Session 4
July 14, 2006
"Anyone else hear that?"
Natasha turned away from the bas-relief of the mighty Wind Duke, tilting her head slightly as she listened intently. With concerned looks flashing between the group, they back-peddled into the main chamber, quietly drawing weapons and preparing words of killing magic. The silence of the cairn was broken by a thick, rhythmic, suck-slosh sound that echoed weirdly in the vaulted chamber. From the shadowy edge of light, a trundling horde of creatures emerged from the main hall. A miserable swarm of fat things, their flesh a putrid pink and studded with cancerous growths, oozed and wheezed down the passage. Malformed claws grasped at the stone wall and floor, pulling the monsters toward the group in a revolting wave. Flapping over the horde of the damned, a tittering imp with a cruel face and wickedly barbed tail sprung into view. The devil pointed a spindly finger at Scorch, saying in a giggling voice, "Run fool! Run to the mold!"
Scorch's brain seized on the command and he turned to run into the center of the mold on the far side of the room. Rounding the great block of stone in the center of the room, the gladiator distantly noted that it seemed to be getting colder. He charged directly into the center of the mold, his breath coming in great plumes of vapor in the frigid air, and could feel the strange brown fungus steeling his warmth and vigor. Realizing the danger he was now in, the glamour that the imp had beguiled him with broke. Turning toward the devil, he staggered toward it to wreak his revenge. But his limbs, now wooden with the deadly chill, failed him and he collapsed shivering to the floor.
Meanwhile, the horde of gibbering pink things swept into the room, claws wildly raking the air in search for mortal flesh. With sickle and hammer, Natasha strode forward and confronted the wave head-on. She slashed and bludgeoned the mindless things, but soon found their spongy hides resilient to all but the fiercest of blows. Aiyda sang a song of hope to buoy the spirits of the group as Cypress commanded Square Root into battle and launched an arrow at the imp. Sergi summoned a quivering blob of acid in his hand and hurled it at the horde, but it ran off the monstrosities like water. For a moment, the sorcerer thought his magic had failed him, but as the acid ran down the abominations to the stone floor, a sizzling hiss could be heard.
Doctor Voo and Max made their way around the great block of stone in the center of the room to assist the fallen gladiator. Doctor Voo and Max crept along the side of the stone block, making sure to stay clear of the chilling mold. With an urgent prayer to the Green Lady, the priest revived Scorch, who jerkily rose to his feet with the help of the cleric. For a moment, the world whirled as he tried to gain his bearings. He saw Doctor Voo and Max surge forward to confront several of the monstrosities.
He saw the monsters. He heard Natasha and Sergi cursing from the other side of the chamber, clearly having a hard time putting the things down. And then he heard his father and the room was no longer there, replaced by the blinding light of the summer sun beating down on the bloodstained field of the coliseum. His father passed the ways of the gladiator to his son, "Now, you are going to fight a lot of strange things here and some of them are going to turn your blade with ease. But, they all have a weakness. For instance, if you got something that looks like you want to sleep with it or it looks demonic, or if it's both, use cold iron first. If that doesn't work, go with silver." Max's panicked scream for Scorch to kill something brought him out his fugue, his good hand already reaching for his cold iron morningstar.
One of the last things the gladiator had not hocked for booze or whores over the long years of decline, the cold iron morningstar smashed into the first of the pink things. However, the creature merely deformed slightly then sprung back, the force of the blow dispersed. With a curse, Scorch dropped the morningstar and drew another vestige of his former career: a silvered short sword. Stabbing furiously at the creature with the glittering blade, he easily pierced the creature's defense and two of the slavering things were slain in short order. Max and Doctor Voo picked off another of the monsters, while Natasha and Square Root slowly but steadily felled several of the things through sheer brute force.
Meanwhile, the impish leader of the horde chose to bedevil Cypress, Aiyda, and Sergi who were behind Natasha and Square Root. Cruelly teasing Aiyda in Draconic, the impish flittered about and stung several times with its barbed tail. Each poisonous jab brought a numbing of the limbs and the songstress was stung numerous times. By the time Scorch and the others finished the last of the pink things, Aiyda was almost unable to stand. Seeing its horde slaughtered, the imp gave one last giggle and vanished. Poisoned, almost dead from exposure, and all wounded, the group once again retreated to the mine office.
Once back at the mine office, the group had a long conversation about what to do next and how they could avoid having to retreat so many times. Eventually it was decided that two members of the group would return to Diamond Lake and purchase some supplies, such as healing potions and scrolls, with the coin unearthed from the basement of the office. Assisted by his half-sister, Doctor Voo also wrote a note to the other clerics of Wee Jas in town to ask for assistance in divining the powers of a magic ring that had been found. As they were not really needed at the office and neither of them were locals, Max and Scorch were chosen to return to town.
The duo set out and by noon the second day had arrived in Diamond Lake. Max and Scorch crested a small hill, looking down on to the small town. The gladiator gazed across the town saying, "So we are going to the bar first, right?" Without skipping a beat, the halfling responded, "Absolutely." Ambling down the hill, the two men made their way to the Emporium and drank the rest of the afternoon away.
After night had fallen, Max and Scorch emerged from the bar. They made their way to the nearby graveyard, figuring this was the best place to meet up with the followers of the Green Lady. Before Max could stop him, the gladiator boldly pushed open the decrepit iron gate to the cemetery and shouted, "HEY, WEE JAS PEOPLE! I HAVE A NOTE FROM YOUR FRIEND DOCTOR VOO!" Scorch gave a thumbs up to his manager, who shook his head in disbelief. For a moment, there was no response. Then a thin figure with long black robes crept out from the shadows of an ancient mausoleum.
