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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nail" data-source="post: 881334" data-attributes="member: 224">At last!  An update!Session #4, continued: "The PCs test a theory" (Session of RL April 6th, 2003)The party regrouped back in the kobold's lair.  The wizard Tieran, along with Garret's dog Bavic (helped with ropes and pulleys) now joined them.  Together with Mulakikyip (the kobold leader) and Kytum-up (Mulakikyip's "lieutenant"), they discussed what they knew, and what must be done.It seemed as if the restless dead were attacking the kobolds, to the exclusion of others.  But why?  After some probing questions by Garret, Thaile, and Rowan, Mulakikyip revealed that when he had fled he had brought with him a sacred artifact, a rod of grey metal, tipped with a large figurine of a dragon, with wings out-stretched.  (Thaile's eyes nearly popped out as she examined it from a distance - it must be worth thousands of gold!)  The artifact had been with the kobolds for as long as any could remember.  It was a sacred item, a symbol of their god, Kikkik.  ...And indeed, when Mulakikyip withdrew it from the altar, the adventurers could feel its holy power - they suddenly felt as though the kobold sorcerer could lead them to any victory, no matter what the odds.  The artifact's power worked even when another held it; Thaile managed to persuade Mulakikyip to let her hold it for a moment.  As she grasped the rod, all the others -  even the kobolds - felt as though she could lead them to victory.  (And in Thaile's mind, her thoughts turned to how she might keep the rod.  She was, after all, more worthy to use it....)  Garret gently reminded Thaile to give the rod back to the kobold leader."Perhaps the restless dead have been sent to retrieve this idol," proposed Garret.  "Just imagine what a necromancer leader could do with this.  He must have some way of finding out where this item is....Perhaps we should test this theory?"So the adventurers came up with a simple plan.  Tomorrow they would go to a different abandoned farm house, with Mulakikyip, his retinue, and the idol.  If the restless dead attacked the new house that night, they would know that the undead seek the idol.  To be safe, a kobold runner was posted at the old Smitson farm: if the undead attacked there, the adventurers would return to defend the kobold lair.....But today's sunset was only a few minutes away, so tonight everyone would stay in the newly-fortified kobold lair.  The adventurers chose to sleep in the "pit of death" - the better to leap up and attack any restless dead that might come.The unliving corpses and orcish skeletons didn't disappoint.  In fact, they came in droves.  The first warning was the sound of timber being scratched and battered by claw and bone.  Then a ripping sound....followed by the sound of dead flesh desending a ladder, one rung at a time.  Below, the adventurers clustered around the ladder's base, helped by kobold shieldmen and backed up by kobold crossbowmen.  Mulakikyip, Kytum-up, and some other kobold heroes stood ready with spell or sword as well.The battle was long, but thankfully one-sided.  As each undead came down the ladder and tried to bull rush their way into an open area, they were hacked, beaten, ensorcelled, and turned.  In the end all lay in broken heaps on the floor.  Tonight, the battle had been won.Tomorrow?   Tomorrow there was an abandoned farm to fortify and a theory to test.**************The next day the party found an appropriate abandoned farm, complete with ruined house, a moss-covered collapsed barn, and a narrow root cellar.  With the help of Mulakikyip and a squad of kobold workers, they readied what remained of the farm's house for the expected battle.  All the windows were boarded over, and outside of the only door they dug two parallel trenches, each almost 10 feet deep, forming a 5' wide cause-way leading to the front door.  Undead would have to march single file along this path to the door, where Riva and his hammer (among other weapons and warriors) would be waiting.  Kobolds with crossbows were placed at the top of the walls (the house's roof had long-since collapsed).  Tieran and Thaile joined them, perched on what remained of the rafters.  And Mulakikyip, holding the idol, was placed in the middle of the house, surrounded on all sides by his kobold warriors and their new allies, the adventurers.They waited for night to come.Several hours after sunset, one of the kobolds was the first to hear the now-familiar rustling, shambling movement of the walking dead.  They came from all sides, slowly, relentlessly, straight towards the farm house.  Crossbows twanged, voices were raised in challenge, and the battle was begun.Riva downed the first walking-skeleton with ease, and the second and third came and were crushed without a thought.  