Session Listing: Sleeping Drider, Slumbering Drow After further discussion, we decided to escort Mareak to the drow city. Five dwarvish defenders agreed to aid us, but their aid is more limited than we could have expected- two remain just outside the entrance to the dwarvish town, and the remaining three set themselves at the mouth of the long hall. None accompanied us into the town. The drow town is all stone, scattered across a broad cavern. One the edge, facing the hall from which we approach, a pair of farmers tended moss in utter silence. Kerith snuck across the field and hid in the shadow of a building. Mareak and Ironjaw strode forward and boldly addressed a farmer. The farmer didn't even blink in response. Increasing his volume did no good, so Mareak returned to Koverinos and tried to borrow the helm... no dice. Koverinos followed Mareak, stumbling in the utter darkness. Endrin, enchanted with spider climb, walks up the cavern wall to cover the negotiators. Hrsai stumbled along after Koverinos, shielding his light enchanted stone enough to hide the light and only cast a subtle gray twilight toward the floor.
When he reached the farmer, Koverinos tried addressing him in Undercommon, Elvish, and other languages, but failed utterly. With a shrug, the companions continued on into the strangely quiet town, walking boldly along the avenue. Passing between long, bulky buildings, they came upon a tower concealed by an outcropping. Beyond, Ironjaw and Mareak made out the shapes of towers in a line, evidently set to defend against an enemy from beyond the far side of the town.
The tower interested everyone. Quiet reconnaissance was the tack taken. Kerith's boots were slippery with mold and moss from the field, so Ironjaw dugs his toes into the stone of the tower and climbed up to its roof, 40 feet overhead. He droped a rope, which Kerith and Mareak quickly climbed. At the tower's roof, they found a trap door, but it was barred from the inside. The only openings are arrow slits, too narrow for any to squeeze through. Until Endrin climbed the rope, swungs toward the building, and shifted into a feline form in midair. Continuing as a cat, Endrin crept in and climbed the stairs to the top landing. Resuming her normal form, she drew the bolt, which screeched in protest.
Mareak droped through and charged down the stairs, followed by Kerith. Endrin unlimbered her bow and fired at the drider... matched by axe and short swords blows below. Then, with a yell, Ironjaw throwed himself off the landing and smashed into the drider's back.
A wild melee erupted- the drider slashed skillfully with his enchanted rapier, leaving burning poison steaks across the companions. He fought skillfully and at length, but was soon overcome by the tactics of the companions. Below, Koverinos and Hrsai stood ready to prevent reinforcements and escape from the attached building... but no one responded to the sounds of battle.
Investigation in the wake of battle turned up valuable goods- scrolls, potions, a gem encrusted hilt concealed in a false back behind the desk, and disturbing but well executed paintings. They were carried down and hidden behind the stair case- the paintings were far too bulky to carry around.
We rejoined each other on the base floor of the attached building- some kind of an entertainment hall for drow (or so we guessed). We moved out into the city- still no one responded. So we crept along a street between two long buildings, peeking in through the doors- and noted sleeping drow (clearly barracks of sorts). We positioned ourselves, then Kerith snuck in and quietly removed their weapons. Ironjaw and Mareak strode in loudly, attempting to waken the sleeping drow soldiers. Even their heavy tread didn't waken the drow.
They were answered by a crossbow bolt from the end of the room; a drider firing from the doorway chuckled cruelly. A goblin-drider fell back as Kerith and Ironjaw rushed toward it. A second drider was revealed, also wielding a crossbow. A fierce but brief fight left some of the companions wounded, but none dangerously so. Hrsai touched them with the healing wand, restoring them to good health once again.
As the healing was doled out and the ready room was ransacked, Endrin returned to the street, where she heard a faint sound. Peeking out, she noticed an approaching drow. She passed the word to Koverinos, who returned to the ready room to alert everyone. Ironjaw boosted Kerith and Endrin onto the roof of the building the drow was sneaking along. Then Koverinos stepped around the corner and addressed the drow. Their conversation was brief- the drow told Koverinos that the drow were gone from this town; all that remained were in the process of turning into driders. Some intelligence about the drider leaders (including the Priestess we'd faced below) came to light. No cure existed, he told us, and he knelt before Koverinos. Koverinos executed him, then explained his conversation. Mareak and Ironjaw killed the sleeping soldiers and the farmers and passed the warning along to the nearby dwarven defenders (who remained at the tunnel mouth).
