17 April 2020 Session
CAST:
After defeating the medusa and its ogre defender, the group took a short break and began to search the room. Along the north wall of the room, worn spot on the stone wall was detected, revealing a secrete door. Franklin prepared to open the door, but felt a sense of dread and warned the others.
They opened the door to reveal a large square room. In the middle of the room was a warped creature, with serpents for hair and tentacles where arms would normally be. It was chained to pillars in the middle of the room. Surrounding it was a prismatic vortex swirling with energy.
The tortle entered the room, followed by his companions. Derek and Toram said they had to get to the creature, they sensed a part of Arithel in the creature. Firing weapons at the creature proved difficult as the whirling vortex deflected arrows off target and absorbed some of the energy weapons they used.
The choice to pass through the field was made. It was challenging and those that made it through suffered burns from the chaotic energy. What made things worse that each time the creature was hit, the attacker was expelled back outside the energy field. But the group's numbers and healing by Hera allowed them to continually re-enter and wage battle with the horrible creature. Out of desperation, broke its bonds, jumped through the vortex and tried to flee. It was too late and it was swiftly dispatched.
Cutting into the gruesome corpse, Toram and Derek found the essence of Arithel. As with the previous shard of power, Derek absorbed this piece also - he glowed even brighter now but was also straining to contain the power. The group took brief rest before moving on.
After the rest, the group continued exploring the corridors leading from the medusa's area, bringing them to hallway leading south with a turn to the east. As they approached the turn, a skeletal head quickly looked around the corner and disappeared. Everyone prepared themselves and approached cautiously.
Getting closer to the corner, they could hear the grinding of metal on the floor. Suddenly, multi-armed fiend charged, attacking Franklin at the head of the party. Beyond the fiend, two large skeletal creatures could be seen, each with multiple arms and vicious looking claws. In the distance, another skeletal creature could be seen attacking a barricade of barrels, crates and other scraps of material.
The fiend swung repeatedly at Franklin, but the blades bounced off the tortle's shell. The skeletal creatures fired balls of bone into the fray, causing some collateral damage as the bone pieces splattered throughout the group.
The fiend proved to a worthy adversary but the combined attacks of Stormwind and Franklin along with ranged attacks from others combined to defeat the foul creature.
The skeletal creatures waded into the group, doing minor damage but their bones were soon scattered through the hall. The group hurried down the hall to deal with the one attacking those defending the barricade.
As they approached, they could see the ends of spears poking at the creature as it tried to get through the barrier. It either did not hear the group or did not care as they delivered the same fate its fellow undead suffered.
There was a sigh of relief from those defending the barrier followed by a "Who's there?" Brief introductions were made and space to move past the barricade was made. A group of 30 or so refugees that were trapped down in this dungeons was found. They had constructed makeshift shelters and a small chapel for their lone priest. Life was not overall difficult as the priest could create food and water but boredom was the main challenge. They had sufficient weapons and ingenuity to defend themselves but lacked the means to escape. The group stayed for a long rest to recuperate and moved on, wishing the refugees the best of luck.
The last unexplored passageway in this dungeon was their objective for the day. It brought them to a pair of metal doors that were frosted over. After some exertion by the stronger members of the group, the doors burst inwards, revealing a frost and ice covered hallway with several doorways. The first room explored went into a room where some elf like creatures were eating a table. Obviously surprised, they jumped for their weapons. Two of them were quickly dispatched.
Understanding that they were overpowered, the eladrin disappeared in a pop, emptying the area quickly. Pursuit revealed nothing except some footprints.
Exploration of the rest of the rooms revealed the area had been abandoned. Based on the number of beds and equipment found, it was estimated that at least twenty individuals had resided in the area.
A search of what appeared to be the leader's chamber uncovered a secret closet in which a chest was found. After careful examination, the chest was opened to reveal some coins and a ornate golden key, much in the same style as the adamantine key found earlier. What the keys opened was uncertain.
In one of the rooms a portcullis was blocking the way to another frosted over double door. After some thought and concern about the possibility of traps, the group got through into a passageway covered in ice and snow. They they were approaching a turn when the white head of a yeti looked around and it threw a snowball. It landed harmlessly but got the attention of the group and they pursued it down a long corridor into a larger open area where they were met by the yeti's allies.
