21 March 2021
⏪ Previous - Session 9
The party
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Kisandra Starlight –Half-Elf Sorceress (Heather)
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Barendil Dawnwood – Elf Ranger (Robert)
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Guillerme don d’Lyonne – Human Paladin (Martin)
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Friar Buck Norris – Human Cleric (Silas)
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Nobby Nobbs – Human (probably) Rogue (Tom)
Exploring Thundertree
After entering the ruined town of Thundertree, the
adventurers proceeded with caution, heeding at least part of the warning nailed
to the sign on the way into town – “DANGER! Plant monsters AND zombies!” They
ignored the direction to “Turn back now,” feeling confident enough that they
could deal with whatever lay within the dilapidated buildings. Well, most of
them anyway. The lyrical birdsong chirruping all around them set Nobby’s nerves
on edge every time; the rogue would be far happier in a proper city with proper
cobbles under his boots, not in some poxy town that was halfway to being a
forest. However, a sense of duty drove the party onwards. Kisandra in
particular was keen to retrieve Mirna’s heirloom and return it to the poor
widowed woman.
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| The party's exploration of the Thundertree ruins so far |
The party proceeded south, bypassing the ruined buildings to
their right and taking the left fork, towards the centre of the town. The large
tower that they could see over the treeline had grabbed their attention and
they were making their way towards it before anything else. Potentially, the
view from the top of the tower would prove useful to get the lie of the land,
or they would be able to use the tower as a staging post to explore the town
from. That was their plan anyway…
A Sticky Situation
Ahead of the party, the road was blocked by thick, sticky
strands of what seemed to be spider webs, but on a much larger scale. The silk
ropes stretched from a ruined building to the south across into the thick
vegetation to the north, preventing the adventurers from continuing on the
path. Nor could they see any way around the obstruction. They therefore
determined to make their way through the webbing, concluding that burning the
silk would be the easiest way to do it.
Nobby walked off the path to the north and began hacking at some of the trees with his shortsword. In answer to the questioning looks from the rest of the group, he told them that he was going to build a fire to burn through the webbing – either uncaring or unknowing of the difficulty in starting a fire with green wood. As he merrily chopped at a tree, the reverberations echoed in the still air and the vibrations of the tree moved up and across the silk threads that were attached to the branches. Soon, several strands of web were shaking across the path and to the ruined building to the south, where three dark shapes appeared and crept towards the party on their eight noiseless legs.
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| Three giant spiders hiding in the ruined building to the south of the path |
The three spiders scuttled forwards from their lair in the
ruined building south of the road. One made a beeline for Buck, it’s wicked chelicerae
snapping together as they oozed venom. A second snuck up on Kisandra, while the
third rushed forwards and wrapped Droop the goblin into a silken parcel,
keeping him fresh and wriggling to devour later. The spider attacking Buck bit
viciously into his side, causing the cleric to cry out in pain as the venom coursed
through his veins. Recovering from the surprise attack, the adventurers turned
to retaliate.
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| The spiders surprise the adventurers while Nobby is busy hacking at trees with his shortsword |
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| Quickly recovering from the surprise attack, the adventurers move to retaliate |
Nobby drew a bottle of perfume from his pack that his sticky
fingers had picked up from the Orc lair at Wyvern Tor. He hefted it at the
spider that was assaulting Buck, hitting it squarely with a smash of glass and
drenching the beast in sickly scent. Though the spider shuddered at the
sensation, it didn’t stop it from continuing to try and pin the cleric down.
Nobby took one last drag from the dog end hanging out of the corner of his
mouth before taking it out and looking at it wistfully, the tip still glowing.
With an almost casual disdain, he flicked the cigarette, which flew end over
end towards the spider and landed on its head. After a split second, the
pungent perfume ignited with a WHOOOMPF and the creature was lit up like a
leaking gas pipe. It flailed its many legs in the air and ran round in circles
briefly before collapsing in a burnt heap to the ground. Nobby already had
another fag rolled and in the corner of his mouth before the spider had stopped
moving.
