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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Aftermath II - Free Agents
- Thread starter Rybaer
- Start date
Rybaer
First Post
Session #12.11 – Fire in the Forge
Once satisfied that there was nothing else of interest in the old dwarven ore refinery, the group decided to continue with their explorations elsewhere. Rurik was a bit depleted on spells, having had to heal most of the members of the party to one degree or another after the encounter with Chatterhorm’s Chaos Cubes, but the cleric certainly wasn’t going to let that slow him down. After all, he still had his new axe Sleet.
The group went back to the primary artery through this section of Kladish and pressed on into the darkness. Several hundred feet back, the passage showed considerable signs of damage. Slabs of cut stone had fallen from the ceiling and large sections of the walls had collapsed into the wide hallway. Ahead, in the darkness, they then began to notice tiny sparkles of light.
Cautiously, they continued onward. Eventually, someone in the party surmised that the sparkles of light might be reflections from their own light source – a continual flame torch. They covered the torch and the sparkles winked out. Uncover, sparkles returned.
A little further down the hallway, they finally found what was creating the sparkling effect. The cut stone of the passage gave way to gigantic crystals. Floor, walls, and ceiling had all been replaced with crystals in varying orientations. They ranged from less than an inch to well over ten feet in length. Colors included clear, blue, violet, yellow, and green. A connection was immediately made between these massive crystals and the abundance of crystal-construction they’d seen in Kladish thus far: The crystal doors to the temple of Nur, the glowing embedded crystal in the pillars, and a couple of the magical weapons the minotaurs had offered them. Apparently, the ancients of the Tauren Empire had learned how to craft and strengthen crystal in meaningful ways.
While the sight was impressive, it was also daunting. The crystal-filled room ranged far out of the reach of their torch and crossing the irregular and sharp surface would be slow and very dangerous. Zalman offered to cast Fly upon himself and scout the chamber. The group was reluctant to split up, even briefly, but saw no alternative.
Zalman took the torch with him and made a quick circuit of the chamber. It was irregularly shaped and at least a couple hundred feet long and wide. There were several pillars of crystal, but he found nothing resembling a life form. One exit left the chamber – another of the dwarven-built stone hallways. The wizard reported back to the others and they decided to cross over to the new hallway and explore that. Given the inherent danger of trying to climb over the crystal, Zalman simply flew them across one at a time.
Nervous as crossing the chamber made them, all made it to the other side uneventfully. The passage continued on a couple hundred feet before widening into a series of massive chambers. Ancient forges, racks of tools, and stacks of rusted iron ingots filled the rooms. While impressive in size and scope, it was quite clear that the forges had been cold for ages.
The group cautiously explored the area, but found little of interest. Several offices and tool rooms branched off from the main forges, most filled with rusted remnants of a once bustling area of business. During a cursory search through one of these offices, Bommer spotted a secret door in the stone wall. With the rest of the group backing him up, he opened the door and exposed a tight, dark passage. The air was musty and there was no sign of anything alive. They scouted down the length a short distance until it ended at a small stone door. This, they found, opened into one of the office areas they’d previously explored in the refinery. The concealed passage, they concluded, would make for a much better escape route than trying to shuttle everyone across the crystal chamber – should the need arise.
Back to the forges, the group started working their way down the length of the series of workstations. Before they got much further, though, a disturbing sound echoed out of the darkness ahead of them. Two sounds, actually. The first was that of metal clanking on metal, very much in the manner of a massive chain being jostled about. The second sound was one that a couple of the party members recognized from their previous night’s watch as the rhythmic mechanical sound. The group started retreating backward, quietly as possible so as to continue listening to clanking.
About thirty seconds later, with the group backed up to the forge area with the concealed retreat route, the clanking of the chain subsided. Peeking around the corner to look down the grand hallway, two flickering light sources appeared - torches, apparently being carried by flying creatures of some manner. The pair was too far away to make out distinctly, but it was clear that they were heading toward the group.
Nigel called a hasty team meeting. “Well, what do we do? Hide, run away, or ambush? I’m fairly certain anything that’s down here and flying is not going to be a dwarf in need of rescue.”
Most of the votes were non-committal. Only Rurik was adamant in his desire to press on, and he felt that failing to eliminate these “sentries” now could only come back to haunt them later. Everyone else bought into it and they laid a hasty plan for the ambush. Zalman would hide behind a large rack of raw steel rods. When the flying creatures reached the edge of this forge area, he’d unload with a fireball – the cue to start the ambush. Bommer would climb up the wall and hide, trying to get a position above the fliers from which to sneak attack. Nigel positioned himself toward the back of the room, arranging himself so as to have a good field of fire and to be able to cover everyone else’s retreat to the concealed passage should it be necessary. Amblin and Rurik both hid behind forges and racks of tools, ready to spring out and engage anything that got close enough to the ground.
As the flying creatures closed in on their position, Zalman was the only one with a good angle to see them. The fliers the size and build of ogres. Their wings appeared to be mechanical, as were several other parts of their bodies – very much like the half-machine undead they’d fought the previous day. The mechanical ogres alone did not bother the wizard terribly much. What did bother him was the half-mechanical giant that was walking along the floor underneath them. A chill of foreboding rushed through the pit of his stomach. Much as he wanted to abandon the plan, the enemy was already too close for him to safely call to the others.
Amblin was the only one close to Zalman, so the wizard whispered as loud as he dared. “They’ve got a half-machine fire giant with them.” Amblin sighed, and then quaffed a drink from his magical flask, feeling a surge of strength and energy flow through him.
Zalman held back until the flying ogres reached the edge of the room and then promptly let fly with a fireball – targeted to detonate between the pair. One of the ogres shrieked in agony, having taken the full brunt of the explosion. His companion tucked and rolled, suffering only minor injury.
