Session 21: Save the
Children… again?
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Cast
of Characters:
Celceor
The Wise; Elf Mage (Dave M.)
Nick;human
Rogue (Dave P./NPC)
Fafnir;Human
Barbarian (Jon C.)
Werkle
of Dinnsmere; Dwarf Fighter (Al)
Ereyn
Bane; Half-Elf Rogue (Mike D.)
Eggo
of the Holy Brotherhood; Human Cleric (NPC/Dave M)
Special:
Check out Fafnir’s account in Barbarian verse!
Special: Temple of Sorrow Writeup by Celceor!
18th
day of the month of Tarsakh
You have just finished fighting another
Alidian patrol with only a horse surviving.
Fafnir felt a horse would be a great addition to the party and took off at
a decent trot after it with Rune guiding him.
Celceor led the efforts of covering up the evidence of the battle. The tracks were masked as best as they could
be and the bodies will laid out with as much camouflage on them as could be
found. Large black birds were seen some
distance off, but always within view.
This took about two hours with Fafnir unable to catch up to the
horse. The party attempted to push on to
the
As
Polan, the old man, introduces himself and
asks about the war effort in the north.
It was clear that he had no idea his side lost. Upon hearing the news he had a moment of
sadness before asking the party about immediate concerns. He was inquiring if anyone has seen some
children that were apparently kidnapped.
Celceor had a major eye rolling moment, while everyone else said they
haven't and wanted to know more about this issue. Seems two children were missing, one seen by
a witness being taken. The Alidians
conquered this village a couple weeks ago and took all of their men and women
capable of holding a sword. They only
left the old, weak, and young. Since
they had no weapons, they asked the party if they wouldn't mind helping a town
down on its luck. Bane argued that they
are already on a mission to rescue a kidnapped child and that they shouldn't be
stopping to help everyone on their way.
The argument followed by listing some facts such as: the imposter
Captain is gaining ground on them, they still haven't confirmed the exact
location of the Prince, and we might be wanted and hunted by the Alidians. Good points by Bane, again showing signs of
reasoning ability, but he was overruled 4-3.
The town can't offer much, other than free sleeping arrangements and a
bland, though nutritious, meal. Eggo
interviewed the child witness to this crime, Celceor translated another chapter
of the book, and the rest ate and slept.
Part II: The Conquest of Mar Tesoro
Here the story of Thul Marblade continues. Several aspects of this tale are plainly ridiculous, while others simply stretch the imagination. It is, however, a fascinating piece of folklore.
- Chronicler Norvus
Dwarven King Thul Marblade
returned from
But Morad forbade him saying, "Not if you were to surrender every gem brought fourth to the light would I give you permission to do this, for we Elves care not for gold or silver or for gems, but love only our homeland. Our desire is not for wealth, but to live in a land unspoiled."
Marblade became enraged, saying, "We offer to do all of the work, and in return you will receive half of the profit. Never has a Dwarf made such a generous offer! You find yourself atop a mountain of gold, and your only thought is to use it as a garden, and will not let the Dwarves even peer inside of it! It is unjust that the greatest of all mountains should be in the hands of Elves, and not the Dwarves. If we had the greatest of all woods in the world, surely we would share it with the Elves, who love such things best. Therefore give us now leave to mine the mountain."
Morad was unmoved, and did not
see his peril. For he replied, "Nay! You wish to barter with me a forest
you do not own and have not seen, against my home and the home of all my
people? No! Cursed are you that look on such a fair place and can think only of
tearing it open to find what is underneath. Depart from this land, and come
never again to the gentle slopes of
The Dwarf King's rage was now fully kindled, and he answered, "You bid me, King of all the Dwarves, to depart from the king of all the mountains? I will leave indeed, when I have all the treasure hidden within. But you shall depart now!" And with that word he slew Morad and all his men, for the Dwarves were strong and sturdy in battle and the gentle Elves could make no contest against them.
Then the Dwarves roamed
throughout the land, and killed every Elf they could find. They hunted them
like animals, killing even the youngest, until not a single Elf drew breath in
the
Then Thul Marblade took for himself the mountain, and they renamed it Khelberg, and they set to mine deep into the mountain and take its treasures.
Everyone gathered for
breakfast and Eggo went over the details.
The little girl was out picking hard berries with her friend when
someone jumped out from the bushes, grabbed her friend, and ran off. Since the starting point was the berry
bushes, they made their way to them going west.
Bane and Fafnir scouted the area.
Bane found that if someone did go up the hill to the West, tracks should
be easily seen. Since no tracks were
found, they can safely assume that the kidnapper didn't go up the hill. Fafnir found a little cubby hole dug in one
of the bushes. He figured out that
someone was probably hidden in there and rushed out to grab the girl. Some clues lead the party around the hill to
the other side. The party again noticed
some large black birds somewhat at a distance but seemingly always near enough
to be seen. A couple found hard berries
lead the party to the west, some disturbed moss directed them around the swamp
to the south. The party now faced a
cliff with three directions to go: up, along the cliff wall north or along the
cliff way south. Rune flew up and
informed Celceor that there was an old man made structure to the southwest, so
the party choose the south route and followed the trail to the west when it
turned. Everyone was feeling pretty good
about finding all these clues, but no one was paying any attention to the trip
wire…
Fafnir was in the lead when he tripped and
then had a mountain fall on him. Bane
saved himself from getting hit, but Beck and Celceor took some damage. Bane yelled for everyone to take cover in
case there was an ambush. Celceor asked
Rune to take flight and warn if anything approaches. Everyone ducked under cover of the fallen
rocks, when a groan was heard.
