After the Wands, pt 3 - finish

I run back to the entrance to get the others to help Snorri and Aerrion and find their fight. Brak charges into the large room. Jian moves and drops two with a fire spell. The familiar of the dead mage runs away. The air elemental attacks Elwin. Jian moves into a group of enemy before casting a fire burst spell which drops three. Gracie gets flanked by two archers but tumbles away. They move to me. Great! In the other room, Snorri goes down after being swarmed by foes. Aerrion and Brak attempt to retreat. Triell taunts them about Snorri. Jian scorches another three, dropping them as well. We all turn and attack the air elemental, killing it finally. A bloody Aerrion and Brak run in with news of Snorri. I quickly search the mage, finding four wands and other stuff. Beat a hasty retreat to beach and across. Leave the tunnels and retrieve our horses from the Kobolds.

Make it back to Cauldron and report to Jenya. Three of the wands were some of the water control wands she wanted us to bring back. The temple offers curing and support. We all figure Triell and company will have left the underground compound before we could return. The flooding in lower Cauldron is getting worse. The three wands will help some.

Oosana

XP - 1400 kills, 500 story.
Survivors get an action point

Loot:
4 CSW potions
11 CMW potions
Gaseous Form potion
Bracers AC +2
Slippers of Spider Climb
Pearl of Power
Wand of Mage Armor - 40 charges

Receive payment of 1875 Au for the three water control wands
Another 258 Au and 14 Pt.

After the Wands, pt 2

Hallway is dimly lit. Elwin checks a door then goes further down the hall. Four more doors. Gracie hears sounds of dining behind the nearest door. Aerrion opens the door. Elwin sneaks down a 30' hallway. Another doorway at end. Elwin and Gracie listen. Sounds of three guys eating and conversing. Brak and Snorri move to attack. Dubious and Aerrion back them up. Open the door. Six guys in reality. Combat starts. Jian and I close the hallway door to keep the noise from alerting others. Elwin wonders off again. Hear sounds of “Intruders!” Jian and I discuss and decide others need help. Warn Elwin, but he keeps wondering away. Back at the action, many more enemy rush into the room. Archers pepper Gracie. I cast Obscuring Mist in an attempt to help her. Triell is present. After she yells out “Give up fools, I have the advantage.” they retreat, baring the door behind them. Dubious tries to bash it open but fails. I scout the rooms the others came from while the Dwarves bash at the door. Barracks, with entrances out to the beach. Dubious and Snorri bash thru but enemy is gone. Go down and around to another door. Also barred. Debate what to do. Go around. Keep bashing? Elwin meanders back with a tale of a large moving skeleton critter.

Bar the door behind us and go outside to check other doors down the beach. Elwin checks then opens the door. A large chamber. Chairs, tables, braziers. Large doors on other side. Pounding noises from other side of doors but distant. Open large doors. Hallway ending in another set of double doors. Aerrion finds two pit traps but avoids both. Use a table to cross pits. Two other doors. One side opens to a small dust covered chamber. I feel there might be a trap. Holes in ceiling and floor. Elwin checks the other door. Another small chamber, filled with spider webbing. Jian acid blasts the web, dissolving much of it. A short web falls from the ceiling, with ringing bells. Pounding noises from other side of this door as well. Another being barred. Our dwarves toss two dead bodies across the trapped room. Nothing happens. Gracie and Elwin check far door. Elwin finds and removes a trap. Open door. Short hallway ending in door. Another barred door. Think it is the same door we were at in other barracks. Odd. Look for a hidden door. Find it. Snorri opens it and steps thru. He is shot at by tree archers. Combat again. I move and shoot one. One of them runs away. A gonging starts. The other two guard the door. Snorri charges past them after the first one. Into a large chamber with prepared baracades and cover. Back at the entrance, Dubious and Jian spot a small group hiding in the rocks. A small halfling mage with a familiar is with them. Inside, Aerrion follows Snorri into the room. A large extra-plannar critter moves past Aerrion to the door. I see it and warn Brak. Jian and Dubious move into the entryway and prepare for the outside group. Brak attacks the large critter, calls it a Slaad. Snorri runs past the line and gets behind the cover. The enemy group out front moves in. Dubious and Gracie engage. Elwin hides, waiting for the mage. Rest of group moves up, except for the mage. Inside, I slay the Slaad with a well placed bolt, likely saving Brak.

