the giant dwarf’s legs. Dalic’s black bladed bastard sword cuts the knee toppling the iron dwarf (6, -5/92).
The massive iron body falls forward just missing the frantically backpeddling Kuba. The body strikes the ground with a deafening clammer. The bonds of magic holding the construct’s life force fade and the creature stills itself in a massive iron heap.
Only Breymeer has fallen and he still draws breath. Dalic, Bhut and Southar all feel pain as the beating dealt to them begins to take hold. Only Kuba, arriving late to the melee, stands tall.
The brave warriors share a silent moment of triumph as they look each other in the eye with pride.
Bofor looks around at the group and bows his head. As the echo of the fallen iron statue fades, Bofor’s voice is heard, “I do apologize to one and all. Breymeer, I see now your willingness to lay down your life for your companions. I am glad that Fortubo has kept you among us. Your party deserves my respect and my respect you shall have.”
The dwarf priest looks truly moved as he raises his head. He speaks what others are already guessing themselves. “We must be near something important, this guardian is no trifle. Its presence here must signify something.”
Speck has moved ahead and taken cover behind a shallow outcropping of rock near the stairs. It is from this vantage point he catches the tail end of the victory.
Ciran remains in place on the stairs watching for an ambush and any sign of something coming to investigate the sound.
Tathar remains near the southeastern basin.
Meanwhile, Grimlock circles to the north side of the basin and dips his silver longsword into the basin. The blade strikes bottom before reaching the pommel. The water is less than 3 feet deep. Nothing out of the ordinary occurs.
Dalic looks around to ensure everyone is far enough away from the gas. Everyone appears safe. The gas is thinning quickly. Dalic mumbles a bit to himself almost shameful of his pride but definitely not shameful of his pride, just more conscience of the fact that self praise in this group is uncommon, "Not ta be so bold but.. Ahem... Dalic did notice that 'twas my blade that took down the beast. Just sayin'..." He inspects his finger nails nonchalantly with a smug smile across his face.
In the form of instant and comedic karma for his pride, he doubles over briefly as a sharp flash of pain forces a severe wince to replace his smirk. After a second, he regains composure, "I may need some aid meself. But you shoul' see the other guy."
Bhut, dazed and confused, inspects the damage to his arm. He asks for water as he feels dehydrated. He slowly walks around looking for his throwing knives. He picks up his helmet and returns it to his head. He only locates one of his knives. Also, one of his battle axes has been destroyed in the battle.
Cirdan advances and investigates the iron dwarf. Its structure is very ornate and full of detail. It appears to be made of solid iron. The only unattached part is the sword that was removed from the sheath. The sword itself is too large and heavy to be wielded by any other than those with the strength of a giant.
Tathar applies first aid to P’innr Bhut (+1, 17/40(46)) and then Breymeer (+3, 8/49(57)).
Once that task is completed, he turn his attention to Bofor. He strides purposefully to the Fortubo priest with fire in his eyes and shoves him. "Do you believe me now dwarf? Of do you still think me a coward who doesn't follow the words of his deity? I have fought many battles with these, my companions, and would die for each and every one of them, including that crazy duergar," he points to Dalic. "But you come late to the party, insult us, and lead us recklessly into unknown dangers. If not for sheer dumb luck, you would have gotten everyone killed!"
“Kill the rigid priest!” shouts Zalco in elvish trying to encourage Tathar to violence against Bofor.
Ignoring the sword, in a quieter voice, his rage seeming to have ebbed, Tathar says, "You still owe me an apology for calling my loyalty to Sehanine into question. Without it, you can consider me your enemy. I will not kill you, but I will certainly not help you live."
Tathar moves to Southar to give him aid as Bofor studies him. Bofor also looks to Southar holding Zalco. “I believe you have misinterpreted the intent of my statement. For that I do apologize. I did not mean to question your loyalty to Moonbow. I was only pointing out that Sehanine also wishes this task complete as you had stated. You should save your angst for the final push.”
Bofor, in a matter-of-fact-tone, explains, “I know the elves battle desperately upon Bone Hill. Whatever haunts that keep is tied to this hellish place. Without our victory here, the elves may not triumph. This is more your concern than that of the dwarves.”
“And do not think that we are blind to the ambitions of the elves. The short-lived men do not pay your kind enough attention but those of us in stone halls do. We shall not be moved or harassed from what is rightfully ours. You may crawl all over the surface of hill and dale but do no think you will drive the Thesdrorlum clan from the mountain’s deep halls.
While Bofor speaks, Tathar renders what aid he can to the snake-ranger (+3, 18/52).
Bofor walks over to the duergar and lays a hand upon him, “Fortubo grants your request. May he ease your suffering.” Dalic’s pain remains but he is grateful for the aid (+4, 11/40(49)).
Grimlock joins Tathar at Southar’s side not attempting to hide his normal soft footfalls. The half-elf requests, “May I have Bloodletter in case we run into another creature needing magic to harm it.”
Grimlock continues, more to the group, “I suggest I scout forward of the party.”
Grimock then turns his attention on Zalco, “Are you willing to work with us and not against us. By which we decide when and how to attack and cease charging into every encounter and to give us time to access each situation we encounter first.”
Zalco counters, “Be not ashamed you are not as brave as Southar the Defeater of Iron. You are as free to do as you please as Southar the Supreme.”
Southar appears to bask in the glory bestowed upon him by the sword.
Zalco continues, “However, Grimlock, you do speak with wisdom. Southar of the Scales shall relinquish you the lesser blade named Bloodletter; but only on this condition. You shall return him my scabbard.”
The snake-ranger looks to where the invisible half-elf stands and nods his approval of Zalco’s bargain.
With the tension between Grimlock and Southar and the elf and dwarf priest, Speck remains sheltered near the base of the stairs.
Breymeer remains on the floor, still waiting for all the cobwebs to clear from his mind. His head aches something fierce. “My axe,” he says weakly.
Kuba retrieves the hand axe and hands it to Breymeer. The northman appears more relaxed as he wraps his fingers around the hornwood shaft.
Tathar, listening to Bofor's words nods at Bofor's direct apology, and seems appeased.
Grimlock replies to Zalco, "Nah, your scabbard has got to be worth more than Bloodletter in coin. I will hold on to it ‘til I can turn it into new spell books. If Southar doesn't want to hand over an unused weapon which would benefit the entire party then me thinks he is not of free will and I would prefer not to give you what you want as you still do not agree to work with us. Lastly, You still haven't told us why you commanded me to kill Bofor and why now you wish Tathar to kill him. Why do you wish Bofor dead?"
Speck moves forward angling towards Kuba as Zalco argues with Grimlock, “You are correct. It is my scabbard and it is worth more than Bloodletter in coin. You are incorrect if you believe you will hold onto it. You know my strength. In fact, you only live because I slew a devil for you. I have worked tirelessly for this party to gain my revenge upon the dwarven priest. As far as Bofor is concerned, he is a dwarven priest and I trust them not.”
Southar attempts to defuse the situation, “Grimlock, I am willing to ssssssshort term loan Bloodletter to you if it is of necccesssssssity.”
Zalco continues his rant, “You see, the snake-man is in full control of himself.” Zalco appears to switch audiences and addresses the group. “I will aid you no further until this greedy mix-breed hands over my scabbard to Southar the Greater-of-the-Two-Warriors. The half-elf has all the greed for power of man but lacks the wisdom of the elves.”
Southar, Zalco in hand, approaches Grimlock unerringly even though the half-elf is invisible. With his free hand, Southar unbuckles Bloodletter, sword and scabbard together, as he approaches. The ranger hands the sheathed sword hilt first to the half-elf.
“Tis a shame the half-elf is so jealous of loosing possession of me. For I am able to show you the final hidden path that only I have detected so far. Enjoy the rest of your short lives without me.” With that, Zalco falls quiet.
Dalic has spent his time seeking out his daggers. He finds both of his and the one Bhut had lost. One of Dalic’s blades was broken in the toss. Hearing the argument end, Dalic pipes in, "We need to figure out how we are ta survive the rest of the delve here. If Dalic be hit like that again, there be no comin back fer me. We must finish here though. If what the priest is right bout tha Bone Hill, I fear tha islands stand to tab over run with evil and death if we don't succeed this night. Also, Bofor this would hab been good to know earlier on.”
Bhut approaches his fighting companion and collects his second throwing knife from Dalic.
Southar gives his concurrence to continuing, “I shall check the other exit next.” He waits for Grimlock to take Bloodletter.
Bofor answers the duergar, “It was more of a hunch when we started but both keep and delve suffer from a hellish influence. Everything seems to indicate one is tied to the other. Frelpic, the priest we seek, holds any further answers.” Bofor looks to Tathar as he finishes speaking, “I did not speak earlier for I do not trust the elves intent with the keep on Bone Hill. Nor do I now.”
Tathar allows a small smirk to appear at the corners of his mouth before it quickly disappears. The Sehanine priest walks away from Bofor while saying, “The room with the giant statue of a devil with swept-back horns and red eyes is next.”
Speck reaches his warrior companion. As he does, Kuba's stink catches him again and offers some advice, “May I suggests a quick splash of water from one of the basins to help with your odor?”
Kuba chuckles and agrees with his minute friend. Kuba approaches the nearest basin and take his axe and tries to clear off a spot clear of scum. In so doing, he checks the water for any undesirable critters and such.
“The airweed is not a pleasant odor but it will be better than your current condition,” Bofor informs Kuba.
Kuba begins to sponge bath the best he can.
Cirdan inquires to no one in particular, "What now? Do you all want to rest now, or continue to our deaths?"
The gas cloud has dissipated leaving behind a foul but harmless smell that mingles with the rankness of the dung covered party members.
The room is comfortably warmer than the chambers above. Having spent some time standing around, the group notices the room is warmer on the north end of the chamber. The illumination that magically lights the room appears to do so without heat. It does not seem to be the cause of the increased temperature.
Both Dalic and Bofor agree the temperature is above what would be expected underground without some heat source.
Dalic is irritated with the lack of progress. "Let us rest here and regain some strength in rest for the brawlers and learnin for the magical types. We will all perish pushing further like this. Also, shut up Zalco. Stop taking credit for the last demon anyhow. Southar, relinquish the sword to no one in particular but stow him. He breed deceit and in fighting. I will disarm you if need be but be gone with this for your companions' sakes!"
Cirdan inquires of Bofor about "airweed" and if the basins are indeed safe for use.
“Indeed, it is safe. Airweed is used by the dwarves to improve air quality. It smells not so kind but is very effective in deep mines. You may not want to drink of it but washing yourself is a good idea. You smell foul as well. As do you Southar.”
Cirdan joins Kuba in washing himelf.
Bofor turns his attention to Breymeer as the ranger tests his legs and balance. The bearded northman sways a bit and holds his head in pain but remains standing. He appears to be suffering a concussion. His stomach empties as the room spins. Slowly he continues to gain his bearings and footing.
Bhut chuckles to himself. He appears slightly amused that Dalic is once again shorter than himself. “You look like you could use some rest. Your wasting away.”
Southar continues to hold out Bloodletter to Grimlock.
Grimlock grasps the hilt of Bloodletter, “Thank you.” The sword hovers in mid-air remaining visible while Grimlock continues to be invisible. Grimlock’s voice continues, “We can really end all this untrust with a very simple act of goodwill. All I request is you place Zalco in the northwest corner of the room. Then you walk over to the fallen statue. I will remain here with Bloodletter out so you can see I have not moved. I will give you my word I will stand fast if you do this.”
“In doing so you will prove your will and control over Zalco. We can then have a conversation and, if you so wish it, at the end if our conversation I will return the scabbard and you can return to collect Zalco as your blade as I will not contest Zalco any longer.”
“Very well.” Southar releases his grasp on Bloodletter and walks to the northwest corner of the room. “How ssssstrange,” mutters Southar as he reaches the northwest corner. “It growsssss conssssssssiderably warmer over here.”
Southar, sidetracked from Grimlock’s request, continues to the wall in the northwest corner, “It appearssss to warm with each ssssstep.” Southar looks down as his blade as unconsciously nods.
To Southar Zalco whispers quietly that there is a door hidden in the wall to the west and slightly to the south of where Southar now stands.
Southar appears to be in contemplation and talking to himself. After inspecting the wall, he turns and sets Zalco down upon the floor. He analyzes the group and then walks to the fallen iron dwarf.
Dalic draws his Blackened Delven Bastard. He mutters under his breath something about barbarian humans and donkey sweat without facing or acknowledging Bhut but clearly in response to the comment about his height.
"I know little of these magix 'specially the evils we have faced these past weeks. But I know tha' it ain' right ta warm without fire this far down. Be ready men... also Bhut. We may not get a respite in any case.”
Dalic begins strafing to distance himself from the walls, basins and other characters. He moves about 30 feet to the southeast while watching Southar. As he passes Bhut, he looks up and indicates with a tilt of his head to follow if he is so inclined.
Bhut does decide to join Dalic, “I am thinking it would be wise to rest for at least an hour.”
After Kuba cleans as much of the Orc dung off himself as he can he lets out a sigh, "Ah... Fresh as a daisy. Hey snake face, you may want to try this. The water's fine.”
Speck hangs around those at the basin while remaining as alert as he can.
Southar reaches the iron dwarf and looks to the floating Bloodletter, “Are you sssssatisssfied Grimlock?”
Southar begins his return to the northwest corner, “I will be expecting Zalco’sssss sssscabbard.”
Breymeer gathers up his broken axe and stows it in his pack. He looks a little unsteady. “I will be wanting to rest an hour. I can continue on but won't be much good in a fight for a while.”
Grimlock hails Southar as Southar turns to the northwest. Southar pauses, looking suspiciously in the direction of the floating Bloodletter. Grimlock approaches the snake-man as given by Bloodletter floating through the air to the iron dwarf.
The snake-man and the half-elf lower their voices and have a conversations. By the look on Southar’s face, they are not agreeing with each other.
Grimlock tells Southar, “I would trade any interest in Zalco for Bloodletter and your magic rope. As a rogue, I believe it would be best suited for my skills as Zalco for yours. Bloodletter is of simple magic as is the rope for a very powerful sword indeed.”
Southar responds, “You can have Bloodletter. Use your own darn thieving ssskills to climb wallsss Grimlock you sssschmuck! I earned the rope with a sssnake bite and am keeping it. A powerful magic ssssword is worth way more than some gemssss on a sssscabbard. If you don’t like the deal I will keep Bloodletter and ssssell him later for an even better ssssscabbard. You can attack with ssssticks ya greedy elf.”
“That is fine. You can have Bloodletter and I will still contest ownership of Zalco. You did take it from my hand when I was held after all. That is stealing after all. I doubt anyone will argue if I took Dalic’s bastard sword from his hand in the middle of a battle while he was held I would not just get to keep it. You can return Zalco to me when we finish this thing. You obviously have no idea how powerful a weapon you have been offered. The thing healed me completely once even.”
“You will not take my preciousssss!” Southar’s voice becomes very stern.
“My offer is now rescinded.” Grimlock also becomes very serious. He hands back Bloodletter.
“Zalco has chosssssssen the ssstronger owner. You can trade the sssscabbard for Bloodletter or not. I don’t care.”
Grimlock warns, “I’m going for my sword back now since you no take my good deal I offered. You yellow bellied snake.”
Southar gives his counter offer again, “I get Zalco with his ssscabbard and you get Bloodletter. If you don’t give up sssscabbard, you can beat things with your fistssss. The fact I took it out of your frozsssen grasssp is moot. It wasss alwayss meant for the likesss of the great Sssouthar.” Southar ties Bloodletter back to his belt.
“You could have had both for a reasonable deal but you foolishly chose not to. Now you will just have to wait and see. I would rather have a fighter mad at me than a mage. I’m both.”
Southar turns for the northwest corner again. As he walks away, he watches over his shoulder while hissing, “Very well. Try me.”
During the conversation, Bloodletter is handed back to Southar who re-takes possession of it.
The conversation becomes heated and Southar turns to walk away. He watches over his shoulder as he walks towards the northwest corner spouting something towards Grimlock as Southar departs.
Dalic watches Southar carefully and silently. He watches for any commotion. As Southar separates from Grimlock, Dalic sits for a respite.
Grimlock’s voice calls loudly to the rest of the party, “So, I just offered Zalco to Southar even though I believe it is rightly mine to possess. I offered him Zalco in return for Bloodletter and the magic rope but he refused the offer. I didn't want to give up Zalco to start with but in the interest of getting a better trade I would have accepted both in return. This offer was more than generous and I was on losing end as Zalco is worth far more than a simple magic long sword and a rope we have used all but three times.”
Grimlock takes a breath and Southar continues walking away. “I no longer want to give up Zalco as the generosity of my offer has been thrown back at me. I would like to group to decide Zalco's owner. As Southar will state, Zalco wants to stay with him, but when do we care what a blade wants versus a living being’s right of choice? His wants are irrelevant and he would sooner jump ship to another if he though he could do an equal or better job as the weilder. Zalco has NO say.”
“I have waited and not claimed any weapons less a silver blade with no magical characteristics while others, including Southar, have claimed magic sword such as Bloodletter and the Delvin Blade for Dalic. It was my turn to have a choice on a magic blade and if it be a more powerful blade than the ones others have claimed it does not change my right in turn.”
“I did claim Zalco and had been using it quite effectively ‘til I was held by an undead creature. While I was held in battle, the sword was taken from me without my consent and never returned. If he had taken it to finish the battle that would have been acceptable but I believe unneeded. But he took the sword to keep the sword. I do know with all certainty if I took Dalic's Delvin Blade while he was held and did not return it upon his freedom, I would be dead or unconscious and he would still have it back in his hand. Cirdan, what if I took your staff? To any of you, if someone took your property from your hand and did not return it, would you just accept it? I think not.”
“I do not hate nor hold a grudge against Southar, but I do want the blade returned to me. A compromise I would be willing to consider would be to return Zalco to me. If I cannot set the blade down upon my will or I charge off into crazy mode, then by all means subdue me and take the blade from me.”
“Otherwise, I still believe the rope and Bloodletter are a fair trade if I cannot use Zalco. It is my turn for a magic blade. I was only under the control of Zalco because the spirit had reduced my will and I could not fight both and win.”
“Southar was of free will when he took the blade from my held hand. He already had a magical sword. He is able to put down Zalco and walk away from it which means he makes the choice of his own free will not to return what he has wrongfully taken.”
Grimlock finishes his speech, “I shall let all of you decide.”
Kuba listens to the rant, and without any opinion on who gets the loud mouthed sword he joins those taking a rest and says, " Just let me know when it's my turn to claim a magic sword."
Breymeer states, "Have we sunk to a level where we burn our energy whining over who gets the best toy? My head hurts as it is. It would seem it matters not as long as everyone has a hunk of steel in there hand and we work on getting out of here." Bremeer sits back down to eat a snack and drink some water with Kuba.
Tathar sits on the floor and spends some time praying.
Speck joins the resting group and shares some food with those who want it. He asks no one in particular, "How does one get to know if something is magical?"
Bhut watches as the events unfold seeming not to have a care over who possesses Zalco.
Cirdan, being a diplomat says, "He brings a good argument, Southar, what do you have to say in rebuttal?"
Southar does not respond. Southar reaches the blade and takes possession of Zalco once again. He begins inspecting the northwest wall while keeping an eye on the rest of the party suspiciously. Bloodletter is tied to his belt. Grimlock retains Zalco’s scabbard.
Dalic speaks again to the group, "Ye both squabble over a sword that neither has indeed earned the right ta wield. The irony of yer protest Grim is that ye stole tha vile thing from Dalic ta begin wit. I slew the smith that wielded the blade but ye tumbled by thinking it honorable ta snatch the blade now that tha enemy lay to waist at me hands. Even if Foesmiter were at the helm at the time, it would be of no consequence because it rightly belonged ta the demented dwarven Smiter who once again was smote at my hand. In any way of earning the thing Dalic has won it twice over. Now I prefer me my bastard sword as it be my specialty an wish not ta fight with friends over who ought own a demonic blade, but let us not speak of rightful ownership in this matter. Ye try to bargain a trade with a blade ye have not earned but stolen for the Bloodletter which was again not earned but gifted by me ta Southar after winnin tha thin at bone hill. This all be contrite and misrepresented at best. I will take the stand now, not ta wield it but ta shut it up. We can sort who wields tha beast later. For now, scabbard tha thing and relinquish it ta me for safe keeping. If ye should have an argument more logical than this then present it but I am at me last wit yer squabble and it ends now.”
“What say ye? Am I incorrect in assessment for who hab won or earned what? If I were anything but a Dalgur I'd be offended at your squabble over mine accomplishments."
Dalic demands the sword.
Cirdan, turning from his question to Southar, addresses Dalic. "I do not argue your abilities, Dalic, but claiming 'your accomplishments' is arrogant at the least. I suppose that is common for a dwarf. Your 'kills' are in actuality, party accomplishments, because if you had come here or gone to Bone Hill alone, you would be dead already, with no one to brag to, and no claims over any items."
"I feel that for that very reason, possessions and valuables found while on a quest should be divvied up fairly and honestly, or if not, agreed to by the entire company."
Southar, Southar asks Zalco about the swords healing ability as indicated by Grimlock. “Indeed I can heal if I so choose. The half-elf is truthful about that. He however lies about not possessing a potent sword. The silver blade he possesses has been infused with magical powers. He is slippery and deceitful. Quickly now, trigger this door, defeat this vile priest and let us separate from this jealous thieving rabble.”
Southar is still unable to trigger the door.
Grimlock gets his things in order. He keeps his scroll case slung to his back for quick retrieval. He prepares to scout forward down north hall.
Kuba and Speck are resting, eating, and checking equipment. They pay little attention to the argument about the ownership of Zalco. Kuba figures if who ever has it dies he may get a chance to get it.
Bofor moves over to the north basin and continues to rest and regain strength.
Breymeer does not comment. He continues to rest. He looks disappointed at the squabbling and greed.
The others continue to rest near the northern basin resting and checking equipment.
Bhut quibs, “Maybe Bhut should take it.” He laughs to himself.
Dalic, standing next to Bhut about 25 feet south of the basin, replies. "It is an easy and trusty way of handling things yes. I need the sword little but have a growing disdain for the claims of rightful ownership as well. This place is one a party best get out of yet we linger for what seems an eternity and that Zalco makes it all the worse.”
“Let us cut the rhetoric and finish what we can ta do. I agree with me friend here that as long as we hab steel in hand an work tagether all will work out.”
“Southar or Grim I take no ongoing claim ta the sword but simply wanted ta point out the idiocy in the argument. True ta words spoken recently we should all be armed well and work tagether.”
Dalic finishes with, “Southar, you appear less in need of the Bloodletter at present than our half eleven companion. Would you oppose he at least borrow it for the remainder of this quest? Zalco should proven to take your fighting hand and an enchanted sword wielded by Grimlock would help us all."
Southar suddenly turns from the wall, “Zalco says he would welcome the chance to correct the demanding half-elf.”
Zalco taunts the half-elf, “You discount me half-elf. If you feel you can control me, step forward and and lay your hand upon my pommel. I shall show you that no one owns me. The warrior that wields me does so only upon my blessing. Come if you dare and try and claim me. You shall see Southar alone has my permission to wield me. Only he is worthy.”
Southar turns the blade pommel out towards where Grimlock had last stood.
Grimlock is unseen so his approach to Zalco goes unnoticed by everyone but Zalco. “Keep coming Grimlock. We shall settle this here and now.”
Grimlock’s voice sounds bold, “You will know I do not control Zalco if I act any less reserved than my usual self. At which time, I now give you permission to wrestle the curse from me. Time to ride the bull!”
Southar releases the sword and it raises into the air as Grimlock takes ahold of it.
Grimlock’s sense of victory is short lived. He immediately feels the battle of wills begin between he and the blade. Grimlock realizes his will is still not fully recovered and the sword takes the upper hand. Grimlock’s ego succumbs to the sword’s will. He feels the blade invade his thoughts and is helpless to stop them. The thoughts turn to action as Grimlock places the blade into the gem encrusted scabbard. He then removes the scabbard and sets the sword upon on the stone floor. Speaking without thought, he relinquishes ownership of the blade to Southar and steps back. Grimlock’s mind and will become his own after a slight disorientation. Grimlock realizes he is unable to control the sword without first recovering from the drain of will bestowed upon him by the living dead.
A moment of baited breath. Several seconds pass and the sword slowly turns and is sheathed in an invisible scabbard. Only the hilt remains visible as it turns horizontal to the ground. It lowers to the stone floor. As it lowers, Grimlock’s voice, now weak and shaken, reports, “I now give the blade to Southar as Zalco, in his wisdom, has himself claimed as his wielder.”
The blade is set upon the floor and Grimlock’s soft footfalls indicate he has stepped back from the blade.
“It is settled,” calls Zalco. “Southar, come and let us find the vile dwarf priest that slew Khorliss Foesmiter.”
Southar steps forward and claims Zalco and his scabbard.
Southar again removes Bloodletter from his belt and tosses it to Grimlock who catches it as a reaction, “You can ussssse thissss unlessssss it sssssuitssss ssssssomeone elsssse better.”
The trade complete, the group settles in to rest and regain their strength.
The group finally reaches a unanimous decision. They all want to rest.
Dalic sits and remains slightly separated from the group. Bhut sits next to him. The warriors rest while they occasionally converse.
Cirdan begins reading his spellbook and practicing verbalizing the difficult words to his spells. Intermittently he stands and practices the particular physical movements required by his profession.
Breymeer remains at rest.
Tathar remains in prayer.
Bhut continues to rest, “I could hibernate for a week, but that is not an option at the moment.”
Bofor lazily begins telling a joke, while resting. "A human and an elf walk into a bar . . .” His voice tapers off and he gets lost in meditation and prayer. He finds solace in the solid stone that surrounds him.
Kuba rests and, like picking dog crap out of your shoe, he picks what remains of the orc dung off his armor, weapons and belongings.
Speck stows away the food and while doing so he will peeks inside his bag. He rummages around inside of it a bit. Speck sighs and begins pulling items out of his pack. Interrupting Cirdan for a moment, the halfling asks him about a few items he found. The halfling shows Cirdan two rings, metal bracelts and a sheathed dagger. Both rings are gold. One is plain and the other is designed as a skull. The bracelets are made of thick metal similar to what a warrior may wear. Speck appears guarded while showing the items. “What do you think? Are any of them special?”
Grimlock can be heard sofly approaching Kuba and Speck. Bloodletter hovers in the air as the half-elf walks to the basin where most are resting. He stops next to th Kuba and hands him Bloodletter. “I cannot hide it right now. You wield it.”
Kuba, appearing pleased, takes the enchanted long sword and ties it to his belt.
Southar continues to inspect the northwest wall casually.
After about a half hour, the first lantern sputters and then goes dark as its oil supply runs out. The second lantern continues to burn bright. In addition, the room carries some enchantment that illuminates the chamber completely without the lantern. Since everyone is comfortable, no one bothers adding oil for the time being.
Approximately one hour passes without interruption.
Cirdan looks at the objects without taking them from Speck’s hands. “These types of items are often enchanted. You are justified in asking. If we survive this place, I would be more than willing to cast a spell upon them to determine if they are magical or not. If they are, I would be willing to try and decipher what properties they contain if you, Speck, are willing to provide the financial backing for the materials as well as a small fee for my trouble. It is a very in depth process after all.”
Grimlock proposes to the group, “Let’s get a full day’s rest here. No need to push forward since Zalco isn’t forcing the push. We can hide and rest behind the basins. I can scout ahead in the north tunnels while we set up a defensive sleeping arrangement. Our warriors need healing and without rest for our priests, they will go unmended.” He pauses for a reaction then continues, “But that is just my suggestion. It matters not to me if we stay or push on.”
Bhut agrees, “I feel more exhausted now, but if the rest of the group decides to continue, then I will join in.”
Dalic catches a glimpse of movement in the northwest corner while everyone is resting. Or was it a sound that drew his attention there. He looks over and no longer sees the snake-ranger searching the wall. A very faint crack of less than ½ inch can be seen as it becomes lightly illuminated. Through the crack, on the other side of the wall, a slight illumination faintly flickers.
Southar pushes the stone quietly inward. A small section of wall becomes loose and Southar is able to push it in. He is met immediately with a significant increase in air temperature. It is not harmful.
Southar looks back and notices the group does not appear to see his discovery.
“Let’s go. You do not need them,” encourages Zalco.
Southar agrees with the sword and finds he is free to make the decision on his own. He slips through the opening and allows the door to shut quietly. He removes an arrow from his quiver and allows the door to shut tight leaving only a very small opening.
“The passageway is clear from any unseen beings,” reports Zalco.
Southar removes a torch and lights it. It illuminates a tunnel running out in front of him. It goes generally straight ahead as far as he can see which is limited to the distance of the torch light; 15 feet ahead.
The passageway is about 10 feet wide and is domed to about 15 feet. It is roughly cut from the stone although the dimensions stay relatively consistent. It is as if someone cut the tunnel but did not finish the stone smooth. The floor, however, has been laid with various shades of red mosaic tiles. Each tile is about six inches square.
“For glory and revenge!” declares Zalco. “Let us find and slay this priest once and for all.”
The party has settled into their rest and is finding it hard to continue their exploration. Tathar pays no heed to anyone; he continues to pray.
Breymeer, who sorely needs the rest himself, seems more willing than some of the others to move out.
“Let’s rest here long enough to recoup our spell casters,” comments Cirdan Saralonde.
Grimlock’s voice agrees, “I will scout a short distance down the passageway while you rest.” The voice comes from the entrance to the northeast tunnel.
The group settles in content to rest. Bofor, seeing no one is going to bite on his joke, finishes the punch line anyway, “The dward and the halfling walk under it.”
Suddenly, Dalic jumps to attention. "The wall! Southar!" He draws his sword and charges to the northwest corner. A thin sliver of light, approx. ½ inch wide, illuminates the faint outline of a door that was previously hidden from view.
Dalic pushes the door inward seeing Southar had blocked it open with an arrow. The duergar has the Delven Bastard poised for attack. Standing behind the door is Southar. He holds his golden shield and a torch. Zalco is sheathed. It appears he has just lit the torch.
The passageway is about 10 feet wide and is domed to about 15 feet. It is roughly cut from the stone although the dimensions stay relatively consistent. It is as if someone cut the tunnel but did not finish the stone smooth. The floor, however, has been laid with various shades of red mosaic tiles. Each tile is about six inches square.
A wave of hot air pushes past Dalic. The temperature increase is significant going from nearly 60 degrees in the room to roughly 100 degrees in the hallway.
Southar asks, “Can anyone aid me with my injuries before I continue to explore this passage?”
Grimlock says, “We have a plan to rest. Let us execute that plan. I can scout both tunnels if we like. I can set up a warning system if we have string and noise makers maybe.” His voice continues to come from the opening to the northeast passageway.
“Just because a secret passage has been reveal does not mean we should rush down it. We know it is there and that is enough for now. For all we know it’s a passageway to the Nine Hells and we are inviting more peril in our current withered state. Stay focuses and let us rest for now.”
Bhut jumps to his feet anyway and heads for the northwestern passage. He is still groggy from his sleep and not fully aware of what is going on yet.
Kuba and Speck ready themselves to continue. They stow their loose items, adjust their armor and wait for the scouting report.
Cirdan stops practicing his spell movements and looks at Southar. He inquires, "I thought you were invincible. Why do you need healing?”
Not awaiting an answer Cirdan continues, “You are being manipulated by a cursed shield and a talking sword. When you are healed of your injuries you will continue on your own with no regard for the rest of us." He then goes back to his studies.
Tathar stops his praying and comes to his feet. "If I understand correctly, we are still to face an evil priest of Fortubo with unknown abilities, but obviously powerful. Also, possibly, a demon or demons from the planes of Hell itself. We know not their skills or magical abilities. If we rest, Bofor willing, he and I can heal our injured and Cirdan and Grimlock will be able to regain their spells. We will meet our foe at our best and defeat it or die trying."
He looks at Southar. "I will heal you, but only with your sworn word that you will wait with the party until we have rested and recoup our spell abilities. If you break this word, Sehanine will never heal you again through any skill of mine."
Bofor corrects Tathar. “Frelpic does not pray to Fortubo, I assure you of this. Fortubo is the patron saint of stone and metal not devil worship. Freplic has turned to a new master, this is beyond question.”
Before Southar can answer Tathar, his torch bursts into a fiery show. Bursts of various shades of red, from near orange to almost purple, launch into the air from the torch. Each ball of flame bursts into a fiery explosion, glowing brightly for several seconds before burning itself out. The fireworks cause a sudden illumination. Involuntarily, the characters shield their eyes from the effect.
The torch turned Roman Candle continues to belch out balls of exploding light for over ten seconds. The showering sparks only cover an area five feet around Southar. Southar appears unburned by the flames and sparks. Southar’s eyes were stunned by the sudden light and his vision is nothing but a brilliant ball of light. He can not effectively see.
Southar’s torch is consumed in the display.
Southar stumbles back through the secret door and blindly finds the side of the door. He takes up a position there and waits. He allows the door to swing shut. It closes onto the arrow he had previously placed to hold it open. The arrow shaft holds and the door remains ajar approx. ½ inch.
“I will be your eyes Southar. Holding me, you are undefeatable,” rallies Zalco.
Dalic, being susceptible to bright lights, is caught off guard and blinded as well. He curses like a true dark dwarf.
Bhut, being quicker than the others to shield his eyes, comes through the brilliant display with his vision intact.
Bofor can see as well. He spreads out away from the basin towards the north wall. He readies his hammer and shield while watching the rest of the room for a threat. He does a quick check of the others to make sure no one is in dire need.
