Wandered Roads 33

Wandered Roads of Varisia
Session 33
July 12, 2014

Campaign Timeline

The Derro and the Shard

Fireday, 28th of Lamashan

**It was recounted that, while the party had camped the previous evening, Daellin had made a magical trip back to Magnimar to purchase some much needed healing potions.**

The Heroes listened to the information given to them by the unexpectedly friendly underwater Ghoul and decided to approach the Derro from the west, dealing with the Green Slime first. It was quite easy to spot, since they were looking for it, and after several folk were able to sneak past it, it was destroyed by magical fire. The Heroes then thought it was a good idea to deal with the eel’s rumored to be living in the sewer pipes to the east.

The eel lived in the pipe

Using tactical position and magic, they were able to lure the eels out individually and kill them without taking any damage. Daellin’s Blink spell and Calina’s arrows to the eyes were pivotal in this victory.

Next the party followed a passage to the south that went around a corner and up some stairs. The passage ended in a dark balcony overlooking a large room that was lit by glowing blue fungus. A large spiral staircase led down in the center of the room and just past that, a trio of Derro were seemingly arguing with each other. They were watched for some time while an elaborate plan was devised to determine their motivations and get close enough to engage. While Daellin and Kallin backtracked to another passage thought to lead to the Derro chamber, the three targets separated and left the main chamber. Daellin and Kallin followed one of the Derro into some sort of workshop where he was examining some sort of disgusting Flesh Golem made up of rat, spider, troglodyte and Dwarf parts. Daellin moved into position while his companions arrived outside. A brief skirmish ended with the Derro dead and the Golem destroyed.

Derro

They decided to go after each of the other Derro one at a time but on the way to the next door, Samad was suddenly very interested by something across the room… a blank section of the wall. Immediately everyone started searching and Samad revealed a secret door that was quickly opened.

The space behind the door was ancient and had not been recently disturbed, based on the amount of cobwebs and dust present. A giant spider-like creature is poised in the adjacent alcove, very much dead, though well preserved. Samad didn't wait for anyone before brushing the cobwebs aside and heading down the curved stone stairs. These stairs circled around several times, descending somewhere between two and three hundred more feet.

Finally the stairs ended in a small antechamber with a short flight of steps leading up to double doors marked with the Sihedron Star. Large, unlit braziers stood on pedestals to either side of the stairs. Calina made an attempt to search for traps, but Samad was on a mission, and Daellin was shadowing his every step. They young swordsman grabbed the doors and threw them open to reveal an oval shaped room with a golden glowing dome ceiling. A stone altar stood in the center of the room and two giant spider-like creatures leapt in to attack, one from either side of the door. These spiders were quickly identified as the Shriezyx, an evil that the city of Magnimar has battled before and known to inhabit the Irespan. At first quite concerned at fighting these dangerous foes without the axes of Ehlyna, they quickly were victorious, thanks in large part to Calina’s well placed arrows.

Entering the Sihedron Shrine

The center of the room contained a large, seven pointed stone altar with an indention for the Sihedron Star to fit into. In one of the points sat a dark black metal shard, similar in appearance to the metal that Samad’s adamantine sword is made out of. Before the battle with the Shriezyx was even fully concluded, Daellin rushed over to the Shard, and using his cloak, scooped the piece up and shoved it into his pack.

Samad bravely engages his foe!

Daellin faces off against a foe!

One Shriezyx has been defeated!

A Shriezyx burns!

Continuing Story Doc

Session Notes

There was a bit of a flashback sequence at the beginning of the session when I allowed one of the characters to Teleport himself back to Magnimar and purchase nearly every Healing Potion in the city. I allowed this to have taken place while the party camped at the end of the last session (but the Teleporting character's player was not present last time and no one thought of it). I'm sometimes nice like that. I'm sometimes NOT nice like that as well. Just sayin. 

Two players missing tonight, they wandered off to explore a potential escape route back to the city.

Daellin going for the Shard

Characters Present:

Kallin Hawkril, Half-Orc shaman and budding Priest of Pharasma - played by +Daniel Ernst
Calina - Varisian Human archer and scout - played by +Carol Coburn
Leela Cardnool, Gnome scout, cartographer and Illusionist - played by +Lisa Smith
Daellin Silvanthalas, Elven Farstrider Ranger - played by +Ben Lipe
Vexeron, Human wizard - played by +Greg Grady
Ehlyna Fuzziface - Dwarven Warrior - played by +Jodi H
Samad Aldhul, Human ex-mercenary - played by +JeCorey Holder

and +Jason Woollard as the DM

Wandered Roads 32

Wandered Roads of Varisia
Session 32
June 14, 2014

Campaign Timeline

Deeper Still...