The mechanical fire giant, eager for a fight, charged forward. As he did so, a massive shield unfolded from his left forearm and a long sword blade extended from his right. The ogres, even the injured one, swept in behind the giant and looked for targets.
Rurik, upon his first good look at the fire giant, almost lost his nerve. He then batted his axe Sleet upon the symbol of Moradin on his shield and cried out, “In the name of Moradin!” He charged the grinning giant.
Parked in the back of the room, Nigel immediately recognized that this fight could turn bad very quickly. The giant looked very tough, and very mean. His arrows would take a while to whittle it down, so he decided to start working on the flying ogres first. He knocked an arrow in Star Slayer and let fly at the more injured of the pair. A crackle of electricity followed the arrow as it flew true and lodged in the creature’s shoulder, just below its wing joint. Before the ogre could cry out, Nigel’s second arrow delivered its combined punch of precision-aimed arrowhead and electric shock – this time through the top of the monster’s skull. The ogre’s body skidded unceremoniously across the floor with a clatter.
Amblin, activated the enhanced movement feature on Far Strider, his new boots. Combined with his monk abilities, it made him unbelievably quick. He ran around the side of his cover, across half the room, leapt into the air and planted a hard kick into the giant’s stomach, landed, and then skittered back a good forty feet – safely out of reach. Amblin would have been a bit more proud of himself had the giant acted like the kick fazed him in the slightest.
Rurik risked a counterattack from the giant and charged ruthlessly in with Sleet. The giant’s sword arm tagged Rurik a glancing blow and the dwarf planted Sleet’s icy blue blade into the giant’s hip. Both giant and dwarf, bloodied and hot for a fight, circled and growled at one another.
Zalman flew up above his cover and realized that the lightning bolt he’d planned on firing from his wand at the giant would risk hitting Rurik. He opted instead for a precision blast of magic missiles that peppered the raging giant.
Bommer, patiently waiting from his position on the wall near the hundred foot high ceiling, saw the second ogre swooping in to hit Rurik from behind. In a moment of brave recklessness, the halfling removed his Ring of Featherfall, and dropped in freefall from the ceiling. His intent was to impale the ogre on his short sword from above in a powerful sneak attack. Unfortunately, his timing on the fall was a bit off and he only injured himself as he glanced off the foot of the ogre and slammed into the floor.
The ogre, surprised at the sudden appearance of the halfling, turned to attack. Nigel had seen the entire thing and brought Star Slayer to bear on the ogre before it could pound Bommer with its club. Two shots, two arrows buried into the ogre. Amblin, ready for another spring attack, made a standing forty foot long jump and planted a firm kick to the back of the ogre’s head – causing it to fall hard to the floor. Bommer, still severely shaken from the fall, came to his senses long enough to jab his blade into the ogre’s body.
The giant and Rurik traded blows, though even with Rurik’s dwarven training in how combat giants the half-mechanical beast was getting the better of him. Several gashes had already been sliced through his plate armor and he was bleeding badly. The giant, meanwhile, only had a couple minor injuries that weren’t slowing it down in the least. The giant had peripherally seen the halfling fall to the ground and maneuvered himself around Rurik in the last exchange of blades to get closer. The fire giant then feigned a blow at Rurik, but spun at the last moment and impaled the halfing through the chest with his massive blade.
With a casual flick, Bommer’s corpse was tossed against a rack of rusted ingots. The giant spun back around and laid into Rurik with a gleeful fervor. Rurik, along with the others, was stunned by the giant’s raw power and sadistic disposition. The dwarf had been contemplating a strategic retreat, but after the slaughter of Bommer he was more inclined to take out his frustration on the giant.
Dwarf and giant, they continued to exchange blows while Nigel turned his sharp shooting demonstration upon the giant. No arrow missed its mark and the giant started to resemble a pincushion. Amblin continued to leap in and out of the giant’s reach, planting quick kicks in an effort to distract and wear him down.
The giant’s focus was incredible, however, and he wouldn’t let the attacks of the others deter him from taking down the pesky dwarf. With a final mighty swing of his sword arm, the giant batted aside Sleet and clove Rurik in two just above the waist. The dwarf’s armored body clattered to the floor in a wide pool of his own blood. Sleet skidded several feet away and its icy blue light faded to darkness.
Everyone else in the group was in a state of shock. Rurik, the stalwart of the party and their healer, had just been slain. Worse, the giant had made it look easy. They were torn for just a moment between fleeing and continuing the fight. Having no desire to leave the bodies of their friends behind, they chose to fight.
As no one was left in close quarters with the giant, Zalman flew up high enough to get a good angle at the giant and then let loose with his Wand of Lightning Bolt. Amblin continued to spring attack the giant, always retreating behind an obstruction so as to deny the giant a clear path to charge him. Nigel pumped arrow after arrow into the large target. The giant, in spite of his mass and strength, began to falter under the assault. He repositioned himself behind a large rack to deny Nigel a clear line of sight for his arrows. The nimble monk was simply too difficult for him to catch. The wizard, whose lightning bolts were getting very annoying, was a more accommodating target.
The giant retracted the sword into his arm and grabbed a six-foot long, inch diameter steel rod off the nearby rack. The next time Zalman popped up to fire a lightning bolt, the giant flung the rod end over end at the wizard. The improvised missile just grazed Zalman, but succeeded in keeping the wizard out of the way for a moment.
Much as the giant tried to employ tactics against his remaining foes, they were simply too mobile and had too strong of ranged attacks. Nigel had repositioned himself and hit the giant with a couple arrows through the very rack it was trying to use for cover. Another blast from Zalman, another kick from Amblin, and another pair of arrows from Nigel finally brought the fire giant to his knees. It then tumbled face-first onto the floor in a booming crash.