We gathered back together; Koverinos was shown the potions from the tower. He identified them with his alchemical training- in the resulting conversation, the presence of books and scrolls was revealed, piquing his interest. So we tromped back to the tower and let him examine the scrolls.
Taking a few, we crept to the south end of the city and crossed the bridge to the far side of the city. We moved north and encountered a room filled with conscious drow that unleashed a hail of crossbow bolts from behind upturned furniture. Mareak charged into the room, followed by Ironjaw and Kerith. Endrin placed several deadly shots, and Koverinos felled one with a well placed vial of acid.
When only one drow remained, Koverinos called for his surrender. The drow dropped his sword. Koverinos asked about the location of the drider, the status of the drow, and other necessary information. After we were satisfactorily answered, the drow was bound to a bed, in hopes that the transformation would reverse once the drider cleric was dead.
We turned to plot our next steps....
Unexpected Resistance, Elf Slayer, and the Slaying of Lloth's Priestess Koverinos outlined his plan. He'd sneak into the next room disguised as a drow and reconnoiter the opposition, if any. We casually agreed that it sounded like a wise plan; we were already looking beyond the drow remnants and were planning the fight with Lloth's priestess.
We walked quietly behind Koverinos, pausing out of sight of the door. He walked in confidently, in his stolen clothing and mystically shaped drow features (and Ironjaw's dark vision necklace beneath his clothing). As Koverinos entered the room, a frowning drow snapped at him. "What the hell's going on over there?"
Thinking quickly, Koverinos replied, "A band of adventurers burst in; we fought them off and are now in pursuit. Aid us."
The frowning drow drew both blades and strode forward, whistling a harsh note. From nests at the backside of the room rose six drow, swollen and dangling extra arms... clearly far along the way to becoming driders. Koverinos slipped out while they were distracted and tossed Ironjaw's necklace back to the mighty barbarian.
Unfortunately, the pack of drow was coolly competent; they organized into a hunting pack and started for the door. Koverinos threw a vial of acid at the bulk in the doorway, smashing in the first one's chest. Chaos erupted; Ironjaw and Mareak ran full tilt at the emerging drow, slashing and cutting. The greater skill of these opponents soon showed itself; they nimbly turned the warriors' deadly blows aside, escaping with bruises and shallow cuts. The dark leader roared, viscously slashing at Mareak with his blue-black glowing sword. The formidable foe darted in occasional strikes with his off hand short sword, keeping Mareak on his toes. They fought toe to toe for several exchanges while Ironjaw smote lesser warriors. Hrsai's enchanted sling stone whipped into the room, illuminating the fight. Koverinos took up a flank, beating back a less skilled warrior. Endrin intervened at a critical moment, slashing at him while Koverinos distracted him. As the warrior fell, black lightning streaked across the room and slammed into Mareak, standing his every hair on end. A dark mage smiled from the back, gloating.
The drow priest called down darkness, which blinded everyone. The priest called out a phrase in his strange tongue. Koverinos warned, "He's telling everyone to fall back". Ironjaw and Mareak pursued, slashing blindly in the sudden dark. Hrsai called on the sun and the unnatural darkness was banished. Ironjaw and Mareak corrected their course and cut at priest, who was in the midst of an incantation. Koverinos slew the drow mage and circled around to flank the drow with the blue-black blade. The priest fell to Ironjaw and Mareak's blows, and together everyone focused on the skilled warrior. But as Koverinos stuck, the warrior turned and slashed back, his arm seemingly drug by the black blade. Two deep blows drove Koverinos back; discretion being the better part of valor, Koverinos fled, protected by his companions. Endrin's shafts flew true, covering Kerith's approach.
