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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yenrak" data-source="post: 7576661" data-attributes="member: 6888829">The Proof is in the PuddingIt took us two sessions in Nightstone before we got to the Dripping Caverns. In the first one, they mostly dealt with the goblins. In the second session, they battled a group of barbarians (which I substituted for the Ear Seeker orcs). I've moved Nightstone up to the Northern Means, where it is crossed by the river Iceflow (Isslodda, in my game). We had two of our regular players unable to show up--Valindar and Renbain--and one new guy, Zach the Ranger. Here's an email I sent out to keep everyone up to date with what's happening.You have heard legends of living oozes but never seen one of these corrosive monstrosities. They are supposed to live deep underground, far from the surface world. Landon, the priest of Correlon, tells you that sources say the living oozes might be scattered fragments of the demon lord Juiblex. The party is gathered in a small natural chamber not too far from where you fought the ooze. A small waterfall pours from the 8-foot-high ceiling forms a 5-foot-deep pool at the southwest end of the cave. Zach, the half-elf ranger, was badly burned by the acid of the ooze, his twin short swords corroded by contact with the stuff. Arche too barely survived the combat. As you gather your strength in the case, you have plenty to time to reflect on recent events. It is hard to believe that it was just a week ago that you—Landon the priest of Corellon, Sabrina the elven warrior, Renbain the human fighter, Valindar the human wizard, and the rogues Arche and Walker—first signed on as guards for Master Paddywinkle’s caravan to the north. Three days into the journey, a band of goblins kidnapped young William Tannerson, the son of one of the caravan’s teamsters. You pursued them to their hideout in an ancient tomb of the Knights of the Blue Wyrm, a long-gone band of warriors dedicated to freeing the land of the menace of Iymrith. In that tomb, you recovered two powerful artifacts. One was a sword with a blade that radiates the power of winter. Its hilt reverently portrays the image of the evil goddess Auril, known as the Frostmaiden.  The other was a wand that allows its users to harness the power of lightning. It is marked with an image of Iymrith. A few days later, you encountered what you believed was a mad hobbit on the road. He joined the caravan and when you were attacked by a band of Raven Tribe barbarians, he revealed himself to be a Bronze Dragon called Fegolos. This friendly—although still terrifying—creature spent the next few days with you but would not go to Nightstone, the fortified trading post that sits where the Northern Means crosses the river Isslodda. You soon discovered that Nightstone had been attacked by Cloud Giants and later raided by goblins. Some of the goblins were still in Nightstone. Arche Braverest used her eldritch powers to charm a pair in the belltower of the village church and you captured another, a goblin girl named Gum Gum, who was raiding the pantry of Nightstone Inn. But Gum Gum was murdered by a human female, Kella, who was also found in the inn. Arche buried her behind the inn. A few other goblins were discovered in the village and dispatched, often with a quick set of arrows from Walker and Arche or the magical bolts of fired from a bow of fire and light Landon can summon out of thin air. Four members of the town guard were discovered, as was the body of Lady Velrosa Nandar, the noblewoman whose family had held these lands for generations. She had been crushed by a boulder dropped by the Cloud Giants. As if that were not enough, the village was next visited by a squadron of Zhentarim looking to bring it under the influence of the Black Network. You formed a reluctant alliance with their leader, Xolkin Alassandar, promising to support his bid to take leadership of the town in exchange for a small sack of gemstones. Xolkin’s men spotted a band of barbarian raiders running toward the open gates of the town. Sabrina Icewratch and Renbain used their strength to raise the drawbridge but that was only a temporary reprieve. The barbarians soon found their way past the palisades and a battle was fought on the streets of Nightstone. Eventually, with half their number defeated and their leader dead, they surrendered. After gathering the caravan inside the palisades of Nightstone and securing the gates, you spent the night in the wreckage of the inn. There you noticed that Renbain had seemingly begun talking to his sword—although when asked about it he denied talking to “her.” In the night, Landon had disturbing dreams about an army of stone statues who seemed to be followers of Iymrith. Even more distrurbing, in the dream he had become a worshipper of the blue dragon. After hearing about the dream, Arche and Walker decided the best thing to do was to take pilfer the wand from Landon and give it to Master Paddywinkle for safe-keeping. That morning a half-elf ranger named Zach joined the group. He was recently returned from a long foray into the wilderness where he had seen evidence of a sharp rise in attacks by giants and humanoid groups led by giants. Zach also knew the way to the Dripping Caves, to which the people of Nightstone had apparently fled right into captivity by a goblin tribe that had recently taken up residence there. The party used Arche’s hawk familiar, Sky King, to scout out the hill and found an entrance on the top of the hill that seemed a better approach than going through the “front door.” After lowering himself down the chimney shaft, Walker quietly dispatched a goblin guard with a single arrow shot. The rest of the party—Arche, Sabrina, Zach, and Landon (Renbain and Valindar remained at Nightstone)—began exploring the caves and quickly discovered the lair of Hark, the chief of the goblins, where he was relaxing in the company of his two goblin wives and four other goblins. Walker was wounded in the battle but eventually the goblins were slain, with Sabrina cleaving the goblin chief in two with her battle-axe. You found Hark’s treasure chest which contained goods obviously stolen from Nightstone before coming into a huge cavern chamber where you battled 11 goblins and 2 ogres. The ogres packed a powerful wallop but were clumsy and easy to hit. Landon used with eldritch bolts, Arche her daggers and shortbow, Sabrina her great ax, Zach his twin shortswords, and Walker his boomerangs with great effectiveness. Soon all but two goblins were dead and those two fled the caves. Instead of giving chase, the party continued to explore the cave, searching for the folk of Nightstone. Walker dashed off ahead, discovering the very room where the party is now encamped. The rest of the party encountered the black ooze. Zach and Arche fell quickly to the ooze’s acid but not before Arche had inflicted the magical venom of her daggers upon it. Sabrina dragged Zache’s unconscious body to safety while Landon lured the ooze into pursuing him down a thing corridor. Walker poisoned the abomination with the mushrooms he had found in the waterfall room but it kept coming. Hoping the creature would be hurt by sunlight, Landon left the caves altogether through the east tunnel. But sunlight seemed no problem for the ooze. So Landon used his last guiding bolt to strike the ooze—and killed it! That was hours ago. Now the party has regrouped in the waterfall chamber, gathering strength, preparing spells, and praying to Corellon before once more setting off to explore the dripping caves and rescue the people of Nightstone.</blockquote>

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