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Rel's Faded Glory Campaign (Thank You Old One!)
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<blockquote data-quote="Rel" data-source="post: 934" data-attributes="member: 99"><p><strong>Information and Exploration</strong></p><p></p><p>In the aftermath of the battle, a head count indicated that the party had killed 21 orcs and the pair of wolves. Two orcs were unaccounted for: The one that had barely made it across the rope bridge as Krase had shot it down and the one who had fled (understandably) from the "Groin of Fire" incident at the top of the stairs in the barracks. The first of these orcs had made it out of the mountain and would presumably make his way back to the main orcish army to report what happened. The other had retreated further into the mountain.</p><p></p><p>Of all the orcs they had fought, only one remained alive and they bound his wounds, tied him up and dragged him into the dead-end archer post on the south side of the pit chamber. Krase then began to systematically strip each of the orcs of any weapons or armor that they might save to give to the dwarves or barbarians.</p><p></p><p>Having been warned by Speaks about the trap beyond the barracks, Rhys examined the area, identified the pressure plate and marked the edges of it with ink from his inkwell. Then he and Ilrath searched a short distance down the hallway beyond. They located a set of stairs atop which was a door left ajar. They investigated this room and discovered that it was mostly bare with the exception of a cot. Rhys was sure that it must have a secret door to the other side of the complex but was unable to locate one. He did however find a sack beneath the cot that contained a large number of silver and gold pieces and a magical rapier.</p><p></p><p>Satisfied with this loot, Rhys and Ilrath returned back to the barracks and collected Krase (Ilrath also collected a masterwork handaxe from the corpse of the veteran orc he had fought). The party decided that their need to rest and recover outweighed their desire to explore further that day (it was still just an hour after dawn). They holed up in the dead end archer post where they could observe anyone who passed through the antechamber. A few hours passed and their captive finally regained consciousness.</p><p></p><p>They learned that his name was Thark and he seemed very articulate for an orc. But then again, none of them had ever questioned an orc before. Rhys began to ask him questions of a rather general nature such as where exactly the orcs had come from. Up to this point, the party had assumed that they had invaded from somewhere in the southlands because Speaks could positively identify that the brightly colored feathers they wore were found only on birds indigenous to warmer climes. Thark dispelled this notion however by revealing the astonishing fact that the orcs hailed from the fabled City of Endless Summer. The party asked where this city was located and Thark informed them that it was far up in the Blackpeaks and would be impossible for anyone to find it without falling prey to the predators of the mountains or the orcs who were now banded together.</p><p></p><p>Thark, apparently feeling that he had given enough information without benefit of some consideration, asked if they planned to kill him. Rhys told him that they hadn't decided yet. Thark informed them that if they intended to kill him that he would answer no more of their questions. He did offer that if they would spare his life and set him free, he would tell them everything he knew of The Stone Tooth. Rhys agreed (although there were already considerable doubts about whether he would keep his promise before the words left his lips).</p><p></p><p>Thark, true to his word (at least as far as they could detect), gave a lot of information about the orcs presence at The Stone Tooth. He confirmed that they had slain the vast majority, if not all, of the orcs stationed there. He indicated that Ulfe was their leader and that their task was to guard the Mountain Door against any intruders. But what they were guarding came as a huge shock: They were guarding the dwarves that dwelled in the caverns below so that the dwarves could busily turn out superior weapons for the orcs to use against the barbarians.</p><p></p><p>Krase, who was partially raised by a dwarf, flatly refused to believe this could be true. Rhys carefully questioned Thark on this point and while Thark admitted that he himself had never spoken to or seen the dwarves, he knew several other orcs (now deceased) who were in the party that initially made contact with the dwarves several weeks ago and confirmed their presence. The party members were shocked that this could possibly be true and decided that since no dwarves they'd ever heard of would have anything to do with orcs, these dwarves must be under some sort of magical compulsion or had been fooled by some kind of clever trickery by the orcs.</p><p></p><p>Thark also revealed that there was little contact between themselves and the dwarves because the grand staircase to the lower caves was infested with "bane biters". After he described what these creatures were, Speaks was fairly sure that he referred to what they called "Stirges" in the Empire. He noted that they were like a combination between bats and mosquitoes but that he had spells that should render them docile enough to pass.