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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Look_a_Unicorn" data-source="post: 887709" data-attributes="member: 11886">Hmmmm it would appear that my old write-ups are in the past tense, even though they are not history summaries. I think it took me a while to become accustomed to writing in present tense <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />The Lords of Brightstone Keep, Session played on 24/3/2003 Previously: After having safely escorted the Ugarri refugees to Marikest, it was discovered that since it’s creation, Tara’s Keep had become infested by an unknown enemy. The party flew from Brightstone to Tara’s Keep aboard the Arma, intent on discovering the fate of the scouts that had not returned..The party disembarked from the Arma on to the roof of the Keep and began to methodically work their way down through the levels. In a series of skirmishes the warriors spread ahead of the rest of the party and soon find themselves trapped in a corridor between two acidic oozes that their weapons cannot harm. Before Malachi could arrive to assist, Teame’s swords, granted to him by the clerics of Kord, had been dissolved into useless scrap. The party narrowly escaped becoming dissolved into ooze mulch.Upon returning to the Arma, the ship’s cleric healed many of the party’s burns, however he could do nothing for Teame’s spirit. Believing that his God had abandoned him due to his failures in combat, Teame withdrew into a cabin to ponder. When he emerged it was to grimly announce that he wished to rejoin the Ugarri survivors at Marikest, and that he would not travel with the party any further. He did not think that the presence of a god-forsaken warrior would be of any benefit to the group.Saddened that the indefatigable warrior would not continue, Malachi requested that those who wished to continue investigating the Keep meet in his chamber aboard ship after they had rested. The following morning Ull, Sir Mandrake with William & the Klackon scouts joined Malachi, quite prepared to continue the good fight.Malachi then opened his magical Haversack and laid out item after item foreign to the warriors. He explained that they were various alchemical concoctions that might be useful if their steel were ever again insufficient to combat their foes: Alchemist’s Fire, potent Acid, luminous packets of fine powder, strange spheres filled with a sticky mess & spherical rocks that reverberated alarmingly at the slightest touch were all offered to the warriors, however only the Alchemist’s Fire, Acid and Glow Powder were of any any interest.Thus equipped the group again disembarked on the roof of Tara’s Keep. After ordering the Klackons to double-check for re-infestation of the already explored levels, Malachi took point and the group descended into the unexplored regions.The levels down to the ground floor all seemed to be uninhabited, but a stairwell in a smoothly carved corridor descended deeper into the earth beneath the Keep.Suspicion of the seemingly innocent stairwell proved justified as Malachi’s probing staff located a stair that wasn’t….quite right. Not willing to test the results of stepping on it, Malachi warned the other warriors & carved a glowing warning into the wall beside the step, to warn the following Klackons of the trap.The stairwell terminated in a room that was split by a gaping chasm, easily 10 feet across. Peering over the edge it seemed to extend far beyond the range of Malachi’s lantern, although the sound of dimly rushing water could be heard.The room on either side was bare, with no place to anchor a rope to allow easier crossing. “I could Fly across and then hold a rope for you to….” Malachi began to offer but Ull interrupted with a sharp “Do you need to use magic for everything Malachi, it is not that far across- if we jump from that higher section of the room we should be able to clear the gap easily.”Somewhat irritated Malachi responded “Of course I need not use magic for everything. But I still think it better if I cross first with a rope, if I fall my magic can prevent it being a fatal drop- something all your strength would not be able to prevent.”Handing one end of his rope to Sir Mandrake & tieing the other about his waist, Malachi then prepared himself to leap across the chasm. With a heave of exertion he flung himself across the yawning blackness below…then exhaled sharply as his midriff impacted heavily against the lip of the chasm on the other side. Managing to prevent himself sliding off into the chasm- and ignoring what might have been snickering coming from his onlooking companions, he laboriously levered his winded body up onto the comfortingly horizontal floor on the other side, content to lay there catching his breath right up until Ull’s heavily booted feet crashed into the ground barely a foot from his head. All he had to meet the grin of the Holy Warrior was a disgruntled glare, so he handed his end of the rope to Ull with the comment “Our strength combined is far more likely to be able to support the weight of Mandrake if he fails to make the jump”. This was to be a somewhat prophetic statement as with a grunt Sir Mandrake slammed into the chasm wall several feet below the edge, and only just managed to cling onto the rope with panicked strength. Concerned for his Master’s safety, William leaped across the chasm without awaiting the return of the rope and was able to land lightly next to those struggling to hold the weight of his Master. The strength of the three combined was enough to haul the heavily armoured Knight back up and over the edge- albeit not without a horrific screeching of plate mail on rock.Aware that any enemies waiting nearby would have had time to prepare for their coming, the party moved south down the single corridor exiting the room, Malachi behind the two warriors with flaming Sceptre raised high to provide light for the group.The corridor was quite short and terminated in a smoothly featureless square room with further passages heading off to the left and right. The group’s caution upon entering the room was justified as two clusters of orc archers on either side of the room let fly at Sir Mandrake, luckily his sturdy armour & upraised shield prevented all but a few of the arrows from causing more than superficial wounds.As Sir Mandrake & William charge the Orcs on the left, Ull and Malachi chase after those on the right. The Orcs hold firm for a short time as they are reinforced by a goblin magic user. The resistance is short lived however, as well placed blows from Ull’s sword & Malachi’s sceptre are quite adept at bringing down their green-skinned foes. Several Orcs in the back ranks turn