Session 6 Map




Pushing the boundaries of their known world the parties initial eastwards push was defeated by fear. Fear of ghostly whisperings and cold spots, as if the group were being haunted.

A lone Orc by the name of Turag (not Torag) :) , has furnished the party with some real information, whether he survives within their company remains to be seen.

This was also the first session that atmospheric music was used, culled from various sources:
Conan, Lord of the Rings, horror filmtracks, Midnight Syndicate, Clannad.

Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Part 6

Things are getting very spooky here. In addition to my experience with the manacles, Oren has been hearing voices, and we have all sensed some icy presence moving through the dungeon. Perhaps the spirits of those killed here linger on, or perhaps we have woken something from a long sleep? We found some fragments of a book, which seemed to be a record of research carried out here many years ago. There was also a room full of skeletons from many creatures, several of which we could not identify. What terrible experiments went on here? Who built this place, and for what purpose? Some evil wizard or cult? We have many questions, but few answers.

We encountered some more traps. I was able to detect some of them in time, but all the traps here appear to be magical in nature, and these are notoriously hard to disarm. Although I set them off, I was able to evade the damage from most of them. I seem to be getting better at this, I must be learning from my mistakes. We found one trapped door in the North West of the dungeon that was especially nasty. When trying to disarm it I heard a voice saying "You are not worthy" and then a great ball of blame shot down the corridor, we barely avoided being toasted! Perhaps when we have learnt more about this place we will not be found lacking anymore? Maybe there is some great treasure behind this door, or possibly a way out of this maze?

When the others are not looking I have been practicing a few acrobatic tricks that my old friend Malfoso showed me when we were in the guild together. I could never see the point of them before, but now I think they might be useful in avoiding enemies in battle, I just hope I don't have to test these techniques out too soon! I have also been thinking that it might be useful to know a few magic spells. I found a pretty gold bracelet on a dead orc (more about these later) and I thought I might wear it as an armlet, but Isaak suggested that he test it for evil magicks first. It would be handy to be able to this myself, and I have always had an interest in the magical arts. Maybe I'll ask Isaak to teach me a few simple cantrips, it can't be that hard if he can do it, and you never know when such things might come in useful.

We went back into the room with the dead orcs and the large (living) rats. We gave the rats a wide birth before, but this time Isaak decided he would shoot one with his crossbow. I think the creatures were upsetting Ratto, the scabby old rat that Isaak carries around in his pocket. (He spends far to much time stroking him when he thinks no one is watching...) Anyway, we all waded in and took a few more of them out, before the rest ran off. (I got one right between the eyes, it never had a chance!) We searched the orc bodies, and the surrounding rooms, and we found some nice loot. We also found that the orcs had been killed by those flying octopus things we encountered before. They had all been strangled, not a nice way to go, but then what is? In a store room nearby we discovered a survivor. His name is Torag and we persuaded Curbag not to kill him, and Quercus agreed to let him tag along with us, if he converted to Pelor. I suspect that the orc's commitment to his new religion is not genuine, but stranger things have happened...

We questioned Torag and found out that he had been part of a large party brought here by Longtail, the very person we are looking for! Apparently Longtail is human, but has the power to turn into a rat. He brought with him a group made up of orcs, kobolds and troglodytes (whatever they are). Presumably the orcs we met in the first room, and the kobolds who gave us a good drubbing, were part of Longtail's entourage too. We haven't met any Trogs yet, but we found an area of the dungeon that was ripe with their musky stench (it made me gag at first, but I think I could put up with it now). We have given that section a miss for now, and gone back to explore some more of the eastern parts of the complex. I think we should find out more about this place before we confront the Trogs. Torag tells us that Longtail's group was attacked by a horde of the octopus things a few days after they arrived, apparently the came out of nowhere. Let's hope there are no more of them lurking around for us.

Curbag's Log
The night passed without event and I awoke with a clear head ready tackle the rooms ahead. Our breakfast turned out to be a shared one. Many of us did not pack enough food. Thankfully I travel with generous companions and their remaining food was shared. We decided to start by going back to paths we had previously passed up.