Oathday, 27th of Lamashan

Hound of Hell

The Heroes of Sandpoint continued their seemingly unending exploration of the complex inside and beneath the Irespan piling known as "The Crow." The came across a strange circular maze that had all surfaces covered with thick iron plates, each covered in spiky Thassalonian runes. Occasional scorch marks and burnt bones were spotted in the maze. A Created Servant that strongly resembled Samad and dubbed Samad Junior, was sent ahead to scout the area. After a few minutes, some distant growling and roaring sounds punctuated the end Samad Junior. Further exploration revealed the source of this noise as that of a Hellhound. A brief skirmish ended with the Hellhound nothing more than
another scorch mark on the floor.

Eventually the center of the maze was found and it revelaed itself to be something of a planar portal or summoning area. Vexeron was able to determine that the entire maze with its iron bound passages were a giant tool used to aid in opening planar gateways, this one possibly leading directly to the Hells and other Infernal places. In an attempt to destroy this device, some of the metal plates were pried from the wall, first through brute force, then through magic. In all, about 20 of the plates were removed, but Vexeron could not determine if anything they were doing had any affect on the function of the area, so the efforts were stopped.

Next the Heroes explored an unworked passage, an oddity thus far in this structure. This passageway was rough cut from natural caverns and appeared damp and a bit muddy.  As the companions explored down a slight slope, the ground suddenly shifted under their feet, turning into something of a rock slide that deposited everyone in a shallow pool of water in a large natural cavern. The passage behind them had fallen away considerably and it would be difficult to return that way so they pressed onward.

Grey Ooze... yuck!

The far edge of the shallow pool was covered in what at first appeared to be slippery rocks and mud but quickly turned out to be a dangerous foe. The ground was covered in what appeared to be some sort of mobile and aggressive grey ooze thing that wasted no time in striking out with sticky, acidic tendrils. Samad quickly learned that sword slashes merely divided the ooze into smaller but more numerous foes.

Vexeron tried to light it on fire with magical flame, but that had no effect and in the end, it turned out that non-bladed impact weapons like staves and hands and feet were the most effective weapon. Minimal damage was taken, though Calina noted that her armor was damaged some by the creatures corrosive touch and it would have to be repaired once they were back in Magnimar.

Gross!

The party continued their exploration and eventually the natural caverns met back up with the carved stone hallways they were familiar with. The next set of rooms, halls and chambers led them to locked iron door with some sort of Thassalonian sign on it. Not concerned with the sign, Ehlyna kicked the door in and burst into the next room where the group was set upon by a trio of strange and disturbing creatures. These malformed lumps of flesh hopped around on long spindly legs an bit at victims with wide, toothy maws. This encounter was also met with violence and in a few moments, they creatures were nothing more than bloody lumps of skin and bone.

The exhausted party felt that it was getting late and was finally time to make camp and rest for the night. They retreated to the storage room they had successfully camped in the previous night and were able to secure themselves again and get some rest. Upon waking, they traveled back to where they had left off.

Fireday, 28th of Lamashan

The next area to explore was a large, ornate room with raised platforms on either of its ends. Both platforms had steps that led down to dark and murky water that covered most of the room. Ominous black pillars ran along both side walls of the chamber, their surfaces carved in the likeness of numerous tentacles intertwined. Wary of the dark water, Vexeron summoned up another Servant, this one, Ehlina, had the face of Calina on top of Ehlyna's body. This got a chuckle from a few members of the party, and stern looks from others. Vexeron sent the Servant down the steps and into the water. Ehlina started swimming after several steps as it appeared that the water was quite deep. Almost immediately, Ehlina ran into trouble as several grey shapes crested and converged on her, quickly attacking and dragging her under the waves. Vexeron instinctively knew that Ehlina was no more and another way to cross the room was devised.

Aquatic Sinspawn

Daellin tapped his magical prowess to give Ehlyna and Kallin the powers of flight before teleporting himself and Leela safely to the other side. Vexeron used his magic to Apportate the remaining members high up and over the water. As Vexeron crossed, the creatures in the water made a few leaps out trying to get him, revealing themselves as aquatic versions of the Sinspawn that had been previously encountered.

After passing the water filled chamber without incident, the heroes discovered yet another long flight of stairs leading down. Descending at least another 30 feet or so, they reailized that they were now on a lower level of the dungeon.

The first thing they came to was some sort of underground cistern that filled a small chamber. An ornate, shiny black onyx torch burned in a sconce near the entry way. Tunnels with channels of water headed off in three different directions. Waterlogged and rotted timbers acted as makeshift bridges across the mouths of each water channel. A raspy singing could be heard coming from the passage to the east.

Curious about the singing and not wanting to cross over any of the timber bridges, the party headed to the east, walking carefully along a narrow ledge that ran alongside the 5 foot wide trough of water. The

an underground sewer of some type...

passage led to another cistern like chamber. This chamber had a stone arch bridge that went across the room and led out by one dry passage to the south. Around the entire outside edge of the room was painted the city skyline of Magnimar down near the water level. Several small boats were painted below the city level, giving them the impression of actually floating on the dark water in the room. The singing had stopped but shortly after arriving at the room, a raspy voice called out, coming from somewhere down below the bridge.