Breymeer, holding his hand up to block the light, looks around for a better position. He circles the basin counter-clockwise and puts his back up to the wall. He arms himself with his bow and strings and arrow. Experience has shown, with Breymeer playing overwatch, the group is a slight bit safer.
Cirdan recognizes the danger of such magics. Even so, he barely gets his eyes covered in time. The light hurts his eyes but after blinking several times he finds he can see for the most part.
Tathar, having gone back to praying, was completely unaffected.
Kuba finds himself watching the dazzling display. Upon its completion, Kuba struggles to see anything but bright spots in his eyes.
Speck, on the other hand, was able to shield his eyes and is unaffected.
Grimlock, on the far side of the chamber easily covers his eyes preventing any unwanted effect.
“Theeeere heeeere!” whispers Zalco in a poltergiestish way.
Several long, vicious looking claws creep around the edge of the ajar secret door. The clawed and barbed hand grasps the door securely. The hand is not much great than that of a large man or a small ogre. The skin of the hand is a very dull greyish brown. The claw of each bony finger is several inches long and very stout; resembling knives more than claws. With it comes a sense of foreboding.
“Priest of Fortubo!” Its voice booms from the other side of the door. It speaks clearly, with the haughty boldness of a butler. “The servant of my master requests and audience with you. You shall come with me now and speak to him in regards to this unwarranted invasion of his privacy.”
“You may bring with you one body guard of your choosing.”
Zalco whispers to Southar while the clawed creature speaks, “The beast beyond the door is your enemy. Trust in me and slay it when the door opens.” Dalic is close enough to overhear the sword speaking. Bhut does not appear to.
Dalic holds his position and calmly monitors his surrounding.
Bofor, appearing bold and calm, begins to approach the secret door from the northern basin. “Who will join me? I will speak to Frelpic.”
The clawed hand pulls the secret door open to reveal itself standing in the passageway.
The creature is a large humanoid, standing seven feet high. It is entirely covered with large, sharp barbs including its thick tail. It has an elongated face with sharp projections from its chin. Instead of hair, more projections jut backwards from its head. Its red eyes dart about attentively giving it a paranoid and nervous look.
The creature reacts to the warriors in the threshold of the secret door. It waves it spiny hand before itself while uttering some abysmal commands.
Southar blindly rushes past the duergar. “I will lead you Bofor!”
The snake-ranger slashes at the spiked fiend while Zalco shouts, “Back to hell with you!”
Southar raises the blade above his head and bring it down towards the fiend as if chopping wood. The blow deflects off the tough hide leaving it unharmed until reaching its left foot. The enchanted weapon cuts into the top of the creature’s foot drawing forth a dark colored ichor (5, 32/37).
The beast claps its teeth together, ending whatever arcane enchantment it was conjuring up as its concentration is broken.
A flash of panic is seen in its eyes before steeling itself to destroying Southar and his horrible blade. “I will return to hell. And I shall bring you with me!” It drops into a defensive position, its clawed hands menacing Southar. It clicks its long spike-like teeth together.
The creature does not advance on Southar. Its darting eyes study the ranger for his next move. “I will allow the Fortubo Priest to pass with one other than this,” indicating Southar. “This one’s fate now belongs to me.”
Grimlock pales slightly at the sight of the new adversary, albiet invisible to the others.
Bofor cautiously moves along the north wall towards the demon.
Grimlock yells, “I have killed this evil creature before with Zalco. It commands the undead as well! It is EVIL!! KILL IT, it must not escape!”
Kuba readies for an attack but stands his ground by the north basin as he is still partially blinded.
Speck circles the basin counter-clockwise and ducks behind it for cover. He is just west of Breymeer.
Speck throws caution to the wind and puts on the bracelets and rings. He prepares for an attack by taking out his bow.
Cirdan moves clockwise around the basin and takes up the position near the north wall where Bofor had just vacated.
Tathar calls upon Sehanine, “Sehanine, please silence this foul fiend.”
The fiend attempts to continue taunting Southar but all is silent. It looks outraged.
Dalic comes from around the door and engages the creature in melee uttering an unheard battle cry. The duergar attacks hard. Delvin Bastard slices into its right ankle nearly severing it. The fiend tries in vain to keep itself upright with its spiny tail. Clawing, the creature falls forward and to its right.
It rakes its right hand down the front of Dalic’s chest but the claws fail to penetrate the dwarven plate mail. Deep scratches remain on the breastplate.
The left arm comes at Southar like a hay-maker as the fiend’s mouth opens wide to impale the snake-ranger on its knife-like teeth. With the speed of a striking snake, Southar meets the blow with Zalco, catching it on the inner forearm. Zaclo, for once, cannot be heard praising himself as a result of Sehanine’s power silencing the area.
Southar continues his defense by shield punching the fiend in the face busting many of the teeth out. At the same time, Southar brings Zalco in from the parry, tilting the blade level as he does so. He drives the blade straight through the stunned face of his prey. The entire attack is over before the fiend hits the ground.
A look of hatred turns to horror as the fiend succumbs to Zalco. Nearly too fast for the eye to track, the beast crystalizes and explodes to dust. The dust in turn fades into dungeon air. Absolutely nothing remains of the hellspawn.
Bofor inquires to the group, "Why are you attacking the messenger? It means us no harm." The dwarf priest continues to make his way to the secret door. He stops and then backs up a few steps as he reaches the threshold of the door. He notices all sound has ceased. He steps back about 10 feet from the door until sound returns. Dalic enters the room and strides out of the soundless radius.
“This is madness!” Dalic strides blindly back into the main chamber calling for rest so everyone can heal and study. He indicated he will not last a full battle without healing. "I got lucky this time and me armor proved its worth"
Southar enters the room behind Dalic. Southar moves ahead to meet up with Dalic, Bofor and Bhut. Southar uses his sword and shield to aid him in locating the walls as his vision is still poor. “I am willing to let the mobs come to us. Guard the entrances and let the casters rest up.”
Bhut remains at the secret door monitoring the hallway beyond the door.
The rest of the group appears relieved to stay and rest. Kuba still suffers vision trouble.
Breymeer continues to stand ready with bow.
Bofor looks at the three warriors gathered near the secret door (Bhut, Southar and Dalic). “I am going to parlay with Frelpic.” Bofor, looking first to the warriors and then back at the group, “One of you may come with me. I am leaving now.” Bofor pauses to see if anyone volunteers.
Zalco observes, “Your bodies are so much weaker than the steel of my blade. But I understand, as weaker beings, you must rest. It appears even the mighty Southar desires it though I think going with Bofor would be a task more fitting our superior abilities.”
Surprisingly, the blade does not fight the plan, “I like the idea of resting. It seems that every time you sit down, some vile beast comes to attack and I get to display my dominance and destroy them. Good plan, let’s rest.”
Bofor waits for a companion. Otherwise, he appears determined to go through the secret door into the western passage.
Dalic immediately responds to Bofor, "Don't be daft cousin. You are too eager to 'parlay' with death. Consider the wisdom around you. We hab faced similar an know tha power needed ta survive tha next encounters. There be no room fer error when we are all injured or lacking magical reserves. Ye asked fer we ta assist you here. Let this wisdom assist you. Parlay ta tha Demons here means come quietly so they may steal your soul or body or both. I pray you, do not go. If you do, I fear you will go alone. What is tha point of yer asking us here if ye go off without us?"
Dalic pointedly sits down leaning against the wall facing the secret door.
Bofor hesitates for a moment as he contemplates Dalic’s words. He looks to the western passageway before straightening himself and resolving to stay. “You are correct my deep delving friend.”
A sigh of relief comes over the group and they begin to make plans for an extended rest.
Tathar prays (for healing +4, 28/28).
Speck huddles behind the north basin and Kuba takes up a watch next to the halfling. Kuba’s sight begins to clear.
Tathar visits Breymeer, Kuba, Bhut and Dalic; healing each of them in turn (Breymeer +8, 16/49(57), Kuba +5, 34/45(47), Bhut +5, 22/40(46) and Dalic +6, 17/40(49)).
After healing the four warriors, he rests and prays behind the north basin.
Cirdan takes up a position next to Tathar and tries to get some sleep.
Dalic offers to take first watch. He walks to the middle of the room where he can see all three entrances and begins to pace slowly in circles.
Bofor leans up agains the north basin and closes his eyes.
Breymeer cautions, "Whatever has charge of this place obviously knows we're here. I'm confident it will be sending more minions soon or coming itself prior to the end of our rest. I'll set guard inside the passage. I'm confident your rest will be short."
With that, Breymeer goes into the western passage with his bow in hand. He steps past the door and begins to quietly move down the passage.
Southar stands quietly inside the chamber near the secret western door.
Grimlock lays out a plan, “We should split into two groups. One group behind the southeast basin an the rest to the nearest north basin. We can divide up the spell casters. I will be by the north one. Guard duty can be divided up between the warriors. One awake in each group. They will sit at the outside perimeter of their group closest to each other so they can monitor each other. They could even walk back and forth with each other or walk a perimeter together. The rest of us can stash ourselves behind the basins attempting to conceal ourselves from view of each passageway.”
He looks at the secret door, “We can shut that door and lean the iron dwarf’s sword against it. It should make a lot of noise if it is opened.”
He looks back to the group. “What do you say? Who wants to be in the north group and who wants to be in the south group?”
The group listens to the invisible half-elf’s wisdom and splits into two groups, one south and one north.
Southar closes the secret door most of the way leaving Breymeer in the tunnel. The northern ranger withdraws back closer to the threshold of the door.
Southar, Speck, Kuba, Cirdan and Bofor take north.
Dalic, Grimlock, Tathar and Bhut take south.
After several hours of peace pass, Breymeer withdraws back into the room and shuts the door. He, with the assistance of the other strong warriors, leans the iron dwarf’s sword against the closed secret door. Having the alarm set, Bremeet joins the south group; keeping his bow nearby.
The group gains hours of rest. The length of time that passes is uncertain but a large share of the day is spent recovering. The rest is one of unease and uncertainty. The group remains on edge expecting another attack at any moment. The spell casters do their best to study and meditate along with getting some sleep. This is not aided well by the fact that the rest begins in the early afternoon.
All in all, the rest period is uneventful. There are a few false alarms and the icicles falling in the cold chamber at the top of the stairs are the cause of several alerts.
In the end, roughly eight or more hours pass. The party is tired from the late hour but recovered slightly from the grueling pace of the first half of the day.
Kuba, Southar & Grimlock all begin to feel sickly. They have a fever and their body is beginning to get the chills.
Kuba rises from his rest and approaches the basin. He splashes water on his face. Kuba is beginning to look ill. He looks at the rest of the group around him and says through his body shivers, “We are in a room near the fires of hell and yet I feel cold. I think the wound from the dung eater has poisoned my blood. Is there anyone in our party that has the ability to cure this? If this continues, I will be of little use to anyone in a short time.”
Grimlock, who had become visible to study, comes from a quiet corner where he had placed himself to study. His face is pale. He approaches Tathar and speaks to the elf priest quietly.
Cirdan, seeing people staring to mill about, suggests having Grimlock investigate the secret passage, “That is where the ‘messenger’ came from so it would stand to reason that is the correct direction to go.”
The other members of the group begin to get up, stretch and nibble a little food.
Bofor and Tathar have a conference in regards to this new sickness. Kuba’s diagnosis appears logical. Bofor takes Kuba in his hands and prays for the removal of the infection that has entered his system. Tathar completes a similar prayer for Grimlock. They advise the effects will not be immediately felt but recovery from the illness could come steadily.
Tathar surveys the warriors and chooses Breymeer and Dalic as the most in need for the healing blessings of Sehanine. Breymeer’s head injury is lightly improved (+2, 18/49(57)). Dalic’s body is noticeable more refreshed from the elvish blessing (+7, 24/40(49)).
Dalic nods a thank you to Tathar and addresses the group, “I think we are all ready to move out unless there are objections.”
Breymeer, obviously hampered by the significant head injury inflicted by the iron dwarf, takes up a position near the rear of the group. His bow is in hand.
He awaits the rest of the group to come together and move out.
Of the warriors, none appear to be fresh. All are battered and bruised. Kuba is in the best condition but it will take him some time to shake off the illness. Luckily, none of the warriors are out of the fight. All are healthy enough to yet battle.
The elves, having missed the battle with the iron dwarf, are all relatively healthy excepting Grimlock, like Kuba, is recovering from the trash monster’s diseased bite.
Bofor is healthy but spiritually spent. “I can still lay a whoopin’ with my mace and hammer.”
Grimlock does not move up to join the group mustering. He appears to be thinking. He remains visible and has not taken up Cirdan’s suggestion to scout ahead.
Dalic drops to the back of the group and begins his now familiar pre-battle preparations. The group is wise to the fact that he will soon be in a fanatic battle state waiting to explode.
Bofor moves toward the front but remains out of the front ranks, “I do not think I am the best one to take point.”
Kuba, being more healthy than most, moves up to the front. He carries his shield and Bloodletter. Southar takes his side. The snake-ranger, appearing somewhat worn down, shows no fear as he draws Zalco to face the unknown terrors ahead. His golden shield remains ever-present.
Speck removes his bow and joins Breymeer near the back of the line.
Bhut moves to the middle followed by Cirdan and Tathar.
The group pauses for Grimlock to join the ranks.
Grimlock regains his focus and moves to the rear of the group. He gives a simple nod to Kuba and Southar to indicate he is ready to move. His eyes are cold as they gaze at Southar.
Southar ignores the half elf. Kuba and the snake-ranger gain Bofor’s aid and removed the iron dwarf’s mighty sword from the secret door. Placing it quietly on the floor, Southar depresses a stone in the wall and the door re-opens.
Kuba pushes the door inward. The light from behind spills into the dark hallway illuminating the various red colored mosaic tiles upon the floor. The walls are cut from the surrounding rock but not left rough.
Kuba steps into the hall and Southar moves forward as Bofor gets a hand on the door.
Needing light, Southar pours a flash of lamp oil into his bullseye lantern and works his flint and steel until the lantern sparks to life.
The hallway illuminates far enough to see a shadowy curve in the passageway. It curves roughly 60 degrees to the right. It is here Breymeer declares he took his guard post the previous night.
Feeling secure, the party moves forward to the corner. After the curve, the passageway continues generally northwest beyond the lantern light. In the darkness beyond, it appears the passageway turns back westerly.
The passageway continues to grow warmer. The general air temperature quickly passes 90 degrees and closes in on 100 degrees.
Dalic continues to build himself into a battle crazed warrior.
Half way down the northwest passage a mark on the tile suddenly and rapidly begins to glow red, increasing in intensity. Within a moment, the glyph explodes like a land mine sending shards of tile and stone into the air. The explosion rips into the first two ranks engulfing Kuba, Southar and Bofor.
Kuba and Southar take immediate shelter behind their respective shields as bits of broken tile and stone pepper their bodies.
Kuba keeps his feet and is generally protected by his armor (8, 26(45(45)).
Southar remains standing and escapes major injury due to his scaled skin and armor (8, 10/52).
The blast catches Bofor unprepared and the debris strikes him full in the face and chest. The blast blows Bofor back into Cirdan and Tathar. Bofor lands supine on the mosaic floor (16, 15/35(41)).
Stones clatter across the walls and ceiling before raining down on the rest of the party harmlessly. Dust hangs heavy in the air irritating the throat. Bofor coughs to get his wind.
Dalic prepares for an assault on the explosion. Discovering the cause was a booby-trap, he fancies there is nothing he can do but drag the wounded away from the source of potential additional danger.
Bofor scrambles back to his feet.
Finding his companions all alive, Dalic continues to work himself into a frenzy.
Grimlock declares the obvious, “That is what is known as an exploding rune. That can only be cast by a more skilled mage than either Cirdan or myself. I would rather fight a tooth and claw beastie than an intelligent beast who can cast spells. Just remember to spread out if we have room so magic won't be as effective.”
Grimlock remains in the rear but seems to keep a closer eye to the rear and ceiling.
Bhut looks to see if anyone needs help. Seeing Bofor regain his feet and dust himself off, Bhut looks for any signs of danger.
The group is tense and on the defensive but nothing else appears to threaten the group as the sound of the scattering debris comes to a halt and the dust begins to settle in the air.
Bhut looks ready to continue, with a sparkle in his eye looking for a fight.
Speck, Cirdan and Tathar all follow Grimlock's lead and keep a careful eye open for any other troubles.
Speck mutters his thoughts, "Magic exploding runes. Not fair. I can't put an arrow into a letter scribbled on a rock."
Kuba is a little pissed off about the magic also. "Skilled the mage may be, but there is no honor in that." Motioning toward the blown up tile, "Let's find this coward and relieve him of his head." Kuba flexes his muscles and with a growl as he gets ready to continue with his shield at the ready to defend against any more threats ahead.
Southar bends down and collects a small supply of rocks and broken chunks of tile. Before moving forward, he tosses a piece forward down the hall to skid. He continues to repeat this process with a half dozen stone and tile pieces; collecting and re-throwing them as he comes upon them.
In this manner, the party continues down the mosaic tiled path. The group had walked nearly 150 feet prior to the explosion. They now round a bend to the left and move westerly and then turn slightly southwesterly another 120 feet before the passage corrects itself to a straight westerly path.
Nearly 90 feet ahead of the party, some thirty feet past the lantern light, the mosaic path opens into an immense chamber. The chamber is lit by some type of firelight, large in scope, at the far end of the chamber. The fire sits before a statue of some figure rises out of view at the end of the chamber. The statue is gargantuan. A large stain of darkness covers a huge circular section of floor near the entrance of the chamber.
No other details can be made out from where the party stands. As the party studies the scene before them, Dalic gives into his madness. His frenzied preparations leave him a foam spittled, bloodshot eyed raving maniac looking for a fight. The group subconsciously step away from the battlerager.
Dalic seems completely unaware of his comrade’s activities as he frantically looks about for an enemy. His eyes fall upon Zalco with more than a passing interest. He doesn't venture far from the group being that no enemy has presented its self. His eyes are wide with excitement. He makes obscene threats to no one in particular. Spittle has foamed on his beard.
Cirdan looks behind him down the hall. He nervously eyes the duergar before moving up as the passage with the others. “Keep spread out!” he warns.
The hallway widens to approximately 15 feet as it nears the entrance to the grand temple.
Bofor adjusts his shield before re-taking his hammer to hand. He moves forward forming the sole member of the second rank.
Kuba stops short of the chamber. He examines the large dark spot on the floor from a distance.
Breymeer bypasses Kuba and steps into the room. As he moves, he exchanges arrows. He strings the obsidian arrow. He slides to the left and places his back to the wall.
Southar moves carefully to the right and pauses.
Bofor steps up next to Kuba. The rest of the party, keeping 10 foot intervals, moves up as a column and holds.
The chamber is of rough carved dark stone. The stone walls, like sauna rocks, radiate heat back into the room. The walls, floor and ceiling are all of the same light muting stone; a grey giving way to black shade. The temple chamber is 300 feet deep and 150 feet wide. The ceiling rises 90 feet above the party.
An immense statue rises nearly 50 feet high from a white marble altar at the far end of the temple. The marble altar has red striations running through the stone giving the effect that the altar runs with blood.
Rising from the floor in front of the altar is a black stone brazier easily 15 feet in diameter. Flames burn above the surface of the brazier although no fuel source is evident. Heat radiates from the brazier, raising the already high temperature past 100 degrees in the temple.
The statue is carved from a reddish colored rock. It depicts a muscular man with a grotesque face. Its mouth widens in a rictus that promises pain and suffering to all who gaze on its visage. Horns curve back from his head and multi-facets ruby eyes send shimmers of red light dancing around the room as the reflect firelight. The gemstones set into the eye sockets are the largest rubies anyone in the group has ever witnessed. Each stone is no less than a foot across and nearly half as deep.
Dominating the eastern portion of the room is a 90-foot diameter circular image of a demonic fly. The image of the fly made of mosaic tiles of a dark blood red color.
The heat from the room suffocates the character’s energy and sweat, already having covered their bodies, runs down cheek and neck.
Other than the flickering firelight, nothing moves in the chamber.
Bofor gazes upon the statue and the color drains from his face. His body trembles as his hand loosens its grip upon his hammer. Bofor turns to flee, panic striken before the hammer even strikes the floor. Bofor begins a full speed retreat as he shoulders his way past through the column behind him.
Tathar too begins to feel the tentacles of fear as a wave of panic rises within the elf.
Bhut begins to look nervous as well. A look of helplessness forms on his face as he begins to take a few steps away from the chamber. It appears he next actions may be heavily influenced by the actions of his companions. He is very hesitant.
Bofor puts his hands upon the elves shoulders, his own slumped slightly. He breathes heavily for a moment and the color begins to return to his face. The fear fades from his eyes. “Grant me strength Fortubo. May this deed be done.” The dwarf turns again to face the chamber, his resolve restored.
Tathar calms and straightens his shoulders without saying a word.
Cirdan stands next to them keeping a watchful eye both forward and back.
Dalic saunters toward the statue almost willing it to come to life. He carries Delven Bastard at the ready. He scans with almost paranoid attentiveness. He head jerks left and right as he moves forward.
Grimlock whispers an arcane phrase and disappears from view.
Breymeer remains against the wall with his black arrow nocked.
Southar also holds his position.
A sudden haze swirls into existence from the floor near the fly imagery. It quickly forms to either side of the chamber entrance nearest to Breymeer and Southar and just ahead of Kuba and Dalic.
From the hazy air materializes two forms that vaguely resemble dragons of childhood tales. The shifting masses are nearly 12 feet long with tails ending in a point. Wings reach out an equal or greater distance to their sides. A horned dragon head tops the body and feet extend downward where the body changes over to tail. The bodies are incorporal consisting of haze alone. They are translucent nearing transparent.
As if that was not enough to process, Aravae’s voice is clearly heard among the mist, “My friends, please leave before more harm comes to you.”
Cirdan, having cautiously watched the rear, sees Aravae approaching from the dark turn in the passage. He can hear her voice behind him although she clearly stands before him.
Grimlock’s voice can be heard chanting another spell. For the moment he appears to remain at the same spot he was standing when he turned invisible.
Cirdan looks back the way the party came, then back to the misty formed dragons and says, "Why does the voice of Aravae come from in front of us, when her body definitely approaches from behind? Tathar, Bofor is she an undead creature? Because I definitely checked her body! She was dead!" He crouches to the floor to reduce his profile.
Tathar turns to see Aravae coming down the corridor. He pulls his holy symbol of Sehanine and holds it before him. "By the power and blessing of Sehanine, I command you to leave this place!" His voice and stature are more commanding than anyone in the party have ever heard.
A transformation takes place as Aravae’s gorgeous figure and lovely face twist and shrivel. Her face becomes thin with decayed flesh pulled tight across her cheekbones. Her eyes burn with the now familiar undead hate. They take on a very faint reddish glow. Her body slouches and her clothing returns to the dirty mess that garbed her in death. It is stained with the body fluids that flowed from her as life left her.
The corpse reacts to the power of the Sehanine priest. It hisses a curse as it backs towards the corner, “You shall die elf. And your soul, as with mine, shall not journey to the everlasting land of the elves.”
The though of Aravae’s soul in undead torment deeply wounds the Sehanine priest but he maintains his resolve and holds his symbol aloft, driving back the evil spirit. Aravae creeps into the darkness around the corner still hissing curses as she retreats.
Speck keeps low and slowly moves toward the chamber. He stays along the wall keeping an eye on Aravae and any other threats from behind. The halfling slips past Bhut and the passes by Cirdan. The crouching elf and hunched halfling look eye to eye as the diminutive figure passes the elf nobleman.
Southar reacts to Dalic’s presence as the duergar presses his attack. The snake-ranger slides slightly to his left, the duergar enters the space vacated by Southar.
While sliding left, Southar, punches with his snake etched gold shield and then slashes with Zalco. The mighty weapon passes through the mist causing it to eddy around the blade. All the while, the mist gathers around the edges of the shield.
Dalic lets out a war cry, “Attaaaaaaack!”. Dalic tumbles below the hovering draconic beat. He laughs maniacally, clearly pleased to be fighting a dragon. His blackened bastard sword easily cuts through the misty menace.
Before Dalic can return to his feet, the mist dives upon him. Its clawed feet land upon the duergar and its wings wrap around the thin dwarf’s frame. Its head darts into Dalic’s face but instead of biting into him, the mist transforms into a stream and washes into his nose and mouth. The dark dwarf warrior coughs once and goes limp as a boned fish. He remains motionless on the floor. His Delven Bastard clangs to the dark stone floor sending a metallic echo through the chamber.
As quickly as it formed, the misty draconic form breaks apart and vanishes into the hot air.
To the left of the entrance, Kuba prepares to engage the mist dragon. He holds at the doorway and seeing the other melee going poorly, announces, “Wait until the creature has solid form. Strike then!”
Breymeer takes a step back to buy himself time to shoulder his bow and return the black arrow to his quiver. He pulls his axes as the mist dragon darts at him with lightning speed. It to focuses on the bearded face of the northman. The ranger can do nothing but gasp and drop to the floor. His axes bounce onto the stone with similar report as the Delven Bastard.
Bofor lets out a cry and rushes forward grabbing his hammer enroute. He takes a mighty crushing swing at the hazy dragon upon Breymeer. It loses cohesion as the hammer passes through. The second dragon vaporizes and disappears from view.
Dalic and Breymeer, each warrior finds he is unable to move. The world continues on around him and he is aware of the commotion around him but his body has gone completely numb. He finds he has no control whatsoever. It is as if his mind has become detached from his body. He is aware he is alive and that is about all.
Cirdan yells to the warriors in the temple, "Tie up Breymeer and Dalic until we are sure they are not possessed! That way, we won’t have to fight them or kill them!“
Dalic suddenly sits up and coughs violently. A stream of cloudy haze is forced out of his lungs through is nose and mouth. His eyes bluging and veins popping nearly out of his skin, the berserked duergar regains his feet as the mist dragon reforms between Dalic and the east wall.
Dalic, now recovered and screaming obsenities, unleashes two strikes with the blackened delven bastard. Both are telling death blows that should have severed the neck from the body. Instead, the blackened sword only sends the mist swirling in its path.
The dragon launches forward, sweeping past or possibly through Southar before moving onto Bofor.
Bofor does not see the beast coming. The dwarf priest, thinking the threat to be gone, has moved to Breymeer’s side and kneeled down to check on him. “The ranger yet lives . . .” is all the dwarf gets out before the winged haze is upon him. The dwarf, visible through the creature, is pounced upon.
Grimlock’s voice is heard near the ceiling where he once stood, “The undead needs to be dispatched as it can likely cast spells, all the worse if it can cast hold spells.”
Cirdan removes some components and vocalizes the words to a spell before vanishing from sight.
Bhut, his resolve shaky at best, now stands at the rear to the column. He turns to face the darkness behind him and prepares for any attacks. The light from the room and the party’s lit lantern only extends some 30 feet past the human warrior limiting his sight significantly.
As the group falls into action, their personal temperatures increase in the horrible heat. It is obvious that prolonged exertion in this temperature will have ill effects.
Bofor shudders and the mist dragon envelopes him. He gasps for air and collapses face down onto Breymeer. The mist subsides, disappearing from sight.
Much to Tathar’s chagrin, Aravae returns. She rounds the corner and charges headlong towards Bhut. As she nears, it becomes apparent that her right hand has become the color of the stone walls around her as opposed to the gaunt pale flesh of her face and other hand.
Dalic, seeing the draconic image disappear, begins a hell bent charge down the hallway towards Aravae.
Kuba turns to the east and heads down the hallway to aid Bhut. Dalic is only seconds behind him. Kuba shouts, “Speck, be brave and help where you are needed.” Kuba does his best to wield Bloodletter. He shows some skill with the long sword being not so different from his bastard sword.
Kuba steps to Bhut’s side just as Aravae reaches the sellsword. Kuba runs his blade through the now grotesque mockery of an elf. The blade cuts through her mouth and out the back of her head (8, 7/15).
Her corpse continues its vicious attack. She swings her now stone-hard fist and catches Bhut in the face breaking his nose and chipping out several teeth. The negative energy of the grave pulls at his life force and his will to live (11, 11/40(46), -2 wisdom 3/11, -3 hp 8/37(46)). Bhut reels backwards but remains standing. His weapon hangs low at his side. His will to fight is nearly spent. He makes only a weak attempt to defend himself and does not press a counter-attack.
Dalic steps around his dumb-founded partner and takes up the battle with the elf-wight. He cuts with his blackened blade and removes the dead elf’s head only moments after Kuba withdraws his sword from her face.
The corpse collapses into a heap.
Speck ponders what to do next. The dragon isn’t solid form and there are too many people to attempt a shot at the undead elf maiden. He holds his attack and waits for an opportunity to use his trusty bow.
Southar cries out a warning that greatly resembles the hissing of a snake, “What’sssssss thisssssss?”
A huge black column, covering nearly two-thirds of the 90 foot mosaic, rises from the center of the fly mosaic. Its great shifting and swirling mass is accompanied by the sound of a great buzzing. The great mass rises in a tall column, some 60 feet into the air, before tipping and spilling out towards the passageway.
In moments, those near the temple chamber realize it is an imperceivably large swarm of flies. All manner of biting and nagging fly bear down upon the group. Horse flies the size of a man’s thumb, deer flies, gnats, common flies, all boil over each other looking to feed.
Just before the black swarm of death reaches Southar, Breymer and Bofor, the great black brazier at the far west end of the room explodes into action. An eruption of fire shoots a continuous jet of flame out of the brazier. The column of red hot flame is fifteen feet wide. It hits the ceiling and fans out like an inferno. The temperature of the room spikes dozens of degrees as the flames of hell flare out of control.
The flames roll across the ceiling but fail to reach the eastern end of the chamber. The heat and shock it brings roll over the column of flies and comes crashing into those still in the chamber. After 10 to 15 seconds of intense combustion, the fire returns to the rim of the brazier and burns as it had prior, dancing slightly above the rim.
The flies are instantly burned and fall as chaff to the floor. Although temporarily beat down, the column of flies rises again like a hellish phoenix. It begins a quick ascent of buzzing madness.
The heat burns exposed skin and heats metal armor and weapons making them uncomfortable, even painful, to touch. (Breymeer 2, 16/49(57), Bofor 3, 12/36(41), Grimlock 1, 24/30(33) and Southar 3, 7/52).
The wave of heat reaches into the corridor but its energy is greatly reduced. Still, the wave of heat brings no relief to the already sweat soaked hallway occupants.
Finally, to the right of the rising column of flies, a tortured spawn of hell crawls up through the floor at the northern edge of the fly mosaic. It appears generally humanoid. Its body is not well defined being more of a blob with four appendages and a head. It appears very obese with folds of dark fattened skin laying one over the other in descending fashion. Its mouth gapes open in a silent scream and its dull white eyes are empty of life or emotion.
Grimlock, having flown from the tunnel to the chamber, is able to remove his shield and shelter himself from the worst of the flames. Seeing the initial wave of flies beaten back by the flames, Grimlock flies quickly to the northeast corner. He hovers about 15 feet above the ground tucked into the corner of the room. He places his shield on his back to free his hands.
Cirdan quickly removes his wool blanket and throws it over himself. He huddles on the floor.
Speck squeaks with concern and backs away from the incoming swarm. He back peddles as fast as his hairfeet will carry him finally turning to flee towards Kuba.
Kuba stays to the east of Bhut to protect the party from any other threats coming downt the passage. He monitors Specks retreat and the incoming flies with concern.
Tathar withdraws his wool blanket and covers himself with it. He drops to the floor holding the edges as tight as possible to the reddish tiles.
The immense column of flies collapses and spills easterly across the room. The black buzzing wave rolls over Southar and then Bofor and Breymeer. It crashes into the eastern temple wall. Like a fluid tidal wave, it spills into the passage rolling over Tathar’s blanket shelter and the location Cirdan was last seen standing.
The noise is deafening. The rolling wave of blackness stops just short of Bhut, Speck, Kuba and Dalic.
Those caught in the wave try to hold onto their sanity. They can hear nothing but the constant whir of fly wings. A constant biting and gnawing is felt on all exposed skin. The flies find the smallest hole in armor and clothing. Within seconds, they crawl and bite all over the bodies of those trapped. Death becomes a welcome end to the madness. All that is felt is pain. Panic creeps into their minds. (Southar 1, 6/52, Breymeer 1, 15/49(57), Bofor 1, 36/41).
There is no way to see into the black swarm.
Back in the eastern passageway, Kuba, Speck, Bhut and Dalic struggle to see. Their eyes, accustomed to the darkness, are pained by the previous flash from the flaming brazier. As quickly as that went out, the black wave of flies cuts off all forms of light from the temple chamber. A complete darkness falls upon them.
Using the darkness as cover, something steps around the corner to the east and utters a command in the dwarvish dialect. Kuba immediately clutches his chest as his heart begins to race frantically. His pulse spikes. The room begins to spin as pain radiates out from his chest. He finds he can not breath. It is obvious Kuba is struggling to stay conscious.
Dalic, sensing the danger, let’s out a war cry and charges down the passageway. His eyes adjust as he moves. A sole figure begins to form as his darkvision corrects. A dwarf stands proudly at the corner. He clutches something to his chest and points and Kuba.
The dwarf has a lighter shade of hair and beard. He wears chain mail armor. A shield hangs on his back and a large hammer from his belt. A cloth, similar in shape to a scarf, drapes over his shoulders and down across his chest. It tucks into his belt. A steel helm adorns his head. Two rubies, multifaceted in the image of fly eyes, are mounted just above his eyes at the lower edge of the helm. Two small ivory horns protrude from its sides, sticking out two or three inches each. The horns have rounded edges.
He goes for his hammer and shield as the duergar closes in on him.