Snarling in rage at being denied his prey, the warrior slashed and cut with terrible violence. Kerith slashed at the warrior's rear, rending the armor. Ironjaw and Mareak advanced as one, turning aside a mighty blow and striking deep. The warrior fell dead at their feet.
Koverinos was in a towering rage, eager to burn and mutilate his fallen foes. Hrsai helped sort the magical goods from the dross, and everyone stacked the shredded nests into a pyre. Koverinos got a weak flame started despite the dampness of the wood. We decided that there we were in no shape to oppose the priestess as things stood, so we re-crossed the stream and gathered the loot we had stored at the base of the tower. We returned to the dwarven city, loaded down with paintings and statues. Ironjaw seemed particularly affected, moving slowly and fiercely resisting the quiet voice that kept suggesting he should kill Koverinos. Kill elves... kill elves...
The dwarven warriors asked about their share; the six heroes exchanged skeptical glances. Still, the warm welcome as everyone reentered the town was rewarding- and the healing of the dwarf priests was generous. Everyone agreed that we would return no sooner than the next day-and that we would invest and borrow whatever we needed to fight the priestess. We sold the painting and statues to collectors that Mareak knew, and sought aids for out return.
First, Ironjaw went to divest himself of the cursed blade, which still whispered death to him. It was difficult... as he neared the mage's business, his legs drug as if lead weights were strapped to his every limb. He struggled and struggled, but moved as if he had palsy. A kindly dwarven priest noticed his distress. When Ironjaw explained what had happened, the short dwarf guided, drug, and propelled the tall human barbarian to his sitting room. A spell later, the tale of the sword poured out... it was ancient, forged long ago by one of Lloth's trusted drow priests. It could only be broken if it struck its forger... or its goddess. You couldn't even pick it up- it would bind you to it and twist you into serving its dark purposes.
When Ironjaw returned to the companions and told them their tale, they discussed various options. Koverinos strongly believed that we should take it to the elvish city, for them to guard. Other options were also discussed; the main flaw to Koverinos' plan was that it would greatly delay our reckoning with the drider priestess.
Hrsai addressed the dwarven council, outlining the terrible threat they had faced, and the opponents that remained. He proposed that the warriors deserved a share amongst themselves for their limited assistance; if they wished to show their mettle against the priestess, they could earn a share apiece. With grumbling (and because they wished for the heroes to finish the task), the elders agreed to Hrsai's proposal. Ironjaw's captured sword was mentioned and a plan to bind it in a iron chest was agreed to. The chest was placed in a played out tunnel and placed under guard to await the companions' return.
With the shares distributed out, the companions took their newly earned wealth and purchased aids for the upcoming fight; primarily potions of darkvision. Koverinos invested in a flawed ring of invisibility, while Ironjaw found a ring to enhance his already great strength. Deals were made and bargains were cut, as exhaustion forced the haggling to an end and brought sleep to the fore. They slept undisturbed for the night.
Hrsai resolved to bring Rufus; the plan as sketched would make it difficult to keep the loyal dog beside him, but they needed the reassurance of each other's presence. The five defenders escorted the party; two again took positions beside the entrance to the city, but the remaining three agreed to follow us and earn their full share. We revised our plan for their assistance and put it into action.
The companions circled to the south, checking to be sure the buildings remained deserted. Koverinos led, activating his ring and fading from sight. The first two rooms remained deserted, but the third had quiet voices. They didn't stir, so Koverinos ignored them. We put the plan into action, returning to the southern lean-to and walking up its steep slope to the roof of the second building. We continued silently, and hushed as Kerith crossed the third roof. Hrsai cast a number of enchantments on the companions, then Kerith scaled the fourth building; (as it was a two story building, higher than the one story we stood upon). As his boot touched the roof, utter darkness fell.
Kerith dropped quickly back to our lower roof and we prepared for attack... which didn't come. Koverinos sketched a plan and climbed up, trusting his invisibility. He crossed the roof and dropped behind the gate. As he reached to unlatch the gate, he felt a current raising his hairs. Thinking quickly, he stepped back and cast a cantrip to open the gate. Typing a rope about the handle, he strung the rope to the bridge and tied it off. He then climbed back up and reported his success to the anxious companions.