The silvery light of the moon revealed a pale young woman with eyes as dark as midnight. The woman hissed, "What does
he want?" The gladiator gave the note to the priestess, who unfolded it with long spidery fingers. Reading it quickly, the woman furrowed her brow and looked to the duo, "Have you read this?" Scorch and Max shook their heads, the gladiator adding, "Of course not, it was for you people." She handed it back and Scorch and Max quickly read it, seeing it was filled with wild demands for strange items and services, in addition to the request for aid with the divination of the ring. The woman darkly glared at the two men, "For the services Voo wants, we request a hundred gold coins." Scorch and Max looked at each other in surprise as they were not planning on spending any gold for this, with the gladiator exclaiming, "I thought you were all on the same team here! Ah, screw this!" Without a look back, Scorch turned and stomped back to town with his manager close behind.
Making their way down the moonlit roads to town, the two decided to go to the house of Allustan Neff, a wizard who was rumored to be the smartest man in town, to see if he could identify the properties of the magic ring. Despite the advanced hour, Scorch pounded on the wizard's door until the shutters on the upstairs window flew open. From the window, a ruffled older man peered down into the darkness, telling the duo to return tomorrow during more reasonable hours. Having accomplished nothing of note on the first day in town, Max and Scorch spent the night at a local inn.
The next day, the two returned to the home of Allustan. This time they were welcomed in and the wizard asked how he could help. Max produced the magic ring, explaining that they had recovered it from the Whispering Cairns and needed to know what it did. The wizards seemed quite interested in the Whispering Cairn and asked several questions about it. After this, he explained that he could cast the spell required, but it would cost quite a bit of gold. Not wanting to deal with the Wee Jas people, Scorch agreed to have the spell cast, but said they could not pay for it immediately. The wizard smiled and explained that this was not a problem at all, if the gladiator was willing to sign a writ that he would perform an unspecified task of equal value for the wizard in the future. Not seeing another option, he signed the papers and the properties of the ring were divined. After an hour of intense study, Allustan revealed that the wearer of the ring would float like a feather if he ever were dropped from a great height.
Max thanked the wizard for his help, but before they left, Scorch gestured to several bookcases overflowing with a bewildering assortment of tomes and scrolls, "Allustan, you got anything in there about adventurers that I can borrow?" The wizard arched an eyebrow and said haughtily, "I am surprised you can read." The gladiator glanced at the stacks then back to the mage, "Yeah, I minored in it at Kick Wizard Ass University. Want to guess my major?" The wizard appeared unfazed by Scorch's bravado and pulled three volumes from the shelf, "I believe these three will be of some assistance." Scorch took a look at the titles briefly before shoving them in his pack:
- The Adventures of Enesto Voritad: An Epic Struggle against the Dread Dragon Kelperath. By Enesto Voritad.
- One Thousand and One Ways to Die: A Compendium of Hazards, Traps, Poisons, and Various Other Unpleasantries Commonly Encountered by the Adventurer. Fourth Edition. By Kassandra Pennington
- Sufog and Tanlag: Adventurer Do's and Don'ts. Twelfth Edition. By Tam Annick.
The duo then set out from the wizard's home to secure some healing potions and scrolls. After asking around, they were told that the best place to find these items would be the Church of Saint Cuthbert. When the two arrived, services were being held. Having dealt with Scorch's impatience before, Max wisely suggested that the gladiator go have a drink at the nearby Feral Dog while the halfling dealt with this. Seeing no problem with this plan, the gladiator took his leave.
Max waited quietly outside the church until the mass was over. Once the congregation had left the church hall, the halfling approached an acolyte to ask about the availability of healing magic. The acolyte explained that while potions and scrolls were available, he had to be sure that they would be put to uses appropriate to the doctrines of St. Cuthbert. Max answered several questions about his activities and also signed a contact that he and several others would attend a service at the church in the near future. With everything in order, the halfling purchased the healing supplies and headed for the Feral Dog to pick up Scorch. Finding him at his old table, Max smiled as he approached, "Let us away! I have secured all of the healing supplies. Oh, and you have to go to church in a couple of days." Scorch made a sour face at the news and finished his beer.
Max and Scorch completed their errands with a quick stop at the general store, buying some rope, rations, a new bedroll and backpack for Scorch, and a heavy iron cauldron that Doctor Voo had requested. Their job done, the duo walked back to the mine office and rejoined the rest of the group. Having rested for several days, the group was healed of all their wounds and the last lingering stiffness induced by the imp's poison had also passed. Supplies were distributed and Max informed the group of the mystical properties of the ring. After a heated argument between Scorch and Natasha over who should bear the ring, the gladiator eventually gave up and Natasha claimed the enchanted ring.
Now complete once more, the group set out for the Whispering Cairn. Retracing their steps from several days before, the group returned to the large chamber beneath the yellow lantern. Having found the left room to be the ransacked remains of a private chamber, they decided to have a look around the larger room. In their haste, they had not seen a door in the far wall of the large chamber and decided to open this first. With blade and spell at the ready, Scorch kicked open the door, only to find that it was a latrine. Seeing no danger here, Scorch and Doctor Voo decided to clear away the mold to allow for exploration of the last room. Lashing Doctor Voo's staff to his shovel, the gladiator and priest slowly scooped up the freezing mold and deposited in the latrine. The process was time consuming, but except for an occasional shiver, was uneventful.
The dangerous mold now cleared, the group examined the last room. The flickering lights of the group revealed a sculptor's workroom filled with tools of the trade, as well as several sculptures in various states of completion. In addition, several large black egg-shaped sculptures could be seen. Sergi, an artist himself, gave a gleeful shout and sprung into the room. As he did, the black ovoid sculptures changed shape, transforming into crudely man-shaped things. The creatures ground forward, flailing with stone fists, to assault the group. The battle was brief but intense, with the group reducing the things to rubble in short order.
