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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 8081672" data-attributes="member: 16069">Dark Squad in the Forge of FurySession #015 Have you found Bel?Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).Buggles (played by Stu) Male Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 1/Rogue Lvl 2New Tricks (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 3Ramshambo (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue Lvl 3Vincenzo (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 3NPCsGarumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 3This is session 15, and lacking the terror and trepidation of the last one, but still another good ‘un.The fighting is done (for now) and before the adventurers are the bodies of nineteen orcs, two dire wolves, a platemail encased orog (Old Yarrack) and the ogre- Great Ulfe, all strewn liberally around the small cavern and corridor space that the Dark Squad have occupied and defended with their lives.We start with a little bit of backslapping- “We’re great!” that kind of thing before the debating team gets into action, the Dark Squad have a decision to make. The choices are, simply put (I wish)- retreat and relax, get after the badly injured shaman orc (an Eye of Gruumsh) that got away, interrogate the orc’s former prisoners, or… Well, it gets very chatty- everyone it seems has a different take on what the Dark Squad should be doing next.Meantime the corpses of the fallen are given the once over, some coin and a few more items of interest found, the orog’s platemail is removed- Garumn will have a go at re-sizing the stuff- if and when he finds a forge. He’s a smith remember, also don’t forget the Dark Squad are here to find the lost forge of Durgeddin the Black, so- it’s a distinct possibility.Oddly, the same orog was wielding another (fake) Durgeddin the Black handaxe- the same design as the handaxe that Erky sold to Big Al, the halfling thieves’ guild gang leader, way back in Neverwinter. In conclusion- some bugger is making knock off Durgeddin the Black’s.Eventually, after much more chatter (and healing from Vinnie’s Healing Spirit)- and also many more interruptions from Spandwick the Magic Gnome, the PCs decide to try to find the trail of the wounded orc shaman, or else the trail of Bel- Spandwick’s missing wife. Who, according to Courana- one of the other rescued prisoners, slipped between the bars of their cage maybe a day and a half ago. Obviously, Spandwick is distraught, and the Dark Squad (some of ‘em) have kind hearts.[Much chatter about what to do next, and info from the prisoners 150 XP]The adventurers, accompanied by Spandwick, tramp around the orc caves for a bit, with the sneaky pair- Ram and Buggles stealthing a little ahead, and then calling the other PCs forward. It is however Newt (on a little bit of a solo wander, curiosity killed the what…) that finds an open (formerly) secret door, and within the chamber of the orc shaman. Or at least that’s what the Dark Squad think after taking a look around inside. The musty, dirty chamber has a variety of skulls and the like dangling from the ceiling, alongside other items of ornamental viscera.A couple of sacks of silver coins are also found, and more importantly a blood trail- the missing orc went this way.Note, like an annoying seven-year-old Spandwick asks repeatedly- “Have you found Bel?”, like every five minutes or so, he concentrates his efforts on bothering Buggles. Why you ask, easy- because Buggles always answers back, he’s possibly the most annoyed by the gnome’s constant yabbering.[ATTACH=full]125527[/ATTACH]Don't leave poor Spandwick behind!The blood trail leads into a massive chamber- the grand stair, Ram thinks, remember the ancient verse (extract follows)-Seek the stone tooth Climb to the mountain door Descend the grand stair Pass the tombs of the ancients To the glory of the glitterhame Wary of the sinkhole There you find the door Within… the foundry of Durgeddin the BlackSo, the Dark Squad are on their way- they’re three lines in.Note the massive high-ceilinged chamber has the decrepit remains of stone carved dioramas on the walls and ceiling, all depicting dwarven smiths hard at work at their anvils. The chamber stretches ahead to another great stone door, there’s also a rough iron gate on the west wall- most odd. However, the largest feature in the space is the aforementioned grand stair, a dark opening that almost runs the length of the eerie location. Carved into the undressed stone are a myriad wide but shallow steps that descend into the dark unknown.The Dark Squad however have a trail to follow, and quickly discern that the bleeding orc shaman fled along the west side of the stair, she stopped once to do a little dance (seemingly) and then rushed on to the stair proper and down below.A mystery- why did the orc seemingly stop a while to jig, why did it not take a more direct route to the grand stair.Traps and concealed things are looked for, repeatedly- nothing. The iron gate investigated- rags and straw and… anything really, has been shoved between the bars of the portal- seemingly to seal the opening. Also, the great stone door ahead is surrounded by the skeletal remains of at least four dead orcs.