Seravin's Tales of the Night Below (Two Updates this Week - 07/24/07)

[Seravin]

Assault on Broken Spire

Ashimar peered through the darkness and tried to gauge the distance between him and the battered old keep. Perhaps eighty feet of open field lay between him and the dark silhouette of the keep. The clouds from the late afternoon had hung about and now the night was dark; perfect for making his way across the open expanse. In theory the guard on the tower would never see him, but just in case Ashimar was warded by the most powerful magics the party could devise. A mantle of invisibility laid on him by Jallarzi was his first layer of defense. A potion that granted dwarf-sight for seeing in the dark made it easier for him to see. Finally, another potion that increased strength was coursing through Ashimar’s blood – that was for the coming fight.

“All right.” Whispers the ex-thief. “I’m heading out.”

Kellron saluted the voice in the darkness – a gesture of good luck. Though from vastly different backgrounds, he and Ashimar had become fast friends.

One. Ashimar made his way quickly through the open field. Behind him, Kestral and Jallarzi were counting to sixty. When they reached that number they were going to follow after believing that the watch-guard was dead.

Four. Hyla, Lady of Luck, glanced away while Ashimar was still crossing the open expanse at his brisk walk. Moving as fast as he was Ashimar never saw the signs of the concealed pit. Ground gave way and Ashimar threw himself to the left and rolled to his feet. The noise alerted the guard on the tower who began shouting.

“Oi! Who’s there?” The guard, Dav, could see nothing, but he was the nervous sort. The keep had a bad reputation and Dav was jumpy. Locating a moving shadow he fired blindly into the ground near the noise.

Seven. Ashimar thought about turning back and warning his friends of the pit but decided against delaying. They surely heard the noise. Ashimar made it to the keep walls where a corner was formed as part of the keep jutted further out from the main structure. What was once smooth stone had been worn over the centuries and neglect had completed the work. It would be ridiculously easy to climb here.

Meanwhile, Dav’s shouts and crossbow fire has risen the guards in the courtyard.
“What’s going on up there?” Shouts one of the courtyard guards.
Dav eyes the shadows suspiciously, but he can see no movement and everything is quiet. Ashimar had long ago learned how to climb silently.

Thirteen. Now standing on top of the walls of the keep, Ashimar takes a quick look around before moving to the tower itself. From here it’s only another fifteen feet up to what’s left of the tower roof.

Dav finally answers the guards in the courtyard. “Nothing. It sounded like someone was out there.” Dav doesn’t sound so sure, but the guards know him and curse him roundly for being so jumpy.

Nineteen. Ashimar crosses the roof, taking care not to make any sudden sounds.

Twenty-five. All is quiet from the courtyard and the top of the tower. Ashimar is climbing slowly, making as little noise as possible. Only his good strength, honed with his training bouts with Kellron, allow him to make the slow movements necessary to scale the wall so silently.

Thirty-seven. Ashimar finally makes the top of the tower wall and cautiously moves over the loose rock. The tower is nearly forty feet across and the guard is about twenty feet away looking with suspicion at the darkness. The roof itself is covered in bird droppings and the floor, originally designed to be an interior floor, looked ancient and rotted. Thirty feet away to the right, just ten feet beyond the guard is a crude shack that covers the stairwell; a good place to stay out of the rain if necessary. Ashimar notes that the guard is dressed in simple leather armor and has a short-blade and a crossbow. Ashimar grins.

For his part, the hairs of Dav’s neck are standing on end, but he doesn’t hear anything.

Forty-Three. Ashimar draws his rapier as quietly as possible and rushes the guard in a surprise charge. Dav’s reflexes are good though, not quite conscious of any presence on the tower with him, he still manages to turn as Ashimar rushes him. Ashimar still strikes and manages to make it a deep wound, but the guard does not go down. Still, he’s too surprised to do more than take a deep breath.

Forty-Nine. The guard is still off balance and Ashimar presses the attack. Another thrust and Dav slides to the ground with a muffled thump. Ashimar moves back to the edge of the tower.

“Damn it Dav! What’s going on up there?” Shouts the guard at the gate.

Fifty-Five. Ashimar looks around wildly and then shows himself to those in the courtyard, confident that they can’t really see more than a silhouette. With a harsh cough, Ashimar begins his bluff. “Nothing.” He rasps out with another cough. “Just tripped.”

