Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 40
December 8, 2013
War of Words
Session Summary
The battle for the ancient library raged on. After dispatching the Drow in the stacks and healing Bodi with some Healing Potions supplied by Sairalindë, the group followed up on the sounds of strange laughter and breaking glass behind the unopened doors to the right of the main entrance.
 |
| A disgusting demon |
As the Crew entered this area, they were accosted by a handful of disgusting demons of the same variety they had encountered before. This particular demonic entity was prone to causing Terror and emitting a foul cloud of stinking gas.
Right off the bat, Snargash and Aethel were taken aback by the demonic presence of the disgusting little creatures. Snargash was stunned and just stood there while Aethel felt the need to flee and dry heave out of pure terror!
 |
| The battle in the library! |
Paal decided to lighten up the encounter a bit by firing an arrow that had been enchanted with magical light. He attempted to hit one of the glass globes sitting on the pedestals on the upper tier of the room but missed, instead putting the arrow merely on the floor on the far side of the chamber. It was enough though, and lit the entire room up with a magical glow. Only a small area in the middle of the room was not well lit.
Aragon immediately lept forward with his twin blades flashing and engage the creatures while Guy, Paal and Bodi laid down some cover fire. One of the demons filled the immediate area with stinking gas and quickly to counter, the Elf Sairalindë used her magic to dissipate it.
The battle quickly devolved into a chaotic melee, but in the end, the Crew won out, reducing their foes into nothing more than sticky black spots on the floor. After being revived by Sairalindë, Aethel retreated back to the other library area and began searching through the old stacks to find a collection of manuals, books and scrolls had been collected by the Drow. His initial investigation of the writings revealed that they were all some how associated with astronomy and 'The Great Beyond.'
 |
| Engaging the demons! |
As the dust settles, Paal, on watch duty in the main doorway spies a troop of Farstrider Elves approaching the Library. They see Snargash climbing to the roof of the Library and as he starts singing his victory song, the notes roll across ancient Celwynvian like the advancing force of Elven Farstriders.
Paal can make out the nearby sounds of battle, metal clanging on metal, shouts of victory, cries of pain and even the occasional explosion or other strange sound caused by some sort of magical energies.
Kwava was with this group of Elves that approached the Library. He passed the information that the initial waves of the Elf attack were going well and that the Drow forces were being defeated on many fronts. He expresses that Eviana has requested the Crew to report back in to her as soon as possible and that she might have another mission for them to undertake.
Continuing Story Summary
As the dust settles, Paal, on watch duty in the main doorway spies a troop of Farstrider Elves approaching the Library. They see Snargash climbing to the roof of the Library and as he starts singing his victory song, the notes roll across ancient Celwynvian like the advancing force of Elven Farstriders.
Paal can make out the nearby sounds of battle, metal clanging on metal, shouts of victory, cries of pain and even the occasional explosion or other strange sound caused by some sort of magical energies.
Kwava was with this group of Elves that approached the Library. He passed the information that the initial waves of the Elf attack were going well and that the Drow forces were being defeated on many fronts. He expresses that Eviana has requested the Crew to report back in to her as soon as possible and that she might have another mission for them to undertake.
Bodi slides his rapier and main-gauche back into their respective scabbards. He stretches out his neck, rubbing it with his left hand. “That really smarts yet”. He winces in a little bit of pain, coughs and spits out some phlegm.
Bodi took a crossbow bolt shot to the neck, and though the elves healed him with magical potions, the lingering effect of the impaling hit still makes him wince.
Bodi was not very happy with what he saw despite their victory. “That was terrible. I can’t believe that I took my eyes off the shooter to my flank. Now I only made 1 kill, giving me 3
total. I need to catch up if I am going to give Kerishel a run for his money. Let’s get moving and on to the next battle, and hopefully I remember to duck this time.”
On the way out, Bodi steps over to the drow that shot at him. He takes the crossbow and darts from the fallen warrior, quickly inspects it to see if it has any jewelry upon it and then gives it a kick for good measure. In a foul mood, Bodi spits upon the fallen warrior as he stops off to leave the Library.
While the monk sings his report of victory and encouragement to his allies he makes use of the vantage point which the library’s rampart offers to survey the battlefield and observe his audience. Knowing that the Drow at times make use of aerial capabilities and allies, he makes sure not to neglect the sky overhead in his intelligence gathering.
Though the library roof is 15 feet off the ground, Snargash has a very limited view of the city as the forest surrounding the ancient Elvish settlement has fully overgrown it over the last thousands of years. He can see bits and pieces of buildings in the distance and in the foreground, he catches glimpses of troops of Elves moving into position. He can see that his singing is noted by the Elves and it appears that they have a emboldened step in their stride as they move forward to battle the Drow.
Aragon grins as he paces back and forth. Zenith and Nadir are out, dripping blood and ichor. Blood stains one cheek where he took a glancing blow from a Drow bolt. “Ha! Now that was a fight! How soon before the rest of you are ready for more? We should head back to Eviana for a new task before all the fun is over!” He looks at his human comrade. “Bodi, are you well enough to return to the fray? Yes? Good. And stop bemoaning the past. You can cry when you’re dead. There is more battle in our future!” Aragon looks up at the roof. “Yo! Brother Ugly! Come down! Eviana has another mission for us! Make haste!”