[Tracking the Eye of Gruumsh, and other investigations 150 XP]We spend a good twenty minutes here, the players spit-balling ideas, trying to work out what it’s all about. More investigations follow, more cautious activity- until the PCs eventually make it to the stairs, and by doing so discover what made the orc shaman dance. Stirges, at least half-a-dozen of the little bloodsucking buggers swarm from the opening and set about their feast.[ATTACH=full]125528[/ATTACH]"Stirges!" repeat x 10 (and then some more, it seems no-one has a nice word to say about Stirges. They need a make-over/rebranding).Buggles & Ram (both wielding bows) and Vincenzo (produce flame) account for the first three enemies to flap into view, the fourth pest to appear however makes a beeline for Vinnie, and darts the shifter with its proboscis (and a Crit).Buggles to the rescue, the wood elf shoots and kills the stirge attached to Vinnie’s chest, while Newt eldritch blasts a fifth stirge into bloody pieces, Vinnie’s produce flame ends the last.That was easy.[Half-a-dozen stirges 150 XP]Ram is sent forward to investigate the stone door to the north, around which the orc skeletons lie- no trap is found on the door (the trap is in the walls either side of the door, also Ram’s dice are broken). The fiendish DM even makes the door stiff, heavy and hard to open, but eventually Ram and Buggles wrench it free- which, of course, triggers a fiery response. Alas Vincenzo has also wandered close to the action, all three are therefore caught in a fiery blast as liquid flame spews from a myriad nozzles set in the walls around the portal. The trio are also set on fire.[ATTACH=full]125529[/ATTACH]Alas the flaming inferno trap was much too fast for any of the VTT screen-shooters to snap a picture of it. The image above therefore depicts our heroes just prior to being set on fire.There follows several comedy moments as the two rogues drop, roll and scream in an attempt to put the flames out, but not before taking a little more flaming damage. Newt controls flame and extinguishes the fire on Vinnie- classy.[Having hot fun with the fire trap 125 XP]Then, however the great stone door goes to grind back shut- Newt, with a little feline agility, races hard and dives into the small stone chamber beyond the door.The curious tabaxi is keen to find what great treasure is held beyond the trap- but there’s nothing, just the trap mechanism- which the tabaxi eventually breaks (or at least beaks part of it) so that he can wrench the stone door back open and escape his confinement.[ATTACH=full]125530[/ATTACH]"Meee-OH! Buggerrrrrrr..."[Newt investigates the fire trap up-close 125 XP]Note Ram is back to being just about bloodied, which is the normal state of affairs for the rogue- he never stays uninjured for very long. The adventurers therefore decide to back up a little while and get in a short rest, mainly so that the warlock can get his spell powers back- but also for a little more healing.Then down the stair, and again with the rogues sneaking ahead and investigating the way. The grand stair descends for a good long while, the Dark Squad tramp on for almost thirty minutes, they’re below the earth according to Garumn- under the mountain.Then...The stair ahead is bisected by a shallow but fast flowing underground stream, just a few feet wide, which spews from a crack in the rock and spills down a second watery route ahead, into darkness. The stairs continue their descent. The rogues pull back to their comrades and chat a while- the decision is made to follow the watery route.The going is tough, at least for Ram- the rogue trips and falls in the descent, although its only minor cuts and bruises (see, told you- he never stays healthy for long). The rogue however spots a cavern with a low entrance into a small but high-ceilinged chamber ahead, and stops outside of it to listen intently- he thinks he can hear the flapping of more stirges (he’s right) however he can also see a corpse within, and so ducks inside.Note, just a reminder- Spandwick is still constantly enquiring, “have you found Bel?” Which is not at all annoying. Not at all. Just ask Buggles.Back in the small chimney like chamber, the stirges Ram heard earlier make their presence known- descending upon the rogue. Buggles, and then the other adventurers come running, several more of them duck into the small chamber, they have to- the action is happening up above in there.[ATTACH=full]125531[/ATTACH]Ram locates a pair of flying exsanguinators (rebranded Stirges)- great for kids parties!Buggles shoots a stirge dead- there are eight of the little buggers in this encounter (mostly arriving in pairs), alas another of the pests gets to the wood elf and begins to drain his blood. Ram stabs the blighter formerly attached to Buggles- dead, while the wood elf accounts for another with his scimitar that gets a little too close.Newt gets stabbed by a proboscis and bled briefly, the tabaxi’s hellish rebuke incinerates the unlucky stirge.Then Ram gets bitten and bled, again briefly, he skewers the offending stirge with his rapier- dead, and then with his off-hand dagger ends yet another that swoops too close.