Relieved, we followed him back and slid through the narrow gap, avoiding contact and the trap. The darkness remained absolute, so we crept ahead, moving slowly at Koverinos' suggestion. Finally we reached a low wall and the gate there. Koverinos repeated his cantrip, opening the trapped gate. A flash of light signaled the dwarves (and Rufus) to hustle forward. Soon, the companions and the dwarves were settled behind the wall in the stream's shallows, trying to avoid notice from the courtyard. Koverinos, trusting his invisibility, went forward and scouted some buildings, finding a warrior drider in a room. He returned and explained his investigation; a two flank pincer was agreed to. Quickly we crossed the great courtyard and took up positions. Then we found that no backdoor route existed- only the one stair. Ironjaw and Mareak told the others to stay back-they would only crowd them. So we took positions within the building and waited. Koverinos released his arrow (from within the darkness), skewering the drider. He didn't call out or charge-much to our surprise he fell back.
Mareak and Ironjaw charged up the stairs and brought the warrior to a bloody end. Hrsai agreed to explore the tower that the building opened upon; an instant later he wore the form of a bat. He found a door above, but below he found a very long tunnel, leading all the way to the guard towers at the north end of town. Circling out of the open roof, he sped back through the air and with some shrieks convinced Kerith to follow him. Kerith dealt with the door and Hrsai flew off again. Several minutes later he returned and resumed human form. "This tunnel seems to have been carved by the river at some long ago time; after five minutes flight it still continued further. Koverinos insisted on a thorough examination and jogged off, setting a quick pace. A half-an hour later he returned, agreeing that the tunnel seemed incredibly lengthy. Hrsai's combat enhancements expired before he returned.
We returned to overlook the courtyard; the darkness had cleared. We moved to check out the building that had previously been swallowed in darkness. Kerith stealthily investigated and told us that the first floor was set for an ambush. We decided to try something different. On the second floor, a quick glance through the window revealed three drider quietly talking... and one was the halfling-mage topped drider we'd previously encountered. Kerith continued up to the roof and dropped a rope; Koverinos soon joined him. After quick examination of the situation, they came down and planned with the companions. Kerith and Koverinos returned to the roof and etched a line in a roof slab with the powerful beetle acid. Ironjaw and Mareak took their position outside the window. When the mage-drider crossed under the scored slab, Mareak burst into the room. That was the signal.
Koverinos smashed his hammer into the weakened slab, which shattered into large pieces that pelted the helpless mage below. Kerith immediately leapt into the hole, slashing at the halfling/mage drider and inflicting a terrible wound. Ironjaw joined the fight with a bellow, guarding Mareak's flank.
Darkness swept the room, countered by Hrsai. Terrible chanting came from the back stairwell as the upstairs room filled with battle. Kerith finished the drider mage as Koverinos called up a patch of ice to coat the stair. Rufus and Hrsai started through the obstacle course downstairs as the priestess showed the superiority of eight legs; emerging from the stairwell, balanced upon the slippery ice. She unleashed deadly energies that swept the entire upstairs. terrible black energy that sapped the life force of the heroes stabbed through the all of the companions upstairs. The terrible force dropped Kerith who fell into convulsions. Thinking quickly, Koverinos grabbed Kerith and ran for the window.
Ironjaw and Mareak finished their foes and charged toward the haughty priestess. Unfortunately, their pair of legs was insufficient to deal with the slippery ice. They tumbled to their backsides as she unleashed malevolent forces that swept through the house, just on Koverinos' heels. Koverinos leapt out the window with his burden and was relieved as the feather fall arrested his fall. Inside, the companions all winced at the nettle stings like pain that made every action painful.
Overconfident, the priestess began a long summoning, which proved her undoing. Mareak and Ironjaw found their feet and struck her repeatedly, as Rufus ripped at her rear legs and Hrsai's sling stone slammed into her back.
Endrin, hearing the titanic struggle inside, had signaled our dwarven allies who streamed toward the building. No enemy reinforcements showed on her keen eyed watch.
