Session
15 (DM’s Version): More
Madness! : 08-06-2008
Click here to return to Nick’s diary of session 15!
Maps of player sessions: Map of ground floor Map of cellar Map of floors 2 and 3
After their last session, the player characters and refugees were in the barracks above the monastery gates. They had been beaten and were exhausted and bloody; Skwortch the goblin lay in a heap on the floor and one or two of the group looked as though a stiff wind would blow them over, but the skeletons had been destroyed and, thanks to the intercession of Eggo’s God Pelor, the howling frost ghost and his ghoul minions had been driven back to the monastery tower.
After long debate and pros and cons weighed, they decided to try to rest up and heal, hoping to either return to the monastery in the morning with spells and spirits restored and put down the fiends, or retreat down the mountain when there was daylight to see the trail.
It seemed as though they had only gotten an hour or so of rest when Fafnir saw a few furtive figures dressed in monk robes and cowls creep out the monastery doors. Four of them made for the cemetery while others advanced towards the gatehouse. “Battle stations!” Celceor fired some arrows at one of the undead who carried a mace and appeared to be leading the undead across the courtyard. One arrow stuck in the fellow’s chest and he pulled it out with a laugh and threw it in the snow. The undead began to beat on the door below while Fafnir attempted to brace the door from the inside. The others rained missiles down on the undead below. The missiles had no effect on the mace wielding undead monk, but the others began to howl and wail as missiles struck them.
Suddenly they heard hammering on the trap door to the roof. It began to creak and crack under the assault. The party prepared flasks of oil and torches.
The former captives began to scream and flee around in a panic, tripping over the furniture. They had been huddled on the side of the room, trying to stay out of the way of the fighters, and a ghoul had ripped open the shutter behind them and sunk a claw into the back of one of the poor unfortunates who was immediately paralyzed. As the ghoul, who had apparently used a rope to descend to the window, began to attempt the drag the paralyzed former slave out the window, several of the party rushed to his aid.
Downstairs, Fafnir, worried about the integrity of the door to the outside, began piling furniture in front of it.
Wryan skewered the ghoul in the window just as the monster hurled the helpless ex-slave into the snow below where the body was snatched up by another ghoul. Flaming oil was hurled from the window on the undead at the door below. Two more ghouls smashed their way through the trap door from above, but Bane had prepared pools of lamp oil on the steps; as they advanced, hissing and with claws bared, he hurled torches and the two went up like roman candles. They laid into them with weapons and the burning ghouls were cut down.
Eggo managed to summon the power of Pelor once again and the ghouls at the door fled back towards the monastery. The undead leader with the mace stalked off after them, plucking arrows from his still smoldering body with contempt. The ghoul dragging the poor victim was brought down by some fairly impressive arrow, sling and crossbow fire, but the mace bearing leader, apparently in the mood for a snack, grabbed the slave and hauled his stiffened body up the steps and into the monastery.
They had driven off the ghouls a second time with little harm to themselves but they could see that they were fighting a war of attrition. The ghouls apparently intended to keep harassing them all night, carrying off whomever they could paralyze. After another debate on the virtues of an instant departure was had, but being attacked by undead who were immune to the snow and cold on mountain trails in the dead of night didn’t sound attractive. Instead, they decided to hole up in a windowless room that had only one exit. This room was apparently formerly used for pinochle, bingo and Magic the Gathering tournaments. The door was barricaded with furniture as best as it could be and the slaves all huddled together at the far end, nesting like pitiful hamsters in the piles of discarded bingo cards. Rune the owl, Celceor’s familiar, sat watch on a windowsill outside in order to warn his master via their psychic connection if he saw any activity.
After a few more hours, Celceor got a warning from his owl that more undead were creeping about, investigating the recently abandoned barracks. Suddenly the insubstantial ghost in the horned helmet materialized right through the door. He let forth a low moan and a blast of cold air that froze several of the players in their tracks. Eggo even keeled over from the cold. Wryan and Fafnir hacked at it, however, and it apparently changed it’s mind and retreated back through the door as it was pelted with holy water. Ripping down the barrier of furniture and reviving the unconscious cleric with a heal potion, they chased the ghouls across the courtyard, Fafnir cutting two of them down with several mighty blows.
They returned to their hideout and attempted to get more rest. The next morning, they returned to the monastery and went downstairs to the cellar. Using the map that the suicidal monk had drawn for them, they went further down into the laagering cellar, where the beer was stored in relative cold while it fermented. Despite the tempting looking pile of barrels, the group found a well that led down to a trickling stream of fresh water below and a cellar wall that had been recently (and sloppily) bricked up. Tools, picks, hammers and piles of masonry lay about. They had heard stories of the trouble starting when the monks discovered a hidden cavern while repairing a cracked wall; they determined to smash their way through and bring vengeance to the ghouls at last.
(Dave M) *as Bane
picks up the nearby pick axe, Celceor presses his hand against the cold rough
surface of the newly laid brick wall*
"You know, while
Hrothgar our translucent horned barbarian friend could traverse this wall to
his crypt with no problem, I suspect it would be near impossible for his
ghoulish brethren to do the same. Particularly that nasty daemon with the mace
and large number of my arrows sticking in him. I would suspect we would find
those hooded minions elsewhere in this cellar. Maybe we should deal with those
first. But in any case, what we really want, Hrothgar’s crypt, IS behind this
wall
And, Eggo, how are you
feeling? Are you in the double digits for health? (Eggo looks at his fingers) If not, I would suggest burning a
healing spell or scroll to do so. (‘Burn a
scroll?’ wonders Eggo as he gets out his tinderbox and his magic scrolls) I would hate for you to fall again due to
cold or the like, as I'm all out of healing potions."
Save the
Cleric....Save the World!!!
(Dave P): Nick, dusting off his clothes and looking
presidential, stands with his back at the wall and addresses everyone in the
audience.
"Mr. Hrothgar,
tear down this wall!" {{{Wild and
unending applause}}}