The voice, which ended up belonging to one Lockerbie Brast, asked questions about the heroes and their reason for being down here. Lockerbie seemed quite happy to have someone to talk to and over the course of the conversation, it was revealed that he was some type of undead, which was confirmed by one of Kallin's spells, and that he had previously been a ship captain of a fishing vessel that sank near by. The companions realized that it was the same ship they had seen from the underwater observation dome the previous day. Lockerbie agreed to help them with some information about some of the areas nearby if they said promised him that they would retrieve a special broach that sank with his ship, the Liza Jane and return it to his beloved of the same name in Magnimar. After being convinced by the group that they would try to help him, he revealed that there were some deep Gnomes, or Derro, operating nearby. He explained that they were dangerous and evil and he had not had any interactions with them yet, but they he had observed them coming and going sometimes, often returning to their lair with captives.

Session Notes

Though we were short a few players this session, it was a fantastic mix of exploration, combat, vandalism and conversation. It was a really fun and exciting session. I was able to challenge the characters and put them in some situations that were potentially dangerous and they were able to deal with the challenges and over come each obstacle, often in a way I had not envisioned.

Characters Present:

Kallin Hawkril, Half-Orc shaman and budding Priest of Pharasma - played by +Daniel Ernst
Calina - Varisian Human archer and scout - played by +Carol Coburn
Leela Cardnool, Gnome scout, cartographer and Illusionist - played by +Lisa Smith
Daellin Silvanthalas, Elven Farstrider Ranger - played by +Ben Lipe
Vexeron, Human wizard - played by +Greg Grady
Ehlyna Fuzziface - Dwarven Warrior - played by +Jodi H
Samad Aldhul, Human ex-mercenary - played by +JeCorey Holder

and +Jason Woollard as the DM

Wandered Roads 31

Wandered Roads of Varisia
Session 31
May 3, 2014

Campaign Timeline

The Baby-Faced Fly

(still) Wealday 29th of Lamashan

Upon waking the next morning, safely camped in the cluttered store room, the group began making plans about their next move. They had several options and in the end decided to try a whole different route of approach to get to Lord Baz, the "Baby-Faced Fly." They had to pass back through the Suzerain's 'domain' again and of course got some flak from him for not completing their quest yet but they didn't wait long and continued onward. Worried about wandering into any more trapped areas, Vexeron used his magic to create a magical servant (in all, SIX magical servants were created and killed through-out this session: Bradley, Vexy, Skully, Chewey, Stooly and Chisel Chin). All served a purpose and most died horrible deaths!) to scout ahead and check things out.

After passing through the first room of this level where the giant abyssal larva had been defeated, the Heroes turned south and explored the passages in that direction. Sticking to their plan, the Heroes stayed to the right anytime they came to multiple passages and eventually encountered a pair of strange,

Devilish footsoldiers - easily destroyed!

devilish creatures that resembled a vaguely humanoid figure made of waxy, almost liquid flesh that hung from their deformed bones. They made no attempt to communicate and stared vacantly from empty eye sockets. These disturbing creatures moved to attack with their long spears and were quickly dispatched.

Next, a wide antechamber with three doors leading to the east. A green fountain bubbled along the north wall and the door next to it was blocked by piles of rubble and debris. They tasked their magical servant to unblock the door. Sticking to the right, they entered the room and found a seemingly empty room with a table, some benches and an ornate and archaic harp. Upon moving into the room, the Heroes were addressed by Lord Baz, the Baby-Faced Fly! He demanded they surrender and work for him and immediately leave to hunt down his rival, the Suzerain of Little Erebus. A brief skirmish revealed that this devil and his imp companions were cowardly and they all fled, though not before one of the imps was killed by Whisper's strike.

Lord Baz, the Baby-Faced Fly, was a coward!

The harp was gathered up and the room searched, but nothing more valuable was found. They explored the previously blocked room to find several more devils and dispatched them. The center door led to a hallway that ended in solid bars blocking the way to the next room. Vexeron created another servant on the other side of the bars and, through him, was able to figure out how to open the bars using the crank that had been discovered in the storage room they had camped in earlier.

Lord Baz made a re-appearance giving the Heroes one more chance to side with him but after realizing that wasn't going to work out, he called some curses and then disappeared for good. Further exploration of the nearby rooms uncovered several more groups of various devils and destroyed them.