Oosana

(Session ends)

No XP or Loot award.

After the Wands, pt 1

Find one survivor in the Lucky Monkey tavern after the fight. Another half Drow female named Shensen Tesseril. A druid of Farlington. She lives at the inn. Had gone out for evening rituals and it was after dark when she came back. All the lights were out. She snuck in. Found the Cuthbertian priest plus others fighting a retreating battle to the basement. She joined the fight. In the basement, she looked in the cold storage room for a way out, but found none. Locked in as priest and party killed. Saracen’s head is found in the kitchen. Shensen asks us about the red haired woman in full plate. Heraldry of a fist clutching 6 barbed arrows. Red hair led the party attacking the inn.

We gather up the loot, finding a set of master keys to the inn. Find Saracen’s acutraments of office. Decide to return them plus Saracen’s body parts to Jenya. Debate keeping the inn for ourselves since the previous owners are lizard food by now. Will need to arrange for an innkeep and laborers to help out. Sort out the stuff and rest the night. Next morning, Snorri and Aerrion stay at the inn while the rest return to Cauldron with Soracen’s body. Shenser travels with us. As we travel thru Cauldron, meet Jill. She asks about Aerrion and seems concerned about events at the Lucky Monkey. How did she know already? Move on to the Cuthbertian temple. Jenya rushes out to meet us. Momentarily upset at Saracen’s death. She asks about his killers. Shensen has told us that Red Hair is called Triell. Jenya asks about the wands. Wands? We know nothing. Jenya also asks us to gather info on Triell. We arrange for Leena, an innkeep and his family to watch the Lucky Monkey for us.

Research Triell. She was a guard in Cauldron and was a ruthless enforcer of rules. Finally kicked out. Not much heard from her since. Rain stops twice, each time only for a few hours. Jenya holds the service for Saracen. Afterwards, receive a message from unknown source. “When next arrive at Lucky Monkey, will meet and discuss. Triell” Jenya tells Jian that she has also received a message. Jenya’s from the Triad. “We have the means to stop the flooding. Will trade for Pell Rygor. Otherwise you will not obtain.” Jenya does not want to release Pell. A few days pass after which we travel back to the Lucky Monkey. A few folks are staying there. One caravan has travelled thru. Aerrion found a note with a map of northern Cauldron. “Courtesy of the Last Laugh” Has a symbol of the Triad and a location of an entrance.

Travel back to Cauldron after a quick rest. Plan our arrival at the north wall to be after dark. After resting at our place, leave early in the morning. Go thru town to get to the north side. A few hours out of town we find the maps landmarks. Not far from the Kobold’s mine. Gracie and Jian arrange for the Kobolds to watch our horses. The Triad entrance is well hidden and looks like the rest of the area’s tunnels. A tube leads down. Patches of glowing fungus on walls. Elwin leads the way, about 80ft ahead. Brak and Co. making lots of noise. Elwin comes to a ledge in a large cave. Green water about 100 feet down. A pile of timber is there. Ropes and a cage look to be a way across. Elwin signals us to wait while he checks it out. Comes back after a bit. Two guards are in a winch room. Brak casts a silence on Dubious’s helmet. Approach the door. After much gesturing in the silence, Brak starts cranking the winch while everyone waits for the guards to come out. When they do come out, one is hit, the other pushes a button. They are wearing the same heraldry as the baboon warriors. Brief combat. One killed, the other tries to surrender. Silence the alarm. Secure and search this side. Four of us cross. Each trip takes a minute. Go down to other side. Dwellings here are of stone construction. Gracie, Jian, Elwin and Dubious are in that first group. Elwin starts sneaking around. Snorri and I in next group. The far side winch house is on a beach by the water. Elwin finds a tripwire in a shed by the winch house. Signs of other folks having been here.

The rest of us make it across. Four buildings. Check out the one with the fewest foot prints. Elwin and I hear footsteps for a brief bit. I search out caltrops stuck in the floor. Help Elwin chalk a path to the door on the other side of the room. As Elwin reaches the other side, an arrow hits him. He falls down, playing dead. I move in. Four foes on ledge above. Brief fight. All of them are killed. Jian blinds two before we finish. These are wearing red sashes like the two earlier guards also had. We take them. Open the door.

Oosana



no XP or loot award.