The priestess's incantation was hopelessly lost in the flurry of blows. She attempted another spell, but the companions battered her every limb as she tried. Finally, a forceful blow drove her to the ground and she did not arise. We began to tally our injuries as the dwarves skidded to a halt...
The first five sessions Problems with Pelor's Children
The next five sessions: Through the forest, Dwarvish allies, and against the Drider
Sleeping Drider, Slumbering Drow
Unexpected Resistance, Elf Slayer, and the Slaying of Lloth's Priestess
Division of Treasure, Kerith Recovers, and Koverinos Finishes his Shield
Clearing out the Caves, Reunited, and on to Rudisheim
Beast Men, Fades, and Heroes Feast
Division of Treasure, Kerith Recovers, and Koverinos Finishes his Shield
After a brutal fight, everyone stood together and caught their breath. Healing was used on the worst wounded and Endrin brought Kerith in. Unfortunately, the death magics were too strong for mere healing to cure, so plans were made to return to the town soon. Everyone, including the dwarven defenders, agreed. However, since Kerith proved stable, we decided to clear this building out before retreating.
After some searching, the magic was separated out. Ironjaw and Mareak found a solid blocked room, which they dismantled, revealing ancient drow treasures... but none of great value. About the time everyone brought the loot from the treasure room upstairs, Koverinos finished identifying a cloak that we'd found. Everyone agreed that we should return Kerith to town, to ask aid of the dwarven healers.
We were met with disbelief, given our quick return. We went directly to Moradin's temple. With a dwarven defender's aid, we kept the details from the townspeople, but Ironjaw's presentation of Lloth's priestess's head to a priest was a sure source of rumor. Donations were asked for Kerith's healing and the group contributed paltry sums (vast quantities of copper, a prayer, the fallen priestess' head, and a gold leaf). With ill concealed contempt, the priests turned to heal our fallen comrade.
The afternoon was spent evaluating the worth of various items and preparing to divide shares evenly. This was difficult, since we had three extra shares to portion (for the defenders), and their absence from out future adventures meant that our 'everyone gets what helps us best' system wouldn't work. Mareak returned to join the defenders (at the town), and one of the defenders remained with us (to insure that shares and values were accurately reported). To save money on the identification, we only had one item identified by a local mage-- Koverinos spent the entire following day identifying the various items. Afterwards, we got values for the various items and tried to come up with a system to divide shares nine ways. The process was incomplete when we retired. We decided to return to the town the following morning, as soon as spells were memorized.
A thorough sweep of the town showed that no one and essentially nothing remained, though Endrin thought that some might have fled along the trail between the towers to the south and vanished. Mareak and the defenders reported some soft sounds during the night, but they never found anything. Koverinos invisibly scouted and found deserted rooms, until he ventured up a back stair. Traps harassed him with tons of darts, wounding him terribly, and he barely managed to avoid getting crushed by a terrible stone fall. Still, he persevered and returned with a wondrous Gem of Seeing. There was some dispute as to its proper disposition, but its vast value (versus all the other treasure) made it impossible to keep without giving everything else away.
In town, we announced success-- rumor had far outrun us, however, and an arch was being placed as we returned to the town. After some celebration, we discussed our short term future. Plans were discussed, some magic was sold, and other fevered negotiations went on. Finally, we settled on a plan of action.
Koverinos, Endrin, and Hrsai took the chest containing Elf Slayer and the unsold goods to the elvish village. Kerith recovered from the spell, and Ironjaw and Mareak honed their skills in training with the dwarves. Koverinos made a grand presentation, offering the powerful blade to the elves who trembled as their spells revealed its dark history. Afterwards, Koverinos gifted his father and Renshi's father with drow armor and weapons. Afterwards, Koverinos tracked down purchasers for the cloak and gem. With the deal completed, Koverinos planned to return in a few days. He was encouraged to return by a maiden who had been impressed by his words and deeds, but also by looming commitments and other harassment hanging overhead.
So the three returned with the gold and split it nine ways, making everyone involved quite rich. Plans were made for the companions to return to Rudisheim, passing through the elf village to pick up Koverinos at the end of the month, once the dwarf forged weapons are complete.