Eventually they came to a section of the complex that had a strong sea-water smell and the Heroes began to worry they were getting themselves into a situation that may involve being crushed by millions of gallons of water. They did find an interesting room that had a set of steps that descended into water an appeared to lead out into the Outcast Cove, the body of water surrounding Magnimar and the Irespan. A magical barrier prevented the water from entering the chamber but one of the magical servants was able to pass through it easily and return. An adjoining room led to a set of spiral stairs that went up about 20 feet to a domed observation chamber, giving a murky view of the bottom of the bay. Faint light could be seen filtering down from the surface far above. What looked like a small shipwreck could be seen not far away from where the stairs below exited out onto the floor of the bay.

A shipwreck could be seen from the observation dome.

Another nearby door was not able to be opened and seemed to be blocked from within. Fearing that it lead directly out to to the sea, the Heroes left that one alone and with no further avenues to explore in this section of the dungeon, they headed back toward the Suzerain of Little Erebus's domain to continue exploration to the south. As expected, they encounter the Suzerain again and convince him that they have defeated Lord Baz. He rewards the Heroes with the "greatest treasures" of his domain: a sack with around 100 silver coins and a magical scroll. He then disappears, stating that he is taking over Lord Baz's domain and that Little Erebus is free for the taking.

With much head shaking and laughter, the Heroes continue on, pressing to the south, hoping to find some closure or clue at least, that they are close to the end of their quest. But when the next door is opened, they are disheartened to find more passages leading off into three different directions. There they paused, deciding which direction to take next.

Session Notes

This was another very fun and productive session. We blasted through several fights and explored a lot more of the dungeon. They resolved the mission regarding the two feuding devils and even found some interesting locations leading out to the sea floor of the bay surrounding the dungeon. Wary of walking into another trap like they did last sessions, the group made good use of the Create Servant spell and sent many a magically created helper to his early demise. There was some moral debate on this course of action, with Calina being very worried that these created servants were actual people and they were sending them to their deaths. Vexeron explained to her using complex magical gobbeldy-gook that they were not real people, but just magical recreations of them. Finally Calina got on board with the idea.

Unfortunatley we were missing two players again. Hope they make it back to the table soon!

Characters Present:

Kallin Hawkril, Half-Orc shaman and budding Priest of Pharasma - played by +Daniel Ernst
Calina - Varisian Human archer and scout - played by +Carol Coburn
Leela Cardnool, Gnome scout, cartographer and Illusionist - played by +Lisa Smith
Daellin Silvanthalas, Elven Farstrider Ranger - played by +Ben Lipe
Vexeron, Human wizard - played by +Greg Grady
Ehlyna Fuzziface - Dwarven Warrior - played by +Jodi H
Samad Aldhul, Human ex-mercenary - played by +JeCorey Holder

and +Jason Woollard as the DM

Grand Duchy 15

Grand Duchy of Adventure

Session 15
May 6, 2014

The Black Mirror

Session Summary

The Grey Company waited outside the stone door separating them from a horde of undead they had previously been unsuccessful at defeating. Griffin was eager to return through the door to explore the shaft and ladder leading further down that he had spied during their first encounter with the skeletons. Draven was determined to destroy this mob of abominations and he prayed to the Immortals to give him the tools he needed. In an epiphany, he realized that he knew the chant to potentially harm or drive off a whole army of undead, he just hoped he knew it well enough that it made a difference. Remar and Marcel were both just itching to fight, though both were wary of the uneven odds behind the door. Ree continued to be distant and pessimistic, but she let the others know she was ready to fight when the time came. The members of the company lined up to keep shields to the outside and when the doors were opened, everyone was told to stay together and not leap out into the room.

The skeletal horde!

The opening of the door was timed with Draven's prayer and just as he finished, Griffin and Marcel shoved the heavy stone slap to the side. As the golden light from Draven's glowing holy symbol flooded the room, so did his words of divine power. Nearly all the skeletons in the chamber shuddered, as if hit by a sturdy mace. One of the walking dead exploded into a cloud of bone shards and a handful of them turned and fled the front lines. The Company fell on the skeletons, using the flats of their swords and shield bashes to great affect. Remar's bolts were particularly effective, smashing skeleton after skeleton. Ree was able to help out with her magic, apportating several skeletons off the ground and out of the fight. Draven's divine magic shielded him from everything the skeletons could throw at him and withing a few moments the horde was reduced to piles of bones and splinters around the room. The few that had fled or been forced away were dispatched with little to no trouble.

Griffin immediately moves toward the metal ladder that can be seen leading down into a darkened shaft. He takes his time and examines the entire alcove for traps or anything else unusual while the others take a much needed rest. Eventually, when he thinks that the area surrounding the shaft and ladder is safe, he approaches and receives a jolt and shock when he touches the metal. Pulling his hand back he quickly summons Remar and Ree to check the area for any further traps. Remar notices fine lines of magical runes on the ladder, that to Griffin's eyes had only looked like scratches or grooves in the metal

Remar checked out the magical runes

ladder. He realizes that they are some form of magical trap and has Marcel scratch them out with his spear tip. Small arcs of lightning can be seen at the tip of the spear for a moment, but they quickly die down.