tail and flee into the darkness beyond the range of the light cast by Malachi’s sceptre. As Ull & Mandrake pursue the fleeing Orcs, the Scepter’s light is no longer available to Sir mandrake & William- light that they needed to be able to fight their own foes.Able to do little other than attempt to shelter behind their shields as the Orcish archers sent volley after volley of arrows into the blind warriors, Sir Mandrake shouted over his shoulder for Malachi to get his arse back over here…and realising the predicament he had left his companions in Malachi returned with all haste.At last able to strike back against their assailants, William and Sir Mandrake leapt forward and hacked down the Orcish archers with vicious glee.Regrouping again a short time later, Malachi handed his lantern over to William, sternly disapproving of the lack of forethought displayed by the supposedly experienced adventurers.As the group discussed their next step, William pointed out a chute in the roof above, again of an unnaturally smooth nature.Volunteering to explore the chute, Malachi casts Fly upon himself and rapidly ascends into the dark chute mouth. Finding nothing other than smooth tunnels branching off in three directions, to the South, East & West, Malachi calls down to the others that he would explore further & return if he encountered trouble. Setting off down the Eastern passage, the chutes seem to follow the same layout as the corridors below, with vertical chutes opening up into the rooms below. Not long after Malachi vanished into the darkness of the chute, Ull, Sir Mandrake & William hear a heavy thudding. Progressively it gets closer, and the three warriors prepare themselves, setting the lantern on the ground to shine at the corridor from which the ominous sound is emerging. A vaguely humanoid shape, easily 15 feet tall, emerges out of the darkness. It appeared to be composed of entirely of mud & earth, and as each club-like foot came down the corridor reverberated with the weight of the impact.Realising that this was not a creature that would be willing to sit down to tea & biscuits, the warriors leap into action. William hurls one of his long swords like a spear. It plunges into the chest of the creature and emerges with a slurping noise on the other side, apparently without effect. Sir Mandrake & Ull both stop forward and endeavour to hack chunks from the torso of the creature, but their swords emerge with a similar slurping sound with the rents caused closing over instantaneously. The creature then brings its immense arms round in a series of slow but deadly attacks. The warriors are able to deflect or avoid the full brunt of the impacts for a time, even taking opportunities that arise to leap forward and sink their blades deep into their opponents, until finally Ull’s guard drops and he is smashed to one side by a solid blow, his sword flying out of his hand & off into the darkness.Fortunatly, Sir Mandrake has managed to occupy the creature long enough for Ull to get back on his feet and rejoin the fray, but with his sword lost in the gloom Ull is forced to rely on the adamantine gauntlets that encase his fists. This proves fortuitous, as, with a series of powerful blows to the creature’s chest, Ull is able to force the creature to back. It appears that while their blades have no impact on the creature, Ull’s adamantine gauntlets have the capability to smash pieces off the creature, weakening it. As Sir Mandrake attempts to act as a distraction to allow the Paladin to concentrate on attacking, Ull slams his fists again and again into the earthen bulk of the creature. The slugging match is not entirely one-sided however, as numerous blows drive both Sir Mandrake & Ull to their knees, battered & bruised, their armour crushed in many places. With a final surge of strength Ull leaps back up & with a massive uppercut, causes the creature to rock back….and finally crumble into a pile of mud as the magicks binding it together fail beneath the Paladin’s reckless attacks.Malachi rounds the corner a few moments later after having heard the sounds of combat to find Ull & Sir Mandrake clutching numerous wounds with William attempted to watch all approaches at once for further attackers.Realising that the warriors were on the verge of death, Malachi attempts to heal their wounds with healing potions & alchemical salves. Ull stops him saying that such healing does not appear to be powerful enough to close the wounds the creature had caused.Malachi is quite curious as to the nature of the attacker that can cause such wounds, but grows apprehensive once the warriors describe the humanoid attacker composed of mud & earth. Malachi shares his fears, “I believe that your foe was a Clay Golem. Such constructs are powerful guardians indeed, far more powerful than you would expect a nest of Orcs & Goblins to possess.”Malachi beseeches the others to cross the chasm once more and wait for him there, as he would like to explore the one room he found that seemed to lead deeper into the underground dungeon- a room barred on each side by massive portcullis’s, the nearer side being open (presumably to let loose the clay golem, as evidenced by the trail of large muddy footprints leading out through it…).Investigating the far portcullis, Malachi can find no means of opening the barrier. Even daring to risk his weasel familiar, Squeak, to investigate the corridor beyond for levers or pulleys availed no further information. Malachi knew that none of his spells would be powerful enough to move or destroy such a solid barrier and so is somewhat at a loss.Hearing guttural Orc voices approaching from the darkness of the corridor behind the portcullis, Malachi decides to try a more stealthy means of entry. After turning invisible he flies up to hide against the roof of the room…then curses his stupidity as the Orcs give a shout of surprise as they notice the seemingly source-less light floating on the roof. Malachi had forgotten to deactivate the flames on the Sceptre and although he was invisible, the Sceptre was still throwing off light.Realising he would have no chance of sneaking in now, Malachi glumly returns to where the others wait (flying easily over the chasm, and with far more grace than his earlier leap). The group ascends through the levels of the Keep without incident, regaining contact with the vigilantly patrolling Klackons who report that the upper levels had remained completely deserted. After reboarding to the patiently waiting Arma it is decided to travel back to Marikest in order to locate healing powerful enough to close the still bleeding wounds of Ull & Sir Mandrake.</blockquote>

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