05 September 2021
⏪ Previous - Session 20
The party
· Kisandra Starlight –Half-Elf Sorceress (Heather)
· Barendil Dawnwood – Elf Ranger (Robert)
· Guillerme don d’Lyonne – Human Paladin (Martin)
· Friar Buck Norris – Human Cleric (Silas)
· Nobby Nobbs – Human (probably) Rogue (Tom)
The Beginning of the End
The party continued their journey to Wave Echo Cave, the final destination of their current adventure and, hopefully, the location where they would finally thwart the Black Spider’s plans and restore the Lost Mine of Phandelver to its former glory. According to Sildar, if the Rockseeker brothers were able to resume normal operations in the mine and unlock the riches of the Forge of Spells, it could have far-reaching effects in this region of the Sword Coast. Having already significantly cleaned up Phandalin and the surrounding area, including as far north as Thundertree, the adventurers had already performed a great service for the people of the region. Although evil could never be fully eradicated, they had already seen the effects of the safer roads and reduction in monsters preying on the innocent. Success in Wave Echo Cave should, if Sildar was correct, help cement the work these five companions had already begun. Already seen by some as local heroes, perhaps this motley crew would be recognised and lauded further afield should they prevail. If not, then they may end up adding their corpses to those already buried deep under the ground when the mine was attacked some five hundred years previously; for their names to languish in obscurity and their deeds be forgotten. Such is the way of the adventuring life.
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| The party's regional map, showing the location of Wave Echo Cave - their final destination |
After defeating Delsin the hunter and his pet Hook Horror, the party continued to follow Gundren’s map towards Wave Echo Cave, stopping overnight for a peaceful rest under the stars. They woke the next morning and completed their journey, arriving at the marked location shortly before midday. It didn’t take long to find Gundren and Sildar, who were waiting near to the entrance that the Rockseeker brothers had tunnelled into the mine. The pair had not been far in front of the party, and as promised, had been patiently waiting and watching the secret entrance for any movement.
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| Sildar Halwinter and Gundren Rockseeker await the adventurers at the Rockeekers' secret entrance to Wave Echo Cave |
“Well met!” called Barendil to the pair.
“Sildar, my man,” said Guillerme, trying his best to swagger,
“hook me up with some of that sweet, sweet knowledge.”
“Have you been hit on the head particularly hard recently
Guillerme?” queried the experienced warrior with a concerned look on his face.
“Yeah, quite often actually!” replied the paladin with a
goofy grin.
“Thought so. Explains a lot…” said Sildar.
Trying to move the conversation forwards in a useful manner,
Sildar explained that he and Gundren hadn’t been here for long – they left when
they did as they weren’t sure when the party would return from Daran’s
retrieval mission, but they’d only had about a 12-hour head start. They had remained
outside the entrance as they weren’t confident descending in without backup;
they didn’t know what they might find inside and both felt cautious given their
recent kidnappings and imprisonment. Quite apart from the possibility of the
Black Spider’s minions, Gundren was fully aware from his experience tunnelling
into the mine that a number of dangerous beasties had made their home in the darkness
since it was destroyed in the orc attack. So, they had kept a careful watch,
and had seen nobody entering or exiting from this secret entrance.
Kisandra nodded thoughtfully and relayed the tale of the
party’s experience travelling to their present location. She asked if Gundren
and Sildar had seen the hunter and his pet Hook Horror, but they had not;
presumably he was hiding when they passed by. Guillerme remembered about the
note they had discovered on his body. It clearly showed that the Black Spider
was trying to stop the adventurers from meeting with their friends and entering
the mine.
“Good,” mused Gundren, “means he’s scared.”
Neither Gundren nor Sildar had any more information to
impart regarding the Black Spider. They didn’t know whether he was already here
or not. The dwarf assured them that he had not divulged the location of this
secret entrance when he was being tortured by King Grol and the Cragmaw Goblins.
And, although other people (such as Brida Elmgrove) did know the general
location of Wave Echo Cave, Gundren was confident that the Black Spider would
not be able to get in through the main entrance – the side of a mountain had
been brought down on it during the titanic battle 500 years previously, making
it perilous to try and enter that way; hence this tunnel dug by himself and his
brothers. However, there was always the possibility that this entrance could be
found; he couldn’t rule that out. Either way, speed was of the essence. The
Black Spider could already be inside or he could be on his way, so the key was
for the party to enter the mine quickly, make their way through to the Forge of
Spells with haste and secure it before the Black Spider could achieve his own
nefarious objectives.
