Wraith's Whispers - CoSQ (Update: 4/5/04)

[Gilgalad]

Well, we got off to a great start, expecially for Durgaden. I mean, the descendent of a king and just crowned himself. But the new king, or should I say "I", quickly fell off his game. The next entry should be almost comical in it's depiction of how many times a newly crowned dwarf king can screw up the simplest of things. Even more scary to me is how well our DM knows what I'll do as a player in almost any situation. Look for the loss of 108 HP in exactly 2 rounds as an indication of how well we faired from this point on <lol>, and it only gets better...errr...worse...as the story progresses <cringes at that thought>. Lets just say that the cliff hanger we ended in has the makings of a comedy sketch written all over it.

Oh well, someone toss my descendents a few copper for the privledge of laughing at my pending demise and we'll call it even ;-)

Durgaden Alepounder
Level 9 Dwarven Warrior/Defender
King of Tethyamar

"It's good to be the King"

 

[Wraithdrit]

Session 7 - Log 2

Temple of Moradin, Tethyamar
Eleint 29th, Mid Morning

Having sent Sgt Serin back to Dagger Falls with the remains of her patrol and the Banite prisoner, the companions led a few of the small troop of dwarves to the temple ruins and found the location of the entrance of the crypt, right where the letter had said it would be.

The dwarves helped move aside the large basin and the companions slowly entered into the darkness, leaving the dwarves behind to guard the entrance. Tanerus led the way, followed by Durgaden. Durgaden had Zhentarim Commander Kara's enchanted shield strapped to his arm. Gregor had been kind enough to remove the large Zhentarim symbol, and had done so without damaging the shield. He truly was a master craftsman. The shield had a light spell cast upon it by Will, and shed light twenty feet around them.

Behind Durgaden came Will, followed finally by Amador. The elven cleric had his bow out and an arrow nocked. He watched behind the party now to make sure they were not snuck up on.

The group descended into the rock, some twenty feet down before the passage opened up into a massive domed chamber. In the center of the chamber could be seen a large trap door, the only obvious exit to the room. Atop the trap door, frozen in solid ice, was a massive tiger, some twenty feet long at least.

Will whistled, "Now there is something you don't see every day."

Durgaden slowly stepped forward, putting the crown atop his head. Tanerus slid around to one of the back corners and crouched watching Durgaden.

The dwarf walked up to beneath the great tiger. The beast was frozen in mid jump it would seem, rearing back up on its back legs. The ice was an inch or two thick around the entire creature.

Will spoke from behind Durgaden. "The creature itself is not magical, nor is the ice, but there is an enchantment on the beast."

Durgaden spoke to the cat, "I am Durgaden Alepounder Tethyamar. I have come to claim what is mine."

Nothing happened.

Amador shrugged. "There are no other ways out of here. We have to melt the ice to get through."

Durgaden nodded, "Give me a resistance to fire spell and then burn the ice off. But try not to hurt the cat."

Will cocked an eyebrow and looked at Amador. He muttered, "Try not to hurt the cat... right."

Amador cast a prayer over Durgaden, coating him with the resistance to fire. Durgaden strode up toward the cat again and nodded at Will.

Will nodded back and summoned the wall of fire in a ring around the giant cat. Flames roared up and the ice began to melt.

Durgaden continued to talk to the mighty beast, "We mean you no harm. I have come to claim what is my own. In the name of Thomas, your creator, I command you stand down."

With a mighty roar the ice shattered and the fearsome beast came down, angrily tearing at Durgaden in a flash. Before the dwarf could react, the tiger clawed at him with both front paws and brought the tastey morsel into its powerful jaws biting down hard. Durgaden cried out in pain.

"Damn you beast, I said stand down... oh to hell with it!" Durgaden started fighting back. He delivered blow after blow into the things head from the side. His angle was not perfect for defending, but he could still swing his axe.

From outside the wall of flame Will cursed softly, then unleashed an empowered Magic Missile towards the creature. The globes slammed into its side and melted away already burned flesh and hair. "Well at least magic seems to hurt it," he quipped.