Bravely, Griffin grasps the metal again, this time with no accompanying shock, and leads the way down into the darkness. Another level of the dungeon is discovered below with a passage leading back to the east ending in yet another stone door. Griffin quickly moves to examine the hallway and door while the others back him up. He finds two loose stones in the floor just in front of the door and thinks they might be pressure plates. He calls Ree up, hoping her sharp Half-Elven eyes will help him better understand it. She spots tiny holes in the wall on each side of the door, just even with the pressure plates. She assumes they are for darts to shoot out of. Being careful to not trigger the trap, Griffin has Marcel and Draven block the holes with their shields as he finished checking out the door.

Gargoyles!

The door is opened with no issue and the next chamber seems to be so black that it almost absorbs the golden light shining from Draven's holy symbol. The walls, floors and ceiling are all black. At the far end of the room stood two dark pillars. Between these pillars stood a dark rectangular shape. Between each pillar and the wall stood tall, dark statues of demonic looking creatures. As the Company stepped
into the room to begin their exploration, the stone statues came to life, charging quickly across the room and attacking with sharp stone claws! The Company immediately went on the defensive and tried to get into better position. It is quickly discovered that the stone gargoyles are formidable opponents and much thought is given to defense as the attack options are not being very effective.

After a short time, Ree and Remar begin moving toward the back of the room to check out the large object between the pillars, hoping that it might have something to do with the unstoppable gargoyles. Rounding the nearest pillar, Remar sees that it is a large black surfaced mirror with an ornate, gem-encrusted frame. Upon looking into the mirror, though, he is surprised to see not his reflection, but a twisted and warped reflection of himself and his companions struggling in an evil black landscape. After a moment of gazing at this scary image, Ree begins trying to pull the mirror over, seemingly unhinged and angry at it. Remar, figuring she is on to something, gives her a hand and begins smashing the obsidian surface with his staff, eventually shattering it!

Facing off against the stone guardians.

Ree was happy for a change.

As Remar's staff cracks the surface of the black mirror, it explodes into millions of tiny black shards, which tear through Ree and Remar's clothes and embed themselves in their skin. At the exact same moment, the stone gargoyles explode as well, sending sharp, rocky shards into everyone else. Griffin nearly collapses from his wounds and everyone else is reeling. And though she was considerably wounded by the shards of glass, Ree was laughing and proclaimed that she felt better than she had in a long time!

Continued on GDA16 - Returning the Statue

Cast of Characters: 

Garrett "Griffin" Constantine, a Thyatian rogue of a gambler from Penhaligon rolled by +Arne Jamtgaard 
Remar Umerus, an Alphatian battle mage that escaped forced service in the Thyatian army conjured by +Ben Lipe and piloted by +Alex Safatli 
Marcel Maas, a down on his luck Traladaran soldier turned mercenary commanded by +Christian Blouin 
Draven Rickart, a Thyatian Acolyte of the Church of Karameikos piously played by +Jason Packer 
and +Jason Woollard as the DM

Grand Duchy 14

Grand Duchy of Adventure

Session 14
April 25 - May 5, 2014

Going Down

Tserdain 20th of Thaumont, 1001AC

Where Does This Ladder Go?

It goes down.

Inside the small building on the island in the Lake of Lost Dreams, there is a stone shaft leading down into the darkness. A crude ladder of stone ledges is carved into one of the walls. Eager to see what mysteries lie at the bottom, Griffin clambers into the narrow shaft and begins climbing down, followed quickly by Marcel, Draven, Remar and Ree. Draven’s glowing holy symbol sheds just enough light to be able to see. Behind him, Draven hears Ree muttering something under her breath. As he turns to look at her, she curses under her breath and shoves him in the shoulder and sneers, “Come on, get going!”

“As her ladyship commands!” he says, voice pitched only for her to hear, and proceeds down the ladder with rather more surety of grip than he’d expected. The light from his symbol provides a good view of the rungs, and gives him ample opportunity to not only avoid the dangerous footings, but to provide commentary to Ree and Remar behind him of where those are as they proceed with their climb.

Draven tries to call out some instructions to his companions coming after him, but he realizes that his instructions are not very helpful as his companions are not very sure about which spots he is talking about. Fortunately it seems that they are able to maneuver the stone ‘ladder’ well enough. Draven does notice that his climbing skills seem to a bit more intuitive than he remembered from the last climb he made.

Remar shakes his head sadly at Ree, sad to see such behavior from a woman. But then realizes she is a woman and possibly recounts his own opinion. Taking a look at the hole, and then at Ree, and then back at the hole, the mage decided to not take any chances with his rather poor ability to climb. Muttering a rather short incantation, with himself as a target, the mage attempts to cast Climbing. With an added confidence in his grip, the mage descends slowly behind Draven.