Grimlock, the blob man moves slowly forward, slowly dragging each leg forward in a tormented walk. It comes around the edge of the fly mosaic moving east and begins to work its way towards the party along the very edge of the swarm.
Dalic’s speech is unintelligible and his gait animalistic as he reaches his enemy at the end of his charge. The Delvin Bastard slices into the dwarf’s shield arm before he can bring it to his defense (15, 53/68(74)). The blow would have removed the arm from a less adept combatant. The dwarf twists his shield in at the last minute using the edge of it to protect his arm from the full weight of the swing.
The defensive tactic causes the dwarf’s body to spin from the impact. He loses his footing and drops to his hands and knees.
To his rear, Kuba wills his heartbeat to slow. A wave of nausea rocks his body. He bends and releases his stomach contents. After retching, he weakly stands straight. His knees are weak and his his head spins but his heart is beating on track again. His pulse begins to slow. He still stands in utter blackness but he yet stands (11, 15/45(47)).
Speck raises his short bow and takes a steady halfling’s aim at the dwarf. He releases his first arrow but it flies errant and strikes the wall at the curve in the passage.
Dalic wastes no time, laying into the dwarf with a fury. Recovering from his initial attack, Dalic repositions for a series of blows as spit and foam fly from his mouth with every frantic jerk of his head. Dalic swings an executioner’s blows down upon the dwarf. The dwarf twists his body and brings his shield up successfully blocking the killing blow.
The dwarf brings up his holy symbol and shouts out a string of dwarven words that stop Dalic completely in mid swing. The duergar’s body and wound tight in a backswing. Dalic, in his battle frenzy, wills his sword forward but his body has become disconnected and will not move. He stands as a statue of himself.
Bhut has a flash of inspiration hearing his friend Dalic battling. With significant effort, Bhut drops his back to the ground and removes a torch. He struggles to get it lit. With some well needed luck, the sellsword sparks the torch to life. A flicker flame quickly grows to dully illuminate the passageway in torchlight
The sudden illumination throws Speck slightly off as he releases his second arrow. The arrow strikes the kneeling dwarf but it fails to penetrate his armor. The arrow deflects off the chain near its thigh.
Kuba, confident his heart is still in his chest, finds the strength to charge down the hall in an attempt to gore the dwarf with Bloodletter. The Dullstrand warrior passes Bhut. As more oxygenated blood reaches Kuba’s muscles, his charge gains speed and strength. He arrives as the dwarf finishes the enspellment of Dalic.
Kuba levels the blade to decapitate the dwarf. The dwarf again shows his skill as he barely escapes death. The blow cuts his neck but not mortally (10, 43(49)).
From the rolling blackness of the fly plague, Southar emerges having struggled blindly through the mass. His lantern is lost in the black plague somewhere. Southar holds his shield and Zalco. Zalco, seeing the battle, cries out, “Now we have a task! It is Frelpic! Slay the bastard!” Southar’s slit eyes light with rage and anticipation as he spews out, “Yesssssss!”
Breymeer tries to hold onto his sanity as the flies chew into his skin. He forces his mind to daydream. He thinks about the pretty red haired lady ranger and whiskey.
Cirdan focuses his mind. He pulls a feather and rises up under the blanket. He utters the incantation while blocking out the stinging bites around him. To his relief, his body begins to rise and he quickly feels the ceiling. He remains in the fly mass and they attack him relentlessly. A melee battle erupts a short distance back down the hallway.
Tathar, having successfully secured his blanket to the floor as if hiding from a raging forest fire, prays to Sehanine, “Please my lady, I ask how to defeat this evil.” Tathar can make out the sounds of metal on metal combat toward the eastern end of the hallway.
Grimlock holds his position and continues to observe. The blob man slowly makes his way along the edge of the flies moving some 15 torturous and agonizing feet. It plods along as if a beat down slave.
Southar (1, 5/52), Cirdan (1, 24/26), Breymeer (1, 14/49(57) and Bofor (1, 10/36(41)) all take damage from the fly swarm.
Kuba presses the attack but the dwarf speaks first destroying the warriors will. Kuba is overcome with a rush of doubt and fear knowing that if he stays, the vile dwarf will end Kuba’s life. Kuba’s heart aches at the though of another suffocating attack. The warrior turns and flees to the very edge of the fly mass.
Seeing he can flee no further, Kuba drops to his knees and slouches forward. Deep wails of anguish fill him as he cries uncontrollably at his fear and failure. He grips Bloodletter in his hand holding it weakly as its tip rests upon the tiles.
Speck releases an arrow as Kuba begins his flight and Southar and Bhut continue their charge. By some miracle, the arrow cuts through the three warriors exchanging places in the hall. The shaft slides just past Dalic’s head and cuts the cheek of the dwarf before striking the back wall. Blood drips from the injury (1, 42(48)/68(74)).
Bhut, holding the torch in his off hand, picks up his axe and begins to stumble forward to battle.
Southar passes Bhut on his charge. The snake ranger feints high drawing the dwarf’s shield up and then slashes the dwarf priest low across the shin causing the dwarf to cry out in great pain (12, 30(36)/68(74)). With his shield, Southar attempts a backhanded blow but the dwarf recovers enough to meet it with his shield. A mighty crash is heard as the shields bang together like cymbals.
Grimlock deduces the mosaic image of the fly appears to be the source of the mystic problems facing the party. He calls upon his newly learned powers to disrupt the energy of the mosaic fly. Immediately, the fly swarm begins a tornadic funneling back towards the tile. It appears to be sucking the swarm in like a vacuum.
The blob man seeing Bofor and Breymeer in a pile and quickens his pace. He moves to them with a foul purpose.
The fly swarm suddenly begins to turn in a tornadic action. The flies begin a hasty retreat as they appear to be pulled towards the fly mosaic. The twisting of the swarm is being sucked back into the mosaic. The volume of flies is reduced by half.
A slight increase in illumination presses into the western portion of the passageway as the fly swarm retreats.
Tathar huddles under his wool blanket on the floor, now revealed as the flies withdraw. Cirdan is no where to be found.
Tathar seems to have an answer to his prayers as the noise of the flies weakens. Tathar can hear Kuba crying in anguish a short distance to his east.
Cirdan, hovering at the ceiling, watches as the murderous biting flies suddenly withdraw. He can see Kuba huddled and crying in anguish almost below the elf nobleman; just slightly to the east.
Speck, also nearby, fires arrows to the east. Bhut is moving slowly to the east and Southar is engaging a dwarf at the end of the hall. Dalic is also in the melee but he does not move. The duergar is as still as a statue.
Breymeer (1, 13/49(57), Bofor (1, 9/36(41) and Cirdan (1, 23/26) all take damage from the fly swarm before it retreats.
Kuba continues to wail in self pity and doubt.
Speck holds his fire as more and more of his companions fill the passageway, blocking his target.
As the torch bearing Bhut nears the melee, the dwarven adversary comes into clearer light. He has flame red hair and a beard that spill down well past his shoulders and onto his chest. His eyes burn hot with hate. His face is marked with several ugly scars.
His chain mail armor is of very fine quality, as one would expect from a dwarf. His dark red painted shield bears a blackened fly similar to the mosaic fly in the temple chamber. His scarf also depicts flies. Heavy leather boots adorn his feet.
He forgoes spellcasting for a moment and engages Dalic and Southar with his war hammer. The entire hammer is made of blackened steel. Care was taken to balance the item. The hammer head is designed in the shape of a ram’s skull with forward sweeping horns.
On the middle finger of his right hand is a shiny goat’s skull ring. Golden horns sweep back and curl from the platinum skull.
On his shield hand, also on the middle finger, is a silver ring carved into a fly.
The dwarf priest appears surprised when Dalic suddenly breaks free of the hold his opponent cast on him. His berserk rage shatters the spell with pure unbridled anger! Infuriated by the use of magic against him he releases his bloodiest attacks on the cleric yet. His eyes are nearly rolled back in his head but from what can be seen of them, they glow bloodshot with hate and fury.
Dalic, using the momentum of his slash strikes the cleric across the neck as he strafes to priest’s rear. The blow trims off the majority of the priest’s flame red beard and opens large non-fatal gash in his neck (16, 14(22)/68(74)). With his off hand he grabs at the cleric and attempts to run him through one handed straight through the lumbar spinal column.
The priest exchanges blows with Dalic as the duergar grabs the priest lining up his killing strike. The dwarf priest drives the ram’s head hammer into Dalic’s exposed left ribcage. The cracking of ribs is undeniable but the berserk duergar pays them no nevermind (12, 12(17)/40(49)). The shattered ribs, though not felt, appear to affect Dalic’s movements as he drives his Delven Bastard into the priest’s spine (14, 0(6)/68(74)).
The blow, like the one Dalic just received, should have dropped a mortal man but somehow the devil blessed priest remains standing. Dalic twists his blade and retracts it throwing his head back with a sinister battle cry not even noticing the blood of his victim that begins to stain his armor.
Southar takes advantage of the intimate battle between the dwarves as Bhut moves in to strike.
Southar strikes first while ordering his rope, “Sssssnake forth and bind the dwarf.” The rope does not respond but Zalco does, “Die Frelpic! Know that Zalco has killed you!” Southar hacks into Frelpic’s shoulder and the priest is no more. An empty suit of mail falls to the floor covering his boots and the shield gives a metal ring as it crashes down as well. His helmet falls upon his vestments. The hammer bounces once and comes to rest to the side of where the dwarf once stood. A very small amount of fine dust drifts in the air.
Frelpic is no more.
Tathar had popped to his feet. Leaving his blanket where it fell, he charged the melee at top speed, drawing his serpent staff as he went. Now, seeing Frelpic disappear, he stops his charge as he reaches Bhut’s side.
Southar and Dalic are breathing heavy, burdened by the heat. Everyone steps back from Dalic hoping he does not mistake them for an enemy.
The blob man that had crawled up out of the north side of the fly mosaic has circled clockwise coming to the opening to the passageway. He had been focused on Bofor and Breymeer but seeing the activity in the passage, turns to enter.
At that moment, Grimlock’s silver sword bursts through blob man’s chest in a spray of gore. Grimlock appears behind the creature, hovering slightly off the ground. He withdraws his wolf hilted blade and the hellspawn drops to a pile of flesh upon the temple floor.
All the enemies are down. Breymeer and Bofor lie in a pile to the south of the entrance. Cirdan’s whereabouts is unknown. The rest of the party is alive and scattered throughout the temple entrance and passageway.
The whirlwind of flies continues to spin down to the mosaic until it has essentially vanished. Those few that remain are sure to perish as the brazier begins another eruption.
Cirdan removes his blanket but continues to hold it as he flies to the other end of the room, looking for anything that might provide a clue or be of importance. Cirdan keeps his distance from the brazier and the ceiling, and keep his blanket handy as a heat shield. He circles the fly mosaic clockwise, avoiding a direct flight over it. He is halfway past the mosaic as the last of the flies disappear and the brazier begins a second eruption.
Dalic’s wild eyes search for an enemy. Vaguely he recognizes those around him as friends not foes. He leans back against the wall and slides down to a sitting position. He breaths heavily as his muscles relax. His sword rests in his hand across his lap.
As the duergar weakly looks on, a spirit begins to materialize near Frelpic’s armor pile. Southar, Tathar and Bhut take defensive postures but it it quickly is revealed to be Kholiss Foesmiter and not Frelpic.
The spirit of the dwarf champion looks down at Frelpic’s belongings and then back to the party. He bows deeply. As he straightens, he gives a nod of thanks before slowly fading from view. Foesmiter has been released from his eternal quest.
The raging inferno runs its course. Speck looks into the temple with concern. Several of the party members were caught in the heat.
Kuba looks around having regained control of his emotions.
Grimlock, who had been at the threshold, uses his shield to protect himself from most of the damaging flame and heat (1, 23/30(33)).
Bofor screams as he regains control of his body. He rolls off of Breymeer and scrambles to cover himself with his shield as the flames and heat strike him (1, 8/36(41)).
Breymeer covers up as much as he can, going into the fetal position and burying his face in his cloak (2, 11/49(57)).
A second blob man begins to scramble through the floor at the east edge of the fly mosaic. The flames rage for many long seconds before subsiding. The blob man rises to his feet and begins to lumber towards the cowering forms of Bofor and Breymeer as the begin to recover from the flames.
Cirdan recognizes the danger of the inferno and drops to the floor hastily throwing his blanket over him. The flames lick at his skin and clothes as he reaches the floor. Covering himself with the blanket smothers any upstart flames upon him. The heat is oppressive (3, 20/26).
The flames rage for about 10 seconds before subsiding.
Dalic struggles as he tries to grasp back onto reality. His tunnel vision retracts like barbed wire laden steel sheets scraping back into his skull. He looks around, heart and head pounding, and witnesses the carnage that lay around him. Seeing the dwarven armor before him, Kuba struggling near the mouth of the tunnel and finally the blood staining his armor. For a moment he is terrified his friends have been injured by his hand.
Panting in a near panicked state, he sees the surviving members of his party facing him with weapons drawn and blood adorning them. A wave of excruciating pain washes over him as he feels his wounds now pierce into his soul. Crumbling to the ground he puts the pieces together assuming he had mistaken friend for foe and been at odds with them all, felling some and sustaining the massive blows to his chest, head and cheek.
He mumbles feebly holding back his shame and forcing himself not to weep, "I am not you enemy here comrades! Hear me! The monster in side me rests!" Pulling a knee up he finds he lacks the strength to stand or even raise his weapon. His sword clangs upon the ground as he raises his fists to defend himself from some assumed attack from Southar. "If it was I who killed the two in the chamber and wounded Kuba, I accept my fate. Kill me now if you must."
He drops his fists defeated, removes his helmet and hangs his head.
Dalic assumes a lot here not knowing exactly how he got here or why Southar and Bhut now face him with bloody weapons at the ready or why Tathar stands ready with his cobra headed staff. Dalic’s face burns with a cut from what he assumes came from them. He finally doubles over his knee and cries out in a mixture of remorse and physical agony.
As Tathar looks down at the items on the floor, he warns everyone, "Do not touch these items! Any or all of them may be cursed and the cause of Felpric's turning from Fortubo to his evil deity. I will hold them in trust for the company until we can find out from Cirdan or another mage what magical properties they may have, for good or evil."
“Do not disturb the pile.” Tathar begins concentrating and praying.
Grimlock flies over to the remains of the cleric and begins surveying the items that remain. Berfore Tathar can finish praying, Grimlock snatches up the ram’s head ring and places it on his finger.
Dalic comes to the realization that his companions were not threatening him. Seeing them now inspecting the plunder he offers his advice, “The hammer should go to someone with training with it.” He grabs the fly ring and puts it in a pouch. “I’ll hold on to this.” He then begins sizing up the helmet, “Anyone care if I wear this?”
Bhut looks on generally dumbfounded.
Southar, moves east away from the others. He nears the end of Bhut’s torch light and presses himself up against the wall. It appears he is taking a rear guard position.
Speck stays by Kuba and gives him a handkerchief. He keeps an eye out for trouble whilst Kuba composes himself.
Kuba, recovering rather quickly from his ordeal, raises his shield up to the heat to protect himself and Speck, “Prepare for the next onslaught.”
The second blob man moves with purpose towards Bofor and Breymeer as they scramble to their feet. With unexpected quickness, the blob man swipes at Breymeer exposing sharp claws at the end of its arm like, skin draped, arms. Breymeer is able to parry the blow with the shaft of his axe.
Cirdan flies back into the air and covers over half the remaining distance to the statue. Cirdan climbs higher in the air as he closes on the fifty foot tall gem encrusted head. The heat grows more and more oppressive the higher he climbs and the farther west he flies.
Dalic, realizing the wisdom in Tathar's actions, drops the ring back in the loot pile and leaves the helmet and hammer where they lay. He pulls his helmet back on and leans back to rest.
"I see I have been a fool. The battle continues and you are not at odds wit me as it appeared. I must rest and am wounded twice over. Please, your help when able moon priest. I will need a few minutes ta regain strength as well. I be strong enough to defend Tathar and or Cirdan while they make sense of this loot and this place."
Dalic meekly stands. "Grim, I pray you, remove tha ring an let it ta Tathar fer now."
Tathar continues his spell while Speck, Kuba and Bhut look on. Southar continues his rear guard.
Grimlock simply looks up, past Tathar and Bhut as he gazes into the temple chamber.
A battle continues out of sight in the temple chamber between Bofor, Breymeer and a blob man.
Breymeer and Bofor both lay into the blob man with their weapons. Neither of them are able to strike a telling blow. For his part, Breymeer again parries the raking claw strikes.
Cirdan reaches the face of the gigantic statue. Cirdan’s heat pounds in his chest being so close to the representation of pure evil. The open mouth appears ready to eat the elf nobleman.
Curiousity keeps him close for a moment longer. The two huge rubies appear to be authentic. Each is mortared into place but the mortar does not match the masterwork of the delve above. This work was done with less superior materials. From the continues exposure to the heat, it has cracked in a few places and small sections of exposed mortal have fallen away.
The brazier continues its fuel-less fire below him. The flames rising up from the rim. The heat is oppressive but not overly painful. Cirdan deduces that an eruption from here would burn him badly. But yet, those gems must be worth tens of thousands of gold a piece.
Grimlock slides the ram’s head ring onto his finger. He immediately feels he is being watched. He looks up past Tathar and Bhut to the temple chamber beyond. The burning brazier seems to be calling to his soul and a great deep voice enters his head speaking slowly, “I see you!”
Grimlock, weakened of will, fights off a nagging urge to move closer to the temple. Sensing the ring is more than he bargained for, Grimlock tries to remove it from his finger. The ring is stuck and will not budge. A booming laughter echoes through his head as he tries to fight off a feeling of panic.
Grimlock appears transfixed for a moment before grabbing onto the ram’s head ring in an attempt to tug it off his finger. The ring does not budge. Grimlock cannot hide the look of concern in his eyes.
Tathar, holding out his holy symbol, continues his prayer to Sehanine. The moon elf concentrates on his prayer while maintaining his observation of the half-elf.
Bhut, backs away from the half-elf like he is about to explode.
Dalic, too weak to fully defend himself, tries to maintain a high level of alertness.
Southar remains on guard duty at the easterly bend in the tunnel.
Kuba wants to go help in the fight against blob-man but he is worried that his weakened condition and the heat will make him less effective.
Speck is a little restless and wonders if he can be of any help in the fight. "What should I do?" He asks Kuba.
Kuba replies, "Just stay behind me. Being this close to the furnace of hell is no place for a halfling. If we need to go into the temple chamber again to help, we will."
The halfling steps behind his trusted friend.
The heat and exertion are starting to take its toll on the adventurers. Their strength and agility decline.
This is only made worse by the sudden explosion of the brazier. Fire shoots to the ceiling spreading flame and heat about the temple.
The dwarf and northman can feel the strength being pulled from their bodies from the sauna-like heat. They’re fighting becomes like that of a drunken brawler as opposed to a refined warrior.
Bofor can feels his strength waning in the heat. He wields his war hammer as if it were of great weight. Still, he strikes the blob man in the chest (2, 4/6).
The wounded creature turns its attack on Bofor but he is able to protect himself with his shield.
Breymeer, using his broadsword and hand axe, lays into the hellspawn’s unprotected flank. His sword deflects off the blubber mass but his hand axe wedges into its head felling it (8, -4/6). As the body of the blob man falls, the brazier explodes into another eruption.
Cirdan retreats from the statue. He dives to the floor and swoops towards the exit. All the while he keeps his eyes on the brazier. He doesn’t have to watch long. As the blob man falls to the ground, the brazier explodes into another eruption.
The elf mage finds his fine motor skills are wanting and his normal superior strength is waning some from the heat of the room before the brazier fired to life again.
The hellish fire rages from the brazier and again washes across the stone ceiling only to race down the walls. The closer to the brazier, the more violent the flames. Over by the entrance, the flames rages less but the heat alone is unbearable.
Breymeer screams as the heat burns his exposed skin and tries to cook his already overheated body. He returns to the fetal position to lesson the damage (1, 10/49(57)).
Bofor also drops to the ground and covers himself with his shield. He cries out but more in horror than in pain (1, 7/36(41)). The wooden handle of his footman’s mace splits and catches fire. Bofor discards it quickly.
Dalic begins to panic a little. He searches Tathar’s face for some sign. “My friend, tell me you have been shown tha way out o this madness!? I am afraid. I fear we hab but moments fore we lose it all ta the fire o hell. Gib this dwarf guidance priest.”
Dalic stands awaiting a response. He begins mentally preparing to move into the temple to find how to close this gate to hell for good. He eyes Grimlock, sensing danger from his comrade.
Tathar pauses his deep concentration and prayer. He sternly addresses Grimlock, “You are a greedy fool, Grimlock. I no longer know if you are good or evil, and I will not risk losing Sehanine’s favor by aiding you if you are injured until I know the truth.”
Tathar comforts Dalic, “I will address your wounds soon, first I must finish this.” Tathar returns to his prayer.
Bhut moves to Dalic’s side. In Bhut’s condition, one is unable to tell if he is trying to support his friend or draw strength from him. It is possible the sellsword from the Wild Coast simply wants to die by his companion.
Grimlock ignores the duergar’s stare as he tugs the ram’s head ring from his finger. Grimlock quickly tucks it into a pouch. He floats into the air saying, “I heard a voice when I put on the ring. It said ‘I see you’. Grab the loot and let’s go!” He grasps the priest’s red painted shield by the edge and turns to the east flying down the passageway past Southar and into the darkness. “Grab the rest!”
Tathar resists the urge to harm the half-elf and returns to his praying.
Southar simply watches the half-elf pass.
Kuba and Speck hold their position. Kuba shouts a warning as he points to the fly mosaic, “Another of those tortured forms.”
As the wave of flames recede back, a third figure pulls itself up from the floor appearing to crawl through the mosaic itself. It appears only 25 feet from Breymeer and Bofor. It immediately charges them in its slow, foot dragging way.
Cirdan drops and covers himself with his blanket. The heat and flames take their toll on his blanket but leave Cirdan mostly unharmed (3, 17/26). Even after the wave of heat and flame washes over him, the temperature of the air makes it hard to breath. Cirdan’s blanket remains intact even though it smokes and has several charred spots across it.
Grimlock continues to fly east along the passageway back to the chamber with the pool basins. He flies past the curves in the passageway and approaches the secret door. It is backlit by the chamber beyond. He can feel the air cooling as he is only 25 feet from the security of the pool chamber.
Southar bolts as well. He begins to walk east. The heat weighs heavy on him and he drags his feet along as he goes. He makes it about one half the way back to the previous chamber.
Tathar completes his chanting and prayer.
Dalic waits, comforted by Tathar's words and happy to rest his ragged bones. He nods to Bhut seemingly to complete their silent conversation and affirm his presence. Bhut quietly nods back.
Dalic's face dons the expression of a warrior accepting his fate. His eyes betray his new demeanor; this may be the end and he will be happy for it to be so long as his sword is swinging. He draws his blackened delven bastard and positions himself between Tathar and the temple, sword held at high guard to represent his unflinching determination in spite of his weakened state. His heavy sword he finds difficult to hold at this position but holds it there anyway; a totem to his loyalty and determination.
"Tathar, my friend, I trust you may be tha only one now who can free us of this insanity. You hab me blade. Nothing will harm Ye so long as I stand and certainly with Bhut by me side. Take tha time ye need. Dalic will hold tha line till ye show us tha way."
Dalic's knees seem to settle in to support his defensive stance. A lock of his joints solidifies his resolve. He smirks.
Kuba tells Speck while motioning into the temple, "We have to help them somehow. Put a couple arrows into that creature and I'll try to draw its attention away from our companions."
Kuba yells into the chamber, "Breymeer!! Bofor!! Get out of there!!" He then tries to get the creatures attention, "Hey Gumwad!! Over here!! Come and get a taste of this blade!"
Cirdan’s voice can be heard coming from near the southeast area of the fly mosaic. His voice is at ground level. "Every time that brazier erupts, another one of those things appears!" Cirdan repeats this phrase over and over as he approaches.
Speck launches an arrow into the creature. The arrow rips through its throat (6, 1/7) and lands on the fly mosaic. At least, it should have skidded across the floor. Instead, it falls through the floor without a sound.
At the same time, Breymeer picks himself up off the ground and lays into the creature with axe and sword. The creature comes at Breymeer with its clawed hand equal in its viciousness. Breymeer parries the creature with his broadsword and hacks off the offending arm with his axe (5, -4/7).
Bofor regains his feet and moves back into the passage, “Let’s go Breymeer.” Bofor struggles forward but nearly reaches the passageway.
The beast falls straight back and dies. True to Cirdan’s warning, the brazier busts forth engulfing the room in flames.
Grimlock arrives at the secret door and passes through the open portal and into the lit chamber beyond. The iron dwarf has not moved to the relief of Grimlock.
Kuba shields himself and Speck from the blast of heat. “Retreat Speck!”
Kuba starts backing away from the temple keeping shield and sword at the ready. Speck matches his stride, shuffling his short legs as quick as the overpowering heat will let him. They move slowly backwards.
The blast from the hellish furnace adds to the duo’s misery but does not harm them.
A bit of smoke wisps into the air near the last location of Cirdan’s voice. Cirdan calls out in pain as the fire burns away his protective wool blanket and chars him slightly (2, 15/26).
A slight breeze blows by Breymeer and Bofor as they retreat out of the temple and into the hallway. The smell of burned wool and singed hair is carried on the breeze and catches their noses as Cirdan flies past his location.
Cirdan’s voice calls out as he passes Breymeer, “I am entering the corridor on YOUR left wall. Don’t shoot me!”
Bofor shelters himself from the flame curtain as he attains the relative safety of the hallway (1, 6/36(41)).
Breymeer knocks the flames from his hair and beard as he enters the hallway. His face is red and his armor is slightly damaged from the heat (3, 7/49(57)). He takes some relief to see his bow survived the temple heat although five of his arrows had their feathers burned off.
Dalic seeing Tathar is done with his prayers asks the elf, "What if these items? What if the temple? Tell me and pray ye heal me wounds, I will charge ahead and see if we cannot be freed once and for all!"
He nudges Bhut, egging him on to join in the assault. He looks to Southar for support but sees the ranger has retreated to the east already. Dalic calls out to the now empty east corridor, "Zalco, ye foul yet mighty blade. What news have you?" He awaits a response from Zalco similarly to that of his interaction with Tathar.
Tathar takes a moment to look over the remaining hammer, ring and armor. He hesitates to gather the items as he turns to Dalic and Bhut. “The hammer has an overpowering aura of evil surrounding it. The other two items do not radiate anything, at least no more than the general evil that permeates this place.”
"We need to fall back and regroup! Take heart my Dwarf friend, the battle still lays before you. You will have your opportunity to return to this room, but now is the time for thinking and recovering strength. Let us fall back to the room of the Iron Golem! There you will have Sehanine's blessing, Sehanine willing."
Bhut looks to his companion with a look of complete defeat on his face, “I dare not enter their friend. I have a family secret that has been buried for a generation. I feel I must warn you now of it.” He looks down and takes a long slow breath.
My kin fought for the Great Kingdom. He fought the hordes from the western lands. The dark skinned horse riders from Ull. He fought very fiercely and his enemy named him Bhut; now my given name. He was elevated to a minor lord and was given land as a reward for his loyalty, bravery and fierceness. Some time thereafter, like many of those around him, he fell into devil worship.” Bhut looks weakly for a reaction.
“My mother fled from the madness and hid us out in the Wild Coast region. She died when I was young. I have been fighting to make coin ever since.”
He takes a deeper breath, “So you see my friends, I dare not enter. I feel I will be overcome.”
To no one’s surprise, a blob man climbs out of the floor on the very eastern side of the mosaic and begins a pain-filled walk towards the hallway.
Still reeling from his wounds Dalic reluctantly agrees to be healed in better cover. He gives Bhut a sideways glance wondering what infantile enemy would choose to name P'innr’s father Butt.
“What? It means demon. They say he fought like a demon.” Bhut looks somewhat hurt.
Dalic continues on, ignoring the indignation on Bhut’s face, "I will not leave this delve until the demon be defeated. I cannot do this without some healing. I thank ye priest and will follow you ta cover so you are safe praying over us.”
Dalic gestures for Tathar to lead the way.
Tathar gathers up the remaining items from the dwarf priest. He takes extra care not to touch the hammer. The armor, ring and hammer weigh down the elf’s slight frame some. “Come, let us get out of this heat and discern our way.”
Dalic begrudgingly follows the rest to a safer location to be healed. Bhut joins in the retreat.
Kuba encourages Breymeer and Bofor, "Keep moving! Let's go!" He keeps an eye on their progress, ready to move in to protect them if the blob man threatens to catch up.
Speck does not wait with Kuba; he retreats toward the main group.
Cirdan can be heard asking Tathar if anyone needs assistance. Seeing none do, he flies east in retreat.
The group easily outpaces the hideous humanoid blob man. It mindlessly follows but quickly falls far behind.
As the group retreats down the hall, the flames subside back to the brazier and dance around its rim once more. The large ruby eyes of the statue continue to cast sparkles of red around the temple like some sort of hellish disco hall. The empty altar reflects the light but the fly mosaic does not. The statues evil grin makes it appear it is laughing at your retreat.
The group arrives intact back in the room with the fallen iron dwarf and pool basins. Grimlock is there inspecting the iron dwarf. The temperature decreases as the group moves east.
Kuba breathlessly calls out, “We just got our asses kicked by a bunch of damned blobs.”
The group, drained of energy from the heat, welcomes the more stable temperature of the pool chamber. It is still pushing 80 or more degrees near the NW corner. The rest of the room cools to high 60s. The secret door has been open since the party walked through it.
Although the party assumes the blob man is still following, it is not in sight. The chamber is just as it had been left. The secret door remains open and unsecured.
Southar takes a moment to rest. He seems to be contemplating the situation trying to discover a solution.
Cirdan cools himself with some of the water in the nearest basin. He will then approach Tathar and ask if he can give him protection from heat, so he can go back in.
Dalic approaches Tathar and pleads for Sehanine’s kindness.
Tathar, as promised, lays his hands upon Dalic and asks Sehanine to heal him. Dalic’s head and rib pain subsides some but his wounds remain (+7. 19/40(49)).
After receiving the aid, Dalic walks over to the northeastern passage and begins to slowly explore up it. There is a short, approx. 30 foot long, passage that leads to a natural chamber some 90 feet north/south and 60 feet east/west. The ceiling is 15 feet high. There are some beds and foot lockers in the chamber. It appears to be another small barracks. It appears another passage leads east out of the barracks room.
Tathar next asks Sehanine to bless Cirdan with protection from the intense heat generated by the brazier.
Grimlock ponders the mosaic and its strange properties. “If it is an illusion, I do not know why it was not revealed by my spell.”
Breymeer tells group, “I'm one hit away from death and am sick of this place. Let's actually act like a unified group and get back in there. I have an arrow that's doesn't miss and believe something will present itself that is the key to defeating this evil be it the Ruby eyes or something else. But we gotta go now. And in my condition this may be farewell.”
Bhut tries to feed off of Breymeer’s bravery but his will has been badly drained by the dead.
Breymeer feels the string of his bow. It has survived the heat. He takes the obsidian arrow in hand. The warrior stands on the brink of death. The steely look in his eye certifies he is prepared to give it for the group.
Bofor seems pleased with the resolve, “I too shall lay my life down if necessary for you and for my clan.” He holds his hammer and shield ready.
Speck stands near Kuba. They both await the party’s decision.
Dalic quickly inspects the lockers and bunks in the barracks, he keeps his distance as he pops the bedding and chests open with the long reach of his sword. He finds the beds rotten and the chests contain an average of a dozen platinum pieces each.
Dalic returns promply to the group and reports his finding.
While the group continues a dialogue, Dalic takes a few minutes to explore the barrack chamber to the northeast. He returns after just a few minutes and reports the existence of seven beds and chests. The beds are rotten and the chests contain an average of a dozen platinum pieces each.
He assures Bofor he took none of the coin. Dalic is eager to take the fight back to the temple. He proposes, “We dodge the blob men to avoid the heat, ‘ave a flier pry out da eyes and go from there. May take some dancing. Tarstar rest ‘n peace.”
Tathar says, "I need to pray before I can heal anyone else. I can, however, apply first aid to anyone who is in need." He begins to make his way to each party member, except Grimlock.
While he is moving he tells the party, "I prayed over the items dropped by Frelpic when Southar gave him his death blow. The hammer radiates evil. The other items I know not if they are magic, but I detected no evil radiating from them. Not including, of course, the ring and shield that Grimlock stole." He gives the chainmail, ring and helm to Bofor. "I believe these belong to your kin? I will hold the hammer, for now, in my backpack. Maybe there is a way to remove the evil that infuses it."
As Tathar hands the items over, Bofor stows them in his pack. In addition to the items listed, Frelpic’s vestment slides out of crumpled armor, falling heavily onto the floor. Bofor examines the vestment finding several hard objects sewn into the scarf-like object.
“There are gems sewn into this. We shall examine them when, not if, but when we topple this temple and return to the sunlit lands of men and elves.” He secures the pack and takes up his hammer and shield again.
Cirdan says, "Tathar, I know you can't see me, but can you do something for these burns?"
After Tathar does what he can for Cirdan, Cirdan announces, "While Tathar treats everyone, and everyone cools and rests, I am going to quickly fly up the corridor that Dalic came from. I am hoping to find another way out, but I will only be a few minutes. If it goes too far, I will return and report. When I get back I am going after the eyes of the statue. Now, I am uncertain what will happen, if anything, when I remove them, but I would like the party standing by to come to my aid.”