After a hard minute of fighting, the forge had once again become deafeningly silent. Rurik was clearly beyond help, and Amblin quickly confirmed that Bommer was likewise gone. With two close companions slain, the other three lost all heart for this trip into Kladish. The mission had been Rurik’s, after all, and he was dead. They had no one who could heal injuries and against foes such as this giant, they’d now be severely undermanned. On top of that, they still believed that a red dragon was in residence nearby. It was time to leave, and there was no argument from anyone.
As they began to gather up their fallen companions, they heard the distant echo of a massive chain rattling again. Trying to hurry, they were interrupted by a shrieking roar that in the darkest recesses of their imaginations could only come from one thing – a dragon. The unmistakable sound of heavy clawed footfalls followed, coming in their direction.
Nigel slung Bommer over his shoulder. Amblin and Zalman considered Rurik’s body and realized that they simply couldn’t carry it and escape fast enough – even split in two as it was. They grabbed both of Rurik’s magic axes and his shield. Zalman recalled something from his magic training about some forms of resurrection requiring a body part. They hastily cut off one of Rurik’s hands, stuffed it in a bag, and made a quick retreat back through the concealed passage to the refinery.
While they never saw the dragon, they could feel its presence behind them. As they fled down the dark, narrow concealed passage, the dragon roared again and let loose a blast of fire into the offices behind them. The heat sucked the air out of the hallway, but they managed to make it out the other side just in time to avoid serious injury.
Next session: An old acquaintance, a new face, and a whole lot more things go badly for the party...
Once satisfied that there was nothing else of interest in the old dwarven ore refinery, the group decided to continue with their explorations elsewhere. Rurik was a bit depleted on spells, having had to heal most of the members of the party to one degree or another after the encounter with Chatterhorm’s Chaos Cubes, but the cleric certainly wasn’t going to let that slow him down. After all, he still had his new axe Sleet.
The group went back to the primary artery through this section of Kladish and pressed on into the darkness. Several hundred feet back, the passage showed considerable signs of damage. Slabs of cut stone had fallen from the ceiling and large sections of the walls had collapsed into the wide hallway. Ahead, in the darkness, they then began to notice tiny sparkles of light.
Cautiously, they continued onward. Eventually, someone in the party surmised that the sparkles of light might be reflections from their own light source – a continual flame torch. They covered the torch and the sparkles winked out. Uncover, sparkles returned.
A little further down the hallway, they finally found what was creating the sparkling effect. The cut stone of the passage gave way to gigantic crystals. Floor, walls, and ceiling had all been replaced with crystals in varying orientations. They ranged from less than an inch to well over ten feet in length. Colors included clear, blue, violet, yellow, and green. A connection was immediately made between these massive crystals and the abundance of crystal-construction they’d seen in Kladish thus far: The crystal doors to the temple of Nur, the glowing embedded crystal in the pillars, and a couple of the magical weapons the minotaurs had offered them. Apparently, the ancients of the Tauren Empire had learned how to craft and strengthen crystal in meaningful ways.
While the sight was impressive, it was also daunting. The crystal-filled room ranged far out of the reach of their torch and crossing the irregular and sharp surface would be slow and very dangerous. Zalman offered to cast Fly upon himself and scout the chamber. The group was reluctant to split up, even briefly, but saw no alternative.
Zalman took the torch with him and made a quick circuit of the chamber. It was irregularly shaped and at least a couple hundred feet long and wide. There were several pillars of crystal, but he found nothing resembling a life form. One exit left the chamber – another of the dwarven-built stone hallways. The wizard reported back to the others and they decided to cross over to the new hallway and explore that. Given the inherent danger of trying to climb over the crystal, Zalman simply flew them across one at a time.
Nervous as crossing the chamber made them, all made it to the other side uneventfully. The passage continued on a couple hundred feet before widening into a series of massive chambers. Ancient forges, racks of tools, and stacks of rusted iron ingots filled the rooms. While impressive in size and scope, it was quite clear that the forges had been cold for ages.
The group cautiously explored the area, but found little of interest. Several offices and tool rooms branched off from the main forges, most filled with rusted remnants of a once bustling area of business. During a cursory search through one of these offices, Bommer spotted a secret door in the stone wall. With the rest of the group backing him up, he opened the door and exposed a tight, dark passage. The air was musty and there was no sign of anything alive. They scouted down the length a short distance until it ended at a small stone door. This, they found, opened into one of the office areas they’d previously explored in the refinery. The concealed passage, they concluded, would make for a much better escape route than trying to shuttle everyone across the crystal chamber – should the need arise.
Back to the forges, the group started working their way down the length of the series of workstations. Before they got much further, though, a disturbing sound echoed out of the darkness ahead of them. Two sounds, actually. The first was that of metal clanking on metal, very much in the manner of a massive chain being jostled about. The second sound was one that a couple of the party members recognized from their previous night’s watch as the rhythmic mechanical sound. The group started retreating backward, quietly as possible so as to continue listening to clanking.
About thirty seconds later, with the group backed up to the forge area with the concealed retreat route, the clanking of the chain subsided. Peeking around the corner to look down the grand hallway, two flickering light sources appeared - torches, apparently being carried by flying creatures of some manner. The pair was too far away to make out distinctly, but it was clear that they were heading toward the group.
Nigel called a hasty team meeting. “Well, what do we do? Hide, run away, or ambush? I’m fairly certain anything that’s down here and flying is not going to be a dwarf in need of rescue.”
Most of the votes were non-committal. Only Rurik was adamant in his desire to press on, and he felt that failing to eliminate these “sentries” now could only come back to haunt them later. Everyone else bought into it and they laid a hasty plan for the ambush. Zalman would hide behind a large rack of raw steel rods. When the flying creatures reached the edge of this forge area, he’d unload with a fireball – the cue to start the ambush. Bommer would climb up the wall and hide, trying to get a position above the fliers from which to sneak attack. Nigel positioned himself toward the back of the room, arranging himself so as to have a good field of fire and to be able to cover everyone else’s retreat to the concealed passage should it be necessary. Amblin and Rurik both hid behind forges and racks of tools, ready to spring out and engage anything that got close enough to the ground.