Bodi looks over towards Aragon, still coughing at the former injury he took, again turning his neck a little to stretch it out. “Yes, I am ready…...still feels like I have something caught in my throat, wow that thing really hurt.”
Bodi again makes sure he has the 2 crossbows, both loaded with what Aethel had shown him were enchanted crossbow bolts. Bodi then returns to the roof to secure his elven rope, any missing throwing knives and looks over the fallen bodies for supplies, jewelry, loose coins and anything else of value or interest. He doesn’t want to lose his bet to Keirishiel, but in the event that he does, he wants to find other compensation if he can.
Bodi does not find any coins or valuables on these Drow, they are outfitted for battle and that is about it. He come up with a handful of items that may be of use though. 6 hand crossbows and bolt quivers, each holding up to 25 bolts. In all there are 85 of the enchanted bolts, 17 of the poisoned bolts, 18 fire bolts and 18 acid bolts. There are also 6 potions, one carried by each Drow, that the Farstriders are pretty sure are Major Healing potions, though they caution against drinking without further identification. The Drow are notorious deceivers and it would not be beyond them to try to trick their foes by carrying poison disguised as healing potions. Bodi also recovers a set of strange goggles that each Drow had been wearing. The Drow on the roof were wearing them over their eyes, while the Drow inside the library just had them on their heads or around their necks. They consist of a leather strap and 2 eyepieces with dark blue colored glass or crystal. Aethel confirms that they are magical and one of the Farstriders states that they believe that they are used by the Drow to be able to see in the bright sunlight. No other benefit has been derived from them. Though most of the gear is magical in nature, the Farstriders confirm that the Drow include magics on them that prevent others from using them, though the crossbow bolts and potions seem to be usable by anyone.
The half-orc comes clambering down the ladder quickly and glances about. “New objective? Sounds good, things appear to be going well so far from the vantage of the balcony. Before we move out I need to do one more thing as quickly as I can while Mr. Bodi finishes collecting gear from above.” Still talking rapidly, the monk walks swiftly to an old rotting table and breaks the legs free and brings them back. “If a couple of you would grab a stick here and lend me a hand this will only take moments. Also, I need at least two or three spare blankets, cloaks, banners, whatever - to wrap a few large but extremely light weight bundles. And Mr. Paal, do you have room in your aid bag? You’ll want some of this I’m certain.” Not waiting for replies, he leaves two of the table legs behind and, keeping one in each hand, begins to swing them about along the edge of the room, circling and waving them through the air to gather the abundant spider silk festooning the walls like tapestries. The Farstriders watch him in bewilderment at first until one of them recognizes the healer’s intent and grabs the other two table legs to assist him. As they collect the sticky gauze the monk explains, “It will only take a few seconds to cleanse this stuff and whatever we wrap the bundles in, but once the spell is done we will have a great deal of sterile gauze to wrap or pack into the more serious of wounds. It will stick by itself and will only need a single bandage wrap to cover it so that it stays clean doesn’t catch on anything and get torn away.” Working quickly they gather four large wispy balls into a close pile on top of the scavenged wraps in the middle of the room and he plays a brief melody over the silken heap. Once done he looks to Kwava, “We can leave the bundles here if this place will be used as a forward aid station, or at Ms. Eviana’s command post otherwise for distribution. No matter how well things go today I’m afraid it may still be greatly needed.”
Kwava smiles at Snargash’s dedication to the healing arts then offers, “Yes, I believe that this location will be ideal as a forward aid station, I am sure that once the surrounding areas are secure, that will be set up. Come, I will take you back to Eviana.”
The Crew follows Kwava back through the woods to the command camp. Along the way, it seems that the battle is raging all around, though not in the immediate vicinity. A few fires burn in the ruins, and the acrid smell of smokes hangs in the air. Muted cries and the occasional sound of a sword fight or an explosion of magic can be heard quite frequently.
The camp is quite active. Off to one side is a large tent where the Elves are storing the dead until they can be properly dealt with. In the center of the camp, Eviana’s tent is a flurry of motion. Messengers stream to and from the tent, relaying reports and receiving orders. Several Elves rush up and begin checking the Crew for wounds, administering healing magics in the form of potion and spell. After just a few moments, even the smallest wound has been dealt with.
Eviana sees them waiting outside her tent and calls them in. Eviana motions at a map of Celwynvian that has been carefully tagged with a number of small flags, some black, some green. “These green flags represent our current troop deployments around the city, while the black flags indicate known drow holdouts. One such holdout in particular has caught our attention, and taking it out might help us greatly in the long run. We believe these ruins,” she says, indicating a spot on the northern edge of the city, “contain an alchemical workshop where the drow have been producing many of their more insidious weapons. We want you to storm this place and take it out. The sooner the better.”
As she briefs the crew, the monk relaxes his excited tension and sinks into a slow, steady breathing rhythm to better call forth his blessed wind.
Aragon looks at Bodi. “Well, what are we standing around for? If we follow this straight path,” and he points to a few black flags along the avenue leading to the “Great Evil Lurks Here” spot, “we may even get a chance to deal with a few of the foul underdwellers on our way.” He starts walking towards the city again.
