Fifth Session (May 1st, 2003)
On Torsday, the 22nd of Yoli, Ott Ahhht the dwarf, Duncan the Hobbit
and the magic user Mandrake were resting at the Stumble Inn in
Nibblott; resting from their recent expedition into Enlandin’s
Dungeons. At 2am, guards from the Baron’s castle burst into their
rooms and abducted them.
They were clapped in irons and questioned sepparately by Ogar
Thinwhistle, the Baron’s Mage. Ogar asked them about the ancient
electrum coins that they had been passing around, about the few magic
items they had and about their missing companions; specifically Opi of
Nibblott; a hobbit who had been popular in Nibblott, and, most
importantly, demanded to know what the players knew of the demise or
dissapearance of Drusilla, the Witch of Wierding Wood.
Ott Ahhht, the dwarf, was bull headed and rude -- he demanded that he
be released and his sword returned to him. The guards hosed him
down with cold water and tossed him back into his cell. Mandrake
was almost fawningly polite and answered all of the questions. He
was rewarded with a drink and allowed to return to his own bed at the
inn. Duncan revealed as little as possible, and while not openly
insubordinate like the
dwarf, he was not helpful either. His irons were removed, he was
given
a blanket and he was led back to his cell.
The next morning, the three were ushered into the prescence of Ogar
Thinwhistle. Since the replies they had given the night before
had evidently satisfied him, Ogar asked them to undertake a quest for
the Baron. Baron Kragy coveted an amulet last known to be in the
ruins of the library of Runestone Castle. Runestone was an
ancient ruined fortress on the shores of Lake Dunsany. To get
there, the players would need to cross The Valley of the Fu
(evidendently named after a mysterious creature known as “The
Fu”).
The Baron would pay each surviving member 1000 gps and provide them
with
horses and provisions. Maps and a drawing of the amulet were also
provided.
Ogar also sent along one of his assistants, a mage named Venckmann.
The adventurers spent Saturday and Sunday resupplying and
resting. They gathered two new companions --- a fighter named
Weberran and a cleric named Philgo. On Moonday, the 25th of Yoli,
they south rode to the Valley of the Fu.
On Teyrsday, the 26th of Yoli, they continued east towards the
Runestone Castle. A gigantic multi colored bird was seen in the
sky -- it dropped a half a dozen turds, splattering Duncan and the
Cleric Philgo with fecal matter. Venckmann turned invisible as
soon as the bird appeared and warned Philgo and Duncan NOT to wash the
dung off or they would suffer a deadly curse.
The party continued on their way. On Wodensday the 27th, they
were attacked by goblins. Missile fire caused heavy casualties
among the goblins and the humanoids lost heart, running off. That
night the goblins ambushed again while Philgo stood guard. An
arrow struck Philgo down stone dead and for a moment it looked bad; the
goblins were raining arrows on the adventurers. Mandrake cast a
quick sleep spell and some quick knife work in the dark finished off
the goblins. They buried
Philgo in a grave there in the Valley of the Fu.
The next morning they saw the ruined stone walls and towers of
Runestone Castle. After brief debate, they decided to approach
the southern rounded tower. They approached the ruined gate and
several spiders the size of large dogs jumped out of the rubble and
attacked. Weberran squashed one spider with his polearm, was bit
by another and died a horrible death from poison. The party
quickly killed the spiders and buried Webberan right there beside the
gate.
As they approached the round tower, they noticed a small boat pulled up
on the shore of Lake Dunsany. Duncan decided to push the boat out
and let it drift from shore. Mandrake speculated on who could
have
left the boat here and why. They picketed the horses nearby and
approached the round tower.
It soon became apparent that the inside of this tower had collapsed
into the cellar. Two carrion crawlers pursued the hobbit who had
been scouting ahead and were brought down by missile fire and
spells. As Duncan peered down into the wreckage, he saw a half
buried door in the wall of the basement of the tower. They used
ropes to climb down and dug the door out of the rubble and entered.
Inside, they found themselves in a dusty, ruined tunnel. They
proceeded a short distance and found a door. Opening the door,
they were attacked by an ogre. After a brief but fierce combat,
the Ogre was defeated. The square room contained a pile of skins
and furs, a pile of coins and a large black mirror built into the
wall. The mirror had a number of elven runes carved into it’s
frame. Clockwise, the runes read, “b s w g f t k r d l m.”
Duncan poked around in the pile of furs and found the amulet they had
been looking for. Having decided that he didn’t trust Venckmann,
he concealed the finding from the mage but let Ott and Mandrake know he
had the amulet.
They proceeded north from the Ogre’s den and entered a larger chamber
where a dozen kobolds were found. Mandrake fired off a quick
sleep
spell and most of them fell asleep immeadiately. The few who had
resisted the spell suddenly popped out of sight -- either our players
were seeing things
or these kobolds had simply vanished. They entered the room and
began
slaying the sleeping kobolds. Suddenly a knife bit into
Venckmann’s flesh -- a kobold had materialized behind him and attacked
him from behind. Another Kobold materialized and attacked the the
Dwarf. The adventurers counterattacked; one Kobold was cut down
and died while the rest stepped back and vanished. Duncan
attempted a sweep of the room while Venckmann uncorked a small bottle
and drank it’s contents. There wer a few other attacks -- Mandrake got
stabbed --- and the last kobold vanished. The party heard
footsteps walking away into a pool of inky darkness that was down the
hall to the east.
They retreated back to the Ogre’s den, fastened the door shut with a
spike and spent the night investigating the mysterious mirror.
Sometimes touching one or more letters would cause the surface of the
mirror to shimmer. One could stick one’s head through and see
into another space... they saw a cave with runes carved on the wall,
another dungeon-like room with giant beetle-like creatures that crawled
towards the mirror when someone stuck their head through and a dark
chamber with an undead creature in it.
The next day they again attempted to go north up the hall but were
ambushed by Kobold missile fire. The Kobolds were popping in and
out of sight, pelting the fearless three with arrows. Finally
they decided they had had enough and they retreated south to the round
tower and climbed the rope to the surface.
On the surface, they discovered that all of the horses had been killed
and eaten by some creature. They debated the merits of returning to the
dungeon below, exploring the ruined keep, travelling north to Blackmoor
or returning to Nibblott and collecting their reward. They
decided to return to
Nibblott and make sure that Venckmann (whom they disliked) should get
none
of the credit for finding the scarab.
The long march across the plain was without incident. At one
point they saw several griffons flying along, but the griffons showed
no interest in them (having eaten all those horses recently...).
They also saw the Fu from a great distance.
At the castle in Niblott they bribed Pevely the Butler to get in to see
Ogar and presented him with the scarab. They expressed their
dissatisfaction with Venckmann as a travelling companion. Ogar
gave them each 1000 gps and a healing potion and offered to try to find
out more about the magic sword the dwarf had found in the
dungeons. The party agreed to return in two days and collect the
weapon. They then went to the gem dealer and traded the gold for
the more portable wealth of gemstones.