As the flying creatures closed in on their position, Zalman was the only one with a good angle to see them. The fliers the size and build of ogres. Their wings appeared to be mechanical, as were several other parts of their bodies – very much like the half-machine undead they’d fought the previous day. The mechanical ogres alone did not bother the wizard terribly much. What did bother him was the half-mechanical giant that was walking along the floor underneath them. A chill of foreboding rushed through the pit of his stomach. Much as he wanted to abandon the plan, the enemy was already too close for him to safely call to the others.
Amblin was the only one close to Zalman, so the wizard whispered as loud as he dared. “They’ve got a half-machine fire giant with them.” Amblin sighed, and then quaffed a drink from his magical flask, feeling a surge of strength and energy flow through him.
Zalman held back until the flying ogres reached the edge of the room and then promptly let fly with a fireball – targeted to detonate between the pair. One of the ogres shrieked in agony, having taken the full brunt of the explosion. His companion tucked and rolled, suffering only minor injury.
The mechanical fire giant, eager for a fight, charged forward. As he did so, a massive shield unfolded from his left forearm and a long sword blade extended from his right. The ogres, even the injured one, swept in behind the giant and looked for targets.
Rurik, upon his first good look at the fire giant, almost lost his nerve. He then batted his axe Sleet upon the symbol of Moradin on his shield and cried out, “In the name of Moradin!” He charged the grinning giant.
Parked in the back of the room, Nigel immediately recognized that this fight could turn bad very quickly. The giant looked very tough, and very mean. His arrows would take a while to whittle it down, so he decided to start working on the flying ogres first. He knocked an arrow in Star Slayer and let fly at the more injured of the pair. A crackle of electricity followed the arrow as it flew true and lodged in the creature’s shoulder, just below its wing joint. Before the ogre could cry out, Nigel’s second arrow delivered its combined punch of precision-aimed arrowhead and electric shock – this time through the top of the monster’s skull. The ogre’s body skidded unceremoniously across the floor with a clatter.
Amblin, activated the enhanced movement feature on Far Strider, his new boots. Combined with his monk abilities, it made him unbelievably quick. He ran around the side of his cover, across half the room, leapt into the air and planted a hard kick into the giant’s stomach, landed, and then skittered back a good forty feet – safely out of reach. Amblin would have been a bit more proud of himself had the giant acted like the kick fazed him in the slightest.
Rurik risked a counterattack from the giant and charged ruthlessly in with Sleet. The giant’s sword arm tagged Rurik a glancing blow and the dwarf planted Sleet’s icy blue blade into the giant’s hip. Both giant and dwarf, bloodied and hot for a fight, circled and growled at one another.
Zalman flew up above his cover and realized that the lightning bolt he’d planned on firing from his wand at the giant would risk hitting Rurik. He opted instead for a precision blast of magic missiles that peppered the raging giant.
Bommer, patiently waiting from his position on the wall near the hundred foot high ceiling, saw the second ogre swooping in to hit Rurik from behind. In a moment of brave recklessness, the halfling removed his Ring of Featherfall, and dropped in freefall from the ceiling. His intent was to impale the ogre on his short sword from above in a powerful sneak attack. Unfortunately, his timing on the fall was a bit off and he only injured himself as he glanced off the foot of the ogre and slammed into the floor.
The ogre, surprised at the sudden appearance of the halfling, turned to attack. Nigel had seen the entire thing and brought Star Slayer to bear on the ogre before it could pound Bommer with its club. Two shots, two arrows buried into the ogre. Amblin, ready for another spring attack, made a standing forty foot long jump and planted a firm kick to the back of the ogre’s head – causing it to fall hard to the floor. Bommer, still severely shaken from the fall, came to his senses long enough to jab his blade into the ogre’s body.
The giant and Rurik traded blows, though even with Rurik’s dwarven training in how combat giants the half-mechanical beast was getting the better of him. Several gashes had already been sliced through his plate armor and he was bleeding badly. The giant, meanwhile, only had a couple minor injuries that weren’t slowing it down in the least. The giant had peripherally seen the halfling fall to the ground and maneuvered himself around Rurik in the last exchange of blades to get closer. The fire giant then feigned a blow at Rurik, but spun at the last moment and impaled the halfing through the chest with his massive blade.
With a casual flick, Bommer’s corpse was tossed against a rack of rusted ingots. The giant spun back around and laid into Rurik with a gleeful fervor. Rurik, along with the others, was stunned by the giant’s raw power and sadistic disposition. The dwarf had been contemplating a strategic retreat, but after the slaughter of Bommer he was more inclined to take out his frustration on the giant.
Dwarf and giant, they continued to exchange blows while Nigel turned his sharp shooting demonstration upon the giant. No arrow missed its mark and the giant started to resemble a pincushion. Amblin continued to leap in and out of the giant’s reach, planting quick kicks in an effort to distract and wear him down.
The giant’s focus was incredible, however, and he wouldn’t let the attacks of the others deter him from taking down the pesky dwarf. With a final mighty swing of his sword arm, the giant batted aside Sleet and clove Rurik in two just above the waist. The dwarf’s armored body clattered to the floor in a wide pool of his own blood. Sleet skidded several feet away and its icy blue light faded to darkness.
Everyone else in the group was in a state of shock. Rurik, the stalwart of the party and their healer, had just been slain. Worse, the giant had made it look easy. They were torn for just a moment between fleeing and continuing the fight. Having no desire to leave the bodies of their friends behind, they chose to fight.