A sacred flame from Buck killed the second spider, while
Barendil loosed arrows and Guillerme charged in with his glaive held high. They
were able to dispatch the final spider before it performed a coup de grâce on
the prone Droop and swiftly cut the goblin free, who was shaking in terror.
The party moved forwards, ignoring the stench of burning
spider, and cut their way through the webbing that blocked the road ahead. With
the blockage removed, they continued to advance through the town, perhaps more
cautiously than before.
A Promise to Keep
The party continued towards the centre of the ruined town, noting
the turning on their left that headed north along a winding path up the hill to
the tower that they intended to explore. First, though, they wanted to keep their
promise to Mirna by finding the heirloom she had left in the herbalist shop
that used to be her home. They knew that it was located somewhere in the southeast
part of the town, so followed the road around to the right past the spider den.
A couple of ruined buildings stood ahead of the party, one
to the left and one in front and to the right. Guillerme decided to take a knee
and draw on his patron’s power to divine the presence of any nearby undead
abominations. His senses told him that the building to the right contained
something unnatural, but he could not feel anything to his left. The rest of
the party used their more common senses to look for clues as to the location of
the herbalist shop. They breathed a collective sigh of relief when they uncovered
a half-buried herbalist sign in front of the left-hand building, sure in the knowledge
that no undead contaminated the interior. However, they remained cautious, well
knowing that there were many dangers in Faerun that Guillerme’s honed paladin perception
was not sensitive to.
Upon entering the old shop, it was clear to all that it was
empty. The shelves had been ransacked some time ago; there was broken debris on
the floor, but nothing of any value could be seen. Kisandra went to the location
indicated by Mirna, moving aside the false shelf with a click and drew out a
bag from within the hidden alcove. The necklace was still there, hidden well
enough to avoid the attentions of looters for the long years since Mirna and
her family had been forced to flee Thundertree. Kisandra smiled to herself and
held the necklace close before looking up and locking her eyes with Nobby’s
hungry gaze.
“This is not for you, thief,” she said with emphasis. “I
will be returning this to its rightful owners, and you will keep your light
fingers away from it.”
Nobby grudgingly nodded his head. He had already appraised
the necklace’s value in his mind and deemed it wasn’t worth the ire of the
sorceress to fence it.
Teeth of Swords and Breath of Death
Returning to the centre of the ruined town, the adventurers took
the winding path up the hill towards the tower that promised to provide a commanding
view over the decrepit buildings. As they walked up between overgrown hedgerows
and between the trees, they could see that the base of the tower was in
relatively good condition, built of strong stone, but that the top of the tower
appeared to be missing. Debris covered part of the opening, while to a large
extent the interior of the tower was open to the sky. There was a lack of
birdsong as they approached the imposing structure.
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| The adventurers approach the imposing tower |
The party was cautious as they approached the door to the
tower. Barendil send Perry, his faithful falcon, to soar overhead and look for
danger. The bird couldn’t see anything alarming, but the interior of the tower
was shrouded in shadow and obscured by debris. There were large marks scratched
into the walls at the top of the tower, similar to the wounds the spiders had
suffered. Ultimately, the adventurers wanted to get in to the tower, so
Guillerme boldly stepped forwards and, very politely, knocked at the door. His
manners were still intact out in the wilderness!
Nobody came to answer the door, but a stirring sound could
be heard inside the building. Loud snuffling and the sound of creaking wood and
crashing stone could be heard as something presumably began to ascend the
tower. Guillerme looked behind himself from the door to look for reassurance
but the rest of the party was rooted to the spot in anticipation of what may
emerge – all, that was, apart from Nobby, who had experienced enough of these
situations and had no desire to see what would come out of the tower. He had already
started to run back down the winding path but stopped at a bend to catch his
breath and look back up at what was transpiring.