We eventually came to a room where water poured down four pillars. I went to take a look when a large humanoid beast leapt out upon Oren. His large club delivered a powerful blow, one which I was shortly to receive too. The beast's laughing and obvious glee at the damage he was inflicting tipped me into a rage. I charged for a kill but my sword could not find his body. Oren & I got to the point were we could almost take no more wounds. Our group knew our desperation and finally we began to find our target. The beast's wounds now got the better of him and he fled. I could not allow him to live to attack us again. I closed in and, despite his attempt to distract me, delivered the deadly assault. I took the weapon from the corpse; a enormous club. It may be too big to wield but it makes a great token of battle.

The next two rooms were much the same as this one; a pillar in each corner. The group were cautious and so I used the club to test the rooms. We found no threats or treasure but we did find that the third room stopped us from making noise. Going back to the second they were all trying to imagine stuff. I thought of the horse meat I'd had in Tharl-Fellen but that just made me feel my even hunger more. Eventually Quercus imagined a forest which transformed the room. It looked like the wall that Parademius made but it did not let us leave the room. The forest vanished moments later and we continued our exploration.

Progress was slow and the corridors twisted and turned so that I no longer knew if I could find my way back. Oren has shown he has an excellent sense of direction which has helped. Along with the many changes in direction were many doors. I know that Lightfoot has found fiery traps before but our progress is made even slower by her incessant poking and feeling every damn one of them & even some of the walls. We spent what seemed like hours traipsing around in a circle finding absolutely nothing. In the end I have resorted to opening doors before she can get to them.

We eventually came across a door with some words carved in it. Maybe they'll let some one who can read know what's behind it. Will it be Longtail ?

Curbag's log
We continued the search. Fortunately Lightfoot was checking the doors for traps as flame blursts shot out from one, her nimbleness saving her hide. A trapped door promised something of value on the other side. We found old store rooms for rotting stuffs. I stepped on one bag which produced a stinking cloud into my face. I breathed in some of it which played with my head. The next hours were a blur. Faint memories of flying blood-sucking rats, falling head sucking creatures, green skinned runts and many more rooms could all be a dream, yet my mind cleared to find the wounds of these encounters.

We were in a part of this place affected by earthquakes. Needing rest we chose a room next to a jail for our dorm. Lightfoot tried to take the manacles but cried out; she said she saw the pain of the past prisoners. What is this place we are exploring and where is Longtail. Is it a long lost King's castle? What kind of place has cursed doors & manacles. The rat infestation is not a surprise but what of these other creatures. How have they come to be here, they seem to be long time occupants. The jail entrance had partially collapsed when Oren had opened it so he & I blockaded it with it's door; breaking it in the process. I took first watch while the others took some rest.

Curbag's log
Me and the others found a city, Tharl-Fellen. I went to the market with Lightfoot where I found some great tasting horse meat. There were also some men were looking for groups to search new cracks in the StoneSea mountains. Me and my companions put ourselves forward but they turned us away. Fortunately a magician, called Parademius, enlisted us and we were sent up there to find an evil magician, Longtail. We journeyed to the mountains through his wall where we found an entrance with a dead giant in front. It had nothing we wanted so we entered the crack. Inside was a room where the only exits were black doorways which wouldn't let us back.

Beyond these was a darkened room holding three orcs who had shed their honor. They had been led into this place by Longtail, who was now nowhere to be seen. What ever these pathetic excuse for orcs had faced was no defense for the sad display of self pity and cowardice they showed. I tried to rile them into action but was forced to put them out of their misery; may Kord teach them the error of their ways. It seems Longtail has other orcs with him. I don't know why Parademius sent us after him but I want to know what he's doing here.

Character Profile - Curbag




Curbag is a great hulk of a half-orc. An abnormal and short-lived childhood gave him a strange mix of values; a human tolerance of others with a strong sense of orc honour. This combined with his quick feet & slow brain led him to the life of a barbarian. He is short on patience, preferring to act now & consider later, and angered by a lack of respect. A loner by circumstance he has followed where ever gold has beckoned. The acceptance he has found in the company of his current companions is unusal and welcome.