Lucky Monkey

A couple of days after four of us found the missing kids for Gretchen, rain pours from the sky. Priests are working around the clock to control the flooding. Guards are helping move folks out of the flood zones. While we are at the Drunken Morcoth, an urchin named Jim-Bob comes up to Brak with a symbol of Cuthbert. “Come quick, Jenya needs you. Something terrible has happened.” We follow the kid thru the wet streets. At the temple, escorted to Jenya’s meeting room. She looks concerned. She has received a sending from Saracern. He is under siege. His last message was “At the Lucky Monkey. Have additional support. Bandits lead by a barbaric ape man. Mortally wounded. Retreated to basement. They know we are here. Send help.” Jenya will provide mounts that will be delivered to our house in a few minutes. Provides a CMW potion for each person. Everyone is going this time. Quickly go to our house to grab gear and pack. Mounts arrive as planned. Mount up and move out. Wet, dark and cold. Wet dark mountain trail. Difficult riding. Those with riding experience help those without. Not much out tonight. Seven hours to reach the flats. Clouds clearing. Full moon. A few hours later, reach the northern forest line. Early morning. Storm clouds block the sunrise but enough light to see by. Lucky Monkey visible in distance.

Smoke rises from two chimneys. Windows shuttered. Stables open. Dense smoke from behind the stables. Ride slowly forward. Smoke from a pile of bodies. Two large reptilian critters are feeding on the remains. Native jungle predators. Arrerion and Jian ride toward the tavern front entrance. The rest dismount by stables. I check the stables. Broken tethers. No horses, other mounts or remains. Normal tack still here. Dubious explores the stables while I look around outside. Aerrion stops at the front door. Jian continues around the far side. Brak and Elwin move toward Aerrion who starts kicking the front door. No effect on door, but sounds of movement from inside. So much for surprise! Dubious and I move toward a corner window to see about sneaking in that way. Elwin, stands on Brak, tries to enter the 2nd story. He succeeds but most of the party doesn’t know it. Gracie has moved to the back(south) door and examines it. Aerrion mounts and charges his horse at the door. It cracks but holds. I have no luck opening my window shutters. Dubious pulls open another set. Two humans, a male and female are hastily donning armor. Dubious smashes the window open. Gracie moves to the east side and sees Jian on her horse. Aerrion rams the door again. Poor horse. Door must be blocked from the inside. Upstairs, Elwin hears someone ransack the rooms, apparently ignoring the noise from below. Aerrion tries having his horse kick the door. No luck. Jian rides toward the stable but the lizards ignore her. I look thru the window and see many well armed fighter types. With long swords and shields. 3 or 4 others with bows. Shoot thru the window and hit one. Duck down. Dubious moves to the front door. Gracie moves back to the back door. Listening, she hears an odd language. She whistles loudly. That provokes activity downstairs. Elwin hears a command, “Move down stairs, they are breaking in.” Aerrion finally crashes thru the front door. Horse inside as well. Aerrion lands on his feet after dismounting. Brak draws his greatsword and yells “5th squad, move in, follow me!” Dubious follows him.