</p><p></p><p>Rhys and the rest of the party wanted to talk about their next move but didn't want Thark to hear any of their plans. So Rhys (in the bonehead move of the night) decided to put the orc unconscious again using a quick Ray of Frost. He shot the helpless captive at point blank range and POW - max damage. Thark departs the mortal realm (The party didn't know that he had stabilized on his own at -7HP. If Rhys hadn't killed him with the Ray of Frost, Speaks with Stone's natural 1 on his healing check would have done the job nicely.)</p><p></p><p>Krase became very upset at the fact that Rhys had just killed a captive prisoner (not to mention their only source of information). It was apparently against everything he believed in (Note: Krase as it turns out was Lawful Neutral! I didn't closely monitor the character alignments when they made them and I had just been under the assumption that Krase was Chaotic or Neutral Good. Learn something new every day.)</p><p></p><p>Rhys explained that he had no intentions of killing Thark (which was true at the moment) and that it was a careless accident. Krase sulked a bit but was somehow able to put Thark's demise behind him. Speaks helped with this endeavor by dragging Thark's corpse outside the secret door and tossing him down the pit, muttering something about embracing the Earth Mother on impact. It was as close to a decent burial as any of the party's enemies have had and showed that they were a bit closer to spiritual enlightenment.</p><p></p><p>The party spent the rest of the afternoon and night resting and healing and awoke prepared to delve further into the depths of the Stone Tooth and discover what could be motivating the dwarves to aid the orcs. (GM Note: During this time, Rhys <em>Identified</em> the rapier they had found. It was a +1 rapier. He also <em>Identified</em> the amulet that Krase had and the one that Ulfe wore and determined that they were identical in function to the first one they found on the orcish shaman.)</p><p></p><p>It took the party little time to explore and determine that there were no more orcs to be found in the passageways on the upper level. The party did make a number of unfortunate discoveries, however. In the central cavern apparently used by the orcs for storage, they found a large pile of snow along the north wall. Packed in the snow were a variety of human body parts, mostly arms and legs. Many of them were too small to have been cut from barbarian warriors. Ilrath was enraged but was helpless to do anything but vow to avenge those who had fallen to the orcs.</p><p></p><p>They also found a small side cave with a crack in the ceiling to vent smoke from the caverns. Below it was a burnt out cookfire and a large cauldron with some rather thick looking stew in it. Again, the party assumed the worst and Ilrath's knuckles went white on the haft of his great axe.</p><p></p><p>The group finally made their way to a small chamber of worked stone in the south of the complex. Hanging from the ceiling of the room by rough twine were approximately a dozen skulls, yellowed from smoke. Three hide pallets were spread out on the floor and in one corner was a small brazier with a pot on top of it. Nearby lay a sack of coal and two small bags of various herbs. Speaks was able to determine that these herbs typically grew in warmer climates and that they could be used as potion components.</p><p></p><p>On the north side of this room was a sturdy door. By now the group had evolved a standard procedure for opening doors: Rhys would listen at the door, check for traps and (assuming he found none) open the door. He did so with this door.</p><p></p><p>Beyond the door was the largest room they had yet encountered. In the center was a large rift in the floor with stairs descending into it. The far wall was not yet visible. As they stood there, Speaks and Rhys heard the flapping of wings overhead. Speaks quickly cast a spell up along the ceiling that put the stirges into a trance and the rest of the party moved toward the opposite end of the room.</p><p></p><p>Along the west wall they spotted a gate that had many hides and rags stuffed into it, presumably to prevent the stirges from getting into other areas of the upper floor. At the end of the room was another door, opposite of the one they entered through, with the face of a glowering dwarf carved on it. Rhys approached the door and listened to it. Hearing nothing from the other side, he proceeded to check it for traps and found none. He turned to the rest of the party and gave a thumbs up. Then he opened the door.</p><p></p><p>There was an immediate clicking sound and the squeaking sound of pulleys accompanied by a strong smelling fluid gushing out of several spouts located around the door. Sensing danger, Tavis sprang from her normal spot on Rhys' shoulder and scampered back toward the rest of the party some 20 feet away. Rhys was not so quick on his feet. The liquid burst into flame on contact with the air and Rhys was instantly engulfed in an inferno. Those "Groin of Fire" jokes seemed far less funny now that it was his own groin that was threatened.</p><p></p><p>Within the first seconds of the conflagration, Rhys crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Seeing his friend in trouble, Krase heroically dashed into the fire and grabbed Rhys from the Flames. He was slightly burned as he dashed back out of the flames, but not nearly as badly as Rhys had been. Speaks stopped concentrating on his spell that kept the stirges at bay, counting on the fire to handle that job, and rushed over to use one of his minor healing magics to stop the worst of Rhys' bleeding.