Kisandra asked Gundren if he had any advice for how they
should enter the mine and achieve this. Other than watching their heads, he
didn’t have any specific advice. What he did need to tell them, however, was
the secret that he knew that would aid them in opening the Forge of Spells
itself. As he had told them before, he and his brothers had each taken a small
part of the information required to open the way to the Forge and kept it
separate, for safekeeping in case one of them got captured.
He told the party that the mechanism to open the door to the
Forge of Spells could only be revealed by the light of the moon, at midnight.
Nobby commented that using the light of the moon must be
pretty difficult in a mine. Kisandra wondered if the mechanism was outside the
mine, which Gundren assured her was not the case. Barendil began to question
the dwarf on whether it had to be a full moon or if any moon would do, and
asked him what time the moon would rise this night.
“Any moon should do,” replied the dwarf, “and as for
moonrise, well, I’m no astrologer, how should I know?”
Barendil’s customary anger bubbled to the surface once more
as he wasn’t getting the answer he wanted, so he demanded to know what time it
got dark.
“Hardly see that it matters,” said Gundren calmly, “the important
thing is MIDNIGHT, that’s the key, the light of the moon shining at midnight on
to the door.” The rest of the party giggled at his response.
It was currently just after midday, so the party had roughly
twelve hours to get to the Forge of Spells and reveal the entrance if they
wanted to ensure they secured it this night. Gundren didn’t know how far it
would be to get to the Forge once they entered the mine – he and his brothers
had not ventured far, particularly once they found out how infested with foul
creatures the place was. They agreed that Gundren would leave to find some
capable adventurers, not unlike his current companions, while Tharden and
Nundro remained in their camp within the entrance to keep an eye on it. Even
though they were dwarfs, they recognised that three miners were unlikely to be
able to make it through the monsters and traps that may lie within, so they
knew they needed help.
Barendil nodded, satisfied that the Rockseekers had pursued
a wise course and pleased with their preparations. Guillerme asked if the dwarf
miner had a map of the underground complex, which unfortunately he did not. Buck
wanted to know if there were any other entrances. As far as Gundren was aware,
this was the only practicable way in, given that the main entrance had been
buried.
Sildar told the party that he and Gundren would remain
outside the mine while the party entered, guarding their backs and scouting the
main entrance to double check nothing had found its way in there. Given that
they were unsure whether the Black Spider was within the mine or not, it seemed
sensible for someone to remain outside to prevent the party being followed should
he suddenly turn up.
Barendil nodded and asked, on a completely separate tack,
whether Sildar had a spare rapier that he could swap for his magical longsword,
Talon. Sildar looked slightly confused and patted the hilt of his own
longsword, which the party had recovered for him from Cragmaw Castle, saying
that he was happy with his own sword and wasn’t carrying a spare arsenal with
him. Barendil asked everyone to keep an eye out for one, as he felt that he
could more efficiently protect the party with a more delicate and precise
weapon in hand than the cumbersome longsword. He then declared that a mine was no place for Perry, so he instructed his falcon friend to remain outside and assist Gundren and Sildar with keeping watch over the entrance.
With that, the party began to walk towards the secret entrance
to the Lost Mine of Phandelver. Gundren told them that it should be roughly 80
feet or so along the mineshaft before it opened out into a cavern where they
made their camp, and his brothers should be keeping watch within.
“Oh, not too bothered about seeing your brothers yourself?”
asked Nobby. “Want us to pass along any messages?”
Gundren told him just to make sure they were well. He was
confident they would still be doing their duty. The three brothers were dedicated
to their mission of reopening this mine; they had little time for sentiment. There
would be time for celebration and merriment once they had successfully secured
the mine and restored it to its former glory. He wished the adventurers good
fortune and watched them stoop to enter the dark tunnel.
And They Call it a Mine!
It was just as Gundren had said, the shaft ran gently down
for about 80 feet before opening into a larger cavern. A pillar of rock
supported the roof of this cavern, with a few stalagmites poking up out of the
ground. To the west of the cavern stood a collection of crates and barrels,
containing various supplies that would have kept the dwarf brothers fed while
they waited, as well as a selection of tools and mining equipment. Two bedrolls
were laid out on the ground, along with a couple of packs and a pair of boots
that seemed discarded next to the little camp. There was sign of a struggle but
no sign of either dwarf.
Ahead, Kisandra and Barendil, with their darkvision, could
make out a pit where the cavern appeared to have collapsed down. It was some
ten feet or so across and perhaps twenty feet deep, and there was a sturdy hemp
rope dangling down into the pit, tied off on one of the stalagmites. It looked
like there was a tunnel leading off to the northwest and to the southeast at
the bottom of this pit. Barendil looked around at the ceiling for danger but
could see nothing moving.