A tangled combat follows. Gracie stuck at the back door. Bashes it without success. Brak Blesses Dubious, Aerrion, Elwin and me. Snorri runs to the front door as well. Aerrion’s horse blocks two arrows meant for Aerrion. I cast Obscuring Mist at window to conceal activity there. Elwin still sneaking around upstairs. Brak sees a baboon faced, orc bodied critter. Thinks he sees it changing form for a moment. I shoot thru the window and mist. Hear a yell as I hit someone. Dubious drops one as does Aerrion. Both hit the next target. I hear baboon noises just inside my window. Another baboon kills Aerrion’s horse and starts eating at it. Gracie busts thru the back door after Jian blasts it with an acid spell. Big baboon screeches. All the other baboons react and screech as well. Arrows fly out the my window, but over my head. I cast Light on a coin and toss it in the window, trying to add to the confusion. Gracie and Jian draw a crowd to the back door. Yells of “Kill the mage” directed at Gracie. They think she is a Drow spellchucker. Elwin still biding his time upstairs. Brak and Aerrion hip deep in opponents. A baboon leaps out of the window and attacks me. I hear another coming. Aerrion about surrounded. Jian casts a Fire Burst as Gracie retreats. Gets four. Jian bluffs and the rest still think Gracie is the mage. Snorrie cuts a fighter in half with a mighty swing. Jian casts a Pyrotechnics into the kitchen fireplace, blinding a couple foes. Elwin investigates the upstairs privy. Jian casts a Hurled Weapon down a line, hitting three. Brak and Aerrion still thick in the fight. Aerrion tumbles to a better place. I hack at and hit my baboon before moving away. Dubious gets a tremendous hit on a rogue, cleaving thru him and into the next one. Elwin still lazing around upstairs. Snorri also cleaves a rogue, killing a 2nd one as well. I move next to Dubious and cast a CLW on him. Gracie is outside the back door dueling with a fighter type. Jian has dropped all but one and he is blind. Dubious charges the large Baboon/Orc. He gets a solid hit but feels the Baboon is very resistant to damage. Despite that, he causes the critter great harm. The smaller baboons run away as the large one quits screeching at them. Snorri drops another with a great hit. Jian is down to Rays of Frost trying to mop up the foes in the kitchen. Elwin still poking around upstairs, ignoring the carnage downstairs. I move outside to drink a CMW potion. Elwin now sneaks down the stairs to the kitchen, then keeps going down to the basement. Jian moves thru the kitchen to the back of the common area where Aerrion and Dubious are fighting the remaining foes. Elwin comes back up and follows. Gracie also arrives and sings songs of encouragement. Giant baboon keeps chasing Dubious. Snorri is dropped by flanking rogues. Brak makes a heroic swing and drops the baboon critter. The rest of our foes quickly fall. Patch folks up. Check out the basement. Find a half drow and 2 patrons. Half drow is dead and is also Sarecern.

Oosana

XP - kills 1750
Everyone gets an action point and a reputation point.

Loot - 1950 Au, 742 Ag, 2680 Cu

Assorted tavern stuff worth 4500 Au. (Stays with tavern)

Lost Kids

After returning with Pell Rygor, we spend several weeks resting, arranging for special items to be made, rummaging thru bazaars and engaging in revelry. During this period, Gretchen shows up at our house one evening with a plea for help. A couple of her charges have not returned and she is worried about them. She thinks they may have gone exploring in some abandoned mines north of town. We tell her that if they have not returned in the morning we will go look for them. The next morning, the kids are still missing. Aerrion and Snorri are passed out in their beds and can’t be roused for more then a few seconds at a time. They moan something about a Dwarven Intelligence Potion. Probably a new drink. Brak is away on temple business and Elwin is missing as well, allegedly on HPS duty. So the four of us, Gracie, Jian, Dubious and Oosana, head north. Gretchen has given some rough directions and we had asked around and found out a little more. The mines are only a few hours outside the city and have been abandoned for many years. Wondering dwarves will sometime dig away for a few weeks, searching for the new mother load. They never admit failure but have never produced any ore.

We find the trail from the main road and follow it to the mines. Piles of debris are all around the entrance. We cautiously enter and find signs and tracks that might be the kids. As we explore, we also find old and some not so old campfires and signs of merry making. It appears these mines are a frequent destination for many folks looking for some fun. Will make finding the kids harder but increases the chances they are here. Also find a couple of places where Dubious believes that the wondering dwarves have mined. Explore the many passages and caves for hours. As we get deeper in the mine, the signs of merry makers disappear. Start smelling something foul. A bit further, find fresh droppings from some critters. Explore further. Dubious trips a trap that showers him with sharp quills. They are coated with some goo but Dubious is unaffected by it. The trap is crudely made. As we proceed, I find a couple more. We start hearing sounds as we go, and soon arrive at a larger cave. In the back are several Kobolds and our missing kids. We try to sneak closer but the Kobolds are ready. Probably warned by Dubious tripping the trap.

We are soon surrounded by Kobolds. Gracie and I start trying to talk our and the kid’s way out. Turns out that the kids and the Kobolds have already reached a truce and were actually just hanging out. The Kobolds are a group that has split from their tribe. They grew tired of the constant fighting with others and have been living in these mines for a while. It takes a bit to convince the kids to come back since they think that Gretchen will punish them when we get back. We leave the Kobolds in peace and head back with the two kids. Gretchen is happy to see them.

Another day in the life of adventurers.

Oosana


200 XP and a reputation point for the four who went.