[ATTACH=full]125532[/ATTACH]The Stirge Disco- Ooooah-Ooooah-DUM-DUM-Ooooah-Ooooah-DUM-DUM. Thumping bass (and falling stones) courtesy of Newt's Eldritch Blasts. Buggles cuts another dead, while Newt’s eldritch blast ends the last- that’s all eight enemies accounted for.[Eight more stirges destroyed 200 XP]The small emaciated body in the lonely cavern turns out to be that of a long dead dwarf- exsanguinated by the flying stirge menaces, the corpse however has a little gold.Note Ram, at first, thought the body could have been Bel’s, the DM may even have hinted at such.The adventurers however have seen (and had) enough, they climb back out of the stream passage- back the way they came, and then spend a little while chatting about where to go next. This after Vincenzo is convinced that while there are signs of the orc shaman passing in this direction (down the stairs) there are however no signs that Bel took this path.And Spandwick is, of course, still asking- “have you found Bel?”The decision is to head back up the stair and search the orc’s lair properly, Bel is probably hidden there somewhere.Note this decision is reached because Spandwick has now graduated to shouting, every now and then, “BEL!” at the top of his voice.Even after he receives a stern lecture from Vinnie about the danger inherent in such actions.The DM delights in this activity it seems.Funny that.And at the time I noted that many of the players were laughing, so...The Dark Squad therefore head all the way back up the grand stair, and then back into the orc caves- they search their way through several large cavern chambers, there are piles of mouldering crates and boxes here- the collected (mundane) stolen goods of the orcs. Vinnie even encourages Spandwick to shout and call for his wife- there are lots of places to hide here, particularly if you are a small frightened gnome.Nothing.A store-chamber cum orc bedroom is investigated and more semi-hidden treasures found- gold and gems, an impressive haul. A little further on in the passageways and a hefty great wooden door is located, with a human skull impaled upon the portal, the Dark Squad scoot into action- Ram and Buggles looking for traps and tricks- none found.However during the manoeuvres a statue of a stout dwarf with sword and hammer is discovered just around the corner, Vinnie chooses to investigate the stone art, and in doing so triggers yet another trap- the result of which is the shifter is bathed in a cloud of greenish poison gas, expelled from the stone statue’s mouth.Bugger!However, Ram shares a dose of his elixir of health, and soon after Vinnie’s poison condition is gone.[The stone dwarf with poison breath trap 150 XP]The Dark Squad return their attention to the great portal and eventually shove their way into yet another chamber, this one by the smell of it the former home of the ogre- Great Ulfe, and his dire wolf hounds (Vak & Thrag). Yet more treasure is found and included in the haul is a beautifully made rapier, an actual Durgeddin the Black made blade.Later Ram will attune this weapon, it’s given name- Deadend is revealed, as is its purpose- the blade is magical and bane of the undead.[ATTACH=full]125533[/ATTACH]Investigating Great Ulfe's stinky bedroom, note the poison breathing dwarf statue to the north- and look, that's the chasm![More treasure and more investigations 100 XP]Still however no sign of Bel.Yet another orc barracks is located, the chamber looks to have been home to nearly two dozen orcs- certainly the PCs have found the sleeping spaces for just over thirty orcs so far within the complex. I’m making this clear here on the off-chance that one of the players will read it- the PCs have only encountered and killed 20-something orcs so far.The area is searched thoroughly, and another cache of treasure found- more gold, however the prize goes to Ram who finds a hidden panel on the western wall, which Garumn eventually wrenches open. There’s an ancient crumbling and long unused web-filled passage beyond. A secret door leading to a secret passage, and after closer very cautious investigation (no giant spiders here) the short passage ends in yet another secret door. This too is wrenched open; it leads into a long chamber containing the arrow slits and orc firing stations- the spot from which the orcs rained arrows down on the Dark Squad when they first arrived.The adventurers search through the newly revealed chambers, and again there are more orc bedrolls here- the passage leads all the way around to the chasm chamber, to one of the secret doors there, from which the orcs with bows exited earlier to attack the Dark Squad from the rear. There’s a similar chamber with another arrow slit on the opposite side of the chasm ledge, this too is investigated- empty.[More exploring and searching 200 XP]Still no Bel.Poor Spandwick is distraught, however the Dark Squad have really had enough now, and its ten minutes until cut off time for the end of the session, therefore a long rest is needed. All of the secret doors are sealed shut, camp is made- Spandwick consoled (slightly) and the Dark Squad set watch and then sleep to level up.The night passes without incident, the adventurers rise and shine Level 4.But that’s for next time.Stay safe and well.Cheers goonalan and the Dark Squad.</blockquote>

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