May 23rd, 1084 Korlai Reckoning.
Recap written by Torgo
Characters:
Terragen as "Bea" [96]
Torgo as "The Archwizard Blileninane" [99]
Krusher as "Fleck" [85]
Arthur as "Lyons" [85]
Brian as “Anathenna” [85]
Void as "Ofydd" [86]
Ethan as "Baker" [85]
There comes a time in every proper dungeon expedition when good sense, reasoned calculations, the survival of your fellow adventurers, and a grotesque hunger for treasure must be weighed against the simple truth that more bodies makes for better odds.
Following Bea and the Archwizard Blileninane’s perilous venture into the dungeon, their encounters with goblins, skeletons, and yet more insidious things lurking in the realm beyond sight, the pair were forced to acknowledge that the dearest laborer John was not enough to augment their fearsome arcane powers. Thus did Bea and Blileninane set about to recruiting more adventurers to the party, finding far more success this week than in weeks prior. At their invitation, the bold half orc fighter Fleck, the equally bold but less vocal (or fortunate) human fighter Lyons, the holy-man named Baker, and the reserved but graceful elven archer Anathenna all came to join the adventuring party for their next delve. This squad met the wizened duo as they were picking through the mud of Nickstown searching for more stones to enchant with continual light, so all among them would have an ample supply.
The first matter of business was to scout what opportunities remained within the dungeon. With the invaluable aid of the Archwizard’s wizard eye, the party sought once more to investigate the spider infested chamber which had previously held both a nest hound sized arachnids and some poor enwebbed captive, long since perished. Yet, on our return, the spiders had been wiped out, the chamber cleared, and the door beyond recently used. Some other force had beaten the party to the spoils, proving yet again that hesitation is the mother of poverty. With this avenue apparently plundered, the group reversed course toward the chamber of skeletons, where Bea and Blileninane had previously been driven away by both blades and some unseen menace.
Fleck, seemingly the most confident and physically capable of the newly gathered recruits, was given the honor and terrible responsibility of taking the lead. To aid him, Blileninane imparted the gift of flight, allowing him to advance with all the aerial grace of a warrior champion and all the tactical utility of a thrown brick, for the skeleton chamber had also been cleared and looted. The fine broadswords, the skeletons who weilded them, and the ghost that had previously troubled Bea and Blileninane were nowhere to be found, leaving behind only the sour taste of missed opportunity. Still, Fleck’s flight had not yet expired, and he set about to use it for further scouting. He was sent ahead through the far side of the slime filled bridge chamber, finding another chamber marked by a carved head set into one of the walls, but elected not to press his luck further, returning before whatever traps or foes lurked ahead could render him into a second Bob.
With the eastern passages offering no immediate sources of treasure, the Archwizard Blileninane proposed a more direct and violent course through the southern entrance, where the goblins had previously slain Bob. This was not merely revenge, though revenge was certainly in their considerations. It was a chance to open a new path into the dungeon long since denied to the party by sneaky traps and little green wretches who ought not be half as dangerous as they were proving to be. Entering through the southern approach, the party found the same arrangement of defenses. A locked door barred one path, while arrow slits and the pit trap barred the other. Below, in the spike pit, a corpse could be seen bearing some faint glimmer of treasure which the party never got a chance to collect. Bea and Blileninane prepared Fleck for battle, blessing him with flight and shield so that he might charge ahead where Bob had once flown to his death. Alas, the goblins had not grown any less cautious in the past few weeks, and the path Bob had once taken was now blocked by a locked door, leaving Fleck hovering uselessly before it while arrows began to sting him.
In an attempt to cross the trapped passage and support Fleck, Lyons made a bold leap forward only to discover that the visible pit trap was merely bait for a hidden pit trap. He slipped and fell into the second hidden pit, landing among spikes in a manner that was surely educational for the fledgeling adventurer, if not very dignified. The goblins, always the crafty bastards, poured flaming oil from the arrow slits and then shut them again, leaving Lyons impaled and burning. Fortunately, Fleck was able to pull Lyons from the pit before Bea’s clerical talents shifted from healing to writing a eulogy. It was at that time that Lyons, having nearly died in a pit and perhaps confused about why he had taken up this job, took offense at the notion that his suffering didn’t entitle him to a larger share of treasure. In a display of negotiation best described as lightly percussive, he grabbed Bea and shook her, apparently believing that thrashing the party cleric would improve his financial position. It did not.
Nevertheless, the party was able to calm Lyons, and set about to healing his grievous wounds. Meanwhile, Fleck set himself to the simpler task of lockpicking the door with his axe. Raining down repeated blows, he battered his way through and brought the fight to the goblins beyond, much to the shock of the little gremlins. For a shining moment, things seemed to go well. Fleck struck down several goblins, proving that, when properly enchanted and pointed in the right direction, he was quite a potent asset to the party. Despite their best efforts and intentions, the party was sharply reminded that goblins are social creatures and hunt in packs. Another door opened, revealing a fresh cluster of goblins, and the tactical picture quickly turned grim. The party wisely withdrew from the dungeon to rest and reconsider their options, having been stumped once more by the green menace.