“Bofor, if you can keep the blob-man busy without killing it that would be a great help. Everyone else can stand by to charge in. Grimlock, would you be willing to fly up and try to pry the other eye out at the same time? They are mortared in, but the mortar was not of dwarf design and it has cracks and signs of deterioration."
“I will go with but let’s see if it will cool a bit first. I would like to rest about a half hour first. Also, someone please borrow Cirdan a dagger.”
Grimlock sets a dagger on the floor and uses his magic to turn invisible. He picks the dagger back up and explains to Cirdan his plan. “We can use the daggers to communicate if necessary. Keep it under your cloak unless needed.
Cirdan apparently picks up the dagger as it rises and then disappears from view.
Cirdan flies off and returns about 10 minutes later. He reports a series of barracks in the series of chambers. One includes a forge. Of the five chambers, the first two are natural chambers. The next three chambers are the circular carved chambers so common in the delve. The ceiling heights range from 15 feet in the first chamber, 25 feet in the second chamber and 45 feet for the circular chambers.
The first two chambers are unlit.
The third chamber is lit by some magical source. Littering the floor are several tools; picks, spikes, drills and so forth. Set into the north wall is a hot forge.
The fourth chamber has mithril ore stored in it. There are several small piles scattered around the room. The chamber is unlit.
The fifth chamber is lit by a magical source. Mithril ore has been recently mined here. The westestern passage dead ends at an active dig.
There is no sign of the dwarven zombies. It appears they all charged to battle the party previously.
After briefing the group, Cirdan splashes in the pool, doussing a blanket into the water.
The group makes final preparations while stalling a short time in hopes that the temple cools as Grimlock wishes.
While waiting for the second temple raid, Cirdan stows his invisible pack containing his spellbooks.
Bhut, during the rest period waiting for Cirdan’s return, asks Dalic for his opinion. The sellsword asks the duergar if giving into the old family ways might aid in the remainder fo the quest.
Dalic laughs boisterously. "If by giving ta family ways ye mean worship this dung hole demon, I'll end up running ye through! So, no. Just no. Every fight hab honor to it. Iffen yer fight be inside yer soul revel in the honor of that struggle and fight fer what ye know be right."
P’innr of the Bhut lineage takes Dalic’s words to heart, and finds a new willpower, though not much, to keep fighting.
After returning from his exploration to the east, Cirdan pulls Tathar aside and whispers to him, "I have left my backpack with my spell books and other effects by the basin that I soaked my blanket in. If I fail to survive, please take it with you and do with the contents as you see fit. Remember it is invisible."
Tathar, for his part will show no sign of acknowledgement other than a small nod.
While waiting, Dalic ventures into the northeastern passage after Cirdan. He returns shortly thereafter carrying a mining pick. “Might be handy.”
Grimlock compliments Cirdan on his wise idea.
The invisible half-elf slashes around in one of the basins wetting his blanket and outer clothing. The wetness gives a vague outline of his body that slowly fades leaving a nearly undetectable shimmer.
Grimlock appears to have taken up the shield of the fallen dwarf priest. Seeing Tathar slight him as a result, Grimlock comments to Tathar, “You are as temperamental as a teenage girl with your opinion of who is good of evil. Keep your judgemental self righteous comments to yourself. I care not what your opinion of me is.”
Tathar spends some time at the basin washing his face and hair in an attempt to cool down. He also soaks his blanket in hopes that it may provide some protection from the heat he knows is coming. As he returns to the party with wet blanket in one hand and his deadly bow in the other the party sees his real face for the first time. His eyes haven't changed; still the hard and focused gleam of a zealot cleric, but his pale face and golden hair are those of a handsome high elf. He takes up position ready to see through the destruction of this evil place, or die trying, in accordance with Sehanine's directive that the party must be successful.
Once ready, the group heralds to Cirdan’s call and all prepare a second assault on the temple. Cirdan approaches the secret door and prepares to manipulate the stone that opens the door.
Breymeer stands nearby with his black arrow upon the bowstring.
Cirdan warns the group, “The Blob-man may be right outside this door, since it was following us down the corridor. If that is the case we will allow it to come in, then move around it and let it follow us back down the corridor.”
Cirdan opens the secret door and somewhat surprised to see the passageway void of blob men. The heat of the passageway, washes over the lead elements of the group but Cirdan appears unaffected.
The group enters the hallway. Dalic and Kuba take the lead element being the least injured of the warriors. Bofor, although gravely hurt, falls into the second row. Next to Bofor walks Bhut, behind his duergar companion. The third rank Speck and Tathar with their bows ready. Breymeer stands behind Speck with his black arrow nocked. Southar walks next to Breymeer taking rear guard. Southar has his lantern lit and sword loose in his scabbard. Cirdan and Grimlock hover above the group.
The temperature increases as the group moves west along the hall. It is obvious that any battle in this sauna-like environment is going to quickly fatigue the party again. Already, each member is sweat soaked and hot. Breathing in the very air is miserable.
As the group rounds the final bend and the passage straightens out on its final leg to the temple, the group sees their welcoming party. Four blob men stand at the temple entrance. Three make up the front row and the fourth stands about ten feet behind them, centered on them. The do not advance. The tortured souls remain in place across the entrance to the temple.
Behind them, the temple is as it was left. The statue’s eyes send red light sparkling across the chamber. It still grins its evil sneer, laughing at the party and threatening a tortured death for entering. The altar remains empty, the brazier flames fuellessly and the fly mosaic dominates the eastern floor.
The heat here remains oppressing; except to Cirdan who still remains unaffected by it.
Cirdan, his voice coming down from above the group, warns, "Let's wait here and see if the brazier erupts, then Grim and I can go. If these things don't move from their sentry duty, you can wait here and charge when the time is right."
Grimlock, in his self-preserving way, advises, “I will remain here about the group. The heat is too great for me to hope to accomplish removing the eye. If Cirdan’s protection is helping him then he can take his time to accomplish the task of both eyes. He is unseen and not on the ground to be attacked. He is safe less the heat. I will keep an eye about the group and alter to see if Cirdan needs aid. I can fly in and retrieve him if he falls but I cannot remain near the alter as I am not protected by the spell he is.”
He finishes by saying, “Fly cirdan, the sooner you are done the sooner we can get out of this heat!”
The party waits for the sentries to move or the brazier to flare. Neither happen. After five minutes, the party moves forward with their plan. Standing in the heat is too much to bear. Already the heat saps energy from the overheating characters. All but Cirdan are miserable.
Dalic comments, "Sounds like the distractions must go over instead of through. Who's up for some dwarf tossing?"
Cirdan counters, “Why not let us fly you over and drop you on the other side?”
Dalic offers wryly, "Alright, drop me an tha halfling oer an we can play mouse to their cat while the mages do their mage’n.”
Bofor gets a grin on his face, seeing the final push about to occur, “I am excited about this plan!”
Speck does not look as confident, “I would rather taunt them out than get dropped behind enemy lines at the gates of hell, but I will do my part. As long as I don’t get cooked in the process.”
Bhut moves forward as the fliers take Dalic and Speck into the air. Both of the elves are very strong for their kind. They are both able to carry their load. Dalic’s platemail is a bit cumbersome but luckily the duergar is thin for the dwarf kind.
They fly over the heads of the blob men as Bhut closes half the distance to the temple entrance. He takes up a position as much in front of the right target as he can get. He holds a defensive posture while determining the best way to attack. He is a little sad that he only has one axe.
As soon as the flying foursome breaks the plain of the temple entrance, the blob men show signs of life. The rear one tracks the floating halfling and dwarf. The other three begin trudging forward in their familiar pained fashion.
The elves deposit their cargo. The party can no longer track their movements as their invisibility cloaks them.
Cirdan flies for the statues as fast as he can.
Grimlock flies for the the mosaic. He holds at about 15 ft. He keeps eyes on the blobs particularily the rear blob man as he is curious about his actions. Grimlock continues to move his eyes between statue, mosaic and blobs.
Dalic backs away from the blob men to the north. The heat wears on him as he drags each step. His armor makes him feel like he is inside an oven.
Speck backpedals as well, trying to create distance from the blob man.
To Speck’s relief, the blob man turns towards Dalic and begins to trudge after him. Even in the immense heat, Dalic is able to outpace the blob man, although just barely doing so.
The blob men in the hallway continue their slow, steady advance towards the eastern column of adventurers.
Tathar backs up as the blobmen advance.
Bofor steps up next to Kuba and begins taunting the blob men. "Your mothers were hamsters and your fathers smelled of eldiberries!" In case of sudden trouble, he readies his hammer and shield, waiting for them to come.
Speck rounds the southeastern edge of the mosaic. Dalic continues to backpedal north away from the trailing blob man. Both the halfling and the duergar have moved out of the view of those in the passageway.
The three other blob men move forward to where the hallway reduces in width. They stop there, staring emotionlessly at the eastern adventurers.
Bhut holds his postion in the hall, axe ready.
Bofor continues to taunt them, attempting to get them to continue forward.
A hideous laughter, full of malice and hate, draws the party’s attention. The sound came from the immense marble altar.
The altar rises 20 feet from the floor before flattening and becoming the base for the statue. A body lays at the feet of the statue, it is that of a female elf. The group immediately recognizes it as Peylae. She weakly turns her head and calls out to the party but is too weak to be heard. She appears too weak to rise. She appears to have been tortured. Her face is badly bruised and suffers many cuts.
The source of the hideous laughter reveals itself as one of the skeletal devils appears, walking out from behind the statue. It holds one of the barbed wish bones in its hands. It approaches Peylae and punctures her abdomen with the longer barb. Peylae cries out in pain as the fiend withdraws the barb, cruely tearing skin and dislodging a small portion of her intestines. The tip of the bone barb is stained red.
“Who shall sacrifice themselves for her soul? Do any of you care enough for her?” The voice is ice cold. The fiend holds the barbed wishbone out in front of itself. The weapon is pointed down above Peylae’s abdomen and chest.
Grimlock lowers to about 5 ft and drop a coin onto the mosaic. The coin falls invisibly towards the floor. Although it should have struck the floor almost immediately after being dropped, Grimlock fails to hear it strike anything. It is as if it disappeared or fell out of hearing range.
Grimlock watches for trouble as he ponders what happened to the coin. Suddenly, Peylae appears on the altar. At the same time, one of the skeletal devils appears, walking out from behind the statue.
Cirdan soars balls to the wall to get to the statue, while watching for a flare-up. As Cirdan nears the altar, Peylae appears upon it. At the same time, one of the skeletal devils appears, walking out from behind the statue.
Bhut starts backing up to create some space.
Bofor, feeling responsible for Peylae's condition in the service of his people, volunteers himself to save Peylae. Struggling in the heat under the weight of his chain mail armor, he moves slowly forward. He calls out to the devil creature, “I shall take her place! I ask you turn down the fires of hell if I am to spend eternity there.”
Tathar and Breymeer also move up, Tathar at a run and Breymeer at a jog. Both of them are faster than the metal armor ladened dwarf priest.
Breymeer moves up with his bow and takes a steady aim at the fiend.
Tathar, trying to ignore the heat, breaks into a run. He quickly passes Bhut, Bofor and Breymeer. He approaches the line of blob men. Just before impacting them, he lauches himself into a high forward dive. Showing the grace and dexterity of the elves, Tathar tucks into a roll and swiftly comes up in a dignified walk. He steps just inside the temple.
Zalco calls out to Southar, “Move forward brave warrior! There be a fiend to send back to hell!” Southar begins a forced march forward, his pace is that of a walk as he makes his way among his companions.
Southar passes Bhut, who is holding his ground, and Bofor, who is trudging forward.
Dalic shouts to the demon while out pacing the blobs. "I offer an alternative. A challenge of combat. Dalic an Southar versus ye demon! Lessen ye think the two on ye be too great a challenge. The only stipulation be the heat here is ta be removed as ta make your victory a true one ye can gloat on. Iffen ye win, ye can have Dalic in Peylae’s place. Iffen ye lose, she is ta be released."
The blob man chasing Dalic makes a lunge forward in a short charge. The sudden move gets past Dalic’s defenses. The blob man’s claws get past his armor and pierce his abdomen tearing open the skin (6, 13/40(49), wound). Only a quick shove by Dalic save’s himself from being more seriously wounded.
The duergar, being thrice wounded, is nearly crippled by the blow as pain and suffering are nearly overtaking him.
The skeletal fiend appears to ignore the party and focuses on Peylae. He appears to toy with her as he slowly stabs the barbed bone lightly into her skin causing her to cry out in pain.
Cirdan studies the skeletal devil trying to determine if it sees him. It appears to overlook the elf. Cirdan carefully maneuvers up and around the statue.
Grimlock lowers himself to the floor and prones out just above the mosaic. Grimlock sticks his head into the mosaic. He is not surprised his head drops below the level of the floor without meeting resistance. The floor appears to be an illusion of some type.
The mosaic covers a 90-foot diameter hole that drops straight down from the temple. It is roughly cut from the stone. It drops about 20 feet into fire. The fire is intense, like that of a blast furnace but without heat or sound. The fire swirls and pulses like it has a life of its own.
Dalic is unable to control his rage. Almost instinctively he back hands the vile creature that tore at him. His gloved hand strikes the flabby blob across its fac (2 temp, 8(10)/10). He turns with the momentum and sprints off toward the bone demon.
As Dalic moves past the blob, it throws its arms across the duergar’s shoulders. Its claws dig into the armor but fail to penetrate the steel. It grips onto the steel plates and attempts to bring the dwarf down. Its weight is surprisingly heavy. Dalic struggles to maintain his feet as the blob of sagging flesh tries to drag him down.
Grimlock’s voice rises above the dim, coming from above the eastern edge of the fly mosaic, roughly ground level. He yells, " DO NOT ENTER THE MOSAIC, IT IS A PIT STRAIGHT TO THE FIRES OF HELL!"
Still shouting, but now directing it to those in the hall, Grimlock continues, "Southar, I come to carry you and Zalco to the devil. Make yourself ready!"
He shouts to Dalic as the beast pounces on the duergar’s back, "Dalic hold your sword from the beast in front of you, it could kill us all if u kill it. Charge the devil with haste, I will carry Southar to your aid!”
Grimlock’s voice is moving ground level to the east. He approaches the passageway.
Grimlock flies into the tunnel and past the line of blob men. He meets Southar as the snake-ranger moves forward. They meet at Aravae’s fallen body. As the half-elf approaches invisibly, Zalco speaks, “Do not attempt to touch us. You have lost our trust. Who is to say you will not drop us into the pits of hell. I will run you through before you get us off the ground.” The look on Southar’s face shows he concurs with his sword. He holds his shield up defensively in the air.
Kuba, not wanting to be left behind, moves forward with the group, “We dare not kill them or that blasted fire will erupt again.”
Breymeer discovers he has a line of sight on the skeletal devil but the range is too far. He lowers his shoulder and charges forward bellowing as leaps up and into the line of sagging flesh like a runningback on the goal line. He tucks his bow and black arrow hoping to reach the temple.
The northman splits two of the blob men and the rake and claw him as he separates their line. Failing to bring him down, or even draw blood, they attempt to grapple him to the floor. The northman battles through and makes it into the temple. He is just out of bow range. He quickly looks for a shooting position.
Bofor continues to trudge forward. He and Kuba are slightly behind Southar as Grimlock arrives.
Bhut holds and takes rear guard. The heat has nearly sapped the only reserve of energy he has left. He leans against the wall, axe in hand. He monitors the temple as well as the passage the the east of the group.
The blob men reform their line and continue to block the entrance to the temple.
Tathar, having achieved entrance into the temple, drapes his blanket over himself while moving forward. He manages a burdened jog, moving counterclockwise along the fly mosaic. He takes up a shooting position near the northern tip of the mosaic. He estimates the range and takes out flight arrows. It appears to be too far for his sheaf arrows.
The skeletal devil ignores the activity of the party. It remains focused on torturing Peylae. It sticks its barbed bone weapon into her body seemingly choosing non-vital areas. The wishbone stabs into her lower abdomen and her left shoulder above her breast. She is impaled on the barbed weapon. The devil raises her into the air as she screams in pain before going limp. Her blood drops onto the altar. Her face is badly beaten and her abdomen hangs open and exposed from the previous injury. If she yet lives, the blows are undoubtable fatal without aid.
The devil hisses and evil laugh.
Cirdan floats around the statue to the statue’s left eye. He get to work on the eye using his dagger to start chiseling out the mortar. He uses his blanket to try and cover his work.
The mortar begins to come out, chipping away on the fringes easily. Even with precautions, some of the debris falls to the altar below landing near the skeletal devil. It appears to pay it no attention. It does not give Cirdan any attention at all. It seems focused on torturing Peylae. The half-elf boat captain appears near death as the devil impales her on the barbed bone weapon it weilds.
Cirdan continues his work. He finds the outer mortar easy to chip away. It will not be long he can start to pry his blade between the stone of the statue and the gem itself. He finds himself wishing he had picked up some of the mining tools to speed up his work.
Grimlock shouts, "Zalco is a curse! It doesn’t care about you Southar. It causes our strongest warrior to delay at the peril of our companions. It possesses and takes away free will without concern of the wielder it controls. It is just as evil as the devils it kills. That sword must be destroyed if we survive its treachery! Zalco, you will meet your end as curses should!"
Girmlock’s voice can be heard as he flies into the temple, "Southar is controlled by Zalco. He is intoxicated by its power. Dalic I come to your aid post haste! Make ready! Southar is under that devil sword's control again! It will surely attack the blobs, be ready for the fires!”
Dalic struggles to move west with the blob beast on his back. It continues to try and grapple him down but the duergar remains standing. A claws scratches down the back of Dalic’s neck barely cutting the skin (1, 12/40(49)).
Grimlock arrives above Dalic, “Defend yourself and hold on!”
Southar charges forward and slams into the center of the blob men. He uses his shield in a shield rush and knocks the center flesh blob back and to the right, creating a hole in their line. They attempt to claw and grapple but the snake-man is too wily and slips through their lines, entering the temple as he does so.
The Gnarley Forest Ranger calls out a challenge, “Come devil! Meet your end!”
Bofor and Kuba follow Southar through the hole in the line. Kuba leads the dwarf. Kuba takes a raking claw across his right thigh going past (3, 12/45(47)). Kuba reaches the temple alongside Southar. Bofor isn’t so lucky. The slower, chain armored dwarf is dragged to the floor and the blob men fall upon him.
Bhut holds his position in the passageway. He stands there alone now.
Breymeer advances trying to close the distance and find cover. The temple offers none.
The skeletal devil rises into the air and flies toward the mosaic.
Two bowstrings sing as the fiend lowers and closes on the mosaic. Bordering on disbelief, Breymeer’s black arrow misses its mark flying past the fiend and slamming into the brazier. It deflects off to the right and skids onto the floor. Tathar’s dead eye strikes the fiend in the chest. It too passes through deflecting off the southern wall.
Bremeer sends a second arrow at the fiend but this misses as well, flying long and shattering on the front of the altar.
The fiend lands at the edge of the mosaic. Peylae remains impaled on the bone weapon.
Cirdan continues to chip away at the mortar.
Grimlock yells, “IT’S A TRAP! It’s an illusion to draw us to the edge of the pit! That is not Peylae, she is dead. Disbelieve what you see!”
As he moves in to grab Dalic, he continues yelling, “Cirdan, ignore what you see and complete your task!”
Grimlock reaches Dalic but the weight of the blob, Dalic’s plate mail armor and the heat take its toll on Dalic’s legs. They give out and he falls forward with the blob man on his back. Dalic’s armor prevents any raking claws from reaching his skin.
Speck holds his position at the southwest corner of the mosaic. Kuba enters the temple and heads for his pint sized companion.
Tathar pauses and studies the fiend. He looks around the temple for other hidden signs of danger.
Breymeer strings two more arrows, sending them at the beast. The first arrow streaks through the beasts head the second flies wide.
Southar walks towards the mosaic being a direct line towards the bone fiend. As the ranger nears its edge, Zalco’s sandpaper voice directs Southar, “Stop my friend. It is indeed a trap.” Southar pauses, hearing Grimlock warn of illusions.
The bone fiend sets Peylae down upon the ground and kneels over her. With powerful claws he tears out her heart and holds it aloft.
In the passageway, the three blob men begin to drag Bofor towards the temple. Bofor swings his hammer but there is no room for such a weapon the confines of the flesh blobs. The blow is feeble at best.
Bhut runs up and tries to assist Bofor. He takes a swing at the creature on the right. Bhut may not have intended to kill the creature but he buries his axe into its chest felling it (8, -1/7).
As the blob man hits the floor, the brazier bursts to life. The now familiar column of flame blasts forth and disperses across the room as it deflects off the ceiling. Everyone scrambles to take cover.
Cirdan continues to chip away at the mortal, he has cleared about half of the exposed mortar along the edge of the ruby. The brazier explodes forth as the elf noble chisels away. He quickly attempts to take cover.
The fire rages across the ceiling and down the walls. As before, the heat is more intense on the west side of the chamber. The little touch of hell flares for many seconds before diminishing back to the brazier where it continues to dance and taunt above the rim.
Everyone’s equipment and armor, though not destroyed, is being damaged by the fire and heat.
In the passageway, Bofor is protected by the blobs of flesh upon him taking only minor heat damage (1, 5/36(41)). Bofor tries to use his shield to fight free, “Get off of me, you’re not my type.” Despite trying to free himself, Bofor remains in their grasp and is dragged into the temple.
Bhut dives to the floor just into the passageway and covers the back of his head with his hands. His hands take light heat damage (1, 7/37(46)).
In the temple, Grimlock is washed slightly in flame (2, 21/30(33)). Hair singed, he yells to Cirdan, “Smash the eyes! We don’t have time to removed them!”
Dalic agrees with Grimlock, the bone devil must be an illusion. He thrashes about and wiggles himself free of the flesh-pile’s grasp as Grimlock blind sides it in a blind side blitz. The blob flattens to the ground in a gross display of giggling flesh. Grimlock appears hovering just above the ground near the now free Dalic.
Dalic, having been buried in the flesh monster, only took light heat damage (1, 11/40(49)).
Southar also disbelieves. “Something is indeed not right with this fiend.” Southar takes some light damage from the flames (3, 2/52). Southar turns to face the blobs dragging Bofor. He takes a few steps and tries to shield bash the one on his left. In the energy sapping heat, he fails to muster enough energy to move the blob.
Kuba shouts to Speck, “Take cover!” as the flames wash over him burning him lightly (3, 9/45(47)). Kuba runs with what speed he can muster toward the halfling.
Speck heeds the warning and takes cover. It saves him some from the more intense flames (4, 20(24).
Breymeer joins those choosing to ignore the skeletal fiend. He covers up while the flames rage (1, 6/49(57)). He rises and turns his bow towards the statue and lets arrows fly. The first arrow deflects off the taunting, grinning mouth. The second strikes its chest, coming in too low.
Tathar takes cover under his blanket and takes only light heat damage (2, 26/28). His blanket catches fire.
The bone devil hungrily devours Peylae’s heart and callously kicks her body onto the fly mosaic. It immediately falls straight into the floor and disappears below the mosaic.
Cirdan covers himself hastily with his blanket as the brazier flares. The brazier busting to life so close to the elf frightens him until Cirdan realizes the flame and heat is not affecting him. His blanket burns up but likely protected his other gear from harm.
Cirdan gets enough of a hole scraped out to pry with his dagger against the gem. Using what he can of his abnormal elf strength, Cirdan forces his dagger in between the stone of the statue and the multi-faceted gem. He pries with all his might. There is a might pop and the eye comes loose.
Cirdan checks his weapons and is saddened to see the victory has cost him the blade of his yuan-ti dagger. The blade has snapped an inch above the hilt. The blade and the gem fall to the floor.
A fifth flesh man crawls up out of the floor near Bofor. Four remain in the battle, one of which was slain in the hallway by Bhut.
Kuba and Speck head for the brazier. The halfling cannot cover much ground in the heat of this oppressive temple. The cross about half the distance from the mosaic to the brazier.
Breymeer begins to run as fast as the heat will allow him to travel. He quickly outpaces Kuba and Speck. He looks heavily burdened but manages a swift pace. He nearly crosses the length of the temple. He grunts hard and struggles to get deep breaths in so doing. He is just shy of reaching the obsidian arrow.
The bone devil leaps into the mosaic, disappearing from view.
Grimlock, sword in his scabbard, secures the dead priest’s shield upon his back and picks up Dalic by the shoulder plates. The duergar hangs on as Grimlock flies him to the relative safety of the tunnel. Dalic looks near spent. He hands Grimlock the pick he recovered, “Get tha eyes!”
Grimlock tosses his backpack at Dalic’s feet and accepts the pick, “I can do that.” Grimlock turns to fly back into the temple.
The flesh blob Grimlock knocked down gets back up and begins to amble towards the temple entrance where Bofor and Southar struggle against the hellspawn.
Tathar uncovers himself and holds his position. He continues to monitor for unforeseen dangers.
Bofor continues to struggle but, stretched like a raccoon between two hunting dogs, he cannot gain enough leverage to break free. He is dragged ten feet closer to the mosaic.
Southar tackles the blob man on the north side of Bofor. The pile of flesh collapses under the ranger. The leaves just one opponent for Bofor.
A loud ‘pop’ is heard. The statue’s left eye suddenly comes free. Gravity takes hold and the ruby falls, bouncing off the statue’s chest and ricocheting off the back side of the brazier as flames dance upon its rim. The ruby comes to rest somewhere between the statue and the brazier.
The party does not get a chance to rejoice as a skeletal devil flies up from the eastern side of the mosaic and lands next to Southar and Bofor. It drives its barbed tail through the links of Bofor’s chain mail armor and into his abdomen, pinning him to the floor (7, -2/36(41)). Bofor’s cry is cut short as he goes limp, still impaled on the scorpion-like tail.
There is no blood stain around the mouth of this devil as there had been on the one that leapt into the mosaic moments before
Dalic’s hair stands up on the back of his neck. His sixth sense tells him something is wrong. His alertness saves him from surprise as the slain blob man in the passage begins to rise and take life again. His wounds have begun to heal by themselves.
Bhut is not as alert and the creature claws at his legs. At the last moment, Bhut reacts and steps back. The blob, stretched too far, falls forward generally prone. It immediately begins to rise and renew its attack.
Grimlock sees the bone fiend climb out of the floor and changes his plan. He stows the pick, turns, and grabs his pack. He flies 20 feet farther east into the passageway.
Grimlock calls to Dalic as the dwarf prepares to aid Bhut. “Dalic, let me drop you onto the fiend!”
Dalic responds, “Drop me like a missile. I will spear it with the Delven Bastard!”
Grimlock drops his pack and flies back towards Dalic as Bhut drives his axe down upon the blob man. Between the heat and his drained will, he fails to put enough into the stroke to land a telling blow. The blob moves inside of the axe strike and drags Bhut to the ground, landing on top of the sellsword.
Grimlock flies past Bhut as he battles and grabs ahold of Dalic, hoisting him into the air as Bhut falls below the blob.
Southar engages the bone devil, releasing the blob he put to the floor. The devil withdraws its barbed tail and snaps it at Southar. The ranger blocks the blow with his golden shield but fails to move up on the fiend. He fails to engage enough to strike the beast.
The bone devil, using its tail to keep Southar at bay, moves up to Bofor’s body. It rips his chain armor open exposing the dwarf’s chest.
The blob men move to keep Southar away from Bofor. The begin to claw and rake at the ranger. He uses sword and shield to parry their blows and keep them at bay.
The blob man in the northeast corner focuses its emotionless eyes on Tathar, slowly wiggling its way towards the elf priest.
Tathar, seeing he has a small window, sends two arrows into the bone fiend. Both of them bounce off of its back. They appear to have caused it no harm.
Kuba and Speck continue towards the brazier as fast as they can. Kuba quickly outpaces Speck, reaching the brazier about 30 feet ahead of the halfling. Kuba finds the brazier, some 15 feet across and made of stone, much too heavy to move. He dare not touch it as it radiates intense heat.
Speck asks as he closes, “Should I go for the ruby?”
Breymeer reaches his black arrow. He immediately strings it and takes careful aim at the fiend. The black arrow appears to streak straight but at the last moment the fiend moves just enough and the arrow passes it by. It flies over Bofor’s downed body and strikes the flesh creature to Bofor’s east. It strikes center mass and felling it (7, -1/7). The arrow protrudes from its abdomen.
As Breymeer’s arrow pierces the flabby flesh beast, the brazier explodes back to life again. Flames rage upward and across the room.
Cirdan moves to the right eye. He flinches as the brazier bursts to life. Cirdan checks his gear during the eruption for some item to use to chisel out the mortar.
The fire burns intensely for what feels like an eternity but is really about 10 long seconds.
Bhut, too far into the passage to be affected by the flames, battles for his life with the flesh blob upon him. Bhut, fearing for his life, musters up a punch that knocks the creature free. Bhut scrambles to get up as the creature rakes him across the neck (2, 5/37(46)).
Dalic does what he can to shield himself from any residual heat (1, 10/40(49)). Ultimately, he focuses on his current goal and readies himself as a missile against the bone demon, sword to the front in an aerial charge.
Grimlock pauses while the heat wave passes him (1, 20/30(33)). Holding Dalic by the shoulder plates, he streaks forward, flying as hard as he can towards the devil.
Southar, with Zalco howling out death for the devil, continues to battle the minions from hell. He hides beneath his shield as much as he can while the heat wave rolls over him (1, 1/52). The flesh minions attempt to drag down the ranger. He struggles and nearly topples but remains standing. The ranger deflects another striking blow from the fiend’s tail.
Bofor takes the blast of heat and flame burning his beard and exposed chest. The devil straddles the dwarf and moves to chew out his heart (1, -8/36(41)). It only manages a shallow bite before Southar, with the minions clawing at his armor and shield, engages him.
The heat is taking its toll on Southar and he misses his mark. The attack does cause the devil to rise up and continue to melee instead of eating Bofor.
The devil rises and immediately takes an aerial assault from Dalic and Grimlock bombs him on top of the devil from above. He spears the devil through the left eye with his Delven Bastard (6, 7/13).
Dalic lands hard, dropping to his knees, bruising them lightly (2, 8/40(49)).
The northeastern minion moves in towards Tathar as the elf covers from the flames. Tathar gets burned some but ignores the pain (3, 23/28). He moves north and east at a jog to avoid the minions as it closed in on him. Tathar pulls out the snake headed quarter staff while avoiding the minion. He turns south and begins to bee-line towards the melee.
Breymeer covers from the heat but gets burned more than others being so close to the brazier (5, 1/49(57)). Breymeer looks like he nearly faints. He turns and sights his bow upon the left eye of the statue. The first arrow finds its mark and deflects off the ruby eye. As Breymeer draws back his second arrow, his heat weakened legs grow weak and his head spins. Though conscious, he falls to his knees and the arrow flies errantly into the back wall.
Kuba gets burned similar to Breymeer even though he shields himself as best he can (5, 4/45(47)). He runs to the loosed ruby and takes it.
Cirdan’s voice calls out as he descends to Kuba, “Speck, grab the ruby from Kuba, no sense in leaving it here.”
Kuba feels Cirdan remove his war hammer from his belt, “I need this to smash the other eye.” Cirdan flies off, presumably to the left eye of the statue.
Speck takes cover while the blast rages taking burns (3, 17/24). Speck moves west to try and get to Kuba. The heat is too much for the halfling and he only reaches the east side of the brazier. Kuba remains on the west side.
Those taking repeated blasts from the brazier note their exposed fire sensitive equipment is becoming of poorer and poorer condition.
Cirdan takes the magical dwarven war hammer and smashes the remaining ruby. The hammer shatters leaving only a handle. The ruby initially cracks like safety glass and the explodes forward causing shards to cut into Cirdan’s flesh (4, 11/26). The explosion is accompanied by a concussion wave that blows Cirdan back away from the statue.
Grimlock feels the will of the ram’s head ring pulling on psyche. It wills him to put it on. Grimlock’s intent is to destroy the bone fiend and fights the calling of the ring. His elvish heritage enables to him keep control of his will and press forward with his attack.
Bhut struggles with the blob man. It rakes him lightly across the right thigh (1, 4/37(46)), its face showing no emotion other than its eyes. Its eyes have the look of an eternity of being tortured.
Grimlock, from behind the bone fiend, attacks with the dwarven priest’s shield and his silver wolf sword. He lops the head off the fiend and then smashes its body forward with the shield.
Dalic stands and drives his Devlen Bastard into the devil’s hip causing it to collapse.
At the same time, Southar slashes it across the rib cage turning it instantly to nothingness. It is simply gone. The snake-ranger turns to face the onslaught of blob men as a sixth creature crawls out of the mosaic and charges forward. He manages to keep the foursome at bay with his golden shield.
Bofor remains at the bottom of the melee, occasionally being stepped on.
Tathar continues towards the melee looking to get to Bofor once he sees Dalic rise from his knees.
Kuba circles around the brazier and gives Speck possession of the ruby he recovered. He then grabs Speck, throwing the halfling onto his shoulder, and begins to run towards the temple entrance. The heat has fatigued him to the point he can only manage a labored jog.
Bremeer, seeing Kuba’s hammer flying up to the remaining eye, assumes Cirdan is now in his line of fire, and stops shooting arrows at the ruby eye. Looking back at the melee, he calculates he can not safely fire into it either. He holds his to see what happens next.
A sudden sound echoes through the expanse of the temple. The sound of a hammer striking a stone. Some sort of a mystic action accentuates the sound.
The remaining ruby eye suddenly fills with cracks. A moment after, it explodes outward in countless shards. With it, a concussion wave rips across the temple.
The shock wave blows the head off the statue and shatters its knees. The statue falls back and to the left. It bounces off the marble altar, chipping the corner as it deflects off. It comes to rest behind the altar, to the southwest.