The gate guard looks up at the tower and decides that Dav is coming down with something. “All right.” He calls and decides to head back into the barracks for a quick snack. No one was going to attack this accursed keep in the next two minutes anyway.

Sixty. Kestral and Jallarzi look at each other and nod to the others. They all heard the shouting from the keep though it was mostly unintelligible. No alarm appeared to have been raised. They quickly cross the open expanse to the same spot Ashimar climbed up. It would be easiest there. Unfortunately, like Ashimar, Hyla glanced away from them too. Panther was first to find one of the covered pit traps dotting the expanse. Like Ashimar he threw himself to the side, rolled to his feet and continued on. Jallarzi and Kestral managed to make their way across unscathed. Kellron however did not fare so well. Already slowed by his armor, Kellron blundered into yet another pit trap and fell to the bottom. Fortunately for him his armor turned away the many spikes at the bottom. Lyntern and Kupier stopped to help him climb out.

Ashimar takes the rope from his backpack and secures it to a solid looking chunk of stone. Then looking around he moves to the stairwell. Ten feet across the roof, Ashimar steps on a spot that the latest occupants had known to avoid. The rotted timbers gave way with a sudden crash and Ashimar was falling.

 

[Leopold]

please update this and tell me when you hit book2! My PC's are on book 2.9 and almost on book 3! Great stuff! My PC's did most of the same stuff y'all are doing

 

[Seravin]

Heh. The characters are currently in book 2 also. Late book 2. I'm way behind in the posting. Hopefully I'll be one or two posts closer by the end of the weekend.

Thanks for the praise. I remember reading some of your earlier posts when I first started running the campaign- for what it's worth you've made a contribution to this game.

I was going to ask what level your group is - but seeing your link, I can tell. I should have looked at it earlier.
Yet another story hour for me to read. Yay! I'll just have to make sure it doesn't interfere with my posting.

edit: asked a question I was able to answer.

 

[Seravin]

The Continuing Assault on Broken Spire

Wilmors started up to the top of the tower intent on giving Dav a piece of his mind. The twenty four year old thug from the city of Harrow had long ago learned the best way to treat those who were stupid enough to shout at the least little thing. He wouldn’t kill Dav, but the idiot would learn to only shout at real threats.

Halfway up the stairs he heard a thump and the stupid orc-bait yelling something to the guards in the courtyard. Wilmors cursed and continued stalking up the ancient stairs. It was a wonder that Milbourne didn’t hear them. A dirty hand with long fingernails briefly touched the hilt of his sword. Two years ago he might have killed Dav out of simple meanness, however he now followed Ranchefus and the priest’s words were law. Nowadays it never even occurred to Wilmors to question Ranchefus. More chillingly, to those who had known Wilmors, it never even occurred to the thug to wonder at his unquestioning obedience.

At the top of the stairs the thug stopped and let his eyes adjust briefly to the gloom. It didn’t take long as his eyes had adjusted during the climb up. What he saw stunned him. At first he thought it was Dav, but Dav didn’t use one of those fancy rapiers. The figure turned and faced him and Wilmors was certain that he was seen. Before he could react, the rapier wielder was moving towards him. Wilmors knew he wasn’t going to react in time as his hand fumbled for his short-blade.

Ashimar turned towards the stairs intent on sneaking down and making sure there weren’t any guards below. As he turned his enchanted vision noted a figure coming up the stairs. “Hells.” Muttered the rogue. Even as he swore Ashimar was moving again. He would have to silence the man before he could shout the alarm. Ashimar started forward and luck deserted him again.

Rotten timbers barely strong enough to hold their own weight gave way with a sudden crack as Ashimar’s two hundred pound frame stepped down hard on the ancient and weathered floorboards.

Wilmors started to breathe again. He had been caught flat-footed and he knew it. Just before the attacker had fallen, the thug had seen the body lying on the floorboards. Dav was undoubtedly dead; and if he wasn’t he could be beaten later. It was thirty feet below to stone paving. There was some garbage down there, but the fall was almost certainly fatal.

If Wilmors had been thinking a bit more clearly he would have gone for the alarm bell. Instead, with adrenaline dancing in his veins, he shouted for the courtyard guards and made his way back down the stairs, drawing his sword as he did so. If the man wasn’t dead then Ranchefus would want to question him – and pain was the best tool for interrogation.