Amador followed up with a magical strike of his own. The beast was so large he could center flame strike behind it, and not hurt Durgaden. Plus, Durgaden did have his fire protections up. The column of flame Amador summoned ripped up atop the beast's back and it howled in pain.

Tanerus lifted his crossbow up and shot a bolt through the wall of flame. The bolt burnt as it passed through the wall, but was an accurate shot that buried into the beast's flank.

Like a cat with a toy, the giant tiger flopped onto its side, growling shaking its head a little to bury its fangs deeper into its prey. Then it does what all cats in a fight do. It raked the dwarf with its claws. All four sets of them. Durgaden screamed in pain as four sets of dagger sized claws ripped through his armor. Blood and gore flew into the wall of fire, burning up.

The companions heard the dwarf's scream come to and end and saw their companion go limp in the beasts mouth.

Will thought quickly. "He could still be alive!" He cast a protection on Amador. The elf's skin turned hard as stone. "You are stoneskinned, go heal him!"

Amador hesitated a moment then raced in, raising his arms to protect his face and he plowed through the wall of fire. The flames burned the cleric, but he would not be swayed. He slid to a halt beside the massive growling beast and began to call upon Corellian's aid.

The tiger wanted none of that. It saw its new opponent drop its guard, and with the limp dwarf still dangling from its mouth it swiped a massive clawed paw at the cleric.

Will gasped as he watched the claw rip open Amador's stomach. The clerics loud prayer could barely be heard through the roar of the flames. Amador faltered, the words of the prayer pausing as the pain raced through him. His eyes shut tight against the pain.

He would not be stopped though. His eyes shot open, his arms raised, and even as blood poured from his stomach he completed the prayer to his god. His hands glowed bright blue and he grabbed a hold of Durgaden's dangling arm. The energy surged through the dwarf and Durgaden gasped aloud and screamed in anger and pain.

The tiger was a bit taken back. He began to stand. Durgaden was still alive though, and he was not about to get eaten by this thing without every amount of fight he had in him being used. Again he slammed his axe into the tigers head, cutting twice more into the same spot, cleaving deeper and deeper in. "Bad kitty!"

Still the tiger lived. It shook its head to one side, flopped back on its side and brought its claws to bear.

Before it could make good on the dwarf's impending death, a small form screamed and burst through the back of the wall of fire. Tanerus, ignoring the pain of the wall of fire and the danger of such a huge beast, rolled to a stop behind the things massive head, and plunged his short sword into it. He twisted, turned and slid the sword across the creatures spine.

The tigers eyes glassed over and with a loud huff, collapsed fully to the ground, dead. Durgaden fell from its mouth sputtering and cursing, collapsing onto his back and moaning. Amador dropped to his knees, holding his stomach. Tanerus threw up a hand, the flaming wall, singing his back.

The wall lowered as Will dispelled the magic that sustained it. Tanerus popped the cork off a potion and downed it quickly, the burns on his arms and face healing quickly. Amador shuffled up to Durgaden and began the long process of knitting the dwarf's many wounds.

Durgaden peaked open one eye as Will strode up. "I sure hope this was his greatest creation," croaked the dwarf.

Will looked at the trap door. "I have a feeling we will find out very soon."

 

[Wraithdrit]

OOC Info...

Yeah, thats the exact way that fight played out. Gilgalad (Durgaden)'s post above was right. In round one the Dire Tiger hit with three attacks and thirty some odd points of damage. Second round it got to rake, so it hit with five attacks for sixty some odd points. It was brutal. Durgaden went to -9 from full in two attack rounds. Lucky he had that protect from fire up or the wall's flame damage would have been enough to finish him off! Even then the party had less than a round to get to him and heal him somehow.

Well Will stoneskinned the hesitant cleric and he decided to suck it up and take the plunge. He had to concentrate to do a combat casting, and flubbed the roll. So the attack of opportunity smacked him around for like 12 points. Luckily his second concentration roll (to not lose the spell) was much better. It was a tense moment and REALLY cool.

But Durg. was not out of the fire yet (heh). On the dire tigers turn he was guaranteed to be the center of attention once more, and at something like a measly twenty hit points he would be toast. So he hacked at the thing a couple more times but without finishing it off.