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| Entering the Lost Mine of Phandelver |
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| The abandoned camp of the Rockseeker brothers |
Nobby pulled out his bullseye lantern and scanned his
experienced eye over the campsite. He had seen plenty of crime scenes in his
time, even created a few himself, so he was familiar with what he was looking
at. The two bedrolls clearly made sense of the two dwarfs who had been camped
here, though he thought that only one pair of boots being discarded was
interesting. He agreed with Kisandra that they were worth a second glance. In
terms of the scuffle, he could see that multiple big, heavy boots had been
tramped around here, indicating, as far as he could tell, that the dwarfs had
indeed been attacked and dragged off towards the pit in the northeast corner of
the cavern.
The bootprints looked like large humanoid feet – not as
large as an ogre or a giant, but something of human size or a little bigger perhaps.
In terms of the discarded boots, Nobby picked them up and could feel them
thrumming slightly so threw them to Kisandra so she could check them out
properly. As far as Nobby could tell, these boots had belonged to one of the
dwarfs. Perhaps he had been snatched before he could put them on, and his
attackers hadn’t thought to look at them particularly closely.
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| Boots found discarded at the Rockseeker brothers' abandoned campsite |
Kisandra had a good, long look at the boots and closed her
eyes to sense their power. She managed to divine that they were magical Boots of
Striding and Springing, able to improve the speed of the wearer, even when encumbered.
They would also increase the distance someone could jump whilst wearing them. Although
Nobby looked at them greedily, Kisandra pointed out his shiny blue boots and
held these ones close to her chest – she felt that she wanted some new footwear
and, although they weren’t particularly stylish, they did look like they would
be incredibly comfortable. The rest of the party agreed so she quickly tugged
the boots onto her feet, where they immediately tightened snugly around her
toes and ankles, feeling immediately snug and cosy. Being familiar with the
feelings of magical attunement, she was aware that it would take a little time
before she could make proper use of the enchanted properties of the boots, but
at least for now she had some new comfortable footwear for traipsing around in the
mine.
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| Kisandra identifies the magical properties of the boots |
While Nobby and Kisandra were inspecting the campsite, Barendil
had scampered down the hemp rope to the bottom of the pit, looking for tracks
and a potential indication of which way the dwarfs may have been taken. Unfortunately,
despite his best efforts, the ground immediately below the rope was a mess of
tracks in all directions and, not far from there, the ground became hard rock that
retained no tracks in either direction. There was nothing to indicate which direction
was best, so Barendil remained at the bottom of the rope with his bow drawn,
looking out for danger.
Nobby and Kisandra kept investigating the area around the campsite,
finding nothing more other than a pair of incredibly dirty dwarf pants in one
of the sleeping bags. Nobby was tempted by them, but then he remembered that he
still had Guillerme’s silk pants in his pack, so he decided that he could
afford to leave these dwarf ones behind. Kisandra called over to him in a tone
of stern self-righteousness.
“Remember, Nobby, anything you find here should be kept, to
be returned to the dwarfs when we find them,” she said, sounding like a stern
schoolteacher. Apparently, she missed the irony that she was currently wearing
the magical boots that belonged to one of the dwarf miners…
Until You Spread Your Wings, You Have No Idea How Far You Can Fly
Nobby was wandering over towards the edge of the collapsed pit
when Guillerme stopped him. The sight of the dirty dwarf pants had reminded the
paladin about his own fancy underwear that Nobby had used to wrap the
Breastplate of Tyr that that they returned to Daran – the rogue hadn’t returned
those pants, and they were probably worth more money than Nobby’s entire
ensemble!
He questioned where the pants were and asked they be returned
when they were back in town. Nobby said that he kept them very close, they
weren’t back in Phandalin. Guillerme had a sinking feeling in his stomach at
the thought of what might have happened to them.
“You might want to find yourself a washerwoman,” laughed
Nobby.
Cleansing by fire seemed more appropriate, given the
circumstances.
Still laughing to himself, Nobby skipped over to the rope,
jumping up and clicking his heels together as he turned to grin at Guillerme.
He hopped backwards, waving at the distraught paladin as he began to fall down
into the pit, reaching his other hand out to grab the rope and acrobatically
descend to the ground. His smug look, however, quickly turned to panic as he
realised that he had misjudged it entirely, and he fell flat on his back 20
feet below with a thud. Barendil shook his head in disapproval as all the air
was forced from Nobby’s lungs. That was a painful fall, made even more painful
by the embarrassment.