The ice mage greeted the group and asked where they were going. Neither Derek nor Toram sensed the presence of Arithel in the area so did not want to fight unless it was necessary. The group agreed so they said to the mage that they wished to pass and move on if there was a way out of the icy cavern. The mage relaxed and stopped his spell preparation and said that it was not up to him and they would need to speak with his master, Wintercloak.
Who was Wintercloak? Was she available? In response to these questions, the mage pointed to the ceiling. Upon first glance, the dark ceiling was just a jumble of frozen ice and stalactites. But then it moved and the ice encased head of giant crystal dragon looked down.
With frosted breath, the dragon introduced itself as Wintercloak. She welcomed the adventurers to her lair and asked them what they had to offer for safe passage. Stormwind proceeded to remove coins, jewelry and gems from a pouch - is that enough? Wintercloak said to keep going. Once a substantial pile of treasure was made, she nodded that was sufficient. She waved off her minions and pointed the party towards a dark cave opening and said if they went that way, they would find their way into the lair of Orox the one eyed. Winercloak warned he was a one that she stayed clear of as he was quite mad. Wishing them luck, she tucked herself back into the icy ceiling and her minions made sure the group left.
The cave was an entrance to a long tunnel that wound its way upwards. As they continued upwards, the ice and snow gave way warmer temperatures and a dry stone pathway. It emerged onto a ledge looking down onto a large cavern. An eerie luminescence lit the room and a stand of large mushrooms could be seen in the distance. Lowering themselves down to floor level, the tortle approached the mushrooms that were as tall as him. As he drew closer, the began to emit a low wail which crescendoed to a nearly deafening high pitched scream. The tortle backed off and the screaming stopped. Well, so much for surprising Orox.
Skirting around the mushrooms, the group moved on and came to a narrow passage that ended in a short bridge across a pool of water. As Franklin was about to cross, Stormwind pulled him back. The bridge wasn't real, Stormwind's keen vision had revealed it was just an illusion. It was likely something unfriendly lived in the pool. The group worked together with Nightshade to get to the other side.
Soon the group came to a set of steep stair, so steep it was closer to being a ladder than stairs. Carefully, the made their way up, eventually reaching a small landing and turn which led to another steep stair/ladder. The group started heading up this very long stairwell, so long that it went beyond the range of their light.
Suddenly a loud mechanical clanking was heard in the darkness ahead. There was a brief silence, then a steady low rumbling sound that progressively got louder. Everyone was on edge and prepared themselves to fight. Then, on the edge of their light, a large boulder blocking the stairwell came rolling towards them. Panic ensued as they tried to decide what to do. Stormwind charged ahead and teleported past it while the others began running down. Nightshade cast a wall of stone to block the stairwell and the boulder crashed into it. The wall had stopped the boulder but had some cracks in it and was definitely weakened. Everyone, except Stormwind, continued down to platform gather their wits.
As Stormwind ran up the stairs, he heard the mechanical clanking again which encouraged him to run faster. He just reached a landing when he saw another large boulder rolling out of an opening in the wall ahead. He dove out of the way and stood up to face the largest bugbear he had ever seen in his life. The fight was on.
This second boulder made its way down the stairs. It smashed into the first boulder and caused the wall to break, releasing both boulders. Derek and Toram looked up the steps when they heard the second boulder and made the wise decision of going down the rest of the stairs back down to the level of the bridge. Everyone else realized that this was a very good idea and joined the two followers of Arithel. The two boulders made their way down the steps and crashed into the wall at the end of the landing. Small fractures formed on the first ball as it wavered unsteadily at the top of the first set of stairs.
The bugbear brute was not alone, he had a number of regular sized companions running the machinery that released the boulders. Stormwind knew he had to get to them to prevent more boulders from slowing his companions but the brute had other ideas. The quarters were cramped such that only two of the regular bugbears could assist but they attacked relentlessly.
Down below, the stuck boulders were removed using a combination of magic and brute force. The tortle and AAAAH led the charge, hoping no more boulders remained.