Tanerus was the last person to act before the tiger's initiative and he flung caution to the wind, flanked the beast and delivered a killer sneak attack. There was much cheering.

Then lots of healing.

And that was just the first fight of the night. Things only got more interesting from there.

- Wraith

 

[Wraithdrit]

Session 7 - Log 3

Crypt of Thomas Flamesculptor,
Underneath the Temple of Moradin,
Tethyamar
Eleint 29th, 1372, Mid Morning

Durgaden walked over to the trapdoor and flung it open. Tanerus rolled away with a surprised cry, sure that a fireball would go off. Will cringed and Amador swung around to see what the noise was about. Durgaden looked at them all. "What? That was the guardian right? Should be safe from here. No?" He looked down the trapdoor.

A spiral staircase led down into darkness, the staircase had no railing, and was carved of stone and the drop off to either side or down the center would lead to one heck of a fall. Tanerus began to move toward the staircase, "I'll make sure they aren't ... " Durgaden quaffed a potion and lept off the side. "... trapped." Tanerus sighed and shook his head. The dwarf was levitating a few feet down and slowly dropping with each passing moment.

Durgaden floated downward around twenty feet before he heard the sounds of large bat like wings. "This place ain't empty!" He bellowed. Three batwinged stone like figures flew out of the darkness, darting at and then trying to claw at Durgaden. The creatures had flames licking out of their mouths and fire rimmed eyes. One managed to find a hole in his armor, but the cut was fairly minor.

Durgaden lowered himself some more, then reach out and grab the staircase and pull himself onto it.

Tanerus looked up at Will smiles and flung himself down at one of the gargoyles. The startled creature soon had a halfling landing on his back, dagger first. Tanerus plunged the blade in and twisting, chuckling as the part fiend gargoyle twisted and writhed beneath him. "Woo hoo!" The halfling seemed to be having fun, something almost out of his normal somber mood.

Will sighed and drew Sergio's wand from his belt. He let loose with it and three globes shot forth, slamming into one of the beasts. Amador shot two arrows at the same beast, missing them cleanly, sending the arrows off into the darkness below.

The half-fiend gargoyles split up. One shot up out of the trapdoor, past Amador and Will, positioning itself on the otherside of Amador. One followed Durgaden, swiping at him as it flew down. The last one fell under the weight of the halfling and not able to reach the halfling very well, it summoned a globe of darkness around the two of them.

Durgaden was glad to see one of them follow him, he stepped up and hacked twice at the thing, severing one wing and ripping a chunk from its center.

Tanerus continued to stab and twist with his dagger, the gargoyle just cried out over and over, unable to dislodge the little halfling. Its wounds began to overcome it, and its wings went limp. The pair began to fall rapidly, but Tanerus' ring prevented any serious damage as they hit the ground.

Will glanced up at the gargoyle that was up with him and Amador. Amador tracked the beast and was let go with two arrows as Will lower the wand and used his own magic missile spell. Five globes shot forth this time, but the gargoyle was still there.

The gargoyle lowered a hand and pointed a ring at Amador. A massive ghostly rams head appeared in front of the beast and flew at the cleric, slamming him in the chest. Amador cried out as the blow lifted him from his feet and threw him back, straight through the trap door. Nothing stopped Amador's fall except the ground some eighty feet below. The cleric crumpled when he landed with a hard thud.

Tanerus looked around, still not able to see. He heard the fall as he finished dispatching his foe. "Amador? That you?"

Durgaden sunk his axe into his opponent again, finishing the gargoyle off. Will unleashed another magic missile, and the last gargoyle fell dead.

 

[Gilgalad]

Something just not right about having an elven cleric "plunge" ahead of the dwarven king into the depths of the mines.

Glory seaking tree hugger ;-)

Patience me boy...patience. And I recommend the stairs...or at least a good levitate potion. While expedient, the free fall method leaves a little to be desired once the destination has been reached <grins>.