The fire dancing above the brazier, always a threat to bring death upon those in the chamber, is blown out. Vast amounts of black smoke begin to bellow forth.
Breymeer, Kuba and Speck are all blown flat onto the floor.
The fly mosaic vaporizes as the shock wave rolls across it. Once gone, a fiery pit is revealed. The pit is 90 feet across, matching the size of the mosaic.
As the wave reaches the rest of the party, they are also blown flat, along with the fleshy blobs. Grimlock is blown into the temple’s east wall. Only his tumbling proficiency keeps him from smashing into the wall. Instead, he flies himself horizontal to the floor and lands into a squatting position.
Next, the earth shakes, a deep sundering of stone is heard in the heart of the mountain.
The flames in the pit begin to rage up, unstable and chaotic. Some sort of humming sound is heard near the top of the pit. It grows in intensity and volume.
The humming in the pit continues to grow in intensity as some type of energy continues to build. The pit begins to implode, causing a sucking that pulls at the heated air of the temple. A breeze, increasing in intensity, begins to move towards the pit. It begins to turn, in increasing speed, like a tornado above the center of the pit. The smoke from the brazier gives form to the twisting and dancing whirlwind.
Snake-like appendages of flame whip out of the pit, writhing in the air before striking the hellspawn in the chamber. Each in turn is instantly burned to dust. The obsidian arrow drops to the temple floor near the entrance.
The sundering of the mountain also continues. Deep below, the roots of stone feel as if they break and move. The entire hill shutters.
The marble altar splits and a fissure appears running across the front of the great red-chased white marble.
The brazier is pumping out incredible amounts of smoke. The forming breeze begins to pull it towards the pit but the volume is too great and the smoke begins to obscure the western edge of the temple.
Kuba and Speck, trying to get ahead of the smoke, regain their feet. “Time to go!” Speck makes certain he has safely secured the ruby as Kuba picks up the halfling. The warrior begins to fireman his pint-sized companion.
An invisible force drops down upon Kuba and Speck. Before Kuba can mount a defense, Cirdan’s voice assures him of his intent. Speck is seen to lift off the shoulder of Kuba, greatly relieving him of his burden. Kuba jogs with all the energy he can muster towards the temple door.
Breymeer begins to run for the temple door.
Tathar reaches Bofor. The dwarven priest shows no signs of life.
Southar backs up to the temple entrance. Zalco remains silent. Southar finds Bhut, very weak of knee, using the wall to help right himself. The sellsword is truly shattered. Only a final, desperate will to live, keeps him moving.
Dalic calls for general retreat. “Tha battle be won! Kill the tortured ones and let us away before we are entombed wit them and tha fires of hell!” The pit fighter looks upset as his prey are destroyed by the flames of hell.
Grimlock reaches into his pocket. He pulls out the ram’s head ring intent on throwing the cursed ring back to hell, “The flames of hell can work for the side of good for a change. Feast on your own creation!” He flies to the edge of the pit and suddenly pauses in an internal struggle; weakened in will after battling the dead and Zalco.
Grimlock, appearing lost in though, falls silent and stares into the pit.
The ground continues to tremble. The humming in the pit increases in pitch and volume. It begins to drown out other sounds save the groaning of the mountain.
Cirdan, holding tightly onto Speck who holds tightly onto his gem filled pack, flies toward the temple entrance. Cirdan veers north to bypass the flaming, humming pit.
Breymeer and Kuba jog nearly side by side on their way to the entrance. Both warriors are spent, running as if in wet concrete. Breymeer slowly outpaces Kuba, taking the lead as they reach the southwestern edge of the pit.
Tathar begins going through Bofor’s possessions. He takes his holy symbol reverently, safely securing it in a pouch. He shouts to Grimlock, “Have strength Grimlock! Release the ring!”
Tathar, seeing Grimlock struggle with the priest’s ram’s head ring, takes care to shake the ram’s head hammer out of the pack it was store it. He shakes it loose until it tumbles into the pit. As soon as it drops below the level of the floor, it disappears in a flash.
Tathar takes Bofor’s pack. It is burdened by the chain mail armor stored within. Tathar secures it to his own pack.
Finally, Tathar takes a last look at the serpent headed staff he has carried since the jungle. He tosses it into the hellish pit. The staff disappears into a fiery flash as did the hammer before it.
While Tathar is with Bofor, Dalic turns, pumping his stubby legs, heads for the door. He reaches the threshold. Bhut remains about 15 feet into the passage leaning against the wall. Bhut pushes himself off the wall and tests his legs. He is shaky but remains standing.
Grimlock continues to hold the ring in his left hand. Mindlessly, he begins to raise his right hand towards his left as the internal battle of wills rages. Grimlock stares blankly into the pit.
Tathar, the only character (other than Bofor of course) not fleeing from the temple, tarries to give Grimlock words of encouragement.
Grimlock’s hands begin to tremble and the half-elf looks down at the Sehanine priest. A smile curls his lips and defiance fills his eyes. Grimlock’s heritage saves him where his will would have failed. He tosses the ring flippantly into the pit. Tathar lets out a sigh of relief.
The ring strikes the plane of the pit and vanishes.
Tathar appears pleased when Grimlock flies down and grabs Bofor, dragging the dwarf into the passageway. Tathar follows.
Cirdan passes the northern circumference of the pit as Grimlock tosses in the ring. He closes on Tathar and Grimlock as they enter the passage.
Breymeer and Kuba continue their heavy booted jog around the southern edge of the pit. Kuba tries to give encouragement, “Run Kuba, Run!”
Breymeer only answers, “The black arrow. There it is.” Breymeer heads for the black arrow laying on the floor just east of the pit near where Bofor fell.
Southar is moving east down the passageway, “I will sssscout.”
Dalic begins to follow. Bhut turns east and manages to begin putting one foot in front of the other.
The crescendo humming from the pit reaches a fever pitch. The pit pull the air out of the chamber causing the breeze to increase to a steady wind. The east passage turns into a wind tunnel. The black smoke from the brazier pumps forth spinning tornado-like above the hellish hole. The pit threatens to suck the entire group into it’s fiery embrace.
Fighting against the wind, Southar struggles farther east.
Dalic and Bhut, bent against the wind, try and keep pace with Southar. Unable to do so, they find they can match each other’s slow pace. Like so many obstacles, they face it together.
Grimlock gets a better grip on Bofor and throws the dwarf over his shoulder. He flies to his pack in the passageway and shoulders it as well.
Tathar ensures he has Bofor’s pack as well as his own before moving east.
Cirdan, carrying Speck, is next into the tunnel followed shortly thereafter by Kuba and than Breymeer, who had paused long enough to recover his obsidian arrow.
The humming ends with an explosion of energy as the dimensional gate is ripped from fabric of this plane of existence. A shock wave rips through the temple and into the hallway.
Everyone is knocked from the feet again. Luckily the party had received relative shelter from the confines of the passage.
The wave appears to carry with it some type of disruption. Grimlock drops to the floor as his magical flight fails. He tumbles upon impact keeping from harm. Bofor’s body crashes to the ground. The wave does not similarly effect Cirdan, as he remains aloft.
Looking back into the temple, the dancing flames of the pit are gone are joined by bursts of lava. The liquid rock pours forth onto the floor. The ground continues to crack and break as the mountain’s sundering reaches the temple. The ground shakes terribly and the ceiling splits open dropping great chunks of stone onto the altar and floor. A massive part of the western ceiling drops onto the marble altar, cleaving the already fissured stone in two.
The party regains its feet and continues its escape.
The crumbling of the temple spreads to the hall as the temple’s collapse mixes with the blood of the oerth pouring up from the pit in the form of liquid rock.
The defeat of the portal appears to have been the death knell for the mountain that contained it.
With the demise of the portal, the sucking of the air in the delve ceases making it easier to move. In addition, it pulled in some of the cold air from the ice chamber making the air temperature considerably more tolerable. Even with the positive changes, the party is fatigued and the retreat is slow at best.
Dalic breaks into a pained jog, “I hab good stamina,” Dalic announces. Being so wounded, he is the slowest member of the party.
Grimlock, carrying Bofor over his shoulder, is moderately encumbered. As such, he is still able to keep pace with the jogging Dalic. To do so, Grimlock maintains a forced march.
It takes two agonizing minutes to trek through the eastern passage to the chamber with the water basins. Here the party regroups.
Cirdan sets Speck back on his own feet and retrieves his pack and cancels the magic that caused him to be invisible. The elf noble shows dried blood on his exposed skin from the many small cuts he received when the smashed ruby exploded into him. He also carries the burden of the light wound he received to his upper left arm. Cirdan retains the ability to fly and does so to reduce the stress of the retreat on his body.
Looking around the group, the level of injuries ranges from moderate to dire. Breymeer maintains a very serious head wound, Dalic is burdened by three wounds, two of them separate injuries to his abdomen, while Bhut has two, one of them to his face evidenced by the missing teeth and broken nose. Finally, Southar retains the wound he received fighting the iron dwarf.
The party does its best to stay together. “I vote we head up,” nominates Dalic. Not often you hear a duergar calling for retreat to the sunlit lands.
The party cuts across the chamber, reaching the stairs up to the ice coated chamber.
The ascend as quick as they can. The ice chamber has begun to warm and the walls and floors are now dampened and even more slippery than before. Great care is taken to cross the chamber. Several times the party has to pause as members fall, often needing assistance to stand. Dalic is forced to cross the chamber at a walk. This does, however, give him some rest.
During the crossing of the ice chamber, the shaking of the mountain continually breaks icy stalactites free from the ceiling. Spear like sections of ice, along with frozen blocks, fall from the ceiling and hamper the group. Somehow, only once does anyone get struck; that being Dalic. His plate armor saved him from injury but does not prevent him from cursing the vile delve.
It takes over 10 minutes to cross the 600 some foot expanse of the ice coated chamber.
Harvester 27 <new day>
The next cavern is crossed more quickly and safely. The party rushes to the southern passageway passing the unmoving bodies of the dwarf zombies and garbage pit monsters as they travel.
The party passes by the rankness of the garbage pit to the discomfort of Southar, Cirdan and Kuba.
The party finally reaches the blackened tunnel lair of the acid ooze. The delve continues to moan and crumble in the distance behind them. It is obvious there will not be much time to tarry before this obstacle must be crossed.
Grimlock asks Southar to use his rope and tie it to his waste and then to Dalic at the back. The rest of the party can keep a hand on it to keep from separating.
Southar looks among the group and eyes Tathar’s hemp rope that Speck currently carries, “Good idea but we sssssshall usssse hissss.”
Not having time to argue, Speck gives up Tathar’s rope and Southar ties himself to one end of the rope and Dalic to the other. The party spreads out among its length and heads into the darkness.
Southar, having lit a lantern prior to entering the dark cold chambers, hold it aloft as he enters the darkness. Breymeer takes Southar’s side to aid in backtracking through the maze of passages. The rest of the party falls in line. Grimlock takes second rank. He continues to carry Bofor. The third row is Cirdan and Tathar. Behind them is Kuba and Speck. Bhut follows with Dalic in the rear.
Southar enters the magically dark passage, keeping to the left, the group passes three intersections. The lantern only illuminates about 15 feet radius. It does not illuminate the rear of the party. Bhut is at the very edge of the lantern’s poor illumination. He cannot see to his rear at all. Dalic depends on his darkvision to keep the rear safe.
The party passes three intersections branching to the right as they move slowly through the darkness. The ground continues to rumble and shake as the level behind and below them crumbles. Dust drifts in the air.
A fourth passageway opens to the right. While passing this area, the danger feared by the party strikes. A large black blob, nearly six feet across, suddenly appears rolling across the ceiling from the right fork. It drops towards the front ranks and lands on Grimlock.
Grimlock instinctively raises his shield to protect himself. Grimlock gives out a cry as a weight falls upon his shield arm followed by a heavy thud next to him as the strange black blob is deflected to Grimlock’s right and strikes the floor. Grimlock’s shield remains attached to the creature holding the half-elf dangerously close to it. A heavy acid smell follows as the fly emblazoned dwarf priest’s shield begins to dissolve.
Tathar immediately recognizes the threat as the type of creature that burned his arm and dissolved the armor that covered it.
Grimlock, fearing for his life, throws Bofor onto the black pulsing mass as he tries to rip the shield free using both hands. Seeing the recovery of the shield a futile mission, Grimlock tumbles forward through a gap created as Breymeer steps back from the creature unsure of how to battle it.
The blob quickly wraps around Bofor, seeming to absorb him. Bofor’s flesh, armor and equipment all begin to dissolve. His skin more quickly than anything else.
Cirdan, still able to fly, floats up and away from the creature. With some quick words, three glowing missiles fly into the mass. The ‘skin’ of the creature appears to burn as the area, several inches wide, around the impacting missiles turns a dull grey (10, 41/51).
Tathar tries to step back as well. His retreat is generally blocked by Kuba. Tathar fires two lightning quick arrows into the creature. They both sink fully into the mass of blackness and Bofor. Each arrow dissolves nearly as fast as it impacts. There is no similar greyness to the impact of Tathar’s arrows as their was to Cirdan’s.
Dalic calls to Kuba, "Take the Delven Bastard, I be too weak and slow now to use it. I expect it back in one piece." He begins to try and pass his blade up while drawing the Blade of Dalgur.
Seeing the difference between the arrow strikes, Kuba waves off the Delven Bastard and cries out, "We need fire! Don't strike it! We have to burn it!"
The blob appears satisfied by its meal and begins retreating toward the untraveled passage. Bofor is obviously lost to the strange creature.
The black acid mass moves off down the side tunnel. The party decides to let it flee. Cirdan yells to the front of the group, “Keep moving! We need to get clear of this forsaken place!”
Grimlock gets back into line, as does Breymeer. Breymeer, puts his black arrow to bowstring.
Grimlock tries to find something positive in Bofor’s loss, “I’m sure Bofor would appreciate that even in death he gave us safe passage.” The column moves farther west, slowly due to the darkness.
A couple minutes pass as the group slowly trudges through the inky blackness, always staying to the left wall. They eventually break through the darkness into the passage that leads to the natural chamber containing the dead green robed mage. A shaking of the ground and crushing sound of collapsing tunnels push the party back into a faster pace.
Southar and Dalic untie themselves and Tathar reclaims his hemp rope.
Dalic breaks into a jog as the party moves out. The endurance of the dwarf is impressive.
The party pauses momentarily when they reach the green mage chamber. Again, stalactites hang from the ceiling and fall to the ground in unpredictable randomness.
It takes several minutes to cross the dangerous chamber. The first near loss occurs when Tathar is nearly crushed as a man-sized stalactite. It would have surely pierced him had the nimble elf not rolled out of the way. Kuba is not so luck. A large chunk of stone strikes him on the right shoulder (4, 0/45(47)). It would have crushed his head had he not moved at the last second. When the stone strikes him, the warrior falls.
Tathar quickly goes to his aid finding him alive. He administers first aid (+3, 3/45(47)). Kuba comes around but is weak. Cirdan gives him a shoulder to lean on as they move forward.
The dwarf shaped iron door is closed at the west end of the chamber. The party is thankful to find it easily opened. It is at this time that Cirdan finds the magical energy that allows him to fly has faded. The elf is subject to gravity once again.
Passing through the dwarf door, the party re-enters the smooth chiseled halls. The ground shakes but the tunnel before them is thankfully intact. Kuba finds he is strong enough to walk by himself again. He thanks Cirdan for the assistance.
The party quickly hurries down the northwestern passage. It takes a few minutes to reach the first of the circular, domed rooms. The room remains brightly lit by some magical force. Dalic shields his eyes, cursing the brilliance of the light. It is this chamber that the dwarf zombie’s had been mining the southwest corner. Their bodies still lay motionless upon the floor having been slain by the party earlier.
The group quickly crosses the chamber and the dead remain dead. Dalic struggles with his restricted vision and falls several times crossing the room. Several minutes pass. Once on the other side, the group continues north-northeast to the next domed chamber, a barracks with rotten beds and foot lockers. Three dead dwarf zombies were cut down near the center of the room. The foot lockers appear to have been already plundered.
It takes several minutes to pass through the southeastern passage leading from the barracks. The domed chamber at the end, like the others, is magically lit. Dalic curses. In this chamber are two exits. To the north is a narrow, winding stairwell that ascends to the level above. To the south, a passage leads southwest. It increases in elevation, going up toward the upper levels.
The boulder that trapped this stairwell remains on the south end of the chamber. Several dead zombies are scattered about the floor. Two of them looked to have been crushed by the boulder as it rolled across the room. There are bunks and footlockers scattered around the exterior walls; seven in total. The beds are rotten. The chests remain unplundered. Peylae’s body was abandoned about half way up the northern stairs.
Here, the party pauses to contemplate which way to go. Breymeer and Bhut both came down the stairwell from the north. It leads to another chamber above. P’innr Bhut recalls, north of the upper chamber, a passage was left unexplored. The unexplored passage was ascending higher; leading upward. Dalic and Grimlock both were in this chamber before but went down, deeper into the delve from here and do not know which way to go.
No one traveled the southeastern passage.
Another rattling of the mountain pushes the party to make a decision.
The decision is made relatively quickly. The group ascends the stairwell in search of Peylae and an escape from the delve.
Breymeer stops after climbing through a couple switchbacks in the stairwell. He stops at a dark stain on the stone. He indicates the mark is the where Peylae met her demise. The body, and any items she carries, are gone.
Tathar is visibly shaken at the loss of another elf to the delve.
A deafening crack followed by the sound of collapsing stone push the group higher.
The group passes through the abandoned barracks at the top of the stairs. Two dead dwarves remain on the floor. The party passes them and exits into the passage on the north side of the chamber, climbing slowly higher as they travel.
They scramble forward, passing a side corridor to the west. Breymeer and Bhut advise it goes back down into the delve. It does angle slightly downward. Moving north of the side passage, a dim light comes into view, high up in the tunnel.
About 300 feet north of the barracks with the stairwell, the party reaches a cave in. Stones and timber line the passageway. At the top of the rubble pile, the light shines through. It has the radiance of a full moon. Dalic’s eyes are not adversely affected by the intensity.
Each in turn, the characters climb the pile and file through the narrow, 18 inch opening. The rubble pile holds together and the group safely makes it through with great fanfare. They have reached the skeletal dwarf overlord. The relief is quickly filled with sorrow as the crevice that had split the rails has split through the stone and laid waste to the northwest side of the chamber. The stone has shifted and the far side of the crevice, where the passage used to be, has shifted and now no exit can be seen. It appears the far side of the crevice has dropped below. Nothing remains but solid stone.
The chamber’s 60 foot domed ceiling rises above circular chamber. The intact walls are carved with depictions of ancient dwarven heroes. The ledge remains intact 25 feet above the floor. Brakuk, the great helmed dwarf overlord sits upon his throne.
As the party collects itself in the room, the dwarf overlord stands. Without him speaking, each member hears the overlords voice in their head, “You have performed well enough in liberating Khoulgumlir. I, Brakuk of clan Thesdrorlum, Overlord of Khoulgumlir and Protector of the Delve, Faithrul Servant of Moradin’s clan, shall grant you passage. Our servant, Bofor of clan Thesdrorlum, has fallen. Pass this tale onto Falco of Restenford so that your deeds may live on and you shall be forever welcome in our halls. Even you duergar. You are unique of your kin. Not common is the day that elves and duergars, or even humans for that matter, come to the aid of the dwarves. And you, halfling, your deeds, for good or ill, are not ignored.”
The ceiling begins to collapse as the delve faces complete destruction. The illumination in the room grows quickly brighter and brighter. Dalic shields his eyes.
“You are saved this day by the honor of the dwarfkind.” The light flashes into a dazzling intensity. The flash blinds the characters as the sound of crashing stone fills their ears. Yet, no pain or pressure is felt. In fact, the smell of wind blown fresh air can be felt.
A wind blows. As the group regains its sight, it finds itself looking upward at a clear, star filled sky. Luna is nearing full and Celene is a few days past its full phase. It appears to be a little after midnight.
Tathar collapses in prayer.
The ground quakes a final time as the delve succumbs to the death of the hellish portal. Other than the wind, a stillness and peace comes over the adventurers. Even the duergar does not mind being outside the comforts of stone.
<Grimlock’s pilfered coins from the footlockers did not get transported with him (257gp worth)>
Looking around, it appears the party sits in a small significantly sloping clearing among a wooded section of a sharp hillside. The trees consist of mainly birch and spruce. The ground grassed but hints at its shallow depth as stones poke forth in various places.
The sky is well lit as Luna, the larger of the moons, is beginning to wane but remains about ¾ full. The changes in its cycle are the measure for which the calendar is set. The moon cycle is 28 days. Luna will be a waning half moon in the middle of the Brewfest festival which marks the autumn equinox.
Celene, the smaller moon, revered by the elves, is nearing it peak of fullness. Celene will reach its peak in the middle of the Brewfest festival. The moon cycle is 91 days.
Cirdan tells everyone to rest. Even though the elf nobleman is injured, he volunteers to take watch. Shortly thereafter, he vanishes from sight in the midst of the party.
Tathar continues to pray.
Southar, as is his habit, wanders off downhill.
The rest of the party finds a place to rest and sleeps deeply. Cirdan scouts around and finds they are on the downslope of one of the more prominent peaks. By flying high enough, he can see the reflection of the moonlight off of a river flowing west to east in the center of a valley north of the mountain’s arm. Cirdan gets his bearing. The group is camped on one of the nearby peaks to the delve. Satisfied they way home is known, Cirdan lowers back down to the clearing.
Nothing disturbs their sleep through the night. The ground has ceased trembling. The group sleeps several hours into morning. Once the warriors begin to rise, Cirdan takes his leave to rest.
Even with Tathar’s prayers, the group remains badly wounded and remains camped throughout the day. Breymeer, Dalic, Kuba and Bhut, the main warriors in the group, are all in need of rest. The party remains camped. Southar does not return, as is his habit. He does not respond to the party hailing him. He likely remains hidden by the concealment offered by his golden shield. Not to mention, the ranger would not likely be found in the woods when he chooses to remain hidden.
The air cools, some due to the elevation, some due to incoming weather. As the sun sets, a fire is made and the warriors join in the night’s watch. Again, the prudence is without need. The last day of Harvester arrives without so much as a false alarm.
Harvester 28
The air remains crisp throughout the day. The latter part of the day clouds over and a misty drizzle falls. The party remains at camp a second day. It passes without a threat.
Breymeer scouts for Southar and returns with the scabbard to Bloodletter. Breymeer advises he has found a safe route down. Placed in an obvious location on that route was the scabbard, set into the ground so as not to be overlooked.
“Southar is gone.” Breymeer states the obvious as he hands the scabbard over to Kuba. Kuba fastens it to his belt and properly sheaths Bloodletter. The sellsword has become the latest owner of the weapon.
Although his skill as a warrior will be missed, having Zalco and the golden shield removed from the group brings some characters a sense of relief.
At camp one night, during the trip back to Farmin, Cirdan, Grimlock and Speck find themselves in an uncomfortable conversation.
Cirdan looks at the halfling, “So, may I see the spellbook you looted from the green mage when you killed him?”
Speck looks sheepishly at Grimlock and then back to Cirdan saying, “Ummm, well, I had no use for it and figured it would need to be kept safe by someone who could use it. Soooo, I gave it to Grim. But I think he should share it if that will cause less fighting.”
Grimlock looks absolutely furious as he looks at Speck. He tries to soften his look and his voice is calm when he speaks, “Yep, I have it. Cirdan you can study it after I take a look. Oh, regarding the rings and bracers Speck wears, we should see if they are magic and study them a bit to see who they will benefit the most. Then we will have a better idea who the new owners should be. They belong to the group, as the mage was badly injured by our first attack on him. Sprek was just fortunate enough to have the finishing blow is all.”
He casts a look at the halfling that says, ‘you idiot’.
Cirdan appears satisfied by the answer and lets the issue drop.
Grimlock walks off to study by himself. He realizes he needs to make a decision. Does he stay with this group even though they cut into his power and personal gain, or does he strike out on my own and to control his own destiny and avoid having to share his treasures.
Speck and Cirdan, among other party members, ponder if the evil taint of Zalco may have rubbed off on the half-elf. Will he succumb to selfishness and narcism?
The party returned to Farmin with the exception of Southar. Having been overcome by the golden shield, he separates from the group to set out on his own back to the yuan-ti temple at the Forbidden City.
At Farmin, he group learned that a party of adventurers had been recruited to raid the Mayor's castle. It was to be a strike on the guild leaders as identified by Armax and Falbore. Armax had enough of the evil guild leadership and convinced her husband to join her. Both were killed during the raid on the castle. The party was secreted into the hidden passage and met up with Gress, the half-ogre jailer. From there, the party crept into the main keep where they were discovered. A battle broke out and when the smoke cleared, the castle was overthrown. Tellish, Arrness, Relmark, Rogan, Thomas and Holga all escaped. Getluck and Trell remained in the castle and were allowed to stay on.
Balmorrow, Abraham and the Osprem church keep the town together and govern for the time being.
The party did not get much rest before they found themselves defending town from an orc raid supplemented with ogres and trolls.
The party was able to quickly turn the tide (with a few surprise fireball spells). The orcs ended up retreating along with the turncoat weaponsmith, Gilmi.
Nineteen of the town militia, including the blacksmith, were slain. Also, the baker's wife and children were set upon by a troll and slain.
After the battle, the party moved on to Restenford to find it was raided on the same evening.
The mace from the Abbey was taken. The suspect was Tellish. Baroness Fairwind was slain and Lady Andrella took command of the barony.
Lady Andrella named her most trusted Restenford Ranger, Belina, as acting mayor of Farmin.
The two adventure parties joined forces to hunt down Tellish and Arrness.
The group from the Castle Farmin raid that remain are:
C'mere Butterpatt, a male halfling rogue. He is Speck's cousin.
Esned, a male gnome priest.
Gress, the half-ogre prison guard.
Morwen, the elf musician.
Those from the original group that join them are:
Breymeer, now a Restenford Ranger.
Speck also goes with wanting to travel with his cousin C'mere.
Also joining them from Restenford are:
Amos, sent by his father as an emissary.
Perk, the fletcher was killed in the raid so he travels to stock up on arrows.
Zahrdahl, the bait dealer, elects to go to Grest as well.
Finally, arriving in port aboard the Shark Hunter are three adventurers that join the group (taken from L4): Beltus (human male Phaulkon priest), Garmel (human male warrior) and Irena (human female mage). <The events between the deities and the Shark Hunter did not take place at sea as given by the L4 companion. They are just traveling to Lendore Island as given by their introductions in L4>
Those staying in Restenford are:
Cirdan and Grimlock, both remain to study newfound spellbooks.
Bhut was weakened greatly by undead and stays to rest.
Tathar travels to Bone Hill where Sehanine elves have taken over the keep, renaming it Tur Thar-guldar.
Krelar, the warrior-priest from the Abbey, recruits Dalic, Kuba and Meira Rovanith, a female elf ranger. Meira had just recently arrived in Farmin before the raid on the town and joined the party afterward.
Krelar asks the trio to join him in investigating strange doings around the burned out guard shack in Restenford. <If I have time, I will try and post this adventure separately>
<Some of the Chase the Mace adventure will be tabletop gaming so I will only post an overview of what happens. It will lead the group to Grest and beyond. The adventure will likely take the group through parts of L4 and L5.>
The morning of Patchwall the 10th, Moonday by the Greyhawk reckoning, begins as poorly as the previous day ended. The temperatures begin to slowly climb as the cold storm begins to blow itself out.
The driving snow of the previous night has ended and a layer of snow, drifted in spots, coats the ground, docks and rooftops. The ground itself, being warmer, is soft under the snow. As people get out and moving, it quickly turns into a cold, dirty mess.
Before sunrise, the snow gives away to rain mixed with small frozen pellets. Those that do not have to go out, remain sheltered in their homes waiting for the sun.
It does not take long. The clouds break apart in the early morning hours and the sun rises warm, blowing in off the sea now instead of the mountains. The temperature climbs and the snow begins to melt into memory; save the shaded areas around town.
The mace chasers do not push themselves into the dreary morning. Breymeer and Speck, join the group for breakfast. They have already packed and are dressed for travel. The group has a warm meal before those staying at the Dying Minotaur donning their armor, weapons and gear.
They step out and make for the northern road that will follow the west branch of the Restin River to Grest. Isiawiel the half elven surprises the group by announcing he will not be travelling with the party. They may catch up to the group again at some point. Isiawiel plans to try and track the movement of the thief through the wilderness. Isiawiel sets off along denying any company.
Those who remain are:
Morwen, a female elf (her skills are a mystery to the party, she is a musician by trade). She protects herself with leather armor and carries a bow. Also in her belonging is her baliset (similar to a guitar). She takes the reigns of her riding horse and pulls herself into the saddle.
Esnred (Cleric, LV4), the male gnome. Esned wears armor under his priestly vestment.
C’mere Butterpatt (Thief, LV4) and his cousin Speck, both halfling males. Speck (Thief, LV4) wears leather armor, C’mere wears no armor. Both carry short bows and knives but where Speck has a short sword, C’mere has a hand axe.
Gress (Fighter, LV4), the male half-ogre, seems out of place among the smaller folk. He wears banded mail armor and carries a huge shield (to a human anyway) for defense. He wields a man-sized two-handed sword in his free hand. A heavy crossbow is secured to his back along with the thick bolts it fires. He wears the newly acquired broad sword and dagger on his belt. A large backpack rides on his back with a battle axe strapped to it. His feet are covered with hard, heavy leather boots.
Breymeer (Ranger, LV6), the bearded male human, wears his studded leather armor. His bow is shouldered and his broadsword is on his belt. He carries the dwarven battle axe in his strong hand and the dwarven hand axe in his weak hand. He had the rest of his gear stowed in packs and pouches. One of the pouches is a crocodile skinned belt pouch that he has retained since the days of tromping through the Hepmonaland Jungle.
The six adventurers move out. Speck is pleased to be with his cousin. Almost enough to not think about his other companion Kuba, who will remain in Restenford for a much needed break. Breymeer also appears pleased with his new companions.
The party takes the main road past the castle tipped hill. As they pass the avenue that leads to the baroness’s keep, they stop to speak with a small collection of townfolk gathered there. Almax, the druid, is there with his son Amos. Falco stands with them holding a medium sized leather pouch. The third person, a male human, the group recognizes as the local bait dealer; Zahrdahl is his name. The fourth, a male elf, is Perk, the town bowyer. A fifth person is Almon, the highest ranking member of the Phaulkon Abbey to survive the raid. Finally, a small adventure party stands near. The party does not recognize any of the three. All three appear to be in their early 20s.
They are:
Garmel, a human male. He wears chain mail and carrying a shield. He is equipped with a long sword, long bow and a dagger. He is 5-11, 175 lbs with brown hair and brown eyes. He wears a dark blue cloak over his armor.
Beltus, a human male. The party has spent enough time on Lendore Island to realize this man is a priest of Phaulkon. He wears chain mail and also carries a shield. He is armed with a mace and two throwing hammers. He wears a cap made of dark colored bird feathers. On his back is a dark grey cloak. He has a leather lanyard holding an eagle feather hanging from his neck. He is 5-8, 175 lbs with black hair and black eyes.
Irena, a human female. She wears no armor. She is 5-2, 125 lbs with light brown hair and blue eyes. She appears very fit but is only of average looks. She is not ugly but by spending time around her it becomes apparent she has spent more time with her nose in a book than talking to another person. She lacks social skills. She wears a dark grey tunic over grey pants. On her feet are decent travel boots. She carries a pack on her back with ease.
C’mere greats Perk having recently met when C’mere purchased a new short bow from the elf for 30gp. It was at that time that Perk learned the group was going to be travelling north. He will be joining the group until he can find a fletcher to purchase arrows. Pelo, Restenford’s fletcher and fellow elf friend to Perk, was killed in the raid. Perk has need to stock up on arrows until a new fletcher comes along.
Almax hugs his son as Almos joins the group. “Please help keep my son safe. He has errands to attend to on behalf of Baroness Andrella. And may you complete your mission and bring balance back to our town. I fear without your success, evil will rise up again and unite the creatures of the wildlands against us again.”
Zahrdahl steps forward, “I will also be traveling with you for a spell. I fear the wild lands and seek protection of the group. For this, I offer this.” He opens a large pouch of smoked fish. It is easily many days worth, even for a group this size. “I had to get rid of much of my bait to fund this trip. It is all I can offer.”
Falco also drops his pouch. It has much in the way of dried rations including meat sticks, nuts and hard tack. It also has some fresh cheeses. “I heard a some of our defenders were going on a quest. You have all done much for us. This is my gift to you. Be safe of your journey.”
Breymeer picks up the pouch and ties it to Morwen’s horse.
Almon speaks next. “This,” pointing to the Phaulkon priest, “is Beltus. He arrived on the Shark Hunter. He has been appointed to the church at Tellar and will be traveling in your direction. He will accompany you as a blessing from Phaulkon until he reaches his destination. May Phaulkon bless your journey.”
Beltus introduces the other two adventurers. “This is Garmel. I met him on the Shark Hunter. He is also traveling to Tellar on family business. He is a warrior and servant of Phaulkon. He has agreed to accompany me and see that I arrive safely.”
Garmel adds, “I am from the Yeomanry area originally. My father has passed away and I bring the news to my brother at Tellar. I met Beltus aboard the ship.”
“I am from Irena from Onnwal. I met the others in port at Scant.” Plainly states Irena.
Beltus finishes, “She is traveling with us to get out and see more than the inside of a library.”
The group finishes up the introductions and small talk before departing north along the road. It is nearly 10:30 A.M. Falco, Almon and Armax wave goodbye and fair-the-well.