Players Map after 5 sessions.


B+

:)

Session 5 Map




The party stopped their eastwards exploration and have started pushing northwards.

A fight with an Ogre named Bragdor nearly spelt disaster, as they seemed powerless to hit the brute for the first few rounds.

The dungeon has revealed parts of its evil past, with some of the rooms bearing the marks of torture.

A sense of foreboding grows.

Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Part 5

Back to normal now! My temporary brain haze has passed, and I am functioning at full capacity. We spent some time exploring the rubble strewn eastern area of the dungeon. We discovered a secret door, when Oren opened this the lintel collapsed, taking the doorway and part of the wall with it. The door lead into what was clearly an ancient torture chamber, full of skeletons in manacles, the walls covered in burn marks, which Isaak assures us are magical in nature.
We moved on to examine some other rooms, then returned to the room where we had discovered the secret door. This room was more or less clear of rubble, and had some sleeping pallets in it, so we thought it would make a good place to rest. I thought it might be useful to have some manacles, so I went into the torture chamber to retrieve some. However, as soon as I touched them I was assailed with horrible visions of what had occurred in this room in the distant past. I shouted out loud in fear, and dropped the manacles, feeling dazed and sickened. I retreated to our makeshift camp and told the others what had happened. Curbag and Oren managed to move the stone door back into the doorway as a barrier (despite breaking it in half in the process) and we passed another nervous night in this strange place.

In the morning we realised we were running out of food and water. Quercus was able to create water (thanks and praise to Pelor etc.) to fill our waterskins, and he has some extra food which I hope he will share with us! However, the food situation does not look good. We had not planned to spend so long in this dungeon.

We decided to finish exploring to the north and west. We found a series of three rooms, all with a pillar in each corner. In the first room the pillars had a channel cut into them, and fresh water flowed down it! It seems our water problem is solved, as long as we remain in this part of the dungeon. When Oren entered the room to explore further he was attacked by an ogre who had been hiding behind a pillar. In the fight that ensued Oren and Curbag were badly injured by the ogre's mighty club, but finally we beat him back. I lost another 3 bolts in the fight, I have no idea where I am going to get any more. The ogre, who identified himself as Brandor, begged us to spare him, but there was no pity to be had from the raging Curbag, and the ogre fell under a blow from his great sword. It's shame we weren't able to question him, but at least we are all alive!

The other two pillar rooms were most strange. The middle one had no function that we could derive, but the end one was shrouded in magical silence. I postulated that perhaps these rooms had some religious function, the first for ablution, the last for silent prayer. But what of the middle room? Isaak detected that there was some sort of illusion magic in this room. We all tried concentrating on a particular scene or desire, and eventually Quercus was able to summon the image of a woodland glen. This was most welcome after 2 days underground, but it soon faded, leaving us back in the dark gloom of the underworld.

Moving on we explored further to the north. We found a room with more manacles on the walls (which I studiously avoided!) and a throne in the middle. On examining the throne I found 2 red jewels set in the back of it. I prised these out with my dagger, and we had a fine addition to our growing treasure hoard.

We then entered a section of the dungeon filled with narrow corridors, all twisting and turning, some leading nowhere. There are doors all over the place, leading to more corridors. We seem to be in some sort of maze, let us hope there is not something nasty waiting at the end of it...

Character Profile - Rosia

Rosia is a cheeky halfling lass who specialises in removing obstacles such as locks and traps. She occasionally removes other obstacles such as guards, but prefers to avoid such nastiness if possible. If she has to resort to violence she will attack from a distance and then melt away into the night. She is quite picky about her clients and will only accept jobs where the victim is wealthy and preferably not very nice. At the moment she is acting in a "freelance" capacity and supplements her income with occasional forays into the adventuring world. She has strong views about personal freedom, and resents being told what to do by authority figures. She prefers the opportunities that the city offers to the delights of the great outdoors. Rosia is fascinated with all mechanical devices, especially miniature ones, although she prefers taking them apart to making them. She also likes magical items and alchemy, although she lacks the magical ability to make her own items. She usually has a few alchemical surprises up her sleeves.