Stormwind took some bruising hits from the brute and had arrows stick out of him but he battled on. He could see the gears cranking, opening a large panel that had another boulder behind it. The boulder started rolling out just as the party was reaching the top of the steps. Everybody hurried and dove out of the way into the room just as the boulder reached the stairs and went booming downwards. They entered the fight and the bugbears were quickly dealt with but not before Stormwind suffered a few more blows. Now that the enemy had been defeated, they had a chance to look around the room. Other than the mechanism for the boulders, there wasn't anything of real interest except for another set of stairs heading up.
[there ended this week's session]
- Hera the cleric
- Stormwind the ranger
- Franklin the tortle kensei
- AAAAH the fighter
- Marvolo the fire wizard
- Toram the binder seeking Arithel
- Frank the dwarf
After defeating the medusa and its ogre defender, the group took a short break and began to search the room. Along the north wall of the room, worn spot on the stone wall was detected, revealing a secrete door. Franklin prepared to open the door, but felt a sense of dread and warned the others.
They opened the door to reveal a large square room. In the middle of the room was a warped creature, with serpents for hair and tentacles where arms would normally be. It was chained to pillars in the middle of the room. Surrounding it was a prismatic vortex swirling with energy.
The tortle entered the room, followed by his companions. Derek and Toram said they had to get to the creature, they sensed a part of Arithel in the creature. Firing weapons at the creature proved difficult as the whirling vortex deflected arrows off target and absorbed some of the energy weapons they used.
The choice to pass through the field was made. It was challenging and those that made it through suffered burns from the chaotic energy. What made things worse that each time the creature was hit, the attacker was expelled back outside the energy field. But the group's numbers and healing by Hera allowed them to continually re-enter and wage battle with the horrible creature. Out of desperation, broke its bonds, jumped through the vortex and tried to flee. It was too late and it was swiftly dispatched.
Cutting into the gruesome corpse, Toram and Derek found the essence of Arithel. As with the previous shard of power, Derek absorbed this piece also - he glowed even brighter now but was also straining to contain the power. The group took brief rest before moving on.
After the rest, the group continued exploring the corridors leading from the medusa's area, bringing them to hallway leading south with a turn to the east. As they approached the turn, a skeletal head quickly looked around the corner and disappeared. Everyone prepared themselves and approached cautiously.
Getting closer to the corner, they could hear the grinding of metal on the floor. Suddenly, multi-armed fiend charged, attacking Franklin at the head of the party. Beyond the fiend, two large skeletal creatures could be seen, each with multiple arms and vicious looking claws. In the distance, another skeletal creature could be seen attacking a barricade of barrels, crates and other scraps of material.
The fiend swung repeatedly at Franklin, but the blades bounced off the tortle's shell. The skeletal creatures fired balls of bone into the fray, causing some collateral damage as the bone pieces splattered throughout the group.
The fiend proved to a worthy adversary but the combined attacks of Stormwind and Franklin along with ranged attacks from others combined to defeat the foul creature.
The skeletal creatures waded into the group, doing minor damage but their bones were soon scattered through the hall. The group hurried down the hall to deal with the one attacking those defending the barricade.
As they approached, they could see the ends of spears poking at the creature as it tried to get through the barrier. It either did not hear the group or did not care as they delivered the same fate its fellow undead suffered.
There was a sigh of relief from those defending the barrier followed by a "Who's there?" Brief introductions were made and space to move past the barricade was made. A group of 30 or so refugees that were trapped down in this dungeons was found. They had constructed makeshift shelters and a small chapel for their lone priest. Life was not overall difficult as the priest could create food and water but boredom was the main challenge. They had sufficient weapons and ingenuity to defend themselves but lacked the means to escape. The group stayed for a long rest to recuperate and moved on, wishing the refugees the best of luck.
The last unexplored passageway in this dungeon was their objective for the day. It brought them to a pair of metal doors that were frosted over. After some exertion by the stronger members of the group, the doors burst inwards, revealing a frost and ice covered hallway with several doorways. The first room explored went into a room where some elf like creatures were eating a table. Obviously surprised, they jumped for their weapons. Two of them were quickly dispatched.
Exploration of the rest of the rooms revealed the area had been abandoned. Based on the number of beds and equipment found, it was estimated that at least twenty individuals had resided in the area.