But there were more....walking corpses, slouching toward them, garbed in pale funerary robes.  They came in waves, to attack those at the front door, to pound on the boarded-over windows, to try to scrabble their way over the timber walls that protected the living from the dead.  Big ones came too, corpses of creatures larger than mere orcs, still wearing the armor they were buried in.  Riva's hammer rose and fell, Garret's hammer lashed out again and again, and even Rowan joined the fray at the door, wielding her quarter staff.  The undead tried, again and again, to get in...but they failed, and were destroyed .... or turned by Thaile and forced to flee.Riva heard, rather than saw, the next to join the battle: two of the hungry dead loped toward the house.  Their mouths slobbered and smacked, and their claws were out-stretched, eager for living flesh.  They leapt over the trenches and attacked Riva, standing in the door.  They scratched, clawed, and bit, and Riva could feel numbness enter his blood.  Before he was overcome, he managed to down one of the hungry-dead....but the other's paralyzing power was too much for him.  Again, as had happened in the cellar of the old Smitson farm days ago, his muscles stiffened and locked.  Thankfully, the hungry-dead didn't have much time to take advantage of the dwarf's paralysis; Garret stepped in and delivered the final blow that felled the ghoul.(Somewhere in the background...Thaile, was it?.....someone said "Oh dear, we've got a little garden dwarf again.  Anyone got a little red conical hat for him?")But the frivolity was short-lived.  "I see another!" shouted Tieran, pointing of to the northeast.  From behind the remains of the barn lumbered another corpse.  But this one was different.  It was clothed in ornate (if rotted) funerary robes.  Around it's neck hung a gold chain and medallion, and on it's face....on it's face was a <a href="http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=791671#post791671" target="_blank">death mask, all of gold</a> .  As it approached a feeling of dread came over the living ones in the old farm house.  The kobold crossbowmen froze with fear, unable to even load their weapons.  Even Mulakikyip was affected, and he cowered in fear, dropping the idol.As the gold-masked undead shambled toward the front door, with a paralyzed Riva standing helpless in front of it, the corpse spoke.  It was difficult to make out all that was said, but the last part was clear: ".....It .....must ......be .....returned!"Then it hit Riva with one of it's arms, and sent the helpless dwarf flying.  It strode into the house, knocking others aside to get to the dragon idol.Garret was the first to shake off the dread and attack....but he found his blows did little damage to the creature.  Rowan and Thaile found that their weapons were completely ineffectual....so Thaile reached down and grabbed the idol, and tried to call on the power of her god."May the power of Darmon strike down this abomination!" yelled Thaile, brandishing the dragon idol.....The gold-masked corpse reached out, and yanked the idol from Thaile's grasp."Errr....Right.  I guess that didn't work, did it?"But Rowan the druid was on the thing in a split second, and using her stupendously average strength, managed to wrench the idol from the undead!  Amazing!...Until the un-living corpse grabbed it back.  As Thaile tried (and failed) to grab the idol, the undead moved toward the door.  It looked like tonight, the restless dead would win.Garret, of course, had other ideas.  You see, earlier that day he had built an unlit fire in the hearth, of dry wood and kindling, to use as light and possibly even protection in the case of an emergency.Now was that emergency. ...And the undead abomination just happen to be standing in the middle of the tinder.  How fortuitous!  One lit torch later, and the corpse was on fire, flailing about and running toward the door.  (DM's note: I had forgotten about the placement of the unlit fire!  The undead just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time.)As it ran past, Rowan reached out and again successfully pulled the idol from the creature's grasp.  It continued on its fiery run out of the house....until Tieran bull-rushed it into one of the pits that flanked the door.Did I happen to mention the few vials of oil that had been poured into the pit just before the battle?   Hmmmm, sorry about that.  ....And the undead was pretty sorry about it too.  It managed to climb out.....but the oil-accelerated fire had done its work, and the corpse collapsed in a burning heap.The night was won.And Rowan, now holding the idol, thought, "Do I really want to give this artifact back to the kobolds?  It feels good to be invincible....." End of Session #4</blockquote>

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