Meanwhile on the ground below, Kupier bade Lyntern to head to the keep. The Imperial Scout then reached own and helped Kellron out of the spiked pit. Kellron was thankful that his chain shirt had blunted the spikes. Once the young warrior was out of the pit, the two men headed to the keep walls. Panther and Jallarzi had already scaled the walls and Lyntern was halfway up.

Once at the top of the keep wall Lyntern un-slung his bow and kept watch on the courtyard. Kestral was the next to try and scale the wall, but her slight form was built more for agility then strength. The woman fumbled briefly at the stone walls before Kellron and Kupier gave her a boost up. Kestral cursed her weakness briefly but accepted the aid and scrambled up the rest of the way.

Within the Tower
He should have been dead. There was no way around it. If a person can die from falling off a horse, then a drop from thirty feet should have splattered Ashimar across the floor of the tower of Broken Spire Keep. Later when asked how he survived the drop Ashimar would only shrug and note that he was extremely competent – and lucky.

Shaking his head Ashimar was able to stand up after the fall. His body ached and he might have cracked some bones, but he was mostly intact. His eyes refused to focus for a second, but he grabbed for his sword and lunged after the guard coming back down the tower stairs. The good news was that there weren’t any guards at the bottom of the tower after all.

Outside
Panther was up at the top of the tower now helping Jallarzi over the side. There was no sign of Ashimar but there was a large hole in the floor. From below his keen ears could hear the sharp ring of metal on metal.

Lyntern saw the guard come out into the courtyard from one of the buildings across the way and let fire with his bow; it was a clean miss. Next to him Kestral did the same while Kupier and Kellron climbed the tower.

Inside
Ashimar and the dirty thug who was missing half his left ear exchanged another round of blows and parted. Both were bleeding and both knew that they were nearly equally matched.

Wilmors was betting that the intruder’s fall had weaken him – and it obviously had. Ashimar was betting on his training with Kellron. It had toughened him and made him far stronger than the casual street fights he had grown up on. If life had turned out differently Ashimar may very well have been equally matched with Wilmors; but life hadn’t. In a straight fight Ashimar was just ever so much better.

Ashimar proved it on the third exchange, ignoring the pain in his side and lunging with all his strength into Wilmors. The thug wore no apparent armor but he obviously had some sort of protection. Ashimar’s attack was nearly turned aside as he traded finesse for strength – but he managed to push through the resistance anyway and the ugly thug began to cough up blood.

Jallarzi finished him off with a single magic missile from the top of the stairs. Seeing the opponent fall, she made her way down the stairs and looked around. From the ground floor, the spiral stairs continued on down to the cellars below and there was short hallway from which the sorceress/wizard could see two doors - one open. She moved herself away from the hallway and prepared her next spell.

Panther, and Lyntern were quick to follow Jallarzi down the stairs as Ashimar pulled from their small collection of captured potions and drank down one marked with the symbol of Niela, Lady of Healing. Sword cuts closed and bones knitted and Ashimar felt better.

The guards were alerted, but the group was now inside and they didn’t hesitate to press their advantage. Two guards almost immediately came in from the open doorway as Ashimar was draining the dregs of the potion but were cut down by arrows from Panther and Lyntern. As Kestral, Kellron, and Kupier made their way across the top of the tower and down the stairs, Ashimar, Jallarzi, Panther, and Lyntern managed to drive back the next set of guards and close the door.

Two minutes into the assault, the small group of seven had made their beach head into Broken Spire Keep.

<edit - grammar, punctuation, and clarity>

 

[Seravin]

The Taking of Broken Spire

Twelve seconds. Only twelve seconds more and the assault might have turned out differently; or not. Perhaps Lyntern would have been killed forever ruining the party’s reputation in the area; perhaps not. Ultimately it doesn’t matter, for what-ifs are the purview of bards and dreamers.

“Down the stairs or through the door?” Asks Kellron looking at everyone. All of them had their weapons out. Ashimar and his bloodied rapier, Kestral and her familiar crossbow, Kupier and Lyntern with Imperial style longswords, Panther with his bow, and Jallarzi with her slim hands and arcane might.