With a loud snapping sound, as if a huge sheet had been shaken
out by a ginormous washerwoman, a large blue shape emerged from the tower. The
dragon flapped its wings lazily as it landed with surprising grace on the
brickwork of the tower, then stretched its wings out wide and yawned as it
looked down upon the adventurers below. With a deep voice, rasping slightly as
if two flints were being scraped together, the dragon spoke to them.
“WHO DARES DISTURB MY SLUMBER?” the wyrm demanded.
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| A monstrous blue dragon emerges from the interior of the tower |
Barendil, familiar in the ways of dragons, immediately dipped
in a deep bow and indicated to his companions to remain quiet.
“Oh glorious dragon, we are honoured to be in your presence
and apologise for disturbing your slumber, we didn’t realise you had made this
tower into your lair,” the elf called up in honeyed tones.
Appearing to be slightly placated by Barendil’s words, the dragon remained on top of the watchtower but told them to leave before it got angry with them.
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| The dragon looks down on the party while Guillerme questions the sense of his good manners in knocking on the door |
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| Nobby decides that running is always the best decision when dragons are about |
Guillerme turned to Barendil and whispered, “We should deal
with this loathsome beast, what if it has a maiden imprisoned inside?”
“Don’t be stupid,” replied the ranger, “a dragon of that
size? Its breath would be devastating. We need to get away without angering it.”
“But, maybe we can get something?” hissed Friar Buck. “I
mean, it isn’t attacking us – not yet, anyway. Maybe we can get some information
from it or some sort of reward? What do dragons like?”
“They like killing and destroying things, so that’s why we
should…” began Guillerme before he was interrupted by a roar from above.
“ENOUGH CHATTERING!” ordered the dragon, inhaling deeply as
sparks flashed along the back of its neck. Kisandra and Barendil recognised
what this meant, and the elf returned to trying to sooth the savage beast.
“My apologies oh great drake,” Barendil said as calmly as he
could, “we would simply wish to ask a boon of you, perhaps we have something
you desire in return?”
“I’M LISTENING…” came the booming reply.
The party quickly and quietly conferred about what they
could offer the dragon, and what they wanted from it. They realised that they
may be able to obtain the location of Cragmaw Castle from the beast as it would
likely have knowledge of the lie of the land around Thundertree and Neverwinter
Wood. Looking over towards Nobby, they remembered the various trinkets and
shiny objects he had been picking up during their adventures – surely some of
these would be sufficient to encourage the dragon to not only spare their lives
but also give them the information they desired?
Reluctantly, Nobby sidled back up the path towards the others
and, even more reluctantly, handed over some treasure. Barendil held aloft a
jewelled box, a garnet and a malachite.
“Oh great dragon, please accept these gifts that we have
gathered on our journey,” said the ranger. “All we ask is that you help us find
Cragmaw Castle – we believe it sits somewhere in Neverwinter Wood…”
The dragon snorted derisively. “PALTRY GIFTS,” it said. “I
KNOW THE CASTLE OF WHICH YOU SPEAK… BUT YOUR OFFERING IS INSULTING!”
The party quickly started scrabbling through Nobby’s pack to
find some more trinkets to offer. Buck and Guillerme turned to Kisandra to try
and convince her to part with Mirna’s heirloom but the sorceress remained
resolute that she would be returning it to the widow – not even a dragon could
part her from the necklace. As far as Kisandra was concerned, if the dragon
wouldn’t accept their offering then they would find another way to find the
castle and deal with the consequences.
Adding two more malachites, two carnelians and 45 gold
pieces to their offering caused the dragon to raise an eyebrow with interest.
“DOUBLE THE GOLD AND YOU SHALL HAVE THE INFORMATION YOU
SEEK,” it bellowed down to them.
So, the party dug around in their pockets to find the
additional gold and offered it to the drake. There was certainly a tear in Nobby’s
eye as they left the pile of treasure in front of the tower door.
“GOOD, GOOD,” mused the dragon. “YOU WILL FIND THE GOBLIN’S
CASTLE IN THE SOUTH OF NEVERWINTER WOOD, THAT WAY,” it said as it pointed a
wing in that direction.