"uhh…guys…some help here…" choked Fafnir as the weight of the
rocks crushed his ribs some more.
Everyone quickly started hauling the rocks off of Fafnir and Eggo found
some flesh and poured in the healing juices.
No other threats materialized, so Bane let out a great sigh and told
everyone to stay here while he scouts out the path for remaining traps.
The path was clear to the ancient structure. It looked like an old temple that has fallen
on very hard times. Two paths lead down,
one on either side. The party split up
when both paths being explored. Each
path had stairs leading down onto a landing with a door. Some black stains and the feeling of great
moisture lead everyone to believe that this area sees a lot of standing
water. With both doors locked, everyone
assembled at the west door. Bane checked
for traps, and then tried to pick the lock.
He failed, but showed some resolve by attempting again and getting the
tumbler to fall. Celceor casted light on
Fafnir's shield and the party explored this hallway. Across the hall was another door similar to
the one they just entered, which was assumed to be the other entrance.
Two doors presented themselves, with the
party going though the first door. This
room looked to be an old dining room.
Most of the wood was very old, with some exceptions of some untreated
wood reinforcing the table and one of the benches. Celceor found a silver fork that had some
recent food crumbs attached to it. A
door on the other side of this room lead to the kitchen that had a small food
storage room. 7 Iron rations and some spices
were discovered and taken. To the left
was another door which the party listened too and then opened. Another hallway, with two doors on the left
and a turn to the right up a ways north.
Bane and Fafnir when to the first door and did the good olde listen/search
for traps bit, while Celceor followed behind after choosing some spices. A huge opening appeared beneath Celceor and
he fell 20 feet on top of some spikes.
Bane checked to make sure his feet were not ethereal since he just
walked on that section of floor. Some
rope (magically?) appeared in Banes hand from his backpack and Celceor was
pulled up bleeding but still conscious.
The floor was slowly closing, and Indiana Jones style, Celceor pulled
his foot out of the way just in time.
The party gave pause to this trap and Beck tried to jump over it,
tripped and fell flat on his belly on the trap…nothing happened. Bane immediately started to motion for Beck
to get his arse in gear and clear out.
Werkle and Eggo saw enough and tried to go
the other way, figuring out that this complex was symmetrical. Bane smelled something funny, like a Fafnir
fart, and opened the nearest door to get away from it. Unknowingly, Bane stumbled into a privy,
complete with some piled up leaves in a corner.
Quickly closing the door, they went to the second door and Fafnir opened
it. A mess of teeth and tentacles tried
to eat Fafnir as soon as the door opened.
Fafnir stood there, trying to kill this creature while absorbing minimum
damage. Werkle and Eggo got stuck at a
locked door and Werkle, in typical dwarf fashion, figured to bust it down. BOOOM!!!! Rang out through the halls and
Werkle proceeded to bash the door.
Fafnir eventually ended the creature's life with a well placed shot from
Celecor. Werkle and Eggo made it through
the door and saw two doors to their right with the passage turning left up a
head. The hallway up a head on both
sides had a picture on either wall.
Double doors were on the east wall while two single doors were on the
west wall. Bane went around, following
Werkle's and Eggo's path, when he fell down a 20 foot pit with spikes. Werkle peeked over the edge and asked if Bane
could throw up the rope…he did and Bane was lifted up. It was thought that the traps were set off by
every third weight on the pressure plate.
Meanwhile, Fafnir found a crossbow bolt in a hold behind the
picture. He tore down the picture and
shoved a piece of wood in there to plug it up.
Bane checked for traps on the two doors to the south by Werkle, found no
traps, and opened the doors. One room
had some old furniture and the other was empty except for a fresh cut wood wall
built into the corner. This new wall had
another crossbow mechanism behind it with another painting on the other
side. The party ignored it for now,
since knowing about a trap makes it easy to avoid. Fafnir did stick a piece of wood in the hold
to hopefully block the bolt.
That last two single door rooms were left
to explore. The first one was opened,
empty except for a chest in the end of the room. Bane searched for traps..didn't find any..but
still felt something was off here.
Fafnir wanted treasure, so he kicked the chest across the room. The box bounced around, with the top opening
up to a big explosion of dust. Fafnir
and Bane tried to hold their breath as they left the room and closed the door,
falling to their knees in a coughing fit.
Fafnir grinned sheepishly at Bane before going back in after the dust
settled. Some gold, a book, and a
bleached human skull with some powder in it were found in the chest. The next room Fafnir looks in to find a bed
room and some other furniture. He steps
in to get a better look when a bunch of rocks fall on his head after the trip
wire is crushed. Fafnir now has a
headache, and searches the room to find only a bed and stool.