Guillerme ran to the edge and looked down at Nobby lying on
the ground, illuminated by the bullseye lamp lying beside him, and decided to
try and outdo the rogue. He was less flashy, but he abseiled down the rope without
injury, looking down at his companion with a self-satisfied smile.
Above, Kisandra was rolling her eyes at their antics. She
carefully and sensibly climbed down the rope, not feeling the need to impress
anyone but also completely avoiding any chance of injury. Buck managed to
resist temptation and followed Kisandra’s careful example. The whole party was
now at the bottom of the pit, looking at the two potential directions they
could go in and trying to decide which one to take.
They had so far spent around half an hour in the cavern,
looking for clues as to what happened to Gundren’s brothers and now trying to
decide whether to go right or left. They would have been debating east or west
but, as they demonstrated at Cragmaw Castle, they often got confused about
compass directions. Barendil felt they were taking far too long about it and so
chose for them, heading towards the east and dragging Nobby along with him to
stealthily scout ahead. Nobby covered his lantern and moved silently; Barendil
led the way, less silently but still without giving their position away. The
tunnel was wide enough that they could travel two abreast, so Nobby held onto
the elf’s shoulder as his darkvision allowed him to lead the way.
Ahead, Barendil could see the tunnel open up into a large
cavern, some thirty feet high, with a number of other tunnels intersecting with
it. On the walls were simple reliefs carved with images of gnome and dwarf
miners hard at work, while on the ground there were many skeletons in rusted
scraps of armour. The ranger could make out skeletons of dwarfs, gnomes and
humans, along with plenty of dead orcs. Clearly there had been a tremendous
battle here. Large brass lanterns stood in niches on the walls, none of them
lit. Looking up further at the sound of rustling from above, Barendil could see
many small, dark, winged shapes clinging to the ceiling. He scuffed his boot on
an old helmet, causing some movement from up above, but none of the creatures dropped
down. The ranger felt uneasy looking at this swarm of creatures.
Nobby could feel the elf’s anxiety as his body tensed, but
Barendil put a hand over the rogue’s mouth before he could say anything. Kisandra
whispered a telepathic message, asking Barendil what he had found. He whispered
back that he had seen these creatures, hanging like bats from the ceiling, and
that he was concerned about them. They responded to the slightest noise, and he
wasn’t sure how many there were. He said that they had plenty of options for what
to do – there were other passages to try, they could attempt to sneak past
these creatures. Or they could try to kill them.
Kisandra discussed with Guillerme and Buck. The cleric
suggested another option, which was for him to cast Silence to allow them to
get past the creatures without making a noise. After not hearing back from
Kisandra for a while, Barendil was getting anxious. He favoured trying to get past
these creatures to investigate this cavern more fully to the south, but in the
end the party decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and they chose
to go through the first passage north, keeping well away from the beasts that
had concerned Barendil so much. Nobby looked at the bodies nearby to see if any
had a rapier for Barendil, but none seemed to. Besides, these weapons had been
sitting and rusting for the better part of 500 years, so weren’t in the best
condition.
Now that they had decided on a route to take, the time was
approaching 12.45.
Indecision Strikes
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| The party advance towards a door in the rock wall of the mine |
The party followed Barendil and Nobby up the small
passageway to the north, seeing a dead end to their left as the passage
continued to the north. Ahead and to their right, there was a door recessed
into the stone wall. Barendil nudged Nobby forward to go and have a listen at
it – he couldn’t hear anything. The door was heavy wood, bound with iron, but
Nobby said he reckoned Mr. Barendil’s lovely big ears should be able to hear something.
But, when he came over, he could also hear nothing. Not wanting to be left out,
Guillerme and Buck also both scurried over, pressing their ears to the door and
not hearing anything from the other side. The four of them were each trying to listen,
arguing in hushed tones about what they should do next.
Kisandra shook her head at the lot of them, all crammed into
the doorway, when she suddenly heard something. It was faint, but it was there,
and it wasn’t coming from the door. She turned just in time to see a huge,
amorphous, yellowish blob drop from the ceiling and approach her, tendrils of
its mushy body reaching out towards her. She managed to fend off the reaching globules
with her staff and call back to her arguing companions for help.
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| A huge, amorphous, yellowish blob drops from the ceiling and attacks Kisandra |
Nobby was the first to respond. He went to run forwards with
his sword, but then figured it might not be so sensible to stick his blade into
a big blob as he might never get it back again. Instead, he reached into a
pouch and drew out a bottle of oil that he used to douse the blob. For once, he
didn’t have a fag lit in his mouth, so he had no method of quick ignition, but
the creature was covered in flammable oil now, as it was bearing down on
Kisandra and trying to engulf her. Seemed safe enough, he figured.