The group looks at each other in askance. Through door number one were guards who were waiting for them. Not necessarily a problem, but potentially messy. Through door number two was a kitchen and apparently a smithy (and only the long dead builders know why that was). That left up and out, perhaps into the courtyard, or finally, down into the unknown cellars.

“Door.”
“We don’t need people at our backs.”
“Feh. Door.”
<shrug>

Kellron nodded and hefted his sword and looked at everyone. “Everyone ready?” He asked. Apparently they were. Kestral, had her crossbow loaded, Jallarzi had her enigmatic and almost eager smile, both Lyntern and Panther had their bows ready, while Ashimar and Kupier’s swords were at the ready. “Okay. Ashimar, Kupier, and I will go through the door. The rest of you come in and cover us as needed.” Kellron looked explicitly at Lyntern. “You stay near Kestral and Panther and be careful.”

With that the plan was set and they filed into the short hallway before the door to the next room. Taking a deep breath, the warrior of Sarath cautiously touched the door handle and then with a yank and a push threw the door open to reveal the Grand Hall of the keep.
The hall was nearly 50 feet square with a roof that rose almost twenty feet up. On the left, against the outer wall, was a stone fireplace with a low fire burning in it. Above, finely carved rafters spoke of a former grandeur. Dominating the center of the room was a fine, dark feasting table, made of some dark wood – though even from fifteen feet away Kellron could tell it had been much abused over the years. The room itself was lit only by the flickering fire in the fireplace and a torch next to the main doors that led out to the courtyard.

More immediately there were a half-dozen men in the room, including an unpleasant looking man who stood six feet tall, had dark hair beginning to gray, and had a bastard sword strapped to his back. All of the men had bows ready and were crouched down so as to provide as little as target as possible.

Kellron and Kupier charged through the door, followed closely by Ashimar. However, Kupier and Ashimar had to stop short as they noticed two men hiding on either side of the door. The men in the hall with their bows ready got off a volley of arrows before anyone reached them and then switched to their swords and surprising everyone, three more men rolled out from under the table to help flank the invaders, but in the end it was not even close to a fair fight. The group was outnumbered but Kupier, Kellron, and Ashimar were well trained fighters whilst the defenders were little more than thugs. Even their leader, the dark-haired man with the bastard-sword was only marginally better trained than your average guardsman. By the end of the fight Ashimar was on top of the table with a corpse at his feet, Kupier was next to the door with two bodies at his feet that had started with the idea of trying to flee, and Kellron was just a little aways with the leader at two more bodies at his feet. The rest of the group was just inside the hall with evidence of their ammunition scattered about.

They took only the time to search the bodies and down a few more potions of healing. Lyntern had been hit by a stray arrow and Kellron invoked Sarath’s blessing to heal it. Another quick discussion later and they decided to head downstairs. Before they did so, Kestral took the time to disable the large brass bell mounted on the wall. It was fortunate that no one had rang it already, but they certainly didn’t want anyone else to ring it while they were exploring elsewhere. The last item of interest that they noted was a familiar fish-like smell that permeated the leader of the thugs.

Two Minutes Later
Kupier took the point, heading down the stairs and Kellron took the rear guard. There was no telling if there were more guards coming. The rest of the group filed up between the two veterans.

Kestral drifted closer to Kupier. Imperial Scouts had a reputation in the Empire. “Can you tell if anyone has been down this way?” She asked.

The old scout nodded and pointed towards a bit of food and half of a boot print. “There. And there. Fortunately they’re not good housekeepers.” The man grinned. There’s been some traffic down here.” Kestral took note of the signs he pointed out and filed them away. The party then filed down the circular stairs into a small chamber. Only one door led out.

“Through the door?” Whispered Kestral.

Kupier’s eyes had never left the trail. He nodded and Kestral and Ashimar quickly checked the door in sequence. “All quiet.” They reported. So saying, Ashimar opened the door and stepped into a long dark hallway that started from the door and ran to their right. Jallarzi summoned an arcane light.

Kupier took point again. The scout frowned and slowly crossed the hallway to a point about twenty feet down from the door. “Something…” He trailed off and pointed at the floor. His next sentence was whispered. “Here. There’s a footprint half under this wall here.”

The party looked at each other excitedly and quickly pulled back for a conference. “Really?”
“A room?”
“Recent tracks?”
“I believe so. Within the last day at least.”