A search of what appeared to be the leader's chamber uncovered a secret closet in which a chest was found. After careful examination, the chest was opened to reveal some coins and a ornate golden key, much in the same style as the adamantine key found earlier. What the keys opened was uncertain.
In one of the rooms a portcullis was blocking the way to another frosted over double door. After some thought and concern about the possibility of traps, the group got through into a passageway covered in ice and snow. They they were approaching a turn when the white head of a yeti looked around and it threw a snowball. It landed harmlessly but got the attention of the group and they pursued it down a long corridor into a larger open area where they were met by the yeti's allies.
The ice mage greeted the group and asked where they were going. Neither Derek nor Toram sensed the presence of Arithel in the area so did not want to fight unless it was necessary. The group agreed so they said to the mage that they wished to pass and move on if there was a way out of the icy cavern. The mage relaxed and stopped his spell preparation and said that it was not up to him and they would need to speak with his master, Wintercloak.
Who was Wintercloak? Was she available? In response to these questions, the mage pointed to the ceiling. Upon first glance, the dark ceiling was just a jumble of frozen ice and stalactites. But then it moved and the ice encased head of giant crystal dragon looked down.
The cave was an entrance to a long tunnel that wound its way upwards. As they continued upwards, the ice and snow gave way warmer temperatures and a dry stone pathway. It emerged onto a ledge looking down onto a large cavern. An eerie luminescence lit the room and a stand of large mushrooms could be seen in the distance. Lowering themselves down to floor level, the tortle approached the mushrooms that were as tall as him. As he drew closer, the began to emit a low wail which crescendoed to a nearly deafening high pitched scream. The tortle backed off and the screaming stopped. Well, so much for surprising Orox.
Skirting around the mushrooms, the group moved on and came to a narrow passage that ended in a short bridge across a pool of water. As Franklin was about to cross, Stormwind pulled him back. The bridge wasn't real, Stormwind's keen vision had revealed it was just an illusion. It was likely something unfriendly lived in the pool. The group worked together with Nightshade to get to the other side.
Soon the group came to a set of steep stair, so steep it was closer to being a ladder than stairs. Carefully, the made their way up, eventually reaching a small landing and turn which led to another steep stair/ladder. The group started heading up this very long stairwell, so long that it went beyond the range of their light.
Suddenly a loud mechanical clanking was heard in the darkness ahead. There was a brief silence, then a steady low rumbling sound that progressively got louder. Everyone was on edge and prepared themselves to fight. Then, on the edge of their light, a large boulder blocking the stairwell came rolling towards them. Panic ensued as they tried to decide what to do. Stormwind charged ahead and teleported past it while the others began running down. Nightshade cast a wall of stone to block the stairwell and the boulder crashed into it. The wall had stopped the boulder but had some cracks in it and was definitely weakened. Everyone, except Stormwind, continued down to platform gather their wits.
As Stormwind ran up the stairs, he heard the mechanical clanking again which encouraged him to run faster. He just reached a landing when he saw another large boulder rolling out of an opening in the wall ahead. He dove out of the way and stood up to face the largest bugbear he had ever seen in his life. The fight was on.
This second boulder made its way down the stairs. It smashed into the first boulder and caused the wall to break, releasing both boulders. Derek and Toram looked up the steps when they heard the second boulder and made the wise decision of going down the rest of the stairs back down to the level of the bridge. Everyone else realized that this was a very good idea and joined the two followers of Arithel. The two boulders made their way down the steps and crashed into the wall at the end of the landing. Small fractures formed on the first ball as it wavered unsteadily at the top of the first set of stairs.
Down below, the stuck boulders were removed using a combination of magic and brute force. The tortle and AAAAH led the charge, hoping no more boulders remained.
Stormwind took some bruising hits from the brute and had arrows stick out of him but he battled on. He could see the gears cranking, opening a large panel that had another boulder behind it. The boulder started rolling out just as the party was reaching the top of the steps. Everybody hurried and dove out of the way into the room just as the boulder reached the stairs and went booming downwards. They entered the fight and the bugbears were quickly dealt with but not before Stormwind suffered a few more blows. Now that the enemy had been defeated, they had a chance to look around the room. Other than the mechanism for the boulders, there wasn't anything of real interest except for another set of stairs heading up.
[there ended this week's session]
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