Griffin steps to one side as he clears the bottom of the ladder. His eyes adjust quickly to the gloom and he checks the room for any signs of danger.  Dad always said that it’s never too soon to look for traps.  Or snakes.

Griffin searches around the landing at the bottom of the ladder as the others climb down but he does not find anything obviously dangerous. The landing is a small square chamber about 10 feet across with an arched tunnel leading out of one side. The floor is covered with several inches of old, rotting leaves, moist and spongy. The passage leading out is about 6 feet wide and no more than 8 feet high in the center. About 30 feet down the dark corridor it ends in a wide stone door.

A tunnel and a door!

Marcel notice Remar floating down the shaft. “Pace yourself, Remar. We don’t know how deep and how dangerous this place is going to get.” He runs the tip of his spear on the tiles ahead of him and look for signs on the ground. The ruckus of the climbing troop gets in the way, and he steps 2 yards ahead into the gloom and tries to listen.

“Whatever profane gods this temple was established to serve seem to have abandoned their flock. It seems it’s been some time since anyone set foot down here.” Seeing Marcel moving ahead, Draven turns and takes a half step towards him, giving him the benefit of his light.

Griffin is torn between being all professional and giggling with glee.  His first dungeon! Dad would be proud. “Okay, guys, let’s take it slow while we can, and hope things don’t get too exciting.  I’ll be looking for traps and tripwires, Draven, you’re our light, so stay central.” Before heading down the hallway he checks the room the ladder is in for any secrets.

Marcel does not hear anything except for the slight whistle of the wind blowing through the building 30 feet up at the top of the shaft.

Remar suggests one of them should check to see what is past the door, and if it is locked. “This place does not really appear to have been occupied for a great deal of time, as the pixies had said. I feel a little worried about what this entails about its contents.”

The door is stuck!

Making sure his shield and club are at the ready, Draven lets his holy symbol hang loose at his chest, illuminating the passageway. “If we find ourselves in a spot, I can call upon the Immortals for guidance as to the presence of other living things around us, but I dare not do it often lest I anger them with my constant demands.”

The Grey Company carefully moves down the passageway, illuminated only by Draven’s glowing holy symbol. The thick layer of rotting leaves gives way to rough stone floor as the shaft is left behind. While the walls and arched ceiling of the tunnel appear to be dry, the floor has numerous puddles of dark, stagnant water, probably from rainwater coming down through the shaft. The solid looking stone door at the end of the tunnel is flanked by columns, similar to the ones holding up the roof above. Some lines and etchings can be seen on the surface of the door, though they are faint and covered with a thick layer of cobwebs and dust.

Knock-Knock

Griffin steps forward and examines the door and immediate area for any type of traps that may be present. Draven moves to the front of the line to give his companion some light to see by. After about 10 minutes he finally comes to the conclusion that the door is safe. There is no knob or handle visible and it looks as if the door opens into the next chamber. Griffin looks to his companions then back toward the door.

Before he can begin pushing on the heavy looking door, Ree shoves her way to the front of the line. “Hold on! I’m as eager to see what’s on the other side of that door as you are, Griff, but let’s be careful about this. There could be anything there. Let me try something.” The young Half-Elf girl steps up to the door and begins moving her hands and feet in a complex ritual. She then speaks some unintelligible words in a strong, firm voice. Magic. As she finishes her spell, Draven’s light seems to intensify for a moment, making Ree’s shadow grow on the stone door ahead. The young girl seems to radiate power for a brief moment then it all goes away. Her shoulders slump and her head leans forward. “Dammit!” she yells and hits the door with both of her hands. The young girl then turns and starts pushing her way back through the gathered crowd. “Back off, you were crowding me! You ruined the spell!” When she gets through to the end of the line, she stomps off back down the tunnel to the base of the shaft where she slumps against the wall, occasionally striking the stone walls or kicking at piles of rotting leaves on the ground.  

A chagrined look on his face, Draven - making a point to hold his holy symbol high, lest he leave everyone else in the darkness, walks back to where Ree is leaning. He puts a hand on her shoulder and trots out his very bad grasp of Elvish. “You be… gooder than this. Not… you be mean, be angry to you.” Dropping back into his native tongue he continues, “you were onto something there. Maybe you could try again?”

Ree pulls away from Draven’s touch then she yells at him, her words echoing through the narrow corridor. “Leave me alone! Don’t touch me!” She buries her head into the corner. Draven can hear her sobbing. He pauses for a moment then she turns and looks at him, her eyes wet and narrow. Draven sees her hand gripping the hilt of the knife at her waist. “I said leave me alone,” she hisses at him through clenched teeth.