Ashimar and Kestral stepped forward and a quick search confirmed a cleverly concealed door. What is more, they could hear the muffled voices beyond. The group looked at each other and tightened their hold on their weapons. Kellron and Kupier moved closer to the door while Kestral, Panther, Lyntern, and Jallarzi took up firing positions.

Without a word they opened the secret door and revealed a large room extravagantly appointed. Rich tapestries depicting scenes of conquest and destruction hung about the walls. Off on one side was a finely carved rosewood table with two matching chairs.

On the opposite wall there was an open door and disappearing through it was a hulking figure in blackened leather armor. Ashimar thought he recognized the figure as an orc.

Closer still and more riveting was a large comfortable looking armchair next to a table filled with decanters of various liquors. Seated in the chair was tall man with dark complexion and greasy black ha. He wore a patch over his right eye. Ashimar immediately recognize the priest who had attacked them on the river almost two weeks ago. He was still dressed in chain armor and his shield and flail were leaning against the chair. Nearby, casually flanking the priest in a loose honor guard formation, were four men in black robes with large concealing hoods.

The priest started to turn as the hidden door pivoted open, a look of annoyance on his face. The look changed to alarm as Ashimar’s quick reflexes took over and he charged into the room. As he passed the doorway he caught sight of a guard on either side, also wearing the concealing black robe and hoods. “Guards.” He shouted as he sprinted the fifteen feet to the chair. He ran with his arm fully extended, intending to spear the priest. He succeeded for the most part, and the metal sunk almost six inches into the man’s upraised arm. Ashimar pulled the blade free and by the spurt of blood knew he had hit a major blood vessel.

Panther fired around his friends to hit one of the unholy honor guard that would undoubtedly attack Ashimar for his impertinence. The arrow sunk deep into the guard, but there was no reaction of pain or anything else. Kestral followed suit as Kellron and Kupier made their way into the room to take care of the guards flanking the guards. Both Kellron and Kupier managed to sink their blades into their respective targets, knocking the hoods of their opponents back; revealing the faces of corpses long dead.

Then Ranchefus was able to react, standing up quickly and ordering his zombie guards to attack and then calling loudly for help. Being in a tight situation he concentrated while trying to dodge Ashimar’s weaving blade and tried to summon the tyrannical power of Tresh the Usurper. Perhaps it was his wound, but Ranchefus was not up to the task and the spell of holding drained away.

Jallarzi and Lyntern dodged their way into the room and fired at random targets; the sorceress/wizard with a pair of magic missiles and Lyntern with his bow.

The resulting commotion alerted the orcs in the next room and the pair charged into the room looking for targets. No one but Ranchefus could tell, but the markings on the orc’s shields marked them as members of the Bloodskull tribe, a vicious and barbaric tribe by even their own race’s standards.

Within the first few seconds the tide of battle had been decided. The zombies were relentless opponents but not very skilled and easily avoided. Kupier, Kellron, and Ashimar were skilled warriors and each one was easily a match for any one person in the room. With Kestral, Jallarzi, Panther, and Lyntern for support, the outcome was never in doubt.

Ashimar quickly finished Ranchefus on his own, sustaining some injuries from the zombies, but nothing life threatening. The head orc emissary was more of a problem as it entered a mindless rage and started laying about with it’s axe, but Kupier had cut his teeth on fighting orcs and Kellron’s battlefield training was nearly equal to the old Scout’s.
Meanwhile Panther and Kestral moved into the room quickly and shut the door so no trace of their combat would alert anyone else.

It really just wasn’t fair – for the bandits at least. No one would realize that the surviving guards up top were only twelve seconds from deciding to alert Ranchefus when the group had assaulted the Grand Hall. The guards were slow to respond to the attack though and the keep was truly large with many twists and turns. What the group didn’t know was that by the time they had killed Ranchefus only two other bandits were currently in the keep.

 

[Seravin]

From a DM's perspective I remember being a little disgusted at the easy time the party had. The dice were with them and their inexplicable 'Player's Insight' feat was working overtime.

To be fair I made some mistakes, but given the time since this last event I'm hard pressed to remember all the events and their specific sequences. The big thing I should have remembered was for the guards to use the alarm bell. Ah well - lesson's learned.