As no one was left in close quarters with the giant, Zalman flew up high enough to get a good angle at the giant and then let loose with his Wand of Lightning Bolt. Amblin continued to spring attack the giant, always retreating behind an obstruction so as to deny the giant a clear path to charge him. Nigel pumped arrow after arrow into the large target. The giant, in spite of his mass and strength, began to falter under the assault. He repositioned himself behind a large rack to deny Nigel a clear line of sight for his arrows. The nimble monk was simply too difficult for him to catch. The wizard, whose lightning bolts were getting very annoying, was a more accommodating target.
The giant retracted the sword into his arm and grabbed a six-foot long, inch diameter steel rod off the nearby rack. The next time Zalman popped up to fire a lightning bolt, the giant flung the rod end over end at the wizard. The improvised missile just grazed Zalman, but succeeded in keeping the wizard out of the way for a moment.
Much as the giant tried to employ tactics against his remaining foes, they were simply too mobile and had too strong of ranged attacks. Nigel had repositioned himself and hit the giant with a couple arrows through the very rack it was trying to use for cover. Another blast from Zalman, another kick from Amblin, and another pair of arrows from Nigel finally brought the fire giant to his knees. It then tumbled face-first onto the floor in a booming crash.
After a hard minute of fighting, the forge had once again become deafeningly silent. Rurik was clearly beyond help, and Amblin quickly confirmed that Bommer was likewise gone. With two close companions slain, the other three lost all heart for this trip into Kladish. The mission had been Rurik’s, after all, and he was dead. They had no one who could heal injuries and against foes such as this giant, they’d now be severely undermanned. On top of that, they still believed that a red dragon was in residence nearby. It was time to leave, and there was no argument from anyone.
As they began to gather up their fallen companions, they heard the distant echo of a massive chain rattling again. Trying to hurry, they were interrupted by a shrieking roar that in the darkest recesses of their imaginations could only come from one thing – a dragon. The unmistakable sound of heavy clawed footfalls followed, coming in their direction.
Nigel slung Bommer over his shoulder. Amblin and Zalman considered Rurik’s body and realized that they simply couldn’t carry it and escape fast enough – even split in two as it was. They grabbed both of Rurik’s magic axes and his shield. Zalman recalled something from his magic training about some forms of resurrection requiring a body part. They hastily cut off one of Rurik’s hands, stuffed it in a bag, and made a quick retreat back through the concealed passage to the refinery.
While they never saw the dragon, they could feel its presence behind them. As they fled down the dark, narrow concealed passage, the dragon roared again and let loose a blast of fire into the offices behind them. The heat sucked the air out of the hallway, but they managed to make it out the other side just in time to avoid serious injury.
Next session: An old acquaintance, a new face, and a whole lot more things go badly for the party...
Since I was unable to throw lightning bolts or fireballs at the Mechanical Fire Giant while he was in melee I tried summoning a couple of critters to help out Rurik. (at least giving him a bonus for flanking) Unfortunately, the Fire Giant was able to quickly get rid of them before they could be of much use.
Rurik is dead... My friend who we respected and followed down here is gone. I know that he would want his possessions back if resurrected, but we only had time to get his two axes and his holy symbol/shield. Only one thing is running through our minds now....
RUN!!!
Rurik is dead... My friend who we respected and followed down here is gone. I know that he would want his possessions back if resurrected, but we only had time to get his two axes and his holy symbol/shield. Only one thing is running through our minds now....
RUN!!!
Rybaer
First Post
Tuerny said:
Yeah, this encounter was pretty messy. Honestly, I had expected the party to do their best to avoid direct confrontation with the fire giant. So much for expectations. By the book, the fire giant was a CR15 vs the party's average level of 8. The flying ogres were really not that much of a problem (as seen in how quickly they were dropped).
As for what happens next, well, it gets a bit odd. Ressurrection is not something commonly available and the only major church in the area is the Church of the Small in Water Break, which the group is avoiding like the plague. After the encounter with the mind flayer, Zalman was ressurrected via a scroll provided by the minotaur ghosts. That's not an option this time around because with Rurik dead, no one can get them down to the minotaur's chamber or even cast the scroll if they could get one.
Much will be revealed in the next post or two. Stay tuned.
Rybaer
First Post
Session #12.12 - The Mage of Many Colors
Rurik and Bommer have just been slain by a half-mechanical fire giant. Nigel, Amblin, and Zalman, having just finished off said fire giant, are now fleeing through the ruins of Kladish from a raging red dragon.
A little less than a day ealier...
Linnea, the head of household for Countess Lohna Goldenoak Graeble of Vineyard Pass, made her daily trip into town to pick up fresh produce from the farmers and merchants. Given the Countess's nighttime lifestyle, Linnea had accustomed herself to rising in the middle of the afternoon to see that the household was in order.
When she arrived in the town's market, she found all the citizens abuzz with talk about a group of strangers who had passed through earlier in the morning. While selecting her items, Linnea tried to gather and filter the gossip to get the best possible report for Lohna. The group, four men on horseback with one spare mount, had ridden through at a quick pace not an hour after dawn. The most striking of the group was a large man dressed in exotic red full plate armor stylized to look like a demon - particularly the mask. Another rider was a man or half-elf (as some claimed), dressed in robes of deep blue and commanding a powerful aura about him. The other two riders paled in comparison - both humans and dressed in simple brown and gray travel garb. One was older, perhaps in his late 50's, and the other was in his late teens.
Linnea learned little else about the group other than that they were traveling north and had not even slowed down as they passed through town. Linnea was fairly certain that they had not attempted to stop at the Graeble estate, or she'd have heard about it from some of the daytime staff.
Linnea knew that the Countess's newest group of friends had just passed through town not a week ago, headed on a mission of some sort north of the city. As far as she knew, there was nothing else to the north - certainly no cities or civilization. A few hunters occasionally went up that way, but these strangers didn't sound like the hunting types.
When the sun finally began to set, the Countess Lohna rose for her evening meal. She was entertaining one guest this night, an acquaintance of a couple years and psychic warrior named Amill Jaggitt. Linnea didn't know too much about Amill. He was something of a wanderer, but seemed pleasant enough during each of his previous visits.