The double doors remain as the only other
path available to them. The party
prepares, expecting a huge fight. They
open the doors and see an atrium that leads down to a greater area. Nothing can really be seen passed the atrium
from their vantage point, so Fafnir walks forward. A voice booms out to his right:
"Leave
the children be! You can't help them now. Go back to the town."
Fafnir
was concerned that the voice came close to him and responded back that he
didn't think that was a good idea.
"Leave
them be, none of you have the power to help them now."
Fafnir, Eggo, and Bane advanced seeing a
well-lit room that was once the lower meeting hall and has now been converted
into a sacrificial chamber. There are three stone slabs on the floor, tilted
towards the middle of the room, two with children lying upon them. Grooves have
been carved in the stone floor, leading into a drain in the center of the room,
in which a large bronze cup has been placed.
At the back of the room is a table with jars and evil books and other
nasty stuff. There is also a large spell-book.
"I am prepared to do what none of you
would against the Alidians. It is time that we return to our former
glory", states the voice.
They
search for the voice while Celceor says that killing children won't do this.
"It's
time that we go back to our roots. We've abandoned the ways of magic and that's
how we lost the war," the voice persists, "Go back! You want to take
these children back to their parents? Take them back, so they can become slaves
or killed by the Alidians? Their death here will be quick, painless, and
nothing like the horrors they would suffer at the hands of the Alidians. If you
want to help win this war, go and bring me one last child. "
Eggo
asks the party where Nick is, smiles, and then tries to free a child.
A lightning bolt flies through Fafnir, then
through Eggo, bounces around the chamber some, before going through Bane. Fafnir grabs his chest, barely hanging on,
Eggo crumbles. The bolt came from the
back, so Fafnir bum rushes the stage trying to jump and fly into and grab this
creature. Unfortunately he only gets air
as his wrist brushes up against something.
Beck lets an arrow go, scoring a hit, and leaving a floating arrow
dripping blood. Magic missiles pepper
Celceor and Fafnir. Celceor has had
enough and with a great sigh, he points a wand in the general direction of the
enemy and let's off a huge fireball.
Screams are heard, and the table with evils things plus a spell book
goes into flames on the right side.
Werkle charges, jumps on the table on the left side and swings in the
air. More magic missiles fly from behind
them scoring hits on Celecor and Fafnir.
Beck again lets an arrow fly that hits giving Fafnir a target which he
uses to run his sword through. A human
male has a shocked look on his face as he dies.
The children are removed from the slabs and Eggo tries to heal
them. The children are still
unconscious, barely breathing. There are
two other doors in this room. One is
storage for all the pews that used to be in this room. The other is a carpentry workshop, where a
chalice is found along with some Alidian insignias with gold and silver
stripped from them. The gold and silver
is piled up to the side. Some of the
gold looks like it was removed from teeth.
Bane gave the chalice to Beck; apparently all was truly forgiven between
these two. The wizard had a staff and a
mage's guild certificate of membership made out to "Conjurer Vormoth". Celceor took both. Lastly a small wooden box with 800g worth of
small gems, 500g, 2 potions, and 1 cloak was found.
We
ended the session here, with the party resting in one of the other rooms that
offered a more defensive position.
Great
session and a lot of fun for me. I
didn't do justice to the final fight. We
almost had a party death here. That
lightning bolt did around 42 points of damage.
Wish everyone was there, sorry if you missed it! Nick waited outside guarding the entrance
from surprises. He can join the party in
the resting room.
XP:
Combat
XP: 150
Story
XP: 2000
=
430 per person
RP
XP: Case by case
Bonus
Awards: Case by case
Celceor
The Wise; Elf Mage (Dave M.) XP Start: 11,901xp
RP:
200xp
100xp
- Celecor translated a chapter in the book he found
XP
for Session: 730xp
XP
Total: 12,631xp
Nick;
Human rogue (Dave P.) XP Start: 8,953xp
XP
for Session: 215xp
Total:
9,168xp
Fafnir;
Human Barbarian (Jon C) XP Start: 6,424xp
RP:
200xp
For
Session: 630xp
Total:
7,054xp
Werkle
of Dinnsmere; Dwarf Fighter (Al) XP Start: 7960 XP
RP:
225xp
Bonus:
100xp – Figured out the traps
For
Session: 755xp
Total:
8,715xp
Eggo
of the Holy Brotherhood; Human Cleric (Steph/NPC/Dave M) XP Start: 6,373xp
RP: NPC
Bonus:
50xp – Made some good rolls that helped the party figure things out
For
Session: 480xp
Total: 6,853xp
Ereyn
Bane; Human Rogue (Mike D.) XP Start: 7,237xp
RP:
200xp
Bonus:
50xp – Magical Rope :)
For
Session: 680
Total:
7,917xp
I
don't have the books in front of me, so I don't know if you leveled or
not. Post if you did from this sessions
xp awards.
Thanks
everyone!
Kevin