Guillerme then leapt forwards, slashing it wildly through
the air. As the blade swept down onto the blob, it parted in the middle and
separated into two wobbling blobs, each smaller than the original but looking
no less deadly. The paladin looked round sheepishly and said he wasn’t sure if
he had made things better or worse. But, really, he knew. He always knew the answer
to that question.
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| Guillerme 'helps' by slicing the big blob into two smaller, yet still deadly-looking, blobs |
Kisandra sighed. She wished Guillerme had been slightly more
restrained and not rushed forwards, yet again. Now that she had a better look
at the blobs, she realised that they had encountered an Ochre Jelly – a type of
ooze that often acted as an ambush predator in underground environments. She
called out to the others that they were immune to lightning and slashing
damage, and that they could subdivide if hit by that sort of weapon, as ably
demonstrated by Guillerme. The sorceress knew she could ignite the oil that
Nobby had doused on the ooze, but she was so close that if one of them went up
in flames then she might get caught in the blast. She therefore sensibly moved
away, dodging the lunging yellow form that tried to grab her as she ran.
Not one for complication, Barendil fired an arrow at one of
the smaller jellies. Much to everyone’s surprise, the arrow stuck fast into the
creature and seemed to make it recoil slightly. It then slithered forward to
attack Barendil, while the second jelly attacked Guillerme. The first jelly
moved towards Barendil but the arrow stuck in it got caught on a rock, causing
the monster to wobble in front of the elf, unable to reach him. The second
oozed up and engulfed Guillerme’s arm, knocking him to the side painfully and
then secreting digestive juices onto his armour that seeped through the joints
and made his skin burn.
Buck heeded Kisandra’s advice and pulled out his heavy maul,
swinging it over his head to crash down onto the jelly wobbling in front of
Barendil. It hit the creature with a wet thud, causing bits of it to splash
outwards before some of them reformed and returned to the main yellow mass. In return
for his successful attack, Nobby rushed over with his tinderbox and threw
sparks at the oil-covered ooze. It burst into flames as Nobby nimbly danced
away, but he didn’t warn Buck what was going on, so the cleric had his eyebrows
singed by the fire. The ooze itself was blackened and reduced in size, though still
moving.
Guillerme was furious. He had lost his cool after realising
it was his actions that had split the big ooze in half, so he went to punch it
in the face. In what he thought was its face. Kisandra tried to call to him to
suggest moving away (and avoiding a similar fire-related problem to the one
Buck had just suffered when she lit the thing up), but he wouldn’t listen. He
flailed his hands at the creature, more of a series of slaps than a punch, but
he came away with bits of yellow jelly on his gauntlets and a satisfied look on
his face.
Kisandra then shot it with a fire bolt.
She had warned Guillerme, but he hadn’t listened, so she
cast the spell. The sorceress wasn’t going to feel guilty because the idiot
paladin had no sense of self preservation. As the fire bolt hit the oil, the
ooze ignited and Guillerme turned with a look of shook and indignation at
Kisandra – perhaps if he had leaped backwards more effectively, he would have
avoided the flames that licked at him, singeing his trousers.
Barendil shook his head at the human’s behaviour – he had
been warned, after all – and shot another arrow that pierced straight through
the jelly in front of Buck, causing it to burst outwards on the ground. Now
that it was no more, Buck turned his attention to the flaming jelly in front of
Guillerme, again smashing the heavy maul down and causing more bits to fly off
the monster.
This looked like fun to Nobby. He didn’t want to stand back
with his crossbow this time. And, although burning things was always fun, this
ooze was already on fire, and he wanted to smash! So he drew his morning star
and ran forwards, swinging it wildly in wide circles above his head as he went.
For some reason, he decided to run through the little gap between Buck and
Guillerme, rather than heading around their side, still swinging the morning
star. Somehow, both of his companions managed to avoid the weapon, and Nobby
managed to hit it down on the jelly and cause it to burst just like the other
one. The grin on the little man’s face was enormous, he was absolutely chuffed
with himself.