Linnea greeted the two in the dining hall and helped serve dinner (or breakfast, depending on one's perspective). Once the meal was underway, Linnea decided to pass along the story of the day. Lohna listened carefully and asked a couple pointed questions for clarity. Lohna had no more idea as to the identity of these riders than the townsfolk had. Like Linnea, though, she was concerned that they might be pursuing Nigel and the others from New Selmar. There was little explanation.
During one of that group's previous visits, a halfling wizard and his summoned creatures had attacked in the middle of the night. It had never been determined if the attack was aimed at her or the group, but suspicion favored the latter. Lohna knew they had acquired some enemies, and she grew more concerned about their safety. Lohna had been a bit of an adventurer in her youth and had a few tricks up her sleeves - not enough to take on a potentially dangerous group of men, but perhaps enough to scout them out and warn the Selmarian Seekers.
"Amill," the Countess said. "Care to take a ride north?"
"I've got nothing else planned," Amill said. "Why not?"
"I'll have Master Jaggitt's horse readied immediately," Linnea said. Fifteen minutes later, Amill and Lohna left town as the stars began to poke through the last minutes of dusk - the psychic warrior on horseback and the Countess in the form of a sleek wolf.
Back in the ruins of Kladish…
Zalman slammed the concealed door shut behind him, effectively blocking out the intense heat from the dragon’s breath. The few remaining members of the group were back in one of the offices of the ore refinery, a dark and stuffy place only a dwarf could tolerate.
“Well,” said Nigel, “do we hide in here and hope the dragon can’t follow because of its size or do we make a run for the stairs and try to escape?”
“Better plan,” Zalman chimed in. “I’ve still got a scroll of Teleportation with me. I didn’t think I could teleport the entire group before, but I’m quite certain it should be able to get the three of us out.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Amblin said. “And the quicker the better.”
“Where to?” Zalman asked as he pulled the scroll case out of his pack.
“Lohna’s?” Nigel suggested. The others nodded in agreement. It was close and familiar and had no dragons that they were aware of.
Zalman asked his companions to each grab one of his shoulders and then he recited the spell from the scroll. They felt the surge of magical energy envelop them and then wrench them out of the Prime. All felt an abrupt and unpleasant shock as they were kicked back into the Prime.
“Uh, Zalman,” Nigel said. “I’m pretty sure this isn’t Lohna’s.” He gazed around at the cavernous stone hallway they were in. Aside from Amblin’s small continual-flame rock, it was quite dark. Chunks of stone littered the floor.
“Yeah,” Amblin said. “And judging by the little sparkly deals down that way, I’d go so far as to say we’re in the main hallway just outside the refinery room. Some teleportation! It got us what? A whopping two hundred feet?”
Zalman, judging by the rough exit from the teleportation, quickly surmised that something must have blocked the spell from properly functioning. It was possible that the walls of Kladish had wards built into them.
A roar echoed through the vast hall again, abruptly reminding them of the presence of the dragon. “Right,” Nigel said. “Time to go!”
They raced down the hall and then through the tunnel they’d melted in the rock earlier. Throwing caution aside in favor of speed, they hurried across the chasms in the dwarven apartment chamber and back to the long, twisting stairway up to the ogre’s lair. They paused for just a moment to catch their breaths and to listen for pursuit.
From here, they could hear nothing but the faint crashing of the waterfalls several hundred feet behind them. Relieved that the dragon wasn’t immediately upon them, they continued up the stairs. Remembering the unpleasant encounter with the black pudding on these very stairs, however, they proceeded at a more cautious pace.
About halfway up the stairs, Amblin, who was scouting the way, heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairwell. Torchlight flickered off the walls. The monk quickly and quietly slipped back down the stairs to warn the others.
In a hasty whispered conversation, the group decided to wait on the stairs for the approaching group. They certainly had no interest in going back toward the dragon. If they were lucky, perhaps the newcomers would be either friendly or at least easier to handle than a dragon.
The torchlight finally arrived at the platform above them and the newcomers were revealed: a half-elf in dark robes, a tall humanoid concealed in demonic-styled armor and carrying a massive black-bladed greatsword, and a pair of humans dressed in simple travelers’ garb. The newcomers paused at finding the three battered men on the landing below.
The half-elf in robes broke the silence. “Hello,” he said. “May I ask who you are?”
Nigel spoke up. “Just a few guys trying to get the hell out of here. I’d suggest you turn around yourselves as there’s a rampaging dragon down there.” Amblin started back up the stairs toward the newcomers. It was his intention to walk on past them.
“Please, wait,” the half-elf said. “I would like to know more. Are you the ones responsible for the slain ogres up there?”
“Yes,” Nigel said. “But, like I said, we really don’t want to be standing around chit-chatting right now.”
As Amblin approached, the man in red armor stepped forward and leveled his sword in the monk’s direction. It was clear that he did not want Amblin any closer. Amblin, not interested in what the man in red wanted, continued forward. Nigel clenched his bow and Zalman his staff.
With his attention focused firmly on the confrontation above, Zalman was caught completely off guard when he was whacked in the back of the head. The wizard’s staff clattered into the corner of the landing as he crumpled to the floor unconscious. Amblin whipped around at the sound, only to turn back at the sound of spell casting from above. The older man dressed in drab travel garb was holding some manner of holy symbol and casting a spell. The monk was ready to pounce, but found that he was completely immobilized.
Nigel, unsure what had happened to Zalman and soon aware that something was wrong with Amblin, raised his bow.
“Stop!” the half-elf said, raising his hands pleadingly. “Do not harm them! I only wish to speak!”
Nigel held his fire. Running the numbers in his head, he realized that their only chance was to take the half-elf at his word and talk. “Upstairs then,” Nigel said.