Koverinos explored the mood of the village, amongst his heavy load of smithing and trying to get closer to his affectionate new friend. Elsewhere, training and exploring went well...
All kept careful count of the days until they would rejoin and return to Rudisheim.
(Return to Session Listing)Clearing out the Caves, Reunited, and on to Rudisheim
Kerith led the companions (save Koverinos, who remained in the elvish city forging his shield and other lengthy tasks) into the caves below the old drow city. He guided them to the spot where the drider had descended from the ceiling, ambushing the companions as they slept. [See Drider Assault at Midnight]. He climbed up into the darkness and found the holes the drider had used. He anchored a rope and was joined by the other companions.
The tunnel proved to connect to the back side of the drow city (actually, the very long path from the back of the tower that Hrsai and Koverinos had partially explored). Further climbing about and exploration revealed a chamber, somewhat elegantly appointed.
A cunningly trapped chest caught his attention. He sought about and found an ancient key in a neighboring chamber-- it fit the lock. Inside he found Platinum coins, and a nicely jeweled vial with a stopper, with a powder in it.
Further exploration revealed a gem studded vein of copper. Kerith carefully noted its location. Finally, they ran out of area to explore... the dwarven exploration was overrunning their efforts anyway. Throughout the exploration, Mareak was only occasionally free- usually he was training with the Dwarven Defenders, who taught him their strange stubbornness and mighty stances.
The appointed date came up and everyone gathered their things. They set off for the elvish town, to reclaim Koverinos and return to Rudisheim. Hrsai was particularly worried, since the situation had seemed quite unstable when they left.
Once together, Koverinos suggested a new course of action... he had heard of an order of wizards who were also warriors. He thought that they should journey there so that he could perfect his training. Hrsai agreed that they sounded like powerful allies, but that investigation into Rudisheim was necessary to see what aid was truly required. Many points of view were expressed and the decision to continue on to Rudisheim was selected.
That night they pulled off the trail and rested, so that they could arrive early the next morning. Of course, actions rarely follow as planned...
(Return to Session Listing)Beast Men, Fades, and Other Terrors
(This is a very brief summary, as I missed this session).
After a few hour's travel to the south, the companions came across a burning village. The few villagers told them of their plight-- huge beast headed men had stormed the village and drug off almost everyone... though some they ate on the spot. They trembled when they described a black robed rider who guided the beast men.
The companions swore to avenge the villagers and set off in pursuit. Endrin tracked them, their many prints making her task easy. The beast men had quite a lead. The companions were horrified when they found bones and fire scorching... the bones looked human.
They redoubled their pace and charged after the beast men. After a long pursuit, the beast men were spotted on the horizon. They had evidently heard the companions' pursuit and half had turned to deal with the annoyance.
Koverinos unleashed a fireball into their midst... that certainly caught their attention. Several fell to the ground, writhing in flames. The remainder charged forward, crashing into Ironjaw and Mareak. Ironjaw and Mareak hacked and slew, complemented by Kerith and Endrin's deadly arrows. Koverinos tossed a few spells into their midst, then drew his sword and charged.
The fight was bloody, and the dark robed figure induced an unnatural chill. Still, despite taking a few very bloody blows from the faceless figure and many cuts and scrapes from the beast men, the companions eventually stood victorious. Heads and other prizes were looted. The companions returned to the village, staking up various heads (including the faceless robed figure's). Mareak's prize interested most; the dark figure had a very intricate set of plate. Unfortunately, touching the armor quickly numbed the fingers and seemed to draw the life from its holder. Mareak kept it, hoping to deduce its cunning construction.
After being feasted, the companions continued their trek into Rudisheim. The tone of the city was quiet, dark. Fear seemed to rule the town. Whitecloaks patrolled the outskirts, while the baron's men grimly enforced rule in the town. They made their way to the River Runner... noting as they passed a strange "paired stocks" with a man and an elf clamped together. They picked up their pace, as Ironjaw marked the stocks for destruction later.
(Return to Session Listing) Continue the adventure (On to session 16)