The road north to Grest passes out of Restenford and passes along the west edge of the cherry and apple orchards that grow on the southern slopes of Bald Hill. Several farmers are out inspecting the damage from the cold. They allow the party to take some of the hanging berries and apples that are damaged.
While gathering some fruit, Morwen engages Perk in conversation in elvish. Perk nods to her and smiles before thanking her. The curious manfolk eventually discover the lady elf was just informing Perk, the bowyer, that Tathar Surion learned the art of fletching from Pelo before the fletcher died in the raid. Morwen suggested Perk could ask him for assistance in making arrows if/when the Sehanine priest is available.
The road north, at this point, parallels the road to Farmin before it turns south. The Restin River lies between them. Both roads travel the west and north edge of the Krelman Hills. The party feels a little more secure from the humanoids having the river between the hill and the road. The Xerbo Mountains rise just north of the orchards and continue deep to the north and nortwest shadowing the road for parts of the morning.
The group travels through a small wooded section before crossing the East Branch Bridge over the eastern branch of the Restin River. The bridge is an unmanned old stone structure. The road continues up the eastern bank of the western branch of the river.
The Dwoemer Forest appears ahead on the east side of the road. The forest sits across the river from the draw between the Krelman Hills main rises. The road to Farmin turns south and travels through said draw.
The party spots a deer as they pass the Dwoemer Forest. Having plenty of food, they let the animal bound back into the forest. Soon thereafter, the group jumps a flock of birds from a large oak at the edge of the forest. The birds circle overhead, flying more like bats. They make a close pass and the group is unnerved to see they have very large, sharp looking tubular beaks. Stirges!
The threat of the animals quickly passes as they retreat from the party and enter the forest. Breymeer and Amos both watched the animals with peaceful calm. Amos says matter-of-factly, “Good that they were not overly hungry.” Breymeer nods in agreement.
The Dwoemer Forest is several miles in length but falls away behind the group soon enough. The Farmin Mountain foothills rise to the west and the Xerbo Mountains to the right. The group follows the river up the valley between the two ranges. The valley is filled with the Argo Forest. The Argo dwarfs the Dwoemer.
The party spends much of the day traveling through the Argo Forest. The road here is well defined if not a little less maintained. The forest is a typical mix of hardwoods and other deciduous trees. As the elevations increase into the mountains away from the road, birch, aspen and pines become more common. The river, alone with the clearing for the road, open a nice vein through the trees and offer a much less claustrophobic walk.
The road departs from the river for some time and the sound of the flowing water disappears into the distance. The natural sounds of birds and wind blowing through the leaves is comforting, even as the trees close in on both sides of the road. The day continues to warm and the clouds give way completely to the sun. The remaining snow will not last much more than a day or two.
As the Xerbo Mountains give way to the larger Trollheim Range, the road bends slightly more west; traveling away from the foothills of the Xerbos. Ahead, two forks of the river flowing out of the Trollheims must be crossed. The first, a small ford is used to cross the smaller branch followed by a bridge over the larger western branch of the West Restin River. The bridge, and small settlement there, is named Zerman’s Crossing. A welcoming inn, aptly named Zerman Inn, can be found there perfectly placed along the ride from Restenford to Grest. The settlement consists of the inn, just a couple of houses and a fortified guard building.
The adventurers gather the information about Zerman’s Crossing as given to them by the townfolk of Restenford. Amos, Zahrdahl and Perk have all passed through the settlement.
The group continues to ride west along the road. It breaks free of the Argo Forest; going along the lower foothills of the Trollheim Mountains. Ahead, and to the north side of the road, rises a rounded hill locally called Copper Rise. It is used as a landmark to some local mines. Its peaks is but a few hundred feet tall. The foothills behind the rise higher not much more than a mile to the north.
As the Copper Rise comes into sight, a side trail leads along the eastern edge of the Rise into the hills beyond. It is only roughly improved. Once the party is about 1/4 mile away, they notice the road is occupied by a large wagon drawn by four horses. There is a man with a boy sitting next to him on the seat and an outrider on a war horse. The wagon stops when they spot the party on the main road. The outrider begins to approach on his war horse. He is dressed in chain mail armor and a round shield hangs across his left leg. He holds a heavy crossbow in his right hand. It is pointed upwards toward the sky. On his left hip is a long sword in a scabbard. The snow white horse appears spunky and eager to run. He comes onto the main road and approaches to about 600 feet and stops.
Breymeer is walking point. The slow pace of the short legged halflings and gnome allow him a little time for a cursory search of the trail for unusual signs. Seeing the outrider stop, he continues forward. He places his hand axe on his belt and carries the battle axe mid haft to keep from looking too offensive. Keeping his off-hand free of a weapon also allows him a quick switch to his bow.
Amos, walking at the lead of the group, pauses to watch what happens next. He is dressed in studded leather armor. He has a scimitar on his belt along with a sling. A small sack of round stones is tucked into his belt next to the sling.
Gress walks near the front of the group but allows the Phaulkon priest, Beltus, and his companion fighter, Garmel, to walk ahead of him. Irena walks quietly behind the ogre.
Behind Irena is just ahead of the bait dealer, Zahrdahl.
Esned, Speck and C’mere all walk towards the rear.
Taking up the rear is Morwen on her riding horse and Perk, walking near enough to her to engage her in conversation. The two elves speak quietly among themselves in elvish.
Morwen prepares her horse for a quick movement should Breymeer be ambushed.
The mounted outrider waits nervously for Breymeer’s approach. He seems more likely to bolt than attack. Even though he is armed and mounted on a war horse, it appears the number of party members triggers the outrider’s wisdom of flight over fight.
Once Breymeer is about 50 yards away, the outrider hails the ranger. “Are you friend or foe of Sir Obestor, Knight of Castle Grest, Baroness Fairwind of Restenford or the Duchy of Kroten?”
Gress stands his ground and waits.
The two halflings step out from behind the group so they can see what is going on.
Morwen whispers to Perk as she covertly takes her bow and an arrow in hand, “You watch for ambush on the right side of the road, I’ll watch the left.”
Perk nods in acknowledgement and begins scanning.
Breymeer hails the outrider, “Sir Obestor is a welcome name to us. My companions and I seek council with Sir Obestor and lady Lilliana on an errand of ridding these lands of evil assassins that need to be put down. We are foe to no one unless they mean us harm. What say you take a short rest and assist us with much needed information of the area. We have meat if you’re hungry.”
The outrider smiles, “I am Jermellon.” He waves to the wagon and it starts forward again. “Those two are my sons, Kellian and Jermanto. We are simple minors on our way to Restenford to sell our ore. I accept your offer and will share what I know that will help you.”
He dismounts and waits for the wagon to tie off his horse. He hangs his crossbow off the saddle. It is still cocked.
Jermellon asks, “How is it you came into the company of the big fella there?” He nods in the direction of the party. Breymeer assumes he means Gress.
The wagon continues to come forward. It does appear to be loaded with ore. The older of the boys is a man of late teens or early 20s. The younger boy appears to be under 10 yoa.
The halflings grow noticeably excited at the prospect of opening up the food packs. They take ahold of them and begin to talk about several different options, spices, etc. This trails off into and endless banter as the two of them move towards Breymeer.
The party follows.
Morwen, seeing that Breymeer has conversed with the traveler and the wagon is moving up, relaxes her stance and stows her bow and arrow. Her riding horse ‘sneaky’ starts advancing to the front with no visible prodding from Morwen. The two seem to know each other well.
Breymeer tries to ease Jermellon’s nerves, “Gress is a trusted ally. He has been given citizenship status by the baroness.”
Jermellon awaits the rest of the party. It is obvious he remains alert for a sudden change in the group’s attitude.
Morwen reaches Jermellon and Breymeer first. She greets the traveler and introduces herself, “I am Morwen Alcerin, advisor to Baroness Andrella.”
Jermellon immediately gets a confused look on his face, “But . . . “
Morwen politely interrupts him, “Yes, Baroness Andrella. Her mother was recently murdered during an orc raid on Restenford. We seek the assassins the plotted the murder. Only a few of them remain.”
“I must get my family to safety.” Jermellon looks back nervously at his sons. “My wife and daughters are back at the mine yet.”
“I have been busy in the mine the last few days. I have not been to Restenford in weeks. I last came down from Grest about one week ago. I met some travelers heading north from Restenford. They were an odd group indeed. There was a man and a woman, an old lady, and their servant. If the man was not part orc then I am a hobgoblin. His woman remained covered with her hood and did not speak. The old woman also remained covered and silent. Their servant was a dwarf, no mistaking it. He carried most of their gear and walked behind them. They were travelling lightly. The man was armed with a mace and was wearing chain armor and a shield. The dwarf also wore armor, plate mail, and had a hammer on his belt.”
“They didn’t cause me much fear. They passed without making much conversation. They claimed to have come to port in Restenford and were travelling north. I didn’t push them for anything else. Man-orcs and hobgoblins are known to travel around the duchy. Duke Nebub allows them passage and employment. Many question the Duke’s policy, but I have to admit, I have felt pretty safe around the mine because of it. Duke Nebub punishes man or otherwise for misdeeds. In addition, Sir Obestor routinely sends patrols to Copper Rise and back to Grest.”
Jermellon looks at Gress, “Even you will find less trouble in passing through these parts.”
He and his boys enjoy some of the food provided. It is hard to tell who can eat more, the halflings or Jermellon’s boys. The halflings quickly win the race as Jermellon gives his son’s a fatherly look indicating they should keep their manners and not over eat the gift of food.
Gress grabs some more fish and between bites tells the halflings, “I’d eat it all. When I run out of food I look for anything I can catch to satisfy my great appetite.” He gives them a wink as he taps his belly.
“Goodman Jermellon,” begins Morwen, “I am sure you need not worry about your family any more than usual. It sounds as if Duke Nabub ensures the safety of his citizens as well as can be expected, and I doubt there is an increased risk here with regards to what happened in Restenford and Farmin. Those issues have been dealt with, and security is being re-established. You will find, however, that security is increased when you approach Restenford. Be patient and wise. I think your supplies will be well received!”
She takes up her baliset and serenades the party with music and soft song while they finish eating.
Jermellon and his sons finish eating, “I thank you for your kind words and the meal. I think I will head back and get the family anyway.”
He mounts up and the boys turn the wagon. They head back for the mines.
As the party is packing up and preparing to continue on their journey, a lone figure appears walking towards the group from the Restenford direction. He figure wears armor but no helm. He uses a glaive-gisarme as a walking stick. At first it appears to be an orc soldier but the closer he gets, it is clear he is human; hardly in his mid-teens. At that, he is large framed; the size of a man really.
When he gets close enough to show facial features, Zahrdahl sighs and lets out an expletive. “It is Spastic.” Perk recognizes the name and frowns.
As many of those around Zahrdahl fail to see the concern, the bait dealer continues, “He is a blowhard that lives in Restenford. His father is some type of sailor and never around. His mother was just killed in the orc raid.”
“The kid does nothing but talk crap and whine. He drives everyone nuts. He freaks out at the smallest slights. He has had his **** kicked often but he never learns. He was bad mouthing the militia, saying he would have killed all the orcs himself. One of the soldiers got wind of it. Gave him a whooping for his smart mouth he did.”
Spastic comes into the group, “Glad you not dead. Thought you’d be witt-out me and my axe.” He taps the glaive into the ground to show emphasis.
Spastic is in his mid-teens but a life of hard labor has given him the body of a strong man. His face, though boyish, is broken and scarred. His nose looks to have been recently broken (again). Some of his teeth are chipped. The look of his knuckles shows that he has landed a few blows himself. Many of his fingers are scarred.
The armor he wears is orcish scale mail. It appears he picked it off of a dead orc soldier. He has it secured on well enough but not correctly. His polearm is also of orcish origin.
“I am here to save you. Just like I saved Restenford from being taken.” He touches his tender nose and noticeably swollen lip. “They weren’t thanking me. I show them. I’ll save you now.”
“Thank goodness you remembered my food. I, ah, forgot mine.” He takes a fish and snacks on it. No one stops him because it shuts him up for the time being.
The group finishes packing and hits the trail again.
About supper time, the party comes to the first river crossing. Amos pushes the party to snack as it moves, “It is but 5 or 6 more miles to Zerman’s Crossing. Let’s push on through.”
The halflings let out a sigh of disappointment.
As the shadows grow long, Zerman’s Crossing comes into view. The bridge over the river is wooden but solid. It is wide enough to easily allow a loaded wagon to pass.
Two soldiers in battle dress are on the close side of the bridge. Seeing the party approaching, one of them runs back across the bridge. The party is still a little over a half mile out.
The party continues to approach. Soon there are ten soldiers on the bridge; one of them is on horseback. An eleventh and twelfth figure appear just a moment later. One is likely a dwarf.
When the party closes within shouting distance, some 300 feet, a command is given, “Send two forward unarmed.” The company on the bridge bears the pennant of Castle Grest.
From where the party stands, they can see all that is Zerman’s Crossing. All the buildings are on the far side of the bridge. There is a large guard house (50 ft x 60 ft) near the bridge on the north side of the road. Just behind it, on the south side of the road is the large inn (45 ft x 60 ft) and its unattached barn. Two other homes (both 25 ft x 30 ft) are located west of the inn, one on each side of the road.
Morwen looks to Breymeer to see he is going to move forward. Before anyone can react further, Spastic moves ahead to speak for the group.
Morwen moves her horse in front of him, “You should stay here. The orcish armor and your recent cuts, scratches and bruises might put the soldiers on edge.”
He responds, “Yeah, man! Let’s put her in charge.”
The halflings agree by nodding.
Breymeer speaks while Morwen dismounts and removes her sword, bow and quiver. “I am Breymeer. I am a Restenford Ranger serving Baroness Andrella. I ask that I be allowed to keep arms.”
“You may stay armed but keep your weapons secured. None other.”
Breymeer and Morwen walk forward cautiously.
An unarmored female and the dwarf step forward to greet them. They meet about 50 feet from the bridge.
The human has a shield on her back and a short sword and dagger on her belt. She is dressed in loose clothing; a green long sleeved top and brown pants over boots. She has several throwing knives on a bandolier across her shoulder and a light rope hangs from a loop on her belt near the dagger.
The dwarf is dressed in fine chain mail. He carries a battle axe and has a hand axe on his belt. He wears leather gloves.
The female speaks, “I am Lieutenant Abella of Grest. I serve Sir Obestor, Lord of Castle Grest. This is Zeepus Gardo, Guardian of Zerman’s Crossing. The soldiers behind me all serve Lord Obestor. Who are you and what is your business?”
Morwen introduces herself, “I am Morwen Alcerin, advisor to Baroness Andrella.” She pauses and waits for Breymeer to continue; allowing him to be the voice for the party.
Spastic’s immaturity shows through as he becomes impatient, “This is bullshit.” He begins to walk to the conference at the bridge; taking a step forward. He has a tight grip on his polearm.
Gress stands his ground leaning on his shield with his large sword over his shoulder. He has a ‘give me space or I will run over you like a runaway bull’ look to him.
Amos moves quickly to Spastic and places a hand on his shoulder staying his movement, “Easy lad. The soldier mean no harm but will react poorly to your impulsiveness. Save you spite for the enemy. These soldiers are our friends. They just need to make sure we are their friends as well. Give the ranger and the elf a chance to speak. There will be fight enough in your life, you don’t have to get it all out today.”
The group of soldiers consist of the lieutenant, the dwarf, a priest of Phaulkon, and nearly a dozen soldiers. Two of the soldiers wear chain mail indicating they may be of higher rank. The rest wear studded leather or leather armor. Many have shields. They carry a variety of swords, bows, axes and an occasional flail, spear or crossbow. Those with shields have alternating thick stripes of dull brown and yellow emblazoned on them matching the lord’s pennant.
The priest wears chain mail but does not have the bumble bee coloration on his shield.
“We come as friends to the Lord and Lady of Gress on behalf of Baroness Andrella,” starts Breymeer, “We seek to rid these lands of thieving assassins and a meeting with Lord Obestor would be a great help to us. We also seek the knowledge of Flibin, if that name is familiar to you.”
The lieutenant looks Breymeer over, “I do not recognize you though I do not pretend to know all the Rangers. I do recognize Amos and know he would not travel with questionable sorts so you word is good with me.”
“The others may approach but must wait with our soldiers outside. You wish to speak with Lord Obestor is hereby granted. He is just inside the guardhouse.”
She turns and the soldier’s immediately respond by making a path.
The dwarf gives a hearty shout to the waiting group from Restenford, “Eh there lads, come over and rest!”
The lieutenant and the dwarf lead Breymeer and Morwen forward. The priest waits to fall in behind.
The guard house is 50 feet deep and 60 feet wide. Its walls are made of stone and measure a foot thick. There is a single front door that is iron reinforced. Inside, it is double barred. The building has a series of arrow slits on the first floor. Each is 4 wide inches by 20 inches tall with bars across them. There are four on the north wall, two on the south and two on each the east and west walls.
The group approaches the guard house, the door is unbarred and opened. Breymeer and Morwen are led into the guard house. There appears to be no danger to them. The rest of the party is not allowed in but are treated to small talk in the yard in front of the guard house. Two soldiers, the ones wearing chain mail, stand before the door of the building. The third soldier, along with the dwarf and Phaulkon priest, enter the building with Breymeer and Morwen.
Inside, Breymeer and Morwen find a central common room with a hearth and cooking equipment. There are two large tables with six chairs around each. Four other rooms fill the rest of the building. Three are living quarters and the fourth is a cell.
Just inside of the door, one to each side, are two guards in studded leather armor with shields and holding spears. Each has a short sword on his belt.
Sitting behind one of the tables are three obviously important men. The first wears no armor. He is dressed in fine clothing and much jewelry including gold rings, bronze bracers and a gold necklace. An engraved bronze shield leans against the table next to him. His long sword and dagger are inscabbards on his belt. He is approaching middle age but appears very fit. His eyes show a man of intellect and wisdom. He appears to be a true leader. This must be Lord Obestor.
Next to him, showing a family resemblance, is a man in his 20s. He is obviously Obestor’s son. He is dressed in a bronze breastplate over bronze chain mail. He also has an engraved bronze shield next to him. He is armed with a long sword and two daggers. He has a silver ring.
The third man is in his 30s. He is a large, physically strong man. A warrior who wears a serious demeanor. He wears very find chain mail armor and has a shield. He has a long sword and dagger. A great helm rests on the table next to him.
The soldier and dwarf guide Breymeer and Morwen before the table, asking them to remain standing. The soldier and dwarf take up positions behind them.
The priest stands to the right side of the table.
Lord Obestor addresses the Ranger and advisor. “I am Sir Obestor, Lord of Castle Gress. This,” he nods to his son, “is Obarim, my son. My Captain here,” now indicating the warrior with the helm, “is Sir Gregis.”
“The dwarf behind you is my friend Zeepus Gordo. He is in charge of the security of Zerman’s Crossing. The priest is Pevin. He is also stationed here at Zerman’s Crossing.”
“I received the terrible news from Baroness Andrella. I am marching this company to Restenford to aid in security. What news do you have?”
The lieutenant, Abella, appears to be the highest ranking officer outside. She does not say anything in regards to Gress, the party’s half-ogre, but she does keep an eye one him. Not judgmentally; more out of caution for his size and potential danger.
With her is a sergeant, Yarmin. He does not wear armor either. A dull brownish grey cloak is worn over a long sleeve black shirt and dark brown trousers. He is armed with a shield and long sword. Two axes hang from his belt.
The rest of the guards, those dressed in leather or studded leather armor, relax. Some begin smoking pipes, drinking from their waterskins or nibbling some dried meat. All remain armed but appear comfortable enough around the party to let their guards down.
Just up the street, the smell of cooking catches the party’s attention; especially the halflings. The Zerman Inn sits slightly west of the group and across the street of the guard house. Dusk has set in and a hot meal will taste good.
The inn is 45 feet deep and 60 feet wide. It has a stone foundation and first floor. The second floor is made of wood. There are twelve 6x20 inch windows on the first floor. Each has three horizontal iron bars and resemble arrow slits. The second floor has twelve 10x20 inch window frames that are shuttered. The shutters can be swung open. The door is wood with iron reinforcement.
Morwen bows deeply the table, taking note that they did not even stand, as gentlemen, at the arrival of a lady. "Lord Obestor, I am Morwen Alcerin, Advisor to the Baroness Andrella. I, Restenford Ranger Breymeer, and our group outside have been sent by the Baroness in pursuit of those believed to be responsible for the awful raid. They fled Restenford and a good traveler named Jermellon informed us that people meeting their description have passed this way."
Breymeer confirms Morwen’s statement, “We are searching for Tellish and Arrness and a mace they stole from the Phaulkon Abbey. We hoped Flibin might be able to assist us.”
Lord Obestor answers, speaking in a tone of respect albeit with the air of a nobleman, “Flibin is back at Grest. He, Carlton and Brilman arrived and briefed me in regards to the raid. They have stayed on at the castle in my absence to assist Lady Lilliar with security and operations.”
“The group you speak of are unknown to me but someone may have laid eyes on them in Grest. I encourage you continue on in the morning. It is but one day’s journey from here.”
Lord Obestor finishes, “My men and I will be getting up very early and riding on for Restenford. Please stay out of our way. I do not wish to delay as I would like to check on the mine settlement while enroute to Restenford. We are staying in the inn but the inn keeper, Zerman, will find somewhere dry for you. I would suggest you leave after I do while the sun is up. You would be safer in full daylight. My scouts have detected some activity in the Trollheim Mountains. I may be nothing but I would be on guard. Especially with civilians travelling with you. Good luck.”
With that, Breymeer and Morwen are shown the door.
The party reunites outside. Although not as common in Restenford and Farmin, the soldiers and guards from Grest appear to have a few women in their numbers. Including the lieutenant, there are half dozen women in the troop.
Lt. Abella tells Morwen as she exits the guard house, “The women among you may share one of the rooms reserved for us at the inn.” She looks at Breymeer and smiles politely, “The barn may be the best Zerman has to offer for the menfolk.”
Spastic mumbles to Gress with a smile on his face, "Finally, some action." He moves over to one of the female soldiers and tries a poorly planned line, “Anyone ever confuse you for a man?”
She replies dead pan, “No, how about you?”
Spastic flashes red with anger but knows enough not to push the issue. He retreats back to Gress and mutters something derogatory about woman under his breath.
Breymeer turns as he exits the building and thanks Lord Obestor, “We fear no danger and need not wait for daylight to travel. Thank you for your concern and valuable time.”
Gress gives a hardy chuckle at Spastic getting roasted and says outloud, “I guess you earned that one. She’s got wit and fire. Better let her be, if she’s as good with her blade as her wit, I will be getting first call on your rations!”
The female warrior calls back smiling, “I am better with the blade.” You can tell she has been around rough men for some time.
The inn, somewhat of a fortified stronghold as described, has its common room on the main floor. The common room has six large octagonal tables with eight chairs around three of them and six around the other three. There is a bar and six stools. A large staircase leads to the 2nd floor where six more rooms rental rooms.
The rooms have two beds, a small table and two chairs in each room. Six pegs are in the wall by the door to hang items from. Each room door can be barred from the inside. The outside windows (arrow slits) can be shuttered and locked. Also, a leather piece can be hung in front of the window as opposed to shuttering it. There is room on the floor for one more person to sleep; two would be possible but a little crowded.
The innkeeper meets the party outside as they approach. A group of the soldiers has followed them to the inn. It does not appear that they are watching them. By their behavior, they have been released to eat and prepare for bed.
“I am Zerman, the fourth of his name.” He is a human male in his 40s. He appears a capably sturdy man. He is dressed chain mail armor and has a broad sword scabbarded on his belt along with a hand axe. The armor appears to be very well maintained but old; likely a family heirloom. He has two cases of heavy crossbow bolts on a leather strap that hangs across his back. Instead of shoes, he wears leather boots. The group later discovers his shield and heavy crossbow are leaned against the wall behind the bar. This is obviously no simple bar owner. He treats his bar as a frontier outpost and appears very serious about its security.
“Welcome to Zerman crossing! My wife, Utopus, has just finished making some venison roasts and a couple of game birds. She has beets, sweet potatoes, bread, honey and of course, beer.”
Utopus appears in the doorway behind her husband. She is a human female also in her 40s. She is an attractive woman. The now familiar symbol of Kord, the Suel deity of warriors, hangs upon her neck. She has a smile that quickly sets the party at ease.
Utopus welcomes the groups inside, “All is ready. Come and find a seat, our servants will be glad to help you.”
Zerman tells the adventure group, “My rooms are all taken for the night by Lord Obestor. For the inconvenience, I offer you free stay in my barn. Go now and offload you extra gear before supper. But, please, for the security of Zerman’s Crossing, keep your arms on you. There has not been a raid by humanoids or bandits for some time but as an outpost, they are not unheard of.”
Zerman finishes by addressing Morwen, “My dear maiden, the horse boarding will cost 1sp. There should be an open stall or two. You may use one if it suits you.”
The group does as directed. The barn is on the same side of the street as the inn and just west of it. The barn has 12 stalls. Two of them contain draft horses. One stall contains a cow. Eight other stalls are taken up by the Lord’s horses. Two of the Castle Grest guards remain in the barn with the horses.
There is also a heavy-duty wagon with the appropriate tack parked in the barn. It hasn’t moved for many days and obviously doesn’t belong to Lord Obestor. The two soldiers guarding the horses appear to have laid out their sleeping rolls in the wagon.
A ladder leads up to the hay loft where the party finds an area free of hay large enough to keep them warm and dry for the evening.
The party offloads some of their gear and returns to the inn. The town only consists of two other buildings. A house across from the inn, the party is told, belongs to the inn’s staff, Kester and his wife, Omala, along with their two children, a 9 year-old son and 6 year-old daughter. The farm house is 25 ft x 30 ft. It is a solid wooden building with a heavy wood door. The four windows are similar to the inn windows, more like arrow slits. The outer windows have glass panes that can be swung open. A couple acres near the house have been tilled for crops. They raise wheat, potatoes and squash. Near the house are three tomato vines.
The final house is similar to the servant’s but unoccupied. It has fallen into disrepair. It remains intact but is getting structurally unsound as rot has created holes in the roof. Water damage has sped up its demise.
Once back inside the inn, the party looks for an open table. The soldiers have taken up the bar and four of the tables. One of those tables seats Lord Obestor, his son and ranking officers (the captain, lieutenant and sergeant).
The party takes two of the six-chair tables and places their orders.
Kester and Omala stay busy serving the large crowd. He wears studded leather armor and has a short sword and hand axe at his side. She wears leather armor and carries a short sword, hand axe and a sling with a pouch of stones. They both look as if they have had to use them in the past. They are not overly strong but have the build and endurance of the frontier folk. When asked about the ruined house, Kester gets a sad look on his face. “They were lost to an orc raid out of the Argo forest years ago. No one moved in after them. May they rest in peace.”
Irena takes the lieutenant up on her offer to stay with them in the inn. Immediately after eating, she retires to her room to read. Garmel and Beltus do not try and make excuses for her. That is just her way.
Gress and the halflings eat hardily and the whole group enjoys a good meal. Amos, Zahrdahl and Perk talk together about Restenford, rebuilding and moving forward after the raid.
After eating Morwen begins to play her baliset. She plays a few quiet songs of the elves during the rest of the meal but picks up the tempo a bit afterwards. She switches to the tavern songs of men that she has learned and soon the drinks flowing and everyone in the common room enjoys her music.
Morwen is a very talented musician. The average elf has musical talent well beyond what most humans can think of achieving. It becomes quickly apparent that Morwen is better than the average elf. With a half hour, she has the crowd in a drinking mood and cheering her on.
Even Lord Obestor and his son appear to be impressed by her talent.
No one pays any attention at first, or strangely notices he has been gone for a while. Spastic has joined some soldiers at the bar and is trying to goad them into drinking heavily. The gal he verbally sparred with earlier is there as well. Spastic quickly has drank two or three to their one. The command staff appears to be trying to keep a lid on the drunkenness as they march out before sunrise.
Spastic laughs with the soldiers as he gets more and more intoxicated. He commends the female soldier on her wit and rejoins his group with a smirk on his drunken face. He quickly falls into listening intently to Morwen’s music.
Even Lord Obestor appears greatly impressed. During a break between songs, he hails her from his table, “Lady Morwen, Advisor to Baroness Andrella, I do beg of you to call upon my castle should you come through Grest. You’re talents are beyond compliment.”
He then calls to Zerman, “Dear sir, my mood is generous. I shall pay for these kind traveler’s meals and drink. Even the young fella there.” He points to Spastic. “Young man, should you find you like the soldier life, come and see my captain. When you become a man, we may have a place for you. If you can find a way to stay your tongue from causing trouble that is.” He gives a slight smile to the over-eager drunken Spastic.
“My soldiers must rest for we have a hard days march tomorrow. Zerman, would you kindly clear the bar early as we retire to our rooms for rest.” Zerman nods and he quickly sends his servants out to begin cleaning the bar.
Lord Obestor, after some calculating from Zerman, pays the bill and the entire soldiery retires for the evening.
The soldiers keep two guards in the stable overnight and the guardhouse is manned 24/7 by the locals. Lord Obestor supplements the guard house with four more of his soldiers. The soldiers in the barn and guard house are rotated out every few hours.
The party is allowed to finish its meal and drinks and are then shown the door. Morwen is welcomed into the lieutenant’s chamber. The elf is given the honors of a bed. “You have much talent. Thank you for bringing such joy to my soldiers and guards. Sleep well. We will try and be quiet when we gear up in the morning.”
Morwen, being an elf, does not require much sleep. She does not wish to insult the lieutenant’s gift so the elf rests upon the bed. The Baroness should be happy her neighbor lord has taken well to her away team. Lord Obestor will arrive in Restenford with a positive attitude towards the new leadership of Baroness Andrella.
Morwen and Irena, although both in different rooms, stay overnight in the inn. The rest of the party sleep in the loft in the barn.
Very early in the morning, long before sun up, the soldiers gear up and march out of town.
Morwen looks to Breymeer to see he is going to move forward. Before anyone can react further, Spastic moves ahead to speak for the group.
Morwen moves her horse in front of him, “You should stay here. The orcish armor and your recent cuts, scratches and bruises might put the soldiers on edge.”
He responds, “Yeah, man! Let’s put her in charge.”
The halflings agree by nodding.
Breymeer speaks while Morwen dismounts and removes her sword, bow and quiver. “I am Breymeer. I am a Restenford Ranger serving Baroness Andrella. I ask that I be allowed to keep arms.”
“You may stay armed but keep your weapons secured. None other.”
Breymeer and Morwen walk forward cautiously.
An unarmored female and the dwarf step forward to greet them. They meet about 50 feet from the bridge.
The human has a shield on her back and a short sword and dagger on her belt. She is dressed in loose clothing; a green long sleeved top and brown pants over boots. She has several throwing knives on a bandolier across her shoulder and a light rope hangs from a loop on her belt near the dagger.
The dwarf is dressed in fine chain mail. He carries a battle axe and has a hand axe on his belt. He wears leather gloves.
The female speaks, “I am Lieutenant Abella of Grest. I serve Sir Obestor, Lord of Castle Grest. This is Zeepus Gardo, Guardian of Zerman’s Crossing. The soldiers behind me all serve Lord Obestor. Who are you and what is your business?”
Morwen introduces herself, “I am Morwen Alcerin, advisor to Baroness Andrella.” She pauses and waits for Breymeer to continue; allowing him to be the voice for the party.
Spastic’s immaturity shows through as he becomes impatient, “This is bullshit.” He begins to walk to the conference at the bridge; taking a step forward. He has a tight grip on his polearm.
Gress stands his ground leaning on his shield with his large sword over his shoulder. He has a ‘give me space or I will run over you like a runaway bull’ look to him.
Amos moves quickly to Spastic and places a hand on his shoulder staying his movement, “Easy lad. The soldier mean no harm but will react poorly to your impulsiveness. Save you spite for the enemy. These soldiers are our friends. They just need to make sure we are their friends as well. Give the ranger and the elf a chance to speak. There will be fight enough in your life, you don’t have to get it all out today.”
The group of soldiers consist of the lieutenant, the dwarf, a priest of Phaulkon, and nearly a dozen soldiers. Two of the soldiers wear chain mail indicating they may be of higher rank. The rest wear studded leather or leather armor. Many have shields. They carry a variety of swords, bows, axes and an occasional flail, spear or crossbow. Those with shields have alternating thick stripes of dull brown and yellow emblazoned on them matching the lord’s pennant.
The priest wears chain mail but does not have the bumble bee coloration on his shield.
“We come as friends to the Lord and Lady of Gress on behalf of Baroness Andrella,” starts Breymeer, “We seek to rid these lands of thieving assassins and a meeting with Lord Obestor would be a great help to us. We also seek the knowledge of Flibin, if that name is familiar to you.”
The lieutenant looks Breymeer over, “I do not recognize you though I do not pretend to know all the Rangers. I do recognize Amos and know he would not travel with questionable sorts so you word is good with me.”
“The others may approach but must wait with our soldiers outside. You wish to speak with Lord Obestor is hereby granted. He is just inside the guardhouse.”
She turns and the soldier’s immediately respond by making a path.
The dwarf gives a hearty shout to the waiting group from Restenford, “Eh there lads, come over and rest!”
The lieutenant and the dwarf lead Breymeer and Morwen forward. The priest waits to fall in behind.
The guard house is 50 feet deep and 60 feet wide. Its walls are made of stone and measure a foot thick. There is a single front door that is iron reinforced. Inside, it is double barred. The building has a series of arrow slits on the first floor. Each is 4 wide inches by 20 inches tall with bars across them. There are four on the north wall, two on the south and two on each the east and west walls.