“Very well,” the half-elf said. “Please release him.” With a wave, the older man released his spell on the now-upset monk. Rather than force a confrontation, though, Amblin helped gather up Zalman and the wizard’s staff. While doing so, he peered down the stairs and saw nothing but darkness.
The entire group went back up to the ogre’s lair and settled down in the room with the crack overlooking the ocean. Daytime, they noted. The old man approached and offered to heal Zalman. Nigel and Amblin were both very reluctant.
“Look,” the old man said, “I’m a follower of St. Cuthbert. I will not harm your friend.” Nigel and Amblin finally acquiesced and the cleric brought Zalman back to consciousness.
Zalman was confused and could not recall what had happened. He was not happy with the situation and decided to sit in one of the chairs, refuse to speak, and glare at the newcomers.
Nigel turned back to the half-elf. “Alright, you’ve got us sitting now. Would you mind telling us who you are and what you want from us?”
“I am the Mage of Many Colors,” the half-elf said with a slight bow. “You may also call me Mister North. I am a scholar of sorts, and the search for this city has been a passion of mine for years.”
Next session: the Mage reveals his true colors
Rurik and Bommer have just been slain by a half-mechanical fire giant. Nigel, Amblin, and Zalman, having just finished off said fire giant, are now fleeing through the ruins of Kladish from a raging red dragon.
A little less than a day ealier...
Linnea, the head of household for Countess Lohna Goldenoak Graeble of Vineyard Pass, made her daily trip into town to pick up fresh produce from the farmers and merchants. Given the Countess's nighttime lifestyle, Linnea had accustomed herself to rising in the middle of the afternoon to see that the household was in order.
When she arrived in the town's market, she found all the citizens abuzz with talk about a group of strangers who had passed through earlier in the morning. While selecting her items, Linnea tried to gather and filter the gossip to get the best possible report for Lohna. The group, four men on horseback with one spare mount, had ridden through at a quick pace not an hour after dawn. The most striking of the group was a large man dressed in exotic red full plate armor stylized to look like a demon - particularly the mask. Another rider was a man or half-elf (as some claimed), dressed in robes of deep blue and commanding a powerful aura about him. The other two riders paled in comparison - both humans and dressed in simple brown and gray travel garb. One was older, perhaps in his late 50's, and the other was in his late teens.
Linnea learned little else about the group other than that they were traveling north and had not even slowed down as they passed through town. Linnea was fairly certain that they had not attempted to stop at the Graeble estate, or she'd have heard about it from some of the daytime staff.
Linnea knew that the Countess's newest group of friends had just passed through town not a week ago, headed on a mission of some sort north of the city. As far as she knew, there was nothing else to the north - certainly no cities or civilization. A few hunters occasionally went up that way, but these strangers didn't sound like the hunting types.
When the sun finally began to set, the Countess Lohna rose for her evening meal. She was entertaining one guest this night, an acquaintance of a couple years and psychic warrior named Amill Jaggitt. Linnea didn't know too much about Amill. He was something of a wanderer, but seemed pleasant enough during each of his previous visits.
Linnea greeted the two in the dining hall and helped serve dinner (or breakfast, depending on one's perspective). Once the meal was underway, Linnea decided to pass along the story of the day. Lohna listened carefully and asked a couple pointed questions for clarity. Lohna had no more idea as to the identity of these riders than the townsfolk had. Like Linnea, though, she was concerned that they might be pursuing Nigel and the others from New Selmar. There was little explanation.
During one of that group's previous visits, a halfling wizard and his summoned creatures had attacked in the middle of the night. It had never been determined if the attack was aimed at her or the group, but suspicion favored the latter. Lohna knew they had acquired some enemies, and she grew more concerned about their safety. Lohna had been a bit of an adventurer in her youth and had a few tricks up her sleeves - not enough to take on a potentially dangerous group of men, but perhaps enough to scout them out and warn the Selmarian Seekers.
"Amill," the Countess said. "Care to take a ride north?"
"I've got nothing else planned," Amill said. "Why not?"
"I'll have Master Jaggitt's horse readied immediately," Linnea said. Fifteen minutes later, Amill and Lohna left town as the stars began to poke through the last minutes of dusk - the psychic warrior on horseback and the Countess in the form of a sleek wolf.
Back in the ruins of Kladish…
Zalman slammed the concealed door shut behind him, effectively blocking out the intense heat from the dragon’s breath. The few remaining members of the group were back in one of the offices of the ore refinery, a dark and stuffy place only a dwarf could tolerate.
“Well,” said Nigel, “do we hide in here and hope the dragon can’t follow because of its size or do we make a run for the stairs and try to escape?”
“Better plan,” Zalman chimed in. “I’ve still got a scroll of Teleportation with me. I didn’t think I could teleport the entire group before, but I’m quite certain it should be able to get the three of us out.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Amblin said. “And the quicker the better.”
“Where to?” Zalman asked as he pulled the scroll case out of his pack.
“Lohna’s?” Nigel suggested. The others nodded in agreement. It was close and familiar and had no dragons that they were aware of.
Zalman asked his companions to each grab one of his shoulders and then he recited the spell from the scroll. They felt the surge of magical energy envelop them and then wrench them out of the Prime. All felt an abrupt and unpleasant shock as they were kicked back into the Prime.
“Uh, Zalman,” Nigel said. “I’m pretty sure this isn’t Lohna’s.” He gazed around at the cavernous stone hallway they were in. Aside from Amblin’s small continual-flame rock, it was quite dark. Chunks of stone littered the floor.
“Yeah,” Amblin said. “And judging by the little sparkly deals down that way, I’d go so far as to say we’re in the main hallway just outside the refinery room. Some teleportation! It got us what? A whopping two hundred feet?”
Zalman, judging by the rough exit from the teleportation, quickly surmised that something must have blocked the spell from properly functioning. It was possible that the walls of Kladish had wards built into them.