Durgaden Alepounder Tethyamar
King of Tethyamar
9th level Dwarven Warrior/Defender

 

[Wraithdrit]

Session 7 - Log 4 of 4

"I just don't get it." Amador looked around as he spoke. "It's a staircase into a room with no exits?"

Will nodded, "Well no exits that my spell can detect." He continued to walk the edge of the room, concentrating on the walls, hoping his magic would reveal some signs of a secret door.

Tanerus stood by and watched, fidgetting a little now and then.

Will called over, "A bit more light over here." Durgaden held his glowing shield up to spread the light a bit better. Suddenly the dwarf's eyes grew large and he slapped his axe head against his shield.

"Thats it!" growled the dwarf. Tanerus thought he may be upset about something, but in contrary it seemed that Durgaden had thought of something.

"Hey!" Will called out in surprise as Durgaden turned and jogged back to the stairs, taking the light with him. Durgaden ran up the steps and and leaned over the edge some thirty feet up. The levitation potion seemed to still be in effect so the dwarf stepped out of the steps to better spread the light toward the higher walls of the chamber.

"Ah ha! There are passages about halfway up!" The dwarf struggled back onto the steps and repeated the process over and over till he had circled the room. "Four of em. I'm take a look." He lowered himself to the floor and then went over to the wall and slowly began to ascend back up.

After a while he returned, "All but one lead to the same place. The one is collapsed after a while and seems they used it for a layer."

Durgaden held out his arms, "Climb on, I'll carry you all up."

Tanerus snickered, "I'll climb, thanks."

Amador and Will grabbed a hold of the dwarf and soon the party was safely into a tunnel. The tunnel lead off into darkness, and the party began moving down it carefully.

Will whispered, "What I don't get are how fiendish creatures made it into these crypts. The top area did not seem disturbed."

Durgaden grunted, "Well they were not put here by me kin. That is for sure."

Amador whispered, "And what were they feeding on? Durgaden found bones in the fiendish gargoyle's layer."

Tanerus stopped ahead as the passage opened up into a chamber. It was another large chamber. As Tanerus slipped forward and began to dart to one side he slammed into a solid wall of force. "Ow!"

The halfling stumbled back and shook his head. He felt to the right of the doorway... another wall of force. It was as if the passage continued forward into the room. Tanerus began forward feeling the walls as he did, waiting for an opening. He stopped dead in his tracks. Ahead of him was a massive minotaur. It snorted fire and stood there, leering at the small halfling. It carried a large glowing hammer.

Durgaden moved forward and grinned, "Let him come to us...."

The minotaur moved to one side, apparently there was another wall of force, this one perpendicular to the others. It was a maze! Durgaden backed up and felt for the walls to either side of him. Knowing the force walls were now protecting his sides he felt safe. He hefted his shield in front of him and waited. Tanerus moved to the side, finally finding an opening in the wall of force. He back through it, watching the minotaur.

A loud huff behind and to one side sent Tanerus spinning around. Anothe minotaur moved into the light. Tanerus tumbled forward, ducking past Durgaden. The first minotaur loped out to in front of the party, just over fifteen feet from Durgaden.

Durgaden waited, "Come on ugly, I'm waiting for ye!"

The large beast slammed its right hoof into the ground and scratched it back. It repeated the motion, lowered its head and bellowed.

The second minotaur moved up to beside the first and lifted an arm. Black energy bubbled up around the entire party and burned their skin, singing their hair.

Amador growled at the pain of the unholy energy, "More fiendish beasts... this is getting old." He began a prayer to his diety and threw a hand forward, calling for the holy power of Corellian to smite his foes.

At the same time Will called forth a burst of electrical energy that expanded like a loop from a point between the two beasts. The blast did not seem to have any effect on the beast, the electrical energy coursing off of them.

The first of the beasts charged, but the second seemed stunned by one of the spells that had been cast. Durgaden met the charge, ducking under it and slashing the beast wickedly.

Tanerus ducked and tumbled through the melee and came up next to the stunned beast. He drove his blade up into its stomach and twisted it. He sliced to the side and then tumbled back out of reach.

Durgaden slashed through the leg of the beast ahead of him. As it fell to the ground he quickly removed its head from its shoulders.