Things that stand out include:
*Ashimar's climb up the tower and his fight with the guards. That was cool.

* My amusement as the party traversed the open field, scattered with hidden pits and deadfalls.

* My rapid plans as I tried to figure out the timing of who the guard's notified and when while the entire party was holed up in the tower. I was two rounds from the guards sending a runner to Ranchefus. I decided they try and wake one of the other lieutenants instead.

* The decision to search for tracks in the cellar as they came off the stairs and Kupier's natural 20. He went straight to the secret door. I think Ranchefus was killed in round two. Poor evil cleric, he never stood a chance.

Heh. Players. Gods love 'em. At least they had fun and they were justifiably proud of themselves after all of this.

 

[Seravin]

Huh...

Here it is next week already and I don't have an update ready yet. <sigh>
Apologies to those who read but work has been a busy, moreso because I've got to clean things up for a vacation I'm taking.

I am taking the laptop with me though and I'll try and work on the next set of updates. As it is, I think I have to revise the last update anyway - it looks as if one little fight got dropped. The updates probably won't happen until around the 29th though.

-seravin

 

[Capellan]

Just wanted to leave a quick note to say that I am enjoying this SH. Your updates are written with a direct style and tempo, which I like.

I, for one, would be interested in seeing your campaign notes. I've had a bad experience with Night Below as a player, and would be interested to see your comments on the module.

 

[Wynter Wolf]

Hello thought i should finnally check in. I am the player that ran the Ashimar character thru this adventure, and let me tell you it was quite a blast. Good job on The story Seravin please continue posting about my heroic exploits.

 

[Seravin]

Hey,
I'm back from vacation. The Grand Canyon was a blast. One of these days I may have to set an adventure in a vast rift filled with the temples of the gods.
Unfortunately, all that coolness prevented me from getting any updates started. Soon though.

For those who are interested, I revised the last post. It seems I dropped a fairly significant fight before the party went down the stairs and fought Ranchefus. The majority of the changes were near the top and I made a couple changes at the bottom that were less significant.

Wynter Wolf - Welcome to the boards and feel free to drop your two cents in.

Cappellan - Thanks for the praise, I truly appreciate it. I'm not the writer I wish I was, but I'm glad that I appear to be on the right road.
As for my comments on the module, I like it. I've been wanting to run it for several years now but for one reason or another wasn't able to. I even had lead-ins to it from previous games, but no one had ever gotten around to investigating them. <shrug>.
From the DM's persepective it has most everything I wanted from a campaign - which it is.
Epic Plot - check
Framework for adventure locale - check
Easy to integrate with my current world - check
Mind Flayers - check
Cool encounters - check
Opportunity for role-playing - check

Downsides include:
It's for 2nd Edition so conversion of some sort is necessary - which brings it's own set of problems to the table.
The 2nd third of the module can be tediously long.
Overall, the module just provides a framework - it needs a lot of fleshing out to be put in a campaign setting.

In the end, conversion isn't really the problem. There are only two choices for converting. Either keep monsters and treasure as-is and convert basic stats or try to convert completely to 3rd edition rules, toning down monsters and treasure to whatever level the party is at by the time they reach the encounter.
I went with the former style and as a result the party has had a huge amount of treasure on hand. Fortunately for me, they're sinking it into a keep.
Monster conversions aren't that tough as I think everything has been converted in one source or another - but dealing with the number of monsters has been challenging. One encounter has some 40+ trolls. The saving grace of that encounter is that they're scattered across some huge caverns and two tribes. My group was smart enough to use hit and run tactics but it took forever.
What's staring me in the face right now is that because of the monster numbers, the party has access to 8th level spells. That puts a serious spin on the later encounters in Book 2 - where the expected party level was probably around 10-12 (2nd edition). In retrospect I should have slowed XP advancement from 12th level onward.
Overall though it's been fun.

As a player, were you guys playing 2nd or 3rd edition? How far did you get? Did you make it to the City of the Glass Pool (where my players are right now)? There are certainly some frustrating places that can be found throughout the module, some of them more frustrating than others depending on the DM's and player's style.

If you're not currently playing (or have gotten past the City of the Glass Pool), I'd be happy to send you my notes. They're really just in a diary format right now. Just email me and I'll send them to you.