The Hunger Gnaws
Barendil realised that the party had spent too long
lingering in the corridor, so he quickly opened the door in front of them. The
phrase “out of the frying pan, into the fire” came to him as he did so. Looking
up at him were three ghouls, blue-grey horrors gnawing on bones in the middle
of the room. It appeared to be some sort of barracks for the miners, with old
stone bunks lining the walls and the remnants of tables, barrels and crates
strewn about. The bones of some half a dozen or so dwarfs and orcs littered the
floor, covered in scraps of armour, and it was these that the ghouls were noisily
chewing on. The sudden appearance of fresh meat, however, drew their attention.
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| Three Ghouls gnaw on bones in the middle of an old miners' barracks |
Barendil now launched himself into action, drawing the
magical longsword, Talon, from its scabbard and sweeping it in a wide
arc, drawing blood from the ghoul in front of him. It may not have been the
rapier he desired, but the blade was incredibly sharp. Guillerme followed the
ranger’s example, bringing his glaive to bear against the ghouls, but ensuring
his own safety by using the length of the polearm to attack from behind Nobby
and Barendil. Buck had no such compunction against getting up close and
personal, striding forwards and cleaving one of the ghouls in twain with his
magic axe, Hew.
 |
| The party charge in to destroy the evil ghouls |
Nobby dropped his crossbow and drew his rapier to attack the
ghoul that remained between himself and Guillerme, managing to get a good hit
on the monster but unable to sneak around to deliver the coup de grâce as Guillerme was standing
too far away to provide an adequate distraction. The creature screeched in
pain, and the screech was echoed by another from the corridor outside the room.
All of a sudden, another ghoul came running around the corner, charging at
Kisandra who was standing alone outside the room. She managed to fend off the
slavering creature, but only just. Nobby was less fortunate as he was raked by
the claws of the ghoul he hadn’t quite killed. The claws scratched into his
skin, making him feel slightly woozy, but the years of mystery meats he had
eaten courtesy of CMOT Dibbler had clearly done wonders for his constitution
and he shook the effects off. Barendil was bitten once more by the ghoul in
front of him, causing more blood to flow down his arm. Perhaps rushing into the
room blindly wasn’t such a clever move…
Outside in the corridor, Kisandra decided to stand her
ground against the ghoul and empowered her hand with lightning power to deliver
a Shocking Grasp that caused the ghoul to gibber and shake as she grabbed it. Barendil
heard the noise outside, aware that Kisandra was in danger but unable to help.
He tried to swing his longsword at the ghoul in front of him but was too
distracted and the blade missed the monster. As he did so, Guillerme stomped
over next to the elf, a look of thunder on his face. He was muttering something
about proving he wasn’t a coward, that he didn’t always hide away from enemies,
he would prove his father wrong. Not even bothering to raise his glaive, he
punched the ghoul right in the face, surprising the ghoul, Barendil, and
everyone else who could see what was happening. Buck laughed in approval, he
was all for punching evil in the face, but he also appreciated the sturdy axe
in his hand. Using that axe, he rushed to the doorway to try and protect
Kisandra.
“Unhand her, you fiend!” he yelled at the ghoul, which was
still shaking from the electricity Kisandra had sent coursing through its body.
It was unable to defend itself as Buck’s axe sliced into its wiry frame.
Nobby now found himself standing all alone in front of a
ghoul, with no friends to help him. He felt like punching Guillerme in the face.
Focusing all the rage he felt at this abandonment, Nobby furiously stabbed at
the undead monster. The frenzied attack was more than the ghoul could bear and,
as it crumpled to the floor, Nobby glared at Guillerme with anger, stabbing his
rapier down one last time and releasing the most tremendous fart that the rest
of the party had ever heard. He felt his point had been made.
Yet another ghoul responded to the screeching of its
fellows, running round from the other corridor towards the fray. Either it had
further to travel, or it was put off by Nobby’s fart; either way, it hadn’t yet
reached a target to attack. The ghoul in front of Buck and Kisandra, however, had
a choice of targets. It continued trying to grab the half-elf sorceress,
thinking her the tastier meal, but was unable to get its claws on her.
Meanwhile, the taste of elf flesh was still proving agreeable to the final
ghoul within the room. While Guillerme may have knocked a couple of teeth out
with his punch, it was able to once again chomp down on Barendil, tearing yet
more flesh from his arms. The elf ranger was not looking well.
Now that Buck was helping, Kisandra chose to disengage from the
ghoul in front of her and blast it with a charged-up Magic Missile – her sorceress
abilities allowing her to cast the spell in the blink of an eye. Four glowing
darts spread out from her hands and smashed into the ghoul simultaneously,
killing it outright. Buck exhaled, impressed by her display of arcane might.