The group approaches the guard house, the door is unbarred and opened. Breymeer and Morwen are led into the guard house. There appears to be no danger to them. The rest of the party is not allowed in but are treated to small talk in the yard in front of the guard house. Two soldiers, the ones wearing chain mail, stand before the door of the building. The third soldier, along with the dwarf and Phaulkon priest, enter the building with Breymeer and Morwen.
Inside, Breymeer and Morwen find a central common room with a hearth and cooking equipment. There are two large tables with six chairs around each. Four other rooms fill the rest of the building. Three are living quarters and the fourth is a cell.
Just inside of the door, one to each side, are two guards in studded leather armor with shields and holding spears. Each has a short sword on his belt.
Sitting behind one of the tables are three obviously important men. The first wears no armor. He is dressed in fine clothing and much jewelry including gold rings, bronze bracers and a gold necklace. An engraved bronze shield leans against the table next to him. His long sword and dagger are inscabbards on his belt. He is approaching middle age but appears very fit. His eyes show a man of intellect and wisdom. He appears to be a true leader. This must be Lord Obestor.
Next to him, showing a family resemblance, is a man in his 20s. He is obviously Obestor’s son. He is dressed in a bronze breastplate over bronze chain mail. He also has an engraved bronze shield next to him. He is armed with a long sword and two daggers. He has a silver ring.
The third man is in his 30s. He is a large, physically strong man. A warrior who wears a serious demeanor. He wears very find chain mail armor and has a shield. He has a long sword and dagger. A great helm rests on the table next to him.
The soldier and dwarf guide Breymeer and Morwen before the table, asking them to remain standing. The soldier and dwarf take up positions behind them.
The priest stands to the right side of the table.
Lord Obestor addresses the Ranger and advisor. “I am Sir Obestor, Lord of Castle Gress. This,” he nods to his son, “is Obarim, my son. My Captain here,” now indicating the warrior with the helm, “is Sir Gregis.”
“The dwarf behind you is my friend Zeepus Gordo. He is in charge of the security of Zerman’s Crossing. The priest is Pevin. He is also stationed here at Zerman’s Crossing.”
“I received the terrible news from Baroness Andrella. I am marching this company to Restenford to aid in security. What news do you have?”
The lieutenant, Abella, appears to be the highest ranking officer outside. She does not say anything in regards to Gress, the party’s half-ogre, but she does keep an eye one him. Not judgmentally; more out of caution for his size and potential danger.
With her is a sergeant, Yarmin. He does not wear armor either. A dull brownish grey cloak is worn over a long sleeve black shirt and dark brown trousers. He is armed with a shield and long sword. Two axes hang from his belt.
The rest of the guards, those dressed in leather or studded leather armor, relax. Some begin smoking pipes, drinking from their waterskins or nibbling some dried meat. All remain armed but appear comfortable enough around the party to let their guards down.
Just up the street, the smell of cooking catches the party’s attention; especially the halflings. The Zerman Inn sits slightly west of the group and across the street of the guard house. Dusk has set in and a hot meal will taste good.
The inn is 45 feet deep and 60 feet wide. It has a stone foundation and first floor. The second floor is made of wood. There are twelve 6x20 inch windows on the first floor. Each has three horizontal iron bars and resemble arrow slits. The second floor has twelve 10x20 inch window frames that are shuttered. The shutters can be swung open. The door is wood with iron reinforcement.
Morwen bows deeply the table, taking note that they did not even stand, as gentlemen, at the arrival of a lady. "Lord Obestor, I am Morwen Alcerin, Advisor to the Baroness Andrella. I, Restenford Ranger Breymeer, and our group outside have been sent by the Baroness in pursuit of those believed to be responsible for the awful raid. They fled Restenford and a good traveler named Jermellon informed us that people meeting their description have passed this way."
Breymeer confirms Morwen’s statement, “We are searching for Tellish and Arrness and a mace they stole from the Phaulkon Abbey. We hoped Flibin might be able to assist us.”
Lord Obestor answers, speaking in a tone of respect albeit with the air of a nobleman, “Flibin is back at Grest. He, Carlton and Brilman arrived and briefed me in regards to the raid. They have stayed on at the castle in my absence to assist Lady Lilliar with security and operations.”
“The group you speak of are unknown to me but someone may have laid eyes on them in Grest. I encourage you continue on in the morning. It is but one day’s journey from here.”
Lord Obestor finishes, “My men and I will be getting up very early and riding on for Restenford. Please stay out of our way. I do not wish to delay as I would like to check on the mine settlement while enroute to Restenford. We are staying in the inn but the inn keeper, Zerman, will find somewhere dry for you. I would suggest you leave after I do while the sun is up. You would be safer in full daylight. My scouts have detected some activity in the Trollheim Mountains. I may be nothing but I would be on guard. Especially with civilians travelling with you. Good luck.”
With that, Breymeer and Morwen are shown the door.
The party reunites outside. Although not as common in Restenford and Farmin, the soldiers and guards from Grest appear to have a few women in their numbers. Including the lieutenant, there are half dozen women in the troop.
Lt. Abella tells Morwen as she exits the guard house, “The women among you may share one of the rooms reserved for us at the inn.” She looks at Breymeer and smiles politely, “The barn may be the best Zerman has to offer for the menfolk.”
Spastic mumbles to Gress with a smile on his face, "Finally, some action." He moves over to one of the female soldiers and tries a poorly planned line, “Anyone ever confuse you for a man?”
She replies dead pan, “No, how about you?”
Spastic flashes red with anger but knows enough not to push the issue. He retreats back to Gress and mutters something derogatory about woman under his breath.
Breymeer turns as he exits the building and thanks Lord Obestor, “We fear no danger and need not wait for daylight to travel. Thank you for your concern and valuable time.”
Gress gives a hardy chuckle at Spastic getting roasted and says outloud, “I guess you earned that one. She’s got wit and fire. Better let her be, if she’s as good with her blade as her wit, I will be getting first call on your rations!”
The female warrior calls back smiling, “I am better with the blade.” You can tell she has been around rough men for some time.
The inn, somewhat of a fortified stronghold as described, has its common room on the main floor. The common room has six large octagonal tables with eight chairs around three of them and six around the other three. There is a bar and six stools. A large staircase leads to the 2nd floor where six more rooms rental rooms.
The rooms have two beds, a small table and two chairs in each room. Six pegs are in the wall by the door to hang items from. Each room door can be barred from the inside. The outside windows (arrow slits) can be shuttered and locked. Also, a leather piece can be hung in front of the window as opposed to shuttering it. There is room on the floor for one more person to sleep; two would be possible but a little crowded.
The innkeeper meets the party outside as they approach. A group of the soldiers has followed them to the inn. It does not appear that they are watching them. By their behavior, they have been released to eat and prepare for bed.
“I am Zerman, the fourth of his name.” He is a human male in his 40s. He appears a capably sturdy man. He is dressed chain mail armor and has a broad sword scabbarded on his belt along with a hand axe. The armor appears to be very well maintained but old; likely a family heirloom. He has two cases of heavy crossbow bolts on a leather strap that hangs across his back. Instead of shoes, he wears leather boots. The group later discovers his shield and heavy crossbow are leaned against the wall behind the bar. This is obviously no simple bar owner. He treats his bar as a frontier outpost and appears very serious about its security.
“Welcome to Zerman crossing! My wife, Utopus, has just finished making some venison roasts and a couple of game birds. She has beets, sweet potatoes, bread, honey and of course, beer.”
Utopus appears in the doorway behind her husband. She is a human female also in her 40s. She is an attractive woman. The now familiar symbol of Kord, the Suel deity of warriors, hangs upon her neck. She has a smile that quickly sets the party at ease.
Utopus welcomes the groups inside, “All is ready. Come and find a seat, our servants will be glad to help you.”
Zerman tells the adventure group, “My rooms are all taken for the night by Lord Obestor. For the inconvenience, I offer you free stay in my barn. Go now and offload you extra gear before supper. But, please, for the security of Zerman’s Crossing, keep your arms on you. There has not been a raid by humanoids or bandits for some time but as an outpost, they are not unheard of.”
Zerman finishes by addressing Morwen, “My dear maiden, the horse boarding will cost 1sp. There should be an open stall or two. You may use one if it suits you.”
The group does as directed. The barn is on the same side of the street as the inn and just west of it. The barn has 12 stalls. Two of them contain draft horses. One stall contains a cow. Eight other stalls are taken up by the Lord’s horses. Two of the Castle Grest guards remain in the barn with the horses.
There is also a heavy-duty wagon with the appropriate tack parked in the barn. It hasn’t moved for many days and obviously doesn’t belong to Lord Obestor. The two soldiers guarding the horses appear to have laid out their sleeping rolls in the wagon.
A ladder leads up to the hay loft where the party finds an area free of hay large enough to keep them warm and dry for the evening.
The party offloads some of their gear and returns to the inn. The town only consists of two other buildings. A house across from the inn, the party is told, belongs to the inn’s staff, Kester and his wife, Omala, along with their two children, a 9 year-old son and 6 year-old daughter. The farm house is 25 ft x 30 ft. It is a solid wooden building with a heavy wood door. The four windows are similar to the inn windows, more like arrow slits. The outer windows have glass panes that can be swung open. A couple acres near the house have been tilled for crops. They raise wheat, potatoes and squash. Near the house are three tomato vines.
The final house is similar to the servant’s but unoccupied. It has fallen into disrepair. It remains intact but is getting structurally unsound as rot has created holes in the roof. Water damage has sped up its demise.
Once back inside the inn, the party looks for an open table. The soldiers have taken up the bar and four of the tables. One of those tables seats Lord Obestor, his son and ranking officers (the captain, lieutenant and sergeant).
The party takes two of the six-chair tables and places their orders.
Kester and Omala stay busy serving the large crowd. He wears studded leather armor and has a short sword and hand axe at his side. She wears leather armor and carries a short sword, hand axe and a sling with a pouch of stones. They both look as if they have had to use them in the past. They are not overly strong but have the build and endurance of the frontier folk. When asked about the ruined house, Kester gets a sad look on his face. “They were lost to an orc raid out of the Argo forest years ago. No one moved in after them. May they rest in peace.”
Irena takes the lieutenant up on her offer to stay with them in the inn. Immediately after eating, she retires to her room to read. Garmel and Beltus do not try and make excuses for her. That is just her way.
Gress and the halflings eat hardily and the whole group enjoys a good meal. Amos, Zahrdahl and Perk talk together about Restenford, rebuilding and moving forward after the raid.
After eating Morwen begins to play her baliset. She plays a few quiet songs of the elves during the rest of the meal but picks up the tempo a bit afterwards. She switches to the tavern songs of men that she has learned and soon the drinks flowing and everyone in the common room enjoys her music.
Morwen is a very talented musician. The average elf has musical talent well beyond what most humans can think of achieving. It becomes quickly apparent that Morwen is better than the average elf. With a half hour, she has the crowd in a drinking mood and cheering her on.
Even Lord Obestor and his son appear to be impressed by her talent.
No one pays any attention at first, or strangely notices he has been gone for a while. Spastic has joined some soldiers at the bar and is trying to goad them into drinking heavily. The gal he verbally sparred with earlier is there as well. Spastic quickly has drank two or three to their one. The command staff appears to be trying to keep a lid on the drunkenness as they march out before sunrise.
Spastic laughs with the soldiers as he gets more and more intoxicated. He commends the female soldier on her wit and rejoins his group with a smirk on his drunken face. He quickly falls into listening intently to Morwen’s music.
Even Lord Obestor appears greatly impressed. During a break between songs, he hails her from his table, “Lady Morwen, Advisor to Baroness Andrella, I do beg of you to call upon my castle should you come through Grest. You’re talents are beyond compliment.”
He then calls to Zerman, “Dear sir, my mood is generous. I shall pay for these kind traveler’s meals and drink. Even the young fella there.” He points to Spastic. “Young man, should you find you like the soldier life, come and see my captain. When you become a man, we may have a place for you. If you can find a way to stay your tongue from causing trouble that is.” He gives a slight smile to the over-eager drunken Spastic.
“My soldiers must rest for we have a hard days march tomorrow. Zerman, would you kindly clear the bar early as we retire to our rooms for rest.” Zerman nods and he quickly sends his servants out to begin cleaning the bar.
Lord Obestor, after some calculating from Zerman, pays the bill and the entire soldiery retires for the evening.
The soldiers keep two guards in the stable overnight and the guardhouse is manned 24/7 by the locals. Lord Obestor supplements the guard house with four more of his soldiers. The soldiers in the barn and guard house are rotated out every few hours.
The party is allowed to finish its meal and drinks and are then shown the door. Morwen is welcomed into the lieutenant’s chamber. The elf is given the honors of a bed. “You have much talent. Thank you for bringing such joy to my soldiers and guards. Sleep well. We will try and be quiet when we gear up in the morning.”
Morwen, being an elf, does not require much sleep. She does not wish to insult the lieutenant’s gift so the elf rests upon the bed. The Baroness should be happy her neighbor lord has taken well to her away team. Lord Obestor will arrive in Restenford with a positive attitude towards the new leadership of Baroness Andrella.
Morwen and Irena, although both in different rooms, stay overnight in the inn. The rest of the party sleep in the loft in the barn.
Very early in the morning, long before sun up, the soldiers gear up and march out of town.
The elves, Morwen and Perk, and even the half-elf, Amos, do not remain in bed after the departure of the soldiers.
Morwen picks at her instrument and hums a melody to herself. She is pleased with the response to her music the night prior.
Perk and Amos quietly stow their belongings and creep down into the main floor of the barn. Above them, Gress snores loudly.
The outer barn door opens and the servant lady, Omala, enters. She has crossed the street with a milk bucket in one hand and a hooded lantern in the other. She bids the elves a quiet good morning as she walks to the pen that holds her cow. She locates her stool and puts it in place and hangs her lantern nearby. Plopping down, she begins milking the cow. It gives out a low moo in response.
Upstairs, Breymeer hears the commotion and opens his eyes but remains in his warm blanket. The other warrior, Garmel, rolls to his side as he begins to wake up; monitoring the noise down below for trouble.
Beltus, the priest, gathers himself up and moves a few paces away from the others so as not to disturb them. He begins to pray and meditate quietly.
It is still nearly an hour before the sky begins to lighten before the coming of the sun.
It promises to be a decent day for travel other than the wind. The temperature hangs in the high 40s and promises to warm with the sunrise. Very few clouds block out the stars. The wind blows strong and steady across the small outpost. It varies between 15 and 20 mph out of the eastern highlands.
Omala finishes her milking. She sets her stool to the side and pats her cow on the rump, “Good girl Zee, good girl.”
She reaches up and takes her lantern off its hook. Night has not given way to dawn yet. It remains dark outside.
At that moment, the barn door is thrown open and a line of humanoids begin to charge into the barn. The move with the grace of trained warriors.
They are very large and muscular, standing between six and seven feet in height. The dark red hide is covered with reddish-brown hair. Each has a red nose. Their eyes show a dull yellow or dark brown in the lantern light. Their sharp fang-like teeth are yellowed. Hobgoblins!
They wear various assortment of plates over leather for armor. It is clean and polished. They leather is died black. The lead two carry a dagger in each hand which they are preparing to throw. Behind them, stacked just beyond the door, are several others. The next two to the door have maces in their weapon hand.
Their approach was silent, covered by the outside wind. They don’t pause for pleasantries.
Omala shrieks at the sudden attack.
In the loft above, everyone is jolted to attention by Omala’s scream.
In the inn, Morwen, awake, hears the scream as well.
(In addition to previously described info, the barn has two exterior doors, both facing the street. One is a single man door of normal wood. The second is a large double door for allowing animals in. Each of the double doors is 4 feet wide and 8 feet high (total openening 8x8). The man door is to the right (west) of the double door. So, if facing the barn from the street, it is on the right of the double door. If in the barn looking out, it is on the left.
Once in the barn, 8 stables line the east side of the barn. Each stable is 10 feet deep and 8 feet across. The remaining 4 stables are on the back of the west wall. The start at the back wall and come toward the front 32 feet. They are also 10x8. There is a 10 foot wide walkway in the center of the barn between the stables. In front of the west stables is an entrance area. It is 20 feet wide (from west wall to east stable) and 16 feet deep (from west stable to front of barn. Tack, equipment, shovels, hay forks, etc hang on the west wall. The wagon is backed in against the west wall at the end of the west stables. It is above the way where the trap door enters the loft. Both the man door and the double door are equipped to put heavy boards in place to bar them closed.
The loft is 48x30 as well with a roof that slants in to a peak (like a barn roof). The back 30 feet is taken up by a hay stack (rather loosely piled). The only two entrances to this loft are the trapdoor in the floor (4 feet x 4 feet) and the hay door that opens above the double doors below. They are of similar design (two doors, each 4x8 for a total opening of 8x8). These doors are simply barred on the inside to hold them closed. The bar is just a light board nothing reinforced.)
At the guard house, the hobgoblin unit along the river succeeds in sneaking up on the sentry posted on the bridge. His name is Lesvindell. He falls upon the bridge under a hail of thrown daggers. Three find their mark in his torso. He doesn’t even get out a warning. Two of the hobgoblins take up his position. They slit his throat to ensure he is dead.
The horde turns the corner where the more experienced guard, Borgcal, sees them. He gives a shout of warning and falls back into the guard house. Before he can shut the door, he is also cut down under a hail of daggers. One in the eye, one in the neck and the third is in his chest. He falls dead with the door ajar. The attack group reaches the door before it can be secured. The lead hobgoblin pauses to run his sword into Borgcal’s body.
At the inn, Morwen, having already been awake, exits her room into the hallway. The hall is dark. She struggles to see even with her elf vision in the dark hall; lit only by the quarter moons Luna and Celene coming through the arrow slit at the end of the hall by her door. Only because of her low light vision can she make her way safely door the hall at a reasonable pace. She begins to move towards the common room, making her way down the curved hallway. She reaches the door to the stairway down to the common room and opens it. She moves through the door and most of the way down the stairs. She pauses at the bottom landing. She heard something shatter against the front inn door.
Outside the inn, through the small slit of a window at the base of the stairs, Morwen can see a squad of hobgoblins have formed up at the door. One stands directly in front of the door. They have formed skirmish lines on either side of the door, blocking the street. Between the lines, one holds a torch illuminating the group slightly.
Other than Morwen, no one else at the inn appears to be awake.
At the barn, the hobgoblins move in similar fashion as the inn excepting the door is already open and the assault has entered. In the street behind the entry team, the hobgoblins have formed skirmish lines in the street. Between the skirmish lines is a hobgoblin with a torch.
A second entry team, consisting of four hobgoblins, has stacked up in front of the door to the servant’s house.
Down on the main floor of the barn, the hobgoblins enter and immediately engage the two elves, Perk and Amos (half-elf), as well as Omala. Omala is caught off guard and it takes a moment for her to recover. Amos draws his scimitar. Perk, being too close to use his bow, remains unarmed.
Perk attempts to tackle the lead hobgoblin as it moves in to bash Omala with its mace. He fails to knock the strong humanoid down but does knock him off path and his mace swings harmlessly short of the farm lady.
The second mace wielding hobgoblin closes on Amos. The half elf parries its blow with his scimitar and cuts him deeply along his weapon arm (5, 1/6) rendering it nearly unusable. The hobgoblin soldier takes the mace into his off hand to continues its assault.
Two more enter the room but are unable to engage in the melee yet. More stand outside.
Above, in the barn loft, Gress is one of the first to act. He goes to the large double doors used to put hay in the barn. He unbars them and opens them wide. Below him are four hobgoblins, including the one holding the torch.
As soon as the barn door opens, the torch holder points to Gress and lowers the torch. He puts flame to two Molotov cocktails his partner next to him holds.
Breymeer and Spastic are surprised by the sudden scream below them. The react slower than the other warrior in the loft. Garmel moves to the trapdoor. Seeing the battle below, he immediately begins to descend. He reaches the barn floor as the second wave of hobgoblins are moving in to attack.
C’mere takes out two throwing knives and Speck arms himself with his bow. They sneak up to the now open hay doors and take a position, one on each side. C’mere on the west and Speck on the east.
Beltus finishes his praying and moves in a bit behind Gress trying to look out.
Esned arms himself with his bow and covers the trapdoor. He remains near the back of the group evaluating his next move. The merchant, Zahrdahl, also remains in the back of the loft.
At the guard house, the bugbears make entry through the front door after the guard was killed trying to secure it. Over half a dozen charge into the building. Three remain posted outside with a fourth standing in the open doorway.
At the inn, Morwen sounds the alarm. She shouts at the top of her lungs, “We are under attack!” She runs back up the stairs, taking her bow in hand and nocking an arrow. She runs down the western hallway banging on the four doors she finds there. The eastern hallway holds only two rooms, the one she was in alone and the other that Irena was staying in with the remainder of the female guards.
No one appears to respond behind any of the four doors in the eastern hallway. Morwen reaches the end of the hallway where a leather flap hangs over a 10 inch by 20 inch window. The window has no glass. Instead it has three horizontal steel bars running across it to prevent egress and ingress. A sturdy shutter hangs open to the side of the window. It has a small wooden bar that can be used to bar the shutter closed. All the windows of the inn are of similar design expect the main floor windows are only 6 inches across, not 10.
Irena shouts from the eastern hall, “I hear you Morwen!” Morwen hears the light steps of the human female slowly down the hall towards her. “I looked out the window. Something is attacking the guard station!” Irena looks very excited as she rounds the curved hallway and comes into Morwen’s view. Irena is using the wall to move as she cannot see very well at all. “I can’t see like you! Do I dare give us some light?”
On the lower level of the inn, Zerman begins shouting orders to his son, Zerpus, “Arm yourself boy! Hold them off under the stairwell!”
“I have a target father! They are attacking the guard house as well! Look and see!” The sound of a bow string grabs the attention of the hobgoblin guarding the road west of the guard shack. Zerpus shot in the dark but accidentally hit one of the horizontal bars in his window nearly sending the arrow into his arm. “Dammit!”
The front door of the inn continues to rot and decay as the entry team outside waits impatiently.
At the barn, the battle heats up.
“Aw sh*t! Now what are we going to do, man?” calls out Spastic. Breymeer scrambles down the trap door, axe in hand bellowing a war cry.
“Maybe one of them killed my ma!” shouts Spastic as he follows Breymeer down the hole, trying to do so while awkwardly dragging his glaive down with him.
Esned and Zahrdahl remain to the rear. Zahrdahl looks nervous while Esned keep is bow ready to cover anything coming up the trap door after allowing Breymeer and Spastic their safe exit.
C’mere lets fly two of his throwing knives, aiming for the hobgoblin holding the Molotov cocktails. His first knife finds the inside of its let leg and cuts the femoral artery in two. The goblinoid drops to the ground and begins to bleed out very quickly taking an arrow from Speck as it falls. To make matters worse, he drops one of his flaming bombs and it bursts into flames that soon engulf the its body. It screams away the end of its life.
Specks second arrow sticks into the ground near the torchbearer.
Beltus moves up behind Speck to look over the halfling’s head and out the barn’s upper hay doors.
Without warning, Gress jumps out of the loft into the street as Beltus moves up. The armored half-ogre lands on top of the hobgoblin standing in front of the stable doors (1, 5/6). The hobgoblin is knocked back. It trips over the burning body of the downed hobgoblin and lands on its back in the burning oil (3, 2/6).
On the main floor of the barn, the hobgoblins continue to force their way in. Two, each with a broad sword, move in, one towards the trap door and the other towards Omala.
Omala throws her pail of milk towards the attacking hairy beast that closes in on her. It dodges the bucket. She ducks under the sword in a manner betraying previous combat skill.
Amos cuts down the previously wounded goblinoid with a stroke of his scimitar.
Perk attempts to keep himself close to the remaining hobgoblin with the mace. He moves in to grapple. The hobgoblin pushes him back with his free hand. Perk only just barely manages to avoid the crushing blow from the mace.
Breymeer is descending the trap door ladder as Garmel moves in to block the attack from the one with the broad sword moving to the trap door. Garmel’s long sword and the hairy goblinoid’s broad sword meet. Garmel’s grip fails and his sword is knocked free, landing at the base of the trap door ladder as Breymeer’s feet hit the floor. “Help me bring him down Breymeer!”. Garmel appears ready to pounce unarmed onto the foe that disarmed him.
Spastic makes it half way down the ladder before he is stalled by the melee before him. His only move from here is back up, stay stationary or climb onto the back of the parked wagon.
At the guard house, the bugbears break into the bedrooms.
Jesvin, one of the more experienced guards, allows his door to be opened. As soon as the is able, he runs his spear through the opening. The hobgoblin warrior parries the blow with his large sword. The parry knocks the spear downward. The hobgoblin trips on it trying to enter the room. He is forced to catch himself on the door frame. Jesvin is unable to draw blood but he does manage to keep the melee confined to the doorway therefore facing only one enemy.
Kebbus, in the next bedroom over, does not plan so well. His door is pushed opened and the hobgoblin charges into his room. Kebbus has flipped his bed near the corner of the room. He has armed himself with his bow and lets fly with an arrow. It flies errant. The hobgoblin moves up and drives its blade into Kebbus’ neck (6, 3/9) knocking him back against the wall and dropping him to a knee. He drops his bow and clutches his neck with one hand while feebly trying to draw his short sword with his other.
In the third bedroom, Pevin, the priest, and Zeepus, the dwarf, mount a more tactical defense. Zeepus hides by the door with his battle axe ready while Pevin takes a throwing hammer in hand. As the hobgoblin enters, Pevin throws his hammer while uttering a prayer. The hammer begins to glow with a white light. As it reaches the hobgoblin, it responds to Pevin’s commands to attack. The hobgoblin blocks the hammer with its sword but exposes itself to Zeepus’ axe. The axe head buries itself into the goblinoids abdomen spilling its guts (5, 1/6). The hobgoblin warrior tries to strike down the dwarf but Zeepus knocks the blow off target with the butt of his axe handle.
The raiders continue to hold the guard house common room and the street outside.
At the inn, Morwen tells Irena to light what she needs but to stay out of the light as it will draw fire from the enemy if they come in.
Morwen opens the stairwell door and moves down towards the common room once more. She reaches the bottom landing as the door rots away and crumbles.
Irena follows Morwen onto the stairwell. She pauses near the top landing and begins an arcane incantation. When she is finished, the chair closest to the exterior door illuminates with a magical light the intensity of a torch.
The light catches Morwen off guard but it is not bright enough to stun or blind her.
Zerman takes up his heavy crossbow, already cocked and loaded, and moves into the hallway ahead of Utopus, his wife. Zerman moves to the window and looks for a target.
Utopus heads to the west end of the hallway and cracks open the door looking out into the common room, “We are still clear Zerman!”
Zerpus continues firing his bow towards the hobgoblins watching the street outside the guard house. His first arrow nicks the western guard in the neck (2, 4/6). It makes a break for the protection offered by the guard house. Zerpus’ second arrow strikes it in the back, killing it.
Across from the barn, the four hobgoblins continue to try and bash their way through the front door. The inside bar breaks under the combined weight of two heavy goblinoids. Kester immediately begins firing upon them with a short bow. His first arrow strikes the door frame. The bow string snaps as he draws back the second arrow.
In the street before the barn, Gress begins to lay waste to all before him.
The torch bearer uses the fire to keep the half-ogre at bay.
The other two sentries turn on the half-ogre and move to attack. Gress cleaves into the first hobgoblin with his six-foot sword cutting him through the ribs clear to the spine. He kicks its body off his blade was he turns and bashes the burning hobgoblin back down into the flames as he tries to stand. The third, and final, sentry slashes at Gress with its blade, missing. It draws up its shield to block the ogre’s two-handed sword. Gress drives the point straight through the shield and into its neck, killing it.
From the house across the street, two of the hobs charge Gress. He uses his huge shield to block the attack from the one on the west. The one coming from the east beats his defenses and hacks at his head. Gress stops most of the blow with his sword but the axe cuts him (7, 27/34).
Inside the barn, Omala withdraws from the hob as Amos moves in to block its pursuit of her. She holds the lantern high to help illuminate the fight for those without low light vision.
Amos blocks the hobgoblin’s broadsword but slips on spilled milk nearly falling over.
Garmel tries to latch onto his opponent. He is knocked backward but manages to avoid taking a blow from its broadsword.
Breymeer remains blocked from the battle.
Perk is able to grab the breastplate of the mace wielding hob as it swings at the elf. Perk stays in close and the blow is too weak to hurt him. The hobgoblin angrily pushes back, breaking Perk’s grip.
Spastic climbs onto the wagon and hops to the front of it. From there, he jumps to the ground and charges the hob facing Amos trying to impale it with his glaive-guisarme. His target dodges the clumsy attack. Spastic falls in line with Perk and Amos to continue battling in the melee.
Esned moves up to the trap door and tries to find a target for his bow. The melee is too intermingled so he holds his shot. He remains at the trap door with an arrow nocked.
The halflings look at each other and then back to the burning grenadier below. They hold off further attack as Gress moves about slaying his foes.
Beltus peaks around the corner over Speck’s head. “There are a couple of ‘em moving up from the east!”
Those that can see outside, C’mere, Speck, Gress and Beltus, can see three of the hobgoblins from the front of the inn are moving towards Gress. Two of them take out throwing daggers. The third is armed with a heavy bow.
The bowman takes aim at C’mere. The heavy shaft arrow flies into the loft and sticks in the wooden post by the halfling’s head with a dull ‘thud’.
At the guard house, the town defenders try and turn the tide of battle.
Jesvin takes a blow to his abdomen from the hobs oversized sword giving him a long slash and nearly knocking the wind out of him (9, 12/21). He drops his spear and instinctively clutches his stomach with one hand while backpedaling into the room. Being unarmed, he tries to draw his short sword. He has lost the advantage of the doorway.
A second raider enters the room and lays into Jesvin’s left thigh with its battle axe (3, 9/21) dropping him to his hands and knees.
Things take a fatal turn for Kebbus as the second hobgoblin joins the battle. Kebbus tries to call for help as he draws his short sword and blocks a blow from his initial opponent. The second hob comes along the side of the bed and drives its two-handed sword through the defender’s chest, silencing him. The two hobgoblins give a victorious shout.
In the third bedroom, Zeepus the dwarf curses, “I’ll kill ya sons-a-bitches!” as his axe cuts down the hob in his doorway. A second hobgoblin raider attempts to enter. It takes a glowing hammer to the head and an axe blow to its guts. It too doubles over dead in the doorway giving the dwarf and the priest a moment to evaluate the situation.
The hobgoblin standing in the doorway of the exterior door mutters a sinister prayer and Zeepus stops moving as he looks out into the common room. As it casts is spell, it ignores the two arrows and a heavy crossbow bolt that pound the stone building near the area around the doorway. They were fired by the inn owner and his son from the inn.
The hobgoblins at the inn make entry.
They are immediately met by Morwen’s arrows as she fires from the stairwell. She sticks the first shaft into the lead hobs left thigh (6, 20/26). He is a noticeably stronger than the others. He wears banded mail armor and carries a shield and a heavy spear. He rips the arrow from his leg (1. 19/26) as he strides angrily towards the elf archer. Morwen nocks another arrow as the goblinoid barrels towards her.
From the upper landing, a stream of sticky fibers shoot forth from Irena’s open palms. They coat the floor, table, chairs, exit door and walls near the door in a thick mass of sticky fibers. One hobgoblin is held fast in the door frame while a third is able to jump clear back out into the street.
The lead invader, leaps forward onto the stairs and avoids the mass of sticky fibers. Morwen fires a second arrow at him but he deflects it with his shield. He turns, using his momentum, and chucks his heavy spear up the stairwell at Irena, striking her in the right leg (7, 9/16). She legs out a scream as the heavy shaft knocks her leg out from underneath her. She collapses onto the upper landing.
Seemingly satisfied, the huge hob begins to draw a large broadsword from his scabbard as he faces down Morwen. She stands on the lower landing just 5 feet from him. An evil leer freezes on his face. A quiet prayer whispered from the dark doorway under the stairwell holds him fast in his tracks.
Utopus, the inn owner’s wife, gives her thanks to Kord as she emerges from the doorway holding a decorated mace. She is no doubt a cleric of the Suel deity Kord.
The hobgoblins in front of the inn change tactics. The two throwing daggers move west down the street towards the barn. They continue to throw daggers as they move. Behind them, the bowman moves and shoots. Following them, the torch bearer and a grenadier bring up the rear. The grenadier has two lit grenades.
Two other hobgoblins remain in front of the inn. One watches the street while the other attempts to free his companion stuck to the webbing in the doorway.
In the barn loft, C’mere ducks back behind the door post that took the arrow. With wide eyes of surprise, C’mere looks over at Speck and silenty mouths, “Wow!”
Speck smiles and nods back. While C’mere uses the cover to arm himself with his bow, Speck continues to fire arrows at enemy targets.
Speck fires into the back of one of the hobgoblins that just busted down the door to the farmhouse across the street before it could enter the building.
Kester, the resident farmer, meets the assault at the front door with his short sword and hand axe. Kester drives his hand axe down into the first hobs head. Already suffering from the arrow in its back, the hob drops under the blow, mortally wounded.
The second hob immediately engages Kester with two swords, one long, one short. Kester parries the short sword with his own blade but takes a cut along his right arm from the hob (6, 14/20). The sting of the blow causes Kester to retract his arm before he can deliver his own punishment. The sound of metal on metal continues as the two battle savagely in the doorway.
Across the street, in front of the barn, Gress continues to deliver his punishment to the hobs. Gress blocks his westerly opponents attack and cuts it down with a mighty blow from his massive sword.