</p><p></p><p>A quick (and fateful) decision was made that Speaks would carry Rhys back to the room of skulls and care for him while Ilrath and Krase would explore the stairway to find out what awaited them below.</p><p></p><p><strong>NEXT: Into the Depths of the Glitterhame</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rel, post: 934, member: 99"] [B]Information and Exploration[/B] In the aftermath of the battle, a head count indicated that the party had killed 21 orcs and the pair of wolves. Two orcs were unaccounted for: The one that had barely made it across the rope bridge as Krase had shot it down and the one who had fled (understandably) from the "Groin of Fire" incident at the top of the stairs in the barracks. The first of these orcs had made it out of the mountain and would presumably make his way back to the main orcish army to report what happened. The other had retreated further into the mountain. Of all the orcs they had fought, only one remained alive and they bound his wounds, tied him up and dragged him into the dead-end archer post on the south side of the pit chamber. Krase then began to systematically strip each of the orcs of any weapons or armor that they might save to give to the dwarves or barbarians. Having been warned by Speaks about the trap beyond the barracks, Rhys examined the area, identified the pressure plate and marked the edges of it with ink from his inkwell. Then he and Ilrath searched a short distance down the hallway beyond. They located a set of stairs atop which was a door left ajar. They investigated this room and discovered that it was mostly bare with the exception of a cot. Rhys was sure that it must have a secret door to the other side of the complex but was unable to locate one. He did however find a sack beneath the cot that contained a large number of silver and gold pieces and a magical rapier. Satisfied with this loot, Rhys and Ilrath returned back to the barracks and collected Krase (Ilrath also collected a masterwork handaxe from the corpse of the veteran orc he had fought). The party decided that their need to rest and recover outweighed their desire to explore further that day (it was still just an hour after dawn). They holed up in the dead end archer post where they could observe anyone who passed through the antechamber. A few hours passed and their captive finally regained consciousness. They learned that his name was Thark and he seemed very articulate for an orc. But then again, none of them had ever questioned an orc before. Rhys began to ask him questions of a rather general nature such as where exactly the orcs had come from. Up to this point, the party had assumed that they had invaded from somewhere in the southlands because Speaks could positively identify that the brightly colored feathers they wore were found only on birds indigenous to warmer climes. Thark dispelled this notion however by revealing the astonishing fact that the orcs hailed from the fabled City of Endless Summer. The party asked where this city was located and Thark informed them that it was far up in the Blackpeaks and would be impossible for anyone to find it without falling prey to the predators of the mountains or the orcs who were now banded together. Thark, apparently feeling that he had given enough information without benefit of some consideration, asked if they planned to kill him. Rhys told him that they hadn't decided yet. Thark informed them that if they intended to kill him that he would answer no more of their questions. He did offer that if they would spare his life and set him free, he would tell them everything he knew of The Stone Tooth. Rhys agreed (although there were already considerable doubts about whether he would keep his promise before the words left his lips). Thark, true to his word (at least as far as they could detect), gave a lot of information about the orcs presence at The Stone Tooth. He confirmed that they had slain the vast majority, if not all, of the orcs stationed there. He indicated that Ulfe was their leader and that their task was to guard the Mountain Door against any intruders. But what they were guarding came as a huge shock: They were guarding the dwarves that dwelled in the caverns below so that the dwarves could busily turn out superior weapons for the orcs to use against the barbarians. Krase, who was partially raised by a dwarf, flatly refused to believe this could be true. Rhys carefully questioned Thark on this point and while Thark admitted that he himself had never spoken to or seen the dwarves, he knew several other orcs (now deceased) who were in the party that initially made contact with the dwarves several weeks ago and confirmed their presence. The party members were shocked that this could possibly be true and decided that since no dwarves they'd ever heard of would have anything to do with orcs, these dwarves must be under some sort of magical compulsion or had been fooled by some kind of clever trickery by the orcs. Thark also revealed that there was little contact between themselves and the dwarves because the grand staircase to the lower caves was infested with "bane biters". After he described what these creatures were, Speaks was fairly sure that he referred to what they called "Stirges" in the Empire. He noted that they were like a combination between bats and mosquitoes but that he had spells that should render them docile enough to pass. Rhys and the rest of the party wanted to talk about their next move but didn't want Thark to hear any of their plans. So Rhys (in the bonehead move of the night) decided to put the orc unconscious again using a quick Ray of Frost. He