Barendil was struggling to remain standing, so it was no
wonder he was yet again unable to hit the ghoul in front of him. Fortunately, Guillerme
was able to help him, slicing his glaive into the creature and infusing the
strike with divine magic that allowed the blade to pass clean through the
ghoul, dropping the two halves of the corpse to the ground with a squelch.
Buck charged down the corridor to engage the ghoul he could see. Though his axe failed to connect, Nobby noticed the cleric running and decided there must have been a good reason for such a sudden turn of speed. The rogue popped his head out through the door, spied Buck trying to hit the monster, and loosed his crossbow at it. The bolt flew past Buck’s ear and hit the ghoul with a satisfying thud.
At this moment, the door at the far end of the storeroom was thrown open, and yet another ghoul came running towards the party. This one failed to hit Guillerme, but the adventurers were really starting to wonder how many of these monsters there could be lurking nearby? The ghoul in front of Buck was still recovering from Nobby’s crossbow shot, so was unable to get hold of the cleric to bite him. As it was struggling with Buck, a Fire Bolt from Kisandra burned through the air, missing both combatants.
“Die, foul beast!” wheezed Barendil, charging towards the ghoul attacking Guillerme as best as he could given his tremendous injuries.
Brave though this was, ultimately it was foolish. Barendil didn’t have the strength to lift his sword and he tripped over his own feet, landing hard just behind Guillerme. The paladin was clearly distracted by this, his own attempt at a blow missing the ghoul entirely.
It seemed that the ineptitude was catching, as Buck also failed to hit his foe. Fortunately for him, Nobby’s aim remained true, and he was feeling much more inclined to help his cleric friend rather than Guillerme at this time. He fired another crossbow bolt at the ghoul, which smacked straight into the previous bolt he had shot at it. With this added force behind it, both bolts punched straight through the ghoul’s chest and burst out of its back, causing fatal damage. It dropped to the ground, dead from the two crossbow bolts and Nobby’s expert marksmanship. The rogue wasn’t sure whether Mr. Barendil was going to be proud or annoyed when he told him about it later.
Two more ghouls appeared. The party collectively groaned – would this ever stop?! The only comfort they could glean from the situation was that there was less likelihood of encountering any more ghouls in the immediate vicinity if they had all ended up in and around this particular room.
Barendil was still on the ground, but somehow managed to just fend off the attacks of a ghoul. One of the new ghouls went after Kisandra, forcing her to use her Staff of Defence to raise a magical Shield to protect herself, while the other scratched at Buck but was unable to get past his newly forged dragonscale shield.
Deciding that fighting honourably had gotten him nowhere, Barendil chose to remain on the ground and take a leaf out of Nobby’s book, thrusting upwards with his sword into the ghoul’s exposed groin. He finally managed to do some damage to an enemy as his sword bit deep into the creature’s nether regions. Buoyed by this success, he used his elven grace to leap to his feet. He was then less than impressed when Guillerme started walking towards the door, mumbling something about finding an enemy to kill.
“What about this one in front of you?!” shouted the ranger. “What do you think I’ve been doing over here?”
Guillerme shook his head in surprise – he had been in his own little world apparently. Barendil began to think that he could understand Nobby’s obvious resentment towards the paladin that had been growing during this battle. Seemingly oblivious to what was going on around him in the party, Guillerme dutifully swung at the ghoul and cut a gash in its leg. He couldn’t be faulted for continuing to dismember the undead abominations.
Outside the room, Buck told Nobby to go after the other ghoul while he smashed his axe into the one in front of him. Nobby nodded and then grinned – he was happy to let Buck’s bravado take on that ghoul one-on-one, but the cleric hadn’t been specific enough about which ‘other’ ghoul Nobby should deal with. He chose to ignore the other one in the corridor and shoot the one Barendil and Guillerme were dealing with. More than that, he decided to show off his marksmanship skills by shooting a bolt right past Guillerme’s ear. It wasn’t his best shot, but it flew past the paladin and hit the ghoul, killing it. Nobby felt extremely smug.
Well, he felt smug until another two ghouls came running into the fray. One charged straight at Guillerme, scratching and clawing at him furiously. The paladin had never had a mystery meat pie from CMOT Dibbler, so his constitution was not as well trained as Nobby’s. He felt the unnatural energy of the ghoul affecting him, freezing his limbs and holding him in place. He was paralysed!
Buck was also viciously clawed by a ghoul. He instantly reacted by releasing a wave of storm energy that killed his attacker, but the damage was already done. He also became paralysed, frozen in place just like Guillerme was. Kisandra managed to avoid the same fate by again using her staff to throw up a magical Shield. She then shot a Fire Bolt back at the creature, burning it slightly but not managing to kill it.