Will pulled Sergio's wand of Magic Missiles out and let fly with three of the small globes. The energy slammed into the beast left standing. It belowed in pain and stumbled.

Tanerus ducked back in and lept up. Grabbing a hold of one horn he flipped up around behind the beast and drove his blade into its neck. The beast fell to the ground dead, blood spurting from the wound.

The group quickly found the minotaur lair in the back corner of the force maze. Finding a few discarded items they moved forward again.

Amador spoke as they walked, "More fiendish creatures, more discard bones... these creatures are getting food somehow."

Tanerus stopped ahead of them and slipped back toward the party, "I may have found out how... there is a giant crack in the wall ahead... leads to some sort of ancient natural chamber."

Durgaden nodded, "The earth shifted then and exposed the crypts to the Underdark."

Will looked a bit worried. Amador voiced Will's concern. "Perhaps they already got the book."

Durgaden shook his head quickly, "Nay. I can not believe that the tomb intended for me grandfather would be so easily disturbed. We go forward, assuming they never got to the book."

Tanerus nodded, "The passage does continue straight, and I uh... think you guys should see this..."

A chamber opened up straight ahead. The first five feet of the thirty foot wide chamber was carved into a deep pit, deeper than their light would shine. On the other side of the pit, some fifteen feet past the pit lay a large sarcophagus. Behind the sarcophagus was a twenty foot tall stone statue.

Durgaden whistled in awe. "That thing is huge." Indeed the statue was in the form of an squat sturdy opponent. Though only twenty feet high, it was nearly that wide. Its fists were massive. It did not resemble anything real.

Tanerus gulped, "Is that..."

Durgaden nodded, "Must be Flamesculptors greatest creation..."

Will frowned. "A stone golem." Will had never seen one before, but this looked like it would fit the bill. "They are nearly impervious to damage, and impervious to all spells."

Durgaden looked at his axe. "Me axe is not made to cut through magic stone." Indeed though Durgaden's axe was magical, it was not very powerfully enchanted.

Tanerus snapped his fingers, "The magic hammer we found on the Minotaurs." Durgaden fished the warhammer out of his pack.

Will stepped up, "Here take these..." He handed Durgaden his magic gloves. "They will make you quicker."

Amador whispered softly and cast a strengthening spell on Durgaden. Durgaden nodded and asked Tanerus, "Mind if I borrow your amulet of armor?" Tanerus quickly handed it over.

The rest of the party looked at Durgaden. He stood tall for his size, his crown on. He carried magic from all of them, and hefted the warhammer the minotaurs had carried. "Alright then. Wish me luck."

The three companions nodded and all said, "Good luck." They stepped aside so Durgaden could leap the pit.

Durgaden grinned, "Five feet... thats easy." He took a few steps back the hall and began to run toward the edge. He vaulted forward, his magic boots aiding his momentum. He landed easily on the other side, his warhammer and shield at the ready the moment his feet touch the floor.

Then the floor gave way as a trapdoor opened beneath him. There was nothing the other companions could do as they watched Durgaden plunge out of sight with a loud cry.

The statue never moved.

 

[Gilgalad]

Oh hell !

Could it be that Flamesculptor's greatest invention was the pit trap ???

Talk about one unhappy Dwarf !

 

[Amador]

Free Falling

I just want to know if we are just the luckiest group or what? We have been able to make it through everything so far. Of course it appears there will be a new King soon. Especially the way that beer drinking dwarf does business, but what do you expect from such individuals.

I look forward to our next session.

 

[Gilgalad]

Did we make it ?

"It's good to be the King"

OR

"It was good to be the King, now I 'm gonna roll up a Monk"

Find out the answers to this and other exciting questions just as soon as our DM/author can break away from work long enough to post the story.

Lets just say that our beloved dwarven King could have had no worse luck had he been stone cold drunk on Fey Wine the entire adventure. And, unfortunately, it seemed to be contagious.

Anyway, stay tuned for the most comical and unbelievable story yet, including pit trap plunges, powerful undead and celestial fish.