Taking a deep breath, Draven centers himself, remembering his training - when ministering to those in need, one’s ego is the last thing that needs to enter into the picture. Keeping his voice low and soothing, like speaking to an enraged mother bear, he whispers “You’d never stab me. And if you did, it wouldn’t be me you were trying to hurt at all, would it?” He deliberately turns back to the others. “Might as well open that door, Griffin. If there’s anything evil on the other side, we’ve got our own wild woman ready to tear it to ribbons.” He heads back towards the door, the better to light the way.

Griffin swears, “Aw, hell.”  He stalks back down the hall. “Hey, Ree, what’s the hold up?” He sees the knife, and stops, close but not too close. His voice lowered, he continues. “Hey look, I need you up there. I need you to have my back. You’re the only mage who I trust to know what to look for.  Remar’s a soldier who shoots first.  Draven? Not his bailiwick, I’m thinking. Magic is your thing, and I get that’s it’s tricky. We crowded you - it’s not like we’re used to working with an entourage, right? There’s a learning curve.”

“So next time, we give you more room, okay? But right now, I’m waiting on you, and they’re waiting on me. Is there anything you want to try before we open the door? Or like the priest said, should we just open it and turn you loose on whatever’s on the other side?”

Remar feels a little socially incapable to recover the situation with Ree and decides to go up to the door and, saying that he feels pretty confident that whatever is behind the door is already alerted to their presence, he goes to open it. Making sure someone is with him and giving him cover, he will continue with his action and slowly open the door. “Whatever you were planning to do, do it fast, Griffin.”

The young mage puts both hands on the door and starts to push. He can feel it waver a bit, but the stone slab is too heavy for him to push on his own.

Marcel ignores the drama, gears for a clash and offer to Remar to be in front of him when the door opens. He will, however, wait for Griffin to come back at the ready before doing anything.

Ree, her head down merely shrugs her shoulders at Griffin. She relaxes a bit but keeps her head down and refuses to make eye contact with anyone as they rejoin the group. When prompted if she wants to ‘try anything else’ up at the door, she grunts and shrugs her shoulders again, declining. Griffin makes his way back to the front of the line where Remar and Marcel are contemplating the best way to open the heavy stone door.

Griffin gives the door one last look over, then glances over his shoulder. “Well, c’mon folks. I think this will need several shoulders worth of effort.” He demonstrates as he starts to push  against the large stone slab.

Not the beefiest of fellows, but Draven puts his shoulder into the push alongside Griffin, hoping that he’ll be enough to swing the door open, but keeping in mind the necessary prayers for a quick spell if there’s anything awaiting on the other side of the door.

Together, several sets of hands and shoulders push against the stone door. A slight grating sound can be heard but the door does not open.

Griffin steps back and takes another pass at the area.  First he tries to discern more about the lines and etchings on the door’s surface, first brushing it off and then blowing the dust away. If that proves fruitless, he will turn his attention to the columns next to the door, searching in their vicinity for any indications of how the door used to open (hidden buttons or switches, wear marks on the columns or floor or ceiling, or on the door itself.)

Marel likewise begins to look for mechanism on either side of the door by running his fingers over the masonry.

Skeletons in the Closet!

No visible catches or latches are found anywhere on the smooth, stone slab nor on the fluted columns to either side. All together, in a coordinated effort, the four companions shove on the door. A slight stone on stone grating sound is heard, then, unexpectedly, the door shifts and swings open. The light from Draven’s holy symbol floods into the chamber beyond, revealing a 15’ by 15’ space. There are two passages leading out to the right and left and a narrow alcove in the far wall. Griffin, who had been pushing extra hard, stumbles into the room as the door opens and quickly looks around. Immediately he spots the danger as several skeletons lurch forward from the near corners of the room toward him. He spots two more standing in the far corners as well. Before he can even call out a warning to his friends, he sees many more skeletons in each of the side passages, ready to stream out into the room!

A horde of undead!

Griffin stumbles back into the doorway. “Skeletons! Form up!” he yells, as he readies his shield and sword. He takes up position to Marcel’s left.

“Draven!  Can you and your gods dispel these foul creatures?”

“Others of my order have such gifts, but mine are in other areas. Ranged attackers, get behind me!” Draven begins to concentrate on a prayer to bring up a holy shield to protect him, so that he might be a bulwark against which the wave of skeletons break.

Griffin grips his sword and Waits for a skeleton to step into range.

Remar moves to Draven’s rear, shooting a bolt of energy at the nearest skeleton to his left. “I am certainly not surprised there are skeletons here. Draven, hurry up with that shield!”

Remar steps back behind the Acolyte and sends a magical bolt soaring over his head at the nearest Skeleton (to the left). The eldritch bolt slams into the undead abomination, shattering most of what is left of its ribcage, sending it reeling back several feet.

“Lords of holiness protect me!” cries Draven, his holy symbol flashing against his chest. A shimmering shield forms up in front of him and he prepares to fight the next skeleton to close the distance.