Within the room, Barendil moved to attack the ghoul that had just paralysed Guillerme and, as he did so, he ‘accidentally’ gave the frozen paladin a quick kick between the legs. If he hadn’t been paralysed, Guillerme would have yelped in pain. The elf ranger did ensure that he also thrust his sword at the ghoul, cutting into its side and therefore feeling that his little dig was justified.
Although Guillerme couldn’t move his body, his mind was still active. He was pretty upset that Barendil had chosen to repay his kindness in saving the elf by acting out like that… what were people like nowadays… honestly, if he were back home… yada yada yada, it went on and on. He had plenty of time to think, he was still paralysed.
Buck, meanwhile, shook off the effects of the paralysis and looked about to check there were no more ghouls in his immediate vicinity. Nobby fired his crossbow again, managing to get an excellent hit on one of the ghouls that pierced through its neck, but didn’t manage to stop it coming forwards. That ghoul and the other two remaining ones continued screeching, but there were no more answers echoing down the corridors – it seemed that the waves of ghouls had come to an end. For now, at least. None of the three remaining ghouls managed to hit their opponents; perhaps they were disheartened that most of their number were dead on the ground?
Kisandra fired a Magic Missile while Barendil continued slicing with his longsword. Two more ghouls were injured, though still moving. They needed to finish these last few monsters off! Buck was unable to hit his adversary, so it was down to Nobby once more. Nobby the Ghoulslayer. He lived up to his name by turning and shooting a bolt through the head of the ghoul that was attacking Kisandra, pinning it to the opposite wall of the corridor where it hung, limply.
A pained wail from down the corridor drew the attention of Kisandra and Nobby as Buck was clawed repeatedly, blood pouring from a number of wounds. He resisted the paralysing effects of the claws, but he was looking quite badly injured. He again reacted with storm energy that lashed out at the attacking ghoul. Kisandra followed up by hitting the ghoul again with another Fire Bolt, finally taking it down.
Yet again, Barendil failed to bring his longsword to bear, but Guillerme managed to finish off the ghoul that the pair were fighting against. The elf congratulated him wholeheartedly and apologised for his clumsiness earlier on. Guillerme seemed to accept the apology at face value, or else was too pleased with himself for finishing off the final ghoul that he wasn’t really paying attention.
All in all, the adventurers had dispatched ten ravenous ghouls – no mean feat. They had taken some serious injuries in return, but all were still standing and ready to proceed deeper into the mine, once they had healed their injuries a little. Nobby was particularly pleased with his marksmanship but even more happy with the 20 ghoul ears that he was able to collect from the corpses littering the ground.
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| Wave upon wave of Ghouls assail the party until, finally, the last of the monsters is defeated |
So, What’s Next?
The adventurers stood among the dead. Ghouls that they had
just killed and various skeletons of people that had died 500 years earlier.
While Nobby ran around checking if he could find anything of value, the others
reflected on the battle. The presence of the ghouls was interesting. Though they
seemed to be cracking open these ancient bones to try and get some marrow out of
them, they must have had some fresh meat to eat otherwise why would they be
here? There wasn’t much in the way of sustenance on the dusty floor.
Nobby investigated the area, looking closely at the body
that the ghouls had been eating when Barendil had rashly burst in through the
door. He could see that it wasn’t a dusty skeleton, nor was it human. It appeared
to be some sort of goblinoid; it was far too eaten to identify exactly what
kind, but it was most likely a goblin or a hobgoblin. Much to his
disappointment, it seemed that the ghouls had eaten the ears – good taste, he thought
to himself. Rifling through the pockets of the creature’s torn jerkin, he found
a crumpled page that looked like a page ripped from a journal. It had a
familiar logo in the top left corner.
 |
| A page ripped from a journal that Nobby found on a Goblinoid body that was being eaten by Ghouls |
Guillerme used his Lay On Hands ability to heal himself and
Barendil, though decided that he deserved a little more healing for himself after
Barendil’s cheeky kick. The elf was probably lucky to get anything from him!
Buck then cast Prayer of Healing, which made them all feel a little better. Buck
decided to drink a healing potion as well, just to ensure he was in tip top
condition. They felt more ready to venture further into the mine.
The time was now around 13.15, so they had around 10 hours
and 45 minutes until the moon would be shining at midnight. They looked at the
door leading out of the room towards the west, with Barendil ready and waiting
by the door, eager to get on as quickly as possible.
 |
| The extent of the party's exploration of Wave Echo Cave by the end of Session 21 |
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