The goblins, however, had no intention of allowing the party to enjoy an orderly retreat. Outside the dungeon, while the party was resting and recuperating, an ambush was sprung, and four goblins fell upon the group. In the opening exchange, the Archwizard Blileninane was struck down by an arrow and sent to the ground, saved only by the blessing he had wisely secured from the Nickstown cleric. Thus was once again proven the value of proper preparation, divine insurance, and the wisdom of the Archwizard Blileninane. While Blileninane endured this indignity, the rest of the party fought off the ambushers, the meager four of them, overcoming them and taking one captive.
Bruised, bloodied, and having narrowly survived, the party returned to town for healing at the church. Not yet finished with the goblin problem, they later returned to the ruined stones outside the eastern entrance, where one captured goblin was brought forth for interrogation. This effort was hampered by the creature’s apparent inability to understand the common human language, and by the general difficulty of extracting valuable information using Fleck’s rather direct interrogation techniques. The goblin was quickly knocked unconscious. Soon thereafter, a cleric of Sif and another adventurer came upon the scene, investigating the noise and seeming rather disturbed by the spectacle of interrogation. Judging it best not to allow the matter to become socially complicated, the party killed the goblin swiftly and moved on.
A new plan was considered, rather than continue throwing bodies at the goblins, perhaps planks could be used to cover the various traps and allow the entire party to participate. Being both sensible and practical, this plan was naturally rejected in short order. Instead, the party briefly considered a swift mission to destroy the northern doorway and open a potentially safer passage forward. Unfortunately, one of the goblins was watching the entire passageway with a crossbow, loading some manner of lightning enchanted bolt from behind a barricade. Having experienced the danger of lightning magics, the party wisely chose retreat for a third time.
With the goblins proving too entrenched for easy removal, Bea, Blileninane, and their increasingly battered company returned to the eastern entrance and descended once more toward the second floor. There, at last, their fortunes improved. The party discovered and opened a pair of chests containing a delectable haul of magical crossbow bolts, a grey potion, a sizable hoard of coin, an enchanted war-pick, and a spellbook containing a number of useful spells. As treasure finds go, it was refreshing to find items which don’t immediately blind the first person touching it.
The ape headed statue previously discovered also drew renewed attention. Ofydd and Fleck set upon it with a prybar, attempting to remove the jasper eyes from the carved head. Ofydd succeeded in prying one eye free, a gemstone of considerable value, though not without feeling suddenly ill. This was taken as a warning or foul omen, but otherwise not strongly regarded. Still, by the standards of this dungeon, that was practically a clean success.
Fleck, meanwhile, took up the enchanted war-pick and celebrated with what was apparently orcish humor, pretending to be struck down by the weapon and falling to the ground, drawing some fright from the veteran Bea and Blileninane. Once the matter was resolved, the party pressed onward toward the northern room that had previously appeared to be a wrecked barracks. Within were eight skeletons, armed with bits of broken furniture wielded as clubs. Ofydd and Lyons entered the chamber first, with Blileninane moving behind them while charging a stone missile. In the chaos of battle, the Archwizard loosed his spell and, through some incredibly poor fortune, struck Fleck in the back. Blileninane, being a man of great character, apologized and immediately reconsidered what spells would be best in the cramped confines of the dungeon. With the aid of steel, spell, and volume of bodies, the party destroyed the skeletons easily.
Beyond the barracks, Ofydd picked the lock to a further passage and discovered a spear trap before anyone could discover it with their torso. Pressing onward, the party found a strange chamber with eight pillars and mirrors, one of them emitting a beam. The arrangement suggested some sort of puzzle, likely involving the formation of a symbol or the redirection of light, but its purpose remained unclear. Lacking either time or certainty, the party continued cautiously into the adjoining chambers, marking the room as one more problem to be handled when they had more time on their hands. Among the more peculiar treasures recovered ahead was another enchanted wand, this one capable of producing a huge volume of magical darts. Blileninane tested it by firing into the soil, revealing that it held a huge number of charges, and relatively weak individual shots.
There the party decided to end their weekly venture, having found a handsome helping of treasure and knowing that they might not be able to afford to engage in another combat encounter without better preparation. They marked each spot which they had not yet cleared, and shuffled back out of the eastern entrance with some quiet satisfaction, Bea and Blileninane particularly pleased with the performance of their new allies. The dungeon, for its part, continued to yield just enough treasure to make leaving impossible and just enough suffering to make returning foolish. Naturally, we shall return.
Author's Notes
This was written using Archwizard Blileninane's in-world notes. No other notes were provided.
GM's Notes
I have never seen a player immediately feel the effects of a curse like they did this week. If it wasn't for Ofydd's Luck being used against that spear trap, he quite literally would have died. There was some stuff that happened outside of the dungeon this week, but nothing super important.
Character Advancement
+2pts from Loot
+1pts from Roleplay
+2pts from Exploration
+0pts from Freeing Prisoners
+0 Bonus Points
No Characters Died
Total: +5 to +7 (variable for each player)
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