A roar echoed through the vast hall again, abruptly reminding them of the presence of the dragon. “Right,” Nigel said. “Time to go!”
They raced down the hall and then through the tunnel they’d melted in the rock earlier. Throwing caution aside in favor of speed, they hurried across the chasms in the dwarven apartment chamber and back to the long, twisting stairway up to the ogre’s lair. They paused for just a moment to catch their breaths and to listen for pursuit.
From here, they could hear nothing but the faint crashing of the waterfalls several hundred feet behind them. Relieved that the dragon wasn’t immediately upon them, they continued up the stairs. Remembering the unpleasant encounter with the black pudding on these very stairs, however, they proceeded at a more cautious pace.
About halfway up the stairs, Amblin, who was scouting the way, heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairwell. Torchlight flickered off the walls. The monk quickly and quietly slipped back down the stairs to warn the others.
In a hasty whispered conversation, the group decided to wait on the stairs for the approaching group. They certainly had no interest in going back toward the dragon. If they were lucky, perhaps the newcomers would be either friendly or at least easier to handle than a dragon.
The torchlight finally arrived at the platform above them and the newcomers were revealed: a half-elf in dark robes, a tall humanoid concealed in demonic-styled armor and carrying a massive black-bladed greatsword, and a pair of humans dressed in simple travelers’ garb. The newcomers paused at finding the three battered men on the landing below.
The half-elf in robes broke the silence. “Hello,” he said. “May I ask who you are?”
Nigel spoke up. “Just a few guys trying to get the hell out of here. I’d suggest you turn around yourselves as there’s a rampaging dragon down there.” Amblin started back up the stairs toward the newcomers. It was his intention to walk on past them.
“Please, wait,” the half-elf said. “I would like to know more. Are you the ones responsible for the slain ogres up there?”
“Yes,” Nigel said. “But, like I said, we really don’t want to be standing around chit-chatting right now.”
As Amblin approached, the man in red armor stepped forward and leveled his sword in the monk’s direction. It was clear that he did not want Amblin any closer. Amblin, not interested in what the man in red wanted, continued forward. Nigel clenched his bow and Zalman his staff.
With his attention focused firmly on the confrontation above, Zalman was caught completely off guard when he was whacked in the back of the head. The wizard’s staff clattered into the corner of the landing as he crumpled to the floor unconscious. Amblin whipped around at the sound, only to turn back at the sound of spell casting from above. The older man dressed in drab travel garb was holding some manner of holy symbol and casting a spell. The monk was ready to pounce, but found that he was completely immobilized.
Nigel, unsure what had happened to Zalman and soon aware that something was wrong with Amblin, raised his bow.
“Stop!” the half-elf said, raising his hands pleadingly. “Do not harm them! I only wish to speak!”
Nigel held his fire. Running the numbers in his head, he realized that their only chance was to take the half-elf at his word and talk. “Upstairs then,” Nigel said.
“Very well,” the half-elf said. “Please release him.” With a wave, the older man released his spell on the now-upset monk. Rather than force a confrontation, though, Amblin helped gather up Zalman and the wizard’s staff. While doing so, he peered down the stairs and saw nothing but darkness.
The entire group went back up to the ogre’s lair and settled down in the room with the crack overlooking the ocean. Daytime, they noted. The old man approached and offered to heal Zalman. Nigel and Amblin were both very reluctant.
“Look,” the old man said, “I’m a follower of St. Cuthbert. I will not harm your friend.” Nigel and Amblin finally acquiesced and the cleric brought Zalman back to consciousness.
Zalman was confused and could not recall what had happened. He was not happy with the situation and decided to sit in one of the chairs, refuse to speak, and glare at the newcomers.
Nigel turned back to the half-elf. “Alright, you’ve got us sitting now. Would you mind telling us who you are and what you want from us?”
“I am the Mage of Many Colors,” the half-elf said with a slight bow. “You may also call me Mister North. I am a scholar of sorts, and the search for this city has been a passion of mine for years.”
Next session: the Mage reveals his true colors
Oh yeah. We heard that dragon coming and got the duck out of fodge faster than you could spit.
The scene on the stairs with the strangers was actually longer, as Nigel proceeded to tell the other group everything. Actually, to the point of too much information. At that time, tho, Nigel was tired, angry, and just wanted to get out of these ruins altogether. These morons want to go down there, fine, have fun. We just saw Bommerkabobs get made and Rurik get cut in half. As far as I was concerned (and I'm pretty sure Amblin and Z, too) these dwarfs can take their lost city/temple/hideout/whatever and stick it. We're leaving.
It was a good plan. And our good plans always work so well.
The scene on the stairs with the strangers was actually longer, as Nigel proceeded to tell the other group everything. Actually, to the point of too much information. At that time, tho, Nigel was tired, angry, and just wanted to get out of these ruins altogether. These morons want to go down there, fine, have fun. We just saw Bommerkabobs get made and Rurik get cut in half. As far as I was concerned (and I'm pretty sure Amblin and Z, too) these dwarfs can take their lost city/temple/hideout/whatever and stick it. We're leaving.
It was a good plan. And our good plans always work so well.
Rybaer
First Post
Dyme said:
Fear not, I haven't forgotten that bit of the story. I just remembered your divulging of information to have been more in the room upstairs, so I'm writing it as such. Either way, Nigel once again told a complete stranger far more information than he really needed to. The outcome wouldn't have changed, but it's still something the others like to keep pointing out the their illustrious (reluctant) leader.
Next session is almost complete.
Rybaer
First Post
I forgot to mention it, but I finally got to introduce Amill to the story. He's the newest player added to the group. Or, rather, the only player added to the original five. Human, psychic warrior (8?). Relies heavily on self-enhancement, particularly changing size to gain 10' reach.
I'm sure he's geeked to finally make it into the storyhour.
I'm sure he's geeked to finally make it into the storyhour.
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