Marcel opens with his signature dual attack on the skeleton adjacent to him, then takes a step forward to open the way. “There are many of them, keep the defensive position of the hallway to avoid being cut-off.”

The Skeleton nearest Marcel manages to dodge Marcel’s shield bash as it lumbers forward.

The skeletons surge forward, filling the room. One steps inside Marcel’s shield and claws at him with his bony hands while the others move in to attack. Griffin, quickly strikes at the Skeleton that has stepped up into his range.

Thinking quickly, Griffin swings at the skeleton with the flat of his blade, hoping to shatter the brittle old bones!

The approaching Skeleton, the same one that had been hit by Remar’s bolt, crumbles under the strength of Griffin’s blow.

Flush with an early victory, Griffin swings at another skeleton, again with the flat of his blade.

Griffin’s blade connects with another skeleton solidly but it stays standing.

The battle rages!

Marcel attempts a knee strike on the skeleton in close but misses and takes a step back to encumber the skeleton sandwich between him and Draven.

“Everyone back down two steps!” as Marcel feels a little crowded by skeleton at this time.

Taking advantage of the close quarters, Draven lashes out at the skeleton between himself and Marcel, hoping to open a way for Marcel to step back into a defensive position.

Remar is incredibly surprised at the sheer number of them at this point. He feels as those some stronger magic would be nice, but his training has still not given him access to the sort of magic that would be most useful to deal with multiple enemies. Before taking a step back, as Marcel has suggested, Remar uses his magic to fling the skeleton directly in front of Griffin back into the ones behind.

Draven strikes the nearest skeleton as Marcel backs up near him and Remar forces the skeleton in front of Griffin to move back, bumping into another skeleton behind it. Taking a cue from Remar, Ariadne steps forward and speaks the magical words of power, weaving her hands in a mystical pattern, but once again, nothing happens. “Noooo!” the young Hallf-Elven girl cries in desperation.

Meanwhile, the skeletons push forward again, their bony fingers reaching out, grasping at both Marcel and Griffin!

“Gah!” says Griffin, flailing as he jumps back into the doorway.  He lashes out with his broadsword to try and shatter the foul creature, but swings before he has regained his balance.  His sword goes wide!

“Marcel! Pull back! Quick!” he yells.

Taking another step back, the mage throws out another bolt of eldritch energy at the skeleton directly in front of Griffin, yelling out, “What are we doing? Fighting or running? It’s not that I don’t enjoy a fight, but there’s a fair number of them. You alright up there?” Remar sends the skeleton his magic has hold over back one further yard into more of his brethren.

Marcel maintains a rear-guard in All-out defense and steps back if possible. The party is now in an advantageous tactical position, but he is still unsure whether they can take care of so many opponents.

“Everyone, run!” shouts Marcel.

The press of animated bones pushes the entire Company back some, eventually back through the doorway. As Griffin and Marcel slide back past the threshold, it seems that the skeletal attackers stop their pursuit. Then suddenly, the sound of stone grating on stone can be heard and the door swings shut with a low thud. The narrow stone corridor is quiet except for heavy breathing, the air is damp with sweat and fear. Soft sobbing can be heard from the back of the line as Ree has slid to the floor, her hands in her face, crying quietly.

After a moment, Griffin says, “Did you see it?” Everyone looks at him questioningly. “You didn’t see it? Across the room, there was another ladder, leading further down. I could see the top of a metal ladder coming up out of a hole in the floor, straight across the room. There is something more down there! Those skeletons were GUARDING something!”

Remar sighs. “What I would do for a giant fire right about now….”

“If we’re going back in there, it must be now or the protection I currently carry will be for naught! I will gladly take a front-rank position, if Marcel will stand at my side, but that means the rest of you must be ready with your missiles or arcane tricks," says Draven.

Marcel looks around and realize that no one got hurt in this incident.

“Did the skeletons really attack us after all? Was this some kind of trick played on us.”, he turns to Ree and Remar, “Were there skeleton real or just a trick played on our senses?”.

“Yea, none of us got hurt! I think with a little better tactics, we can keep them at bay while the rest of us break them into little pieces," adds Griffin

“Marcel, I think you and I should switch sides. I’m left-handed, so that would put our shields towards the outside for better defense!”

“What do you say, guys? Let’s get this door back open and give it another go!”

Cast of Characters: 

Garrett "Griffin" Constantine, a Thyatian rogue of a gambler from Penhaligon rolled by +Arne Jamtgaard 
Remar Umerus, an Alphatian battle mage that escaped forced service in the Thyatian army conjured by +Ben Lipe and piloted by +Alex Safatli 
Marcel Maas, a down on his luck Traladaran soldier turned mercenary commanded by +Christian Blouin 
Draven Rickart, a Thyatian Acolyte of the Church of Karameikos piously played by +Jason Packer 
and +Jason Woollard as the DM