Let the happy hour commence

 

[Wraithdrit]

Session 8 - Log 1

Crypt of Thomas Flamesculptor,
Underneath the Temple of Moradin,
Tethyamar
Eleint 29th, 1372, Early Afternoon

With a startled yell Durgaden tumpled down into the pit. The glowing light on his shield flickered out after a few feet, plunging the entire group into darkness. A few moments later and the rest of the group heard a harsh crash from within the pit, then silence.

A tense moment paused, then soft dwarven cursing could be heard from within the darkness. Will let out a breath he did not even realize he had been holding and shook his head in wonder. A soft click of stone and metal created a small spark and light soon flared to life within a lantern that Tanerus had produced.

"Are you alright?!" Amador called down the pit. They could see that the second pit and the first pit were seperated by a thin wall.

Tanerus shook his head, "Clever, put one obvious pit, then a concealed pit. Jump over one, you land on the other..." The small halfling set the lantern down and ran back then forward, leaping over the first pit at an angle. He landed and waited, but the floor held beneath him.

Amador pulled out a length of rope then tossed one end to Tanerus. Tanerus quickly lowered himself down, but still was not able to reach Durgaden. The fall had been a good eighty feet. Luckily Durgaden had his own rope. He tossed the coils up to Tanerus and the halfling quickly tied the second rope to the first and scurried back up. Durgaden followed, a heck of a lot slower, but arriving just as safe at the top.

Will had concentrated toward the back of the party. He kept looking at the gaping hole in the corridor. The opening led to the Underdark, and he was not about to let the group be attacked from the rear.

His fears found shape in the form of a vicious hag like creature that flung an arm around the corner and summoned several small globes of energy. Streaking out at Will, they slammed home, burning him in several places. Will cursed and flung himself to one side, able to fully see the hag now. He summoned up a blast of cold, sending the cone shaped spell spitting ice and cold down the side passage, blasting over the hag.

It did not seem to harm her at all. She cackled and flung herself at Will, grabbing at him. Amador stepped into the way, slamming his shield against the hag and slicing with his enchanted sword. His triumph at a well placed hit turned into horror as his blade just skipped off her leathery hide, failing to hurt her at all.

Tanerus stepped aside as he saw Durgaden getting ready to leap back across the original pit, wanting to come to the aid of his companions. The halfling gasped as the dwarf stumbled when he planted for the jump. He bit his lip and winced, looking away, not wanting to see the dwarf fall down another pit.

But luck was with the dwarf. A strange sort of luck though it was. He stretched out, hoping to catch the edge with his fingers and pull himself up. Only instead he landed face first on the floor that was actually were the pit appeared to be. The first pit had been an illusion the whole time. Durgaden cursed loudly, rolled to his feet and moved to help Will and Amador.

The companions surrounded the hag, slashing, hacking, and smashing at her with everything they had. She just did not seem to be hurt by much of it. Durgaden tossed aside his shield and wielded the minotaur's warhammer with two hands and slammed it home again and again, but it barely seemed to do anything.

The hag on the other hand was a flurry of activity, slashing, grabbing and biting at the companions. Once she had successfully bitten any one of them, she seemed to lose interest and would latch onto another companion member.

Will and Amador were having a hard time against the hag as well. A lightning bolt had hurt her some, but magic missiles had bled off of her harmlessly, and Amador's attempt to dismiss her by dispelling her connection with this plane had no effect as well.

Slowly they oculd tell that their pricks and nicks where starting to have an effect. Tanerus kept slicing at her, his normally devistatingly accurate blows would barely nick through her tough hide. But finally the hag slowed and switched tactics. She shot a ray at Durgaden, but it seemed to harmlessly bleed off of him.

Finally the hag sunk to her knees and collapsed to the ground. The entire group jumped atop her unconscious form hacking and slashing and beating it till they were sure she was not ever getting back up.

Durgaden shook his head in amazement. "I've never had such a hard a time hurting something as that!"

Amador nodded, "She was tough, but we got her."

Tanerus frowned, "Hopefully we won't have to face anything that hard to hurt again anytime soon..." If only the halfling had been correct...