The eastern opponent and Gress get tangled up. The hobgoblins sword slips behind Gress’ shield and gets stuck in the strapping that holds the shield to his arm. Neither can shake themselves free.
On the other side of the burning corpses, the torch bearer tosses his lit torch into the open loft. He fails to throw it far enough to hit the main hay piles. It falls short on the floor in front of Zahrdahl. The merchant quickly runs to it and picks it up while trying to stamp out any stray sparks and flames.
The torch bearer pulls a mace from his belt.
The approaching horde in the street targets the half-ogre with their missiles. One of the throwing daggers catches Gress’ sword arm giving it a slight cut (3, 24/34).
Inside the barn, on the main floor, the broad sword wielding hob lays into Garmel. It cuts through his chain mail slicing open the inside of Garmel’s right thigh (10, 19/29, crit, ½ move, major bleed). Blood instantly begins spurting out.
Garmel, showing the steel of a trained warrior, remains able to fight. He shouts back to Breymeer to take his place as he attempts to withdraw.
Breymeer is only too eager. The Restenford Ranger quickly steps ahead of Garmel. Breymeer knocks the hobgoblin down with a blow from his dwarven hand axe to the brute’s shoulder. The ranger finishes it off by dropping his battle axe down fully through its ribs and into its chest.
Perk continues to try and grapple his foe. Neither can gain an advantage and Perk avoids being clubbed by its mace.
Spastic manages to drive his glaive-guisarme into the hob’s left calf (5, 1/6) The blow trips it up and drops it to its knees. “YEAH! How do you like that? You kill us and we kill you back!” shouts Spastic as the hob drops.
Amos fails to take advantage of the situation as it ducks under a killing stroke from his scimitar.
Back in the loft, Esned calls out to Beltus, “Garmel is in danger!”
Beltus runs for the trap door, “Grave danger?”
Garmel answers from below, “Is there any other kind?”
Esned, still looking for a target, allows the priest to pass by. Esned can see the vast amount of blood being pumped from Garmel’s leg.
At the guard house, Pevin begins to pray for a spell against the hob in the entrance doorway. Before he can finish his prayer, the vile shaman calls upon his own deity’s aid. Pevin stops his prayer. Now ignoring the shaman, Pevin looks around the guard house trying to formulate a plan.
From the second bedroom, two hob warriors emerge. Pevin shuts the bedroom door as they turn in his direction.
In the first bedroom, Jesvin fights for his life. From his knees, he draws his short sword plunging it forward towards his initial foe while dodging his body sideways to avoid the arc of the battle axe. Jesvin avoids the axe but misses his target with his sword. The initial hob cuts a large gash across Jesvin’s scalp (6, 3/21). The warrior is beginning to lose hope as his vision begins to blur.
Outside the guard house, the two sentries take defensive positions from the snipers at the inn. One takes cover behind the corner of the building. The other below the river’s bank near the bridge. The shaman simply steps into the guard house a step further.
In the inn, Zerman and his son watch for targets to the east. Zerman reloads his heavy crossbow.
Morwen drives her blade into the motionless muscled hobgoblin’s neck killing it instantly. Utopus cancels her spell and the massive hob drops dead to the floor, “Kord would be proud of such a warrior’s strength.” Utopus approaches Morwen as the elf tries to figure out a way through the webbing to get to the one trapped in the doorway. It is no use, the webbing is much too thick and sticky.
Utopus looks sincerely at Morwen, “Thank you.”
Irena holds her damaged leg as she drags herself over to the edge of the stairwell, “Are we safe?”
In the street before the barn, the troop moving up from the east separates. The bowman makes a move to the corner of the farmhouse across the street. He fires at C’mere as he moves. The heavy shaft thuds into the barn’s outer wall near the halfling. The heavy steel point sticks through the wood.
The grenadier and the torch bearer also move to the southeast corner of the farm house. They take arrows from the halflings as they move for cover. C’mere’s first arrow misses the torch bearer. Speck’s first arrow strikes the bearer in the foot (1, 5/6).
C’mere’s second arrow strikes the bowman in the left thigh (3, 6/9) while Speck strikes him in the abdomen (5, 1/9). The bowman appears mortally wounded but continues to nock his heavy arrows to the bowstring.
The torch bearer hides around the corner while the grenadier throws his deadly missiles. The bomb misses the open loft doors but strikes the barn to the west of the doors. It breaks open spilling a burning substance down the exterior of the wooden barn’s second level.
Gress continues to battle two hobgoblins as two more from the approaching troop charge in and join the battle. Gress steps to his left and back towards the open door to the barn. The hob on Gress’ left flank maintains its position and moves with him. The hob on his right swings its battle axe finds his blow deflected by Gress’ armor. The blow deflects off and downward into the hob’s leg, grazing it slightly (1, 5/6). To make matters worse, it is prevented from moving after Gress as the half-ogre changes locations. The fire burning in the street prevents it from pressing the attack.
The half-ogre is able to dodge, block or parry all of the blows excepting one from the newly arriving raider carrying a footman’s pick. It comes around the fire to his left flank and drive’s the pick into Gress’ left foot (5, 19/34) making the ogre very angry.
Gress slays both attackers on his left flank with quick strokes of his blade. The half-ogre now squares himself to his final foe. He has an open left flank and the barn on his right. Gress has piled up a line of a half-dozen enemy bodies in short order.
In the barn, Garmel continues to spurt blood as he retreats into the back of the wagon (2, 17/29). He clasps both hands onto his leg to try and slow the bleeding.
Beltus climbs down through the trap door and jumps onto the wagon next to Garmel. He quickly examines the injury as blood continues to cover them both.
Esned maintains his sniper post above while Breymeer charges forward towards the door, “Come meet your death, evil scum!”
Perk finally manages to take down the hobgoblin before him. Breymeer lops off its head as the ranger passes it by. Breymeer makes it to the doorway and looks out into the street. He can see Gress continuing the fight one hob and Kester battling another in the farm house door across the street. A third stands near the fire in the middle of the street. From the southeast corner of the farm house, the grenadier and bowman fire missiles into the loft above.
Spastic and Amos lay into the sole remaining hobgoblin in the barn. Already wounded, the hob finds difficulty in protecting itself. Amos slashes open its hairy hide at the shoulder while Spastic moves up and kicks the brute onto its back. Spastic drives his glaive-guisarme into its chest pushing the blade clean through its back and pinning it to the floor. Its lungs empty of air, bubbling up through its bloody wound.
Spastic shouts triumphantly, “Take that you stupid dead piece of garbage!”
Amos admonishes him kindly, “We have more enemy in the street and wounded friends to care for. Do not waste your time gloating young man. Let’s get back into the fight.”
Omala picks up the dead hob’s broadsword. “Help me save my husband and children!” With lantern in one hand and sword in the other, she moves towards Breymeer in the doorway.
At that moment, Kester and his opponent continue to battle through the open door of the farmhouse with neither gaining the upper hand or landing a telling blow.
Jesvin loses his fight and his life. As he engages one hob in sword play from his knees, the other drives its battle axe down into Jesvin’s head. The room grows black and he falls dead upon the guard house floor.
The victors turn to exit the bedroom.
Pevin quickly shuts the bedroom door and drags Zeepus’ unmoving body down if front of it. As he is about to try and get some furniture, the two hobs in the room crash into the door. Pevin is able to hold it shut. He pushes with all his might to keep it closed knowing full well death follows for both he and Zeepus if he fails. Pevin begins to pray.
The shaman makes a run for the inn. As soon as he hits the street, Zerman and Zerpus begin to fire upon him.
Zerman makes an excellent shot striking the shaman in the lower left leg (8, 11/19). Zerpus does not aim at him at all. Zerman shouts at his son to shoot but Zerpus fails to act. Zerman swears in his frustration.
The shaman arrives at the front of the inn and regroups the raiders located outside the building.
Inside the inn, Morwen ascends the stairs and helps Irena bandage her leg. The elf remains vigilant of the doorway for any changes or threats. Irena thanks the elf.
Utopus comes out from under the stairwell and takes up a defensive position at the bottom of the stairs. She also watches the door.
At the farmhouse, Kester continues to trade feints, parries, blocks and blows with the hobgoblin in the doorway to his home. Kester cuts the hob along the right thigh deeply with his short sword (5, 1/6). Kester is able to avoid being hit in return. The blow drives the hobgoblin out of the doorway. Kester quickly moves up to continue the engagement.
In the street between the farmhouse and the barn, Gress steps to his left over the growing pile of bodies. He now stands on the north side of the street, closer to the farmhouse. From his new location, he begins to engage the hobgoblin fighting Kester and the other that was using the first to keep the half-ogre at bay.
The hobgoblin near the fire lets out a sigh and steps up to fight with Gress. The half-orge dodges the attack.
Breymeer, seeing the flames above the door are not serious in nature, steps to his left and takes cover behind the door. He takes out his bow and nocks the black arrow.
The hobgoblin bowman fires upon C’mere again. This time the halfling is not as lucky. The heavy arrow strikes C’mere in the chest. Only his superior dexterity keeps him alive. The halfling is able to twist his body just before impact. The broadhead rips through his clothing and skin (6, 12/18).
C’mere takes cover behind the loft door post and examines his injury. Speck stops firing his bow and looks over in horror to his cousin. C’mere pats himself a few times and discovers he is ok. He gives Speck a thumbs up and both halflings peak out looking for more targets.
Meanwhile, the grenadier lobs on of his cocktails through the loft doors. It flies a little farther than intended and lands on a hay stack. The burning bottle begins to light the hay on fire but the bottle did not break.
Zahrdahl shreaks, “We have a fire starting in the hay mound boys!” The merchant bee-lines for the trapdoor down.
Esned has already climbed down the trapdoor and joins Beltus in bandaging Garmel. Garmel is soaking rags with blood about as fast as they can put them on the wound (2, 15/29). Beltus begins to pray to Phaulkon to save the deity’s brave warrior.
Breymeer fires his obsidian arrow. It flies true, as appears to be its nature. It strikes the grenadier in the chest seconds after he had lobbed his deadly missile. The grenadier drops dead upon his back. A pack upon his back begins to show discoloration from a liquid spill.
A hobgoblin from the street engages Breymeer before he gets another arrow nocked. It had previously been fighting the half-ogre but does not pursue it across the row of dead comrades. It cuts the ranger across the torso lightly (4, 36/49).
Omala is the next to the door. She bashes the offender with the mace she picked up. She strikes it across the neck (4, 2/6) and knocks it back out of the doorway and away from Breymeer. “Glad to help,” she smiles as she passes by into the street.
Spastic quickly understands that Amos is correct. Wrenching his glaive-guisarme from the dead hobgoblin, using his foot to hold the body to the floor, Spastic looks up, “Which way?” Seeing Omala bash her way into the street, he quickly follows suit and runs for the door with Amos following suit.
Perk stays back catching his breath.
Pevin continues to hold the door closed against the determined hobgoblins. Hey buys Zeepus and himself a few more moments of life.
The other two hobs in the building, after watching Jesvin die, walk back out into the common room and watch their fellow raiders attempt to break down the door.
At the inn, Morwen moves down the stairs and begins moving tables and chairs in front of the web covered door. Utopus quickly jumps in to help. Irena wiggles her way to the top of the landing so she can see down.
The hobgoblins are able to pull their companion from the webbing in the inn’s doorway. The three of them turn, at the urging of the shaman, and charge those coming out of the barn into the street. The shaman moves up slower. He stops at the northwest corner of the inn and watches.
At the farm house, Kester is slashed across his abdomen (8. 6/20). Kester grits his teeth and knocks the blade away with his short sword before it can gut him. Before the hobgoblin can recover, Kester slams his hand axe into its chest felling it.
The final hobgoblin facing Gress goes into defensive mode. It matters not, as Gress lays hard into him with his large sword. He runs the hob through the chest before retracting his blade and lopping off its head. As the body falls lifeless to the street, Gress peers around for any other foe.
Battling in the barn door are a sword wielding hob and Omala. Backing her up is Spastic with his polearm. The hob cuts Omala across her left upper arm (5, 8/13). Spastic jabs his polearm into the hob’s right arm preventing it from another blow. The polearm nearly flays the muscle from its upper arm. It cries in pain until Omala crushes its head with her mace.
Breymeer sees an opening and fires and arrow. He swears as his hurried shot flies wide right.
The three charging hobgoblins come into view but Breymeer fails to strike either of them as well.
Speck fires another volley at the hobgoblin archer. While trying to fire the first arrow, the string slips from his hand and the arrow disappears up into the night sky. Speck puts another arrow to string and leans out to fire. The hob archer was waiting for him and fires upon the halfling. The large arrow barely nicks Speck’s left side below the ribs (1, 32/33). The halfling returns fire and sinks his arrow into the hob’s pelvis. It drops, mortally wounded, and bleeds out.
Meanwhile, C’mere runs to the back of the barn and picks up the unbroken Molotov cocktail. He burns his hand slightly as he does so (1, 11/18).
Zahrdahl begins to try and smother the small, but spreading, fire.
Two of the charging raiders attack Gress. Between his shield and lengthy sword, he keeps the onslaught at bay.
The third moved quickly up the barn wall and catches Omala off guard as she steps into the street. Kester, her husband, can only scream in horror as the hobgoblin drives his pick deep into her guts (7, 1/13). The blow sends her reeling backwards holding her guts with her free hand and the mace in her weapon hand.
Spastic sees the farm maiden knocked back out of the view of the doorway.
Above, the fire on the side of the barn burns itself out.
The torch bearer digs out a jar from the downed grenadier’s pack and lights it.
Beltus asks Phaulkon to heal his warrior. Garmel’s wounded leg begins to bleed less under the priest’s healing touch (+5, 20/29). Although his leg still drips blood (1, 19/29), the immediate threat to his life has ended.
Back in the loft, just as the merchant has satisfied himself the fire in the hay is out. The torch bearer chucks a second Molotov cocktail through the open barn doors and onto the floor before the hay. This time the bottle breaks and flames quickly spread across the wooden floor and into the loose hay.
The merchant turns to run as he quickly calculates this fire is beyond his ability to control.
The torch bearer pays for his action. Speck, firing just a moment too late, puts an arrow into the torch bearer’s throwing arm.
C’mere was moving forward as the incoming flaming bottle went over his head. He reaches the open barn doors and takes aim at the torch bearer. With the halfling’s stereotypical aim, he hits the torch bearer in the neck with the bottle. It bursts open on its armor and coats the hob with flaming liquid. The hob drops first to his knees, trying to scream through the painful flames. As death takes him, he drops forward to the soil.
In the street, the shaman calls out loudly and flees into the darkness. It must have been a retreat order as the hobs begin a fighting withdrawl.
Gress continues to melee with the two hobs that charged him. They fail to hit the half-ogre. Gress cuts a chunk of armor off the first hob and bashes the second one’s head in with his shield as they back up.
Spastic charges out of the barn, glaive-guisarme leveled before him. He screams while he runs forward. The blade of the polearm fails to cut through the hobs armor but Spastic is able to muscle the large beast backwards several feet.
Breymeer steps out behind Spastic and puts and arrow into the backpedaling foe. The arrow catches the hob right between the eyes and it drops on its back. Spastic drives his polearm down into the beast for good measure, screaming profanities the entire time.
The shaman disappears behind the barn before Breymeer can take aim of him. The only other hob target quickly acquired is mostly covered by the large framed Gress. Breymeer dares not release the arrow for fear of hitting the half-ogre.
Now that Beltus and Esned have Garmel’s bleeding under control. They wrap it tightly in bandaging. Perk watches for trouble while they continue to aid the downed warrior.
At the guardhouse, one of the hobgoblin look outs breaks cover and runs to the inn door. He repeats the shaman’s order into the building. He immediately begins to take incoming arrows from the inn owner and his son.
The heavy crossbow bolt flies just past his face as he runs for the door. The first arrow from the son sticks into the guardhouse door.
After shouting the orders, the hobgoblin runs for the river. Zerpus’ second arrow buries itself into the hob’s spine, felling it.
From out of the guardhouse pours the surviving hobgoblins. Four raiders flee to the river and run north into the darkness. The fifth hobgoblin, hiding by the bridge, also flees into the darkness.
The next section of the adventure was played by tabletop. I will summarize.
Breymeer decided to try and track the hobgoblins through the mountains.
Morwen rode south to try and catch up to Lord Obestor.
An elven ranger named Isaweil arrived. He had been trying to track Arrness and Tellish after they fled from the area of Restenford. He reported coming across evidence of a large amount of hobgoblins (numbering in the hundreds) in the vicinity. Isaweil joined the group.
The group moved north to Grest and warned the town of a possible impending attack from the army of hobgoblins. No attack came.
After the party departed, Morwen returned with Lord Obestor and half of his men. The return of Lord Obestor put a stick in devious plans to raid the castle. Morwen then departed north to catch up to the group.
To make matters worse for the doer of vile deeds plans, Breymeer arrived a day later in Grest. On approach to town, he came across the bandits camped in the woods. Determining they were unfriendly, he made his way into town. In town, he spoke to some castle guards at the inn and told them of the bandits outside of town. The bandits plan was scrapped and they vacated the area.
The party moved onto Tellar. Enroute, they were ambushed by two ettins. The half-ogre Gress and Spastic were killed in the battle. The party continued onto Tellar and warned that town of a possible raid.
The following day, the party traveled back to try and find the ettin's lair. They were able to track their way to a cave in the mountains. After a battle with momma ettin and her cave bear, the party discovered very little treasure. There was a golden chalice that matched one C'mere remembered from Farmin Castle. The party pondered how the castle and the ettins were tied together. They slew all the ettins and had no answer.
During the battle, Morwen and Isaweil were critically injured. Morwen suffered a compound fracture of her left leg and Isaweil suffered a severe head injury.
The party returned to town to seek help leaving Isaweil, Morwen and the gnome priest Esned in the cave. They were lucky enough to have a small group of dwarves rescue them. They were able to get back to the road to Tellar.
Markus, a half-elf priest of of Kord, had joined the party. Markus, Speck and C'mere (halfling cousins) find themselves in the inn at Tellar while the rest of the party was trying to rescue Morwen and company from the ettin cave.
Meanwhile, Breymeer befriended those at the Phyton Abbey. He is gifted a magical transport by them using an enchanted rug. He and the Phyton ranger arrive in Tellar in the stream. They head to the inn.
At the inn, Breymeer confronts a duo that enters the inn. The duo is a priest of Kord and the dwarven weaponsmith traitor from Farmin. The priest had escaped the raid on the Farmin castle. During the confrontation, the dwarven weaponsmith is killed. The priest is made Breymeer's henchman.
The entire party is finally reunited and travels to Cobblethorp after a rumor that Tellish and Arrness have gone there. They find Tellish and Arness have already left.
While in Cobblethorp, the group investigated Grizzly's Tavern after developing suspicions for the establishment and its ties to Tellar and Arrness. They believed they could gather more information on the Phaulkon Mace that Tellar was believed to have stolen.
At Grizzly's Tavern, a fight eventually broke out during the investigation. Grizzly called in aid from some gargoyle like creatures. Only the use of several well placed web spells kept them out of the tavern. The few that made it in were slain along with Grizzly and some of his henchmen and a town guard.
The party was lucky enough to discover the mace hidden in the floor on the second floor. One of the party members donned a magic ring that detected the mace while luckily standing within range of the mace.
The party beat a hasty retreat back to Restenford with the mace where they are hailed as heroes.
The Duke of Kroten was none too happy to hear of the death of his relation (Grizzly). The tension in the area boils to near war. The Duke of Kroten begins a blockade against Phaulkonville, Tellar, Gress and Restenford/Farmin.
During this time, back in Restenford, Kuba, Meira, Bhut and Krelar engage in a side trek to clear the cellar of the guardhouse. I plan to post the side-trek later.
Thus ends this portion of the Lendore Adventure. Sorry for the cheesy wrap up job.
The party will split from here. Some will continue on to new adventures as the play-by-email group. Others will stay on the island to continue to adventure across the island as party of the tabletop group.
I assume I will post more in the future. Until then, thanks for reading.
The party decided to split up. Most of my player characters ended up having more than one character. We had a tabletop party and a play by email party. They crossed paths on Lendore Island and got jumbled together. This separates the groups back out again; though several jumped teams.
The play by email group now includes:
Cirdan Saralonde - male elf, 6th lv mage. Celene nobility currently fallen out of favor with his family.
Grimlock - male half-elf, 5th lv fighter, 5th lv mage, 7th lv thief. From the Wild Coast; drifter.
P'innr Bhut - male human, 6th lv fighter. Sellsword from Hardby. Starting to get into falconry.
Kuba Cylvorandau - human male, 6th lv fighter. Sellsword from Dullstrand. Traveling now without his halfling friend Speck.
Meira Rovanith - female half-elf. 4th lv ranger. From Lendore Isle; was an associate of the Restenford Rangers though not a sworn member.
The group remaining on Lendore Island includes:
Breymeer - human male, 6th lv ranger. Northern barbarian, now Captain of the Restenford Rangers.
Markus - half-elf male, 3rd lv fighter, 3rd lv cleric (Kord). From Lendore Island.
Tathar Surion - elf male, 6th lv cleric (Sehanine). From the northern Spindrift Isles. Promoted to command the keep on Bone Hill now under control of elven followers of Sehanine. Keep is now named Tur Thar Guldar.
Speck - halfling male, 7th lv thief, from Dullstrand.
Morwen - elf female, 5th lv theif, representative of the Sehanine elves to the court of Restenford and Lake Farmin.
Lexington Krupps, human male, 2nd lv mage, came to Lendore Island seeking training from Pelltar. Has since joined the party.
Dalgur Steelcoat "Dalic" - male duergar dwarf, 6th lv berzerking fighter. Mercenary employed with Pelltar. Traveled with the group. Back with Pelltar for now. Currently not adventuring with the group.
Tathar Surion received a vision from Sehanine to explore the spiral on the hill above Cobblethorp. Senahine did not give reason why but Tathar has been trying to recover the soul of Peylae. Tathar believes some answers will be found in the spiral.
Peylae's body and soul were thrown through a gate into hell (believed to be hell anyway) in the dwarven delve.
Tathar enlists his previous traveling companions to accompany him. After a short stay at Tur Thar Guldar, the group heads out for the spiral having previously seen it on the hill above Cobblethorp.
The Duke of Kroten extended his sphere of control down to the inn at Zerman's crossing. A previous raid by hobgoblins on the crossing drove off the humans. They also took over the mines at Coppertop.
The group first investigates the mines and finds it has been assaulted by an army of dwarves. It not sits in their control.
The group continues on the Zerman Crossing. While enroute, they encountered a scout group of hobgoblins and quickly dispatched them.
Several members of the group don the hobgoblin armor and sneak into Zerman Crossing ahead of the main group of adventurers. They decide to go around the crossing.
Now behind enemy lines, the group moved cautiously northward for Grest. They encounter a blockade on the roadway and defeat it as well. They pay visits to several allies; in Grest they stop at the Phyton Abbey and in Tellar they visit with Bellus at the Phaulkon Abbey.
From Tellar, they set out off-road to Mount Wiest and the spiral.
The party did some quick recon of the Spiral and discovered the undead lurking inside. The undead were dressed in white togas and robes. Also, several dead bodies were inside the front gate.
The party decided to camp out for the night and make its assault in the morning.
Before nightfall, a strange elderly man approaches the party. They cautiously welcome him in and learn many things from him. First, a brief summary of the fall of the Great Kingdom is given. Then, the old man relays information about Ledego and Peylae. Ledego, contrary to what the party was told, is of the family Kroten and a rightful heir to the Duchy. Thus is Peylae.
They learned of the original human inhabitants of the island and the existence of a place called the City of Glass.
The mage explained the party was deeply involved with the fate of the island and the great kingdom; if not the whole world. It was up to the party to continue their trek into the spiral, for in the spiral lay the key to something important.
The mage left at nightfall with very little for hard information on the Spiral and cryptic talk about fate and the island. As he departed, he warned of impending danger.
The danger came in the form of two fomorian giants. The giants attempted to suck Breymeer into a trap but he was too cautious and out manuevered them.
A pitched battle resulted leaving the party victorious. Unfortunately, it came at the cost of Relmak's life. Breymeer's henchmen was killed by the giants.
The giants had no treasure. In fact, as the party attempted to loot them, a dark object was seen in the distance moving away in the night sky. It appeared to flash with sparks or flame. It appeared to be similar to the description given by the fisherman in Restenford who had approached the Phaulkon Abby requesting they help find his sons believed to be lost near the burned out guardhouse.
The party rested throughout the night and fully the next day to recover the strength spent in the battle with the giants.
The party made its entry into the Spiral but use of a flying potion consumed by Speck. The halfling easily opened the doors from the inside.
The party did battle with the ghouls inside. They defeated them and examined the bodies. The group made its way around the spiral. While doing so, they developed a routine for dispatching the ghouls as they came upon them.
Speck would fly ahead and get the ghouls to follow him back. The rest of the party would sit on top of one of the stone buildings and hack and slash the ghouls apart from the relative safety of the roof.
Breymeer almost became a casualty as he was nearly pulled from the room. Only being roped off to Morwen saved his life. Also, at one point, Speck flew too low and was almost overcome.
The group came upon another set of dead adventurers. Here they found a scroll but were unable to read the old Oeridian.
Breymeer found a bear cloak. He put it on. During an encounter shortly thereafter, the cloak polymorphed Breymeer into a bear. Breymeer missed his system shock and perished. <The cloak is an item I created named the Bear Cloak of Llerg. If you wish details, ask>.
The group encountered the remains of the old priest and recovered his signet ring. They reached the end of the spiral and were able to get over the wall without fighting the stone statue or the ghoul dogs that had been turned and fled to the final gate.
Once inside the center of the spiral, they entered the final stone building and entered the center room. They used the signet ring to free the priest.
They moved to the left room where the priest, Gosmel, and Markus fell into the acid pit. The pit nearly claimed Gosmel. They both made it out and some quick healing saved Gosmel (-6 hp).
Meanwhile, Speck entered the right room and debated looting the temple. Somehow, wisdom got the better of him and he left items as they were found.
Gosmel read the scroll that was found in addition to the one in the temple. The scroll found on the dead body was unique to my campaign. It read:
<Hand written in Old Oeridean>
I, Febartus, son of Lord Kroten, founder of the town of Kroten and protector of surrounding lands, do by my hand declare the following to be true and accurate.
In 482 CY, my wife, Chestella, gave birth to a baby boy. We named the boy Nebub. I believed the boy to be my son. It has been revealed to me the boy is not my son. Chestella delivered Nebub, the spawn of an unknown hellish fiend.
I have not betrayed my knowledge of this unholy union. I have raised Nebub as my own.
I believed myself to be chosen to counter this evil spawning. I had to help clear my family name, and all that is good in the world, of this unrighteousness.
With that purpose, I fathered a son with an Sehanine worshipping elf maiden. She bore me a son whom we called Ledego.
Ledego is the true heir of Lord Kroten and rightful ruler of Kroten.
With this knowledge, I have sent my faithful servant forth. It is now Coldeven the first in the year 499 CY.
- Febartus
<Scribbled below in Old Oeridean in a different handstroke>
Febartus has died this very day. I have been delivered this note but fear I may not survive. Nebub is coming for my wife and I.
<A second writing is below the first>
We have met up with Ledego’s mother, Pentalaine, and her two companions outside of Cobblethorp. Pentalaine said Sehanine guides us towards the spiral. Madness! But Nebub’s winged creatures of death shall find us come nightfall.
The party eventually made use of the teleporter in the left room and ended up in Mismeadow - Kingdom of Nyrond.
What they learned during this quest was much about the Great Kingdom and its downfall but also some campaign specific information that placed Peylae as a rightful heir to the Duchy of Kroten.
They seek to recover Peylae from hell and overthrow Nebub. They are aware some evil forces are at work on the island whether they have identified them all or no.
Last edited by Sheepdog on Wed Jan 10, 2018 5:52 pm; edited 1 time in total
The following is Breymeer's vision while he was dead:
Breymeer and the Bear Cloak
The familiar anticipation of combat rushes across Breymeer. With it comes a strange feeling. One the northern warrior had not felt before. A primal energy rises up from within him blocking his reason. The energy is not one he is familiar with. It is powerful but yet uncontrollable. The warrior drops to the ground as control of his body is lost. His mind drifts as the primal energy takes over.
Pain shoots through his entire being. The pain focuses Breymeer’s mind. In a bright flash, the warrior realizes he is floating; looking down upon the body of a northern barbarian warrior writhing on the ground. It is his body though he barely recognizes it now. His face has grown thick with a snout and a thick dark brown hued hair has grown covering his body. His body goes fetal as the shoulders and hips thicken and shift to that of an animal. The pain is unbearable. It takes over his mind. In moments, the transformation is complete but the human mind has reached its breaking point.
The warrior’s grasp on life is broken. His body fails to survive the drastic change and his heart stops. The Captain of the Restenford Rangers dies.
The light continues to grow brighter until the image of the dead bear fades along with that of his companions as they react to the sudden transformation.
Breymeer’s next image is that of a dream, or so it feels. He is lost, walking aimlessly in a thick coniferous forest. It is dark of night with a moonless sky. The ground is sharply elevated and rocky. A mountainous region no doubt. A heavy blanket of snow covers the land and tree boughs. The only disturbances in the snow are those of a large bear walking slowly but steadily ahead of him. Breymeer realizes he has been following the bear for some time. He neither gains on it nor looses sight of it. The bear occasionally looks back as if checking to make sure the warrior is keeping up.
Breymeer is uncertain if he has indeed died. The pain is gone. But if dead, where are the Valkyries? Surely, he has been brave enough to earn a warrior’s death.
The bear continues forward throughout the night; however long it has lasted. It feels an eternity yet Breymeer does not fatigue.
The bear suddenly stops. Before it is a sharp cliff dropping down some hundred or more feet. The ravine is narrow. A small frozen river occupies its depths. The bear looks across the ravine.
Breymeer now stands beside the bear and follows its gaze across to a large log hall settled into the cliff on the other side of the ravine. Breymeer exclaims, “Valhalla!” A true warrior’s reward!
The bear is now gone. Breymeer pays no attention to where or why. He quickly scales down the cliff face, crosses the frozen river and ascends the opposite side until he stands before the mighty and ancient hall of Odin.
The long hall is beyond his wildest dreams. Its beauty and perfection; the sparkling of the snow like diamonds from its slanted roof. The smoke from the multitude of chimneys that line the center of the hall drifts up into the cold night air.
He reaches the front doors, ornately carved from the finest oak; thick, sturdy, impregnable. A large steel knocker is centered on each door. Before Breymeer can reach them, they doors open inward.
The hall is packed with the ancient warriors of his people. The bravest and best; all died in glorious battle for his people. A series of great fire pits line the center of the hall. Great columns of oak support the ceiling. Trophies line the walls and golden shields line the roof. At the far end, Breymeer knows is the throne of Odin.
But what is this. As Breymeer proudly begins to step forward, a large warrior, with shield and spear, steps out blocking Breymeer’s progress. They doors shut behind the man with a resounding thud that crushes Breymeer’s spirit. Nooo! He can’t be denied a warrior’s place.
The warrior before Breymeer stills his anger by leaning his spear into his shield arm and placing his now empty hand on Breymeer’s shoulder in an expression of respect and honor.
“You are a true warrior my brother Breymeer.” Breymeer nods respectfully at the compliment. “However, you have come to us too soon. We have not yet reserved your seat at the table of your fathers. There is more yet for you to accomplish before you may enter here.”
Breymeer looks dazed and confused as he waits expectantly for the warrior to continue.
“Breymeer the Bear you are now. Our ancient ancestors, the Suel peoples by name, call the powers by different names that we do. A worshiper of the Suel god Llerg is responsible for creating the bear cloak you now possess. The bear is honored in our beliefs as the most powerful of animal totems. This power has now been transferred into you by our ancient ancestors.”
“Breymeer the Bear, you shall have power over the bear. You shall learn to control the bear. Live an honorable life of courage. Show no fear. And, in the end, die a glorious warrior’s death. Do this and you shall be welcomed upon your return.”
“Goodbye Breymeer the Bear, Captain of the Restenford Rangers. Follow your path. It shall lead you back home.”
Breymeer is dumbstruck as the image of Valhalla, the cliff and the snow-covered mountain forest disappear in a flash of the brightest white light.
The sense of pain again ravages his body as his lungs fill with air; painfully at first. His heart leaps and it jumps, erratically at first, back to life. Once cold blood warms and begins to course through his veins. Reaching his brain, his thoughts begin to collect. He is dead. What is this madness. Breymeer’s eyes open and the images of color and light strike him like a giant’s fist. He sits up to find himself being cared for by two priests, dressed is startling white robes. Priests of Pholtus he knows. He has a ring on his finger. It is a signet ring.
Before long, Breymeer has regained some sense of being. He is indeed alive. His belongings are all accounted for, including the bear cloak.
A Pholtus priest by the name of Gosmel ad Nyrond-Rax is introduced to Breymeer and explains to the barbarian warrior that Breymeer’s friends had rescued the priest. Breymeer and his companions have played their part and set in motion a fate that may once again bring Greatness to the Great Kingdom.
Gosmel ad Nyrond-Rax explains, as he takes the ring back from Breymeer, that Pholtus has blessed the warrior, bringing him back to finish whatever destiny the northern warrior has before him. Consider Pholtus’ debt repaid.
In addition, Breymeer is advised he is currently in the care of the Church of Pholtus in the town of Midmeadow in the Kingdom of Nyrond.
Breymeer finds himself a long way from Lendore Island. But at least his friends, minus Relmak, are all here.
Last edited by Sheepdog on Sat Mar 21, 2020 6:10 pm; edited 1 time in total
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