shot the helpless captive at point blank range and POW - max damage. Thark departs the mortal realm (The party didn't know that he had stabilized on his own at -7HP. If Rhys hadn't killed him with the Ray of Frost, Speaks with Stone's natural 1 on his healing check would have done the job nicely.) Krase became very upset at the fact that Rhys had just killed a captive prisoner (not to mention their only source of information). It was apparently against everything he believed in (Note: Krase as it turns out was Lawful Neutral! I didn't closely monitor the character alignments when they made them and I had just been under the assumption that Krase was Chaotic or Neutral Good. Learn something new every day.) Rhys explained that he had no intentions of killing Thark (which was true at the moment) and that it was a careless accident. Krase sulked a bit but was somehow able to put Thark's demise behind him. Speaks helped with this endeavor by dragging Thark's corpse outside the secret door and tossing him down the pit, muttering something about embracing the Earth Mother on impact. It was as close to a decent burial as any of the party's enemies have had and showed that they were a bit closer to spiritual enlightenment. The party spent the rest of the afternoon and night resting and healing and awoke prepared to delve further into the depths of the Stone Tooth and discover what could be motivating the dwarves to aid the orcs. (GM Note: During this time, Rhys [I]Identified[/I] the rapier they had found. It was a +1 rapier. He also [I]Identified[/I] the amulet that Krase had and the one that Ulfe wore and determined that they were identical in function to the first one they found on the orcish shaman.) It took the party little time to explore and determine that there were no more orcs to be found in the passageways on the upper level. The party did make a number of unfortunate discoveries, however. In the central cavern apparently used by the orcs for storage, they found a large pile of snow along the north wall. Packed in the snow were a variety of human body parts, mostly arms and legs. Many of them were too small to have been cut from barbarian warriors. Ilrath was enraged but was helpless to do anything but vow to avenge those who had fallen to the orcs. They also found a small side cave with a crack in the ceiling to vent smoke from the caverns. Below it was a burnt out cookfire and a large cauldron with some rather thick looking stew in it. Again, the party assumed the worst and Ilrath's knuckles went white on the haft of his great axe. The group finally made their way to a small chamber of worked stone in the south of the complex. Hanging from the ceiling of the room by rough twine were approximately a dozen skulls, yellowed from smoke. Three hide pallets were spread out on the floor and in one corner was a small brazier with a pot on top of it. Nearby lay a sack of coal and two small bags of various herbs. Speaks was able to determine that these herbs typically grew in warmer climates and that they could be used as potion components. On the north side of this room was a sturdy door. By now the group had evolved a standard procedure for opening doors: Rhys would listen at the door, check for traps and (assuming he found none) open the door. He did so with this door. Beyond the door was the largest room they had yet encountered. In the center was a large rift in the floor with stairs descending into it. The far wall was not yet visible. As they stood there, Speaks and Rhys heard the flapping of wings overhead. Speaks quickly cast a spell up along the ceiling that put the stirges into a trance and the rest of the party moved toward the opposite end of the room. Along the west wall they spotted a gate that had many hides and rags stuffed into it, presumably to prevent the stirges from getting into other areas of the upper floor. At the end of the room was another door, opposite of the one they entered through, with the face of a glowering dwarf carved on it. Rhys approached the door and listened to it. Hearing nothing from the other side, he proceeded to check it for traps and found none. He turned to the rest of the party and gave a thumbs up. Then he opened the door. There was an immediate clicking sound and the squeaking sound of pulleys accompanied by a strong smelling fluid gushing out of several spouts located around the door. Sensing danger, Tavis sprang from her normal spot on Rhys' shoulder and scampered back toward the rest of the party some 20 feet away. Rhys was not so quick on his feet. The liquid burst into flame on contact with the air and Rhys was instantly engulfed in an inferno. Those "Groin of Fire" jokes seemed far less funny now that it was his own groin that was threatened. Within the first seconds of the conflagration, Rhys crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Seeing his friend in trouble, Krase heroically dashed into the fire and grabbed Rhys from the Flames. He was slightly burned as he dashed back out of the flames, but not nearly as badly as Rhys had been. Speaks stopped concentrating on his spell that kept the stirges at bay, counting on the fire to handle that job, and rushed over to use one of his minor healing magics to stop the worst of Rhys' bleeding. A quick (and fateful) decision was made that Speaks would carry Rhys back to the room of skulls and care for him while Ilrath and Krase would explore the stairway to find out what awaited them below. [B]NEXT: Into the Depths of the Glitterhame[/B] [/QUOTE]
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