“NOW GO! AND LEAVE ME TO MY SLUMBER!”
Backing away as
quickly as they could while still maintaining some dignity, the adventurers
retreated down the hill and away from the scaly terror. When they looked back
up over the trees, the dragon was nowhere to be seen.
Bring Out Your Dead
Following their encounter with the dragon, the party
explored the northeast of the ruins, where they discovered what seemed to be a
town square of some kind. A large statue of a warrior stood proudly in the middle
of the square, holding a sword aloft. He was clearly someone of import.
Kisandra and Buck walked around the statue appreciatively, discussing the finer
points of the sculpture and debating who he might have been. Both of them had
studied the history of the area in some detail but neither could recall the names
of anyone that may have been honoured in such a fashion. The two studious
characters were prepared to abandon their attempts to recall anything in frustration
when Nobby, who hadn’t been paying any attention, pushed past them and bent
down to wipe away some grime and read the plaque at the base of the statue.
“Hmmm, what’s this then?” the rogue said as he screwed up
his face. “Pal-i-en… ‘Palien. Hero of Thundertree’. Well, ain’t that nice,” he
grinned as he stood and wandered off from his companions, whistling a little tune
to himself. Kisandra and Buck tried to avoid each other’s gaze as they followed
Nobby across the square.
On the north side of the square, the adventurers found a building that was in slightly better condition than those around it. Appearing to be somewhat more fortified than the surrounding structures, it seemed that this may have been some sort of barracks or watch house. Nobby decided to scout ahead, so he hunched forwards and scurried across the square. He ran up to the wall and pressed himself flat against it, sidestepping till he was under one of the grime-encrusted windows. Standing on his tiptoes, he peered into the gloom. With his nose pressed up against the glass, he slipped and his forehead hit the windowsill with a hollow *THUNK*. The rest of the party shook their heads in disappointment as a horde of zombies shuffled into view from within and behind the building.
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| Zombies shuffle out from the watch barracks |
Nobby was suddenly surrounded by grasping, dead hands. The
stench of rotting flesh overwhelmed him. He desperately tried to defend himself
with his sword, slicing at the zombies and trying to free himself to flee
backwards. Kisandra and Barendil sent magical blasts and arrows flying towards
the zombies to try and relieve Nobby, while Guillerme rushed forwards to help. As
one of the zombies near Nobby was hit by an arrow, a puff of spores erupted
from the corpse and surrounded the rogue, clogging his airway and choking him.
Guillerme was likewise hit by an unpleasant eruption from another corpse. Seeing
the danger of close proximity with this enemy, Friar Buck clasped his hands
tightly around the haft of his warhammer, calling on Kord to drive the undead
back. Some of the zombies complied, turning and shuffling back towards the
barracks, ignoring the fresh meat in front of them. The others remained a
threat.
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| Nobby is surrounded by the undead |
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| The rest of the party move to assist |
With most of the zombies shuffling in the other direction, Nobby
was able to extricate himself and use his crossbow from a distance to pepper
the undead creatures with bolts. Barendil saw an opportunity now to use his
Hail of Thorns spell to fire an arrow at some of the more distant zombies,
which magically exploded outwards into magical thorns that tore through the
ragged clothes of the zombies and dropped a couple of them to the ground.
Guillerme sliced with his glaive, ignoring the risk of spores puffing from the wounds,
while Buck continued praying to send magical energies flowing towards the
zombies.
It was a hard-fought battle, but finally the last zombie
fell to the ground, released from the false life in which it had been existing.
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| Friar Buck calls on Kord to turn most of the zombie horde |
Taking Stock
The party breathed a collective sigh of relief as the last zombie fell. They looked about themselves but could see no more enemies to fight. Tending to their wounds, they discussed whether this would be a safe place to have a rest or whether they should press on while the light of day remained… based on what they had seen of this ruined town so far, perhaps they did not want to still be here when night fell…
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| The party's route through Thundertree |
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| Regional map with Cragmaw Castle added, thanks to the blue dragon's directions |
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