Session II
The cast:
- Unser, an Elvish Spellsword
- Doctor Senor Foggy (“The Doctor”), a Nobiran Wonderworker
- Sinbad, a Venturer
- Borgnar, a Mystic
- Gnarrr, a Thrassian Gladiator
- Bill, his donkey
- Aladdin, an Elvish Nightblade
The four survivors stood outside the Zaharan slave pits. The heroic course of action would be to descend once more and perhaps find a way to stop or imprison the amorphous monstrosity. It would be dangerous, and it could cost all of them their lives. True, it might save the Borderlands much strife and destruction. But this was the mundane modern world, not the The Bellësareus, and these were petty money-grubbing adventurers, not the legendary heroes of old. So they beat a hasty retreat and vowed to tell no one of the day's events. While returning to the keep, they encountered another Thrassian, Gnarrr, and a spellsword, Unser. Gnarr traveled with a donkey which he had named Bill. Learning that this dynamic duo plus one intended to fight the beastmen threat, the two were inducted post-haste into the party. Back at Türos Tem, the adventurers licked their wounds and prepared for a foray into the Viaspen. Communication with the innkeeper about the previous band, The Fierce Brethren, suggested that the beastmen were almost certainly based somewhere in the forest.
Once in the forest, Aladdin drew upon his woodland experience and discovered evidence that a large band of beastmen had been moving westward through the forest. Following these tracks, the group stumbled upon a great granite dome sticking out of the ground, hundreds of feet across and the deepest of black in color. Everyone was properly wigged out by such an intimidating sight, but they bravely pressed on and noticed a method of entrance into the dome: a large crack that the tracks led up to. After hiding Bill nearby, the group trundled up.
Guarding the entrance to the dome were four bored kobolds. Upon seeing the adventurers, the kobolds inquired if group were here to serve “the Lady”. Taking a chance, Borgnar assented, and the group was granted entrance. Initial exploration of this complex was relatively peaceful. They encountered a band of coarse-looking brigands, but careful diplomacy won out and bloodshed was avoided. Instead, the bandits directed them to their leader, a fierce and dangerous man named Drusus. With Drusus an alliance of sorts was forged, as the bandit chief mentioned that his neighbor, the kobold king, was weak and violent. If the adventurers could possibly eliminate him, he would vouch for their behavior should any of the other factions complain. Being mercenary and disdainful of the gods, he knew little of the complex's leader, the mysterious “Lady Below”. He did warn them, that to the northwest of his position was an ancient ziggurat, and that this ziggurat was the lair of a true dragon. No one seemed to know if the dragon or the “Lady Below” could be said to be the dominant power of the area, or if perhaps there were some hidden monster orchestrating events. They also heard from another brigand that some mysterious entity had been consuming and destroying large swathes of the forest, having started near the charcoal burner's village. When asked if they knew anything about such a monstrosity, the adventurers of course affected a complete lack of knowledge. While such important conversations were being held, Sinbad took the opportunity to lose most of his money gambling with the other brigands.
Thanking Drusus for his advice and vowing to slay the kobolds, the party continued onward. Minor tragedy struck when, exploring a dusty storeroom, two spiders dropped down from the ceiling and latched onto Sinbad. They were quickly slain and their deadly poison neutralized, but the heavy fall Sinbad took badly damaged one of his knees; it would necessitate a week's recovery. Having slain the spiders, the party acquired the spiders' eggs. Not wanting to return to the keep, the party decided to test the extent of their friendship with the brigands and leave Sinbad to recover in their camp. This was a doubtlessly a risky decision. But they adventurers deemed it safe, particularly since Borgnar had paid a few bandits to keep an eye on his venturer friend.
After the spiders had been killed, the group had found some heavy but valuable amphoræ of oil. The proper thing to do with these seemed to be to keep them with Bill, outside the complex. Sadly, it was discovered that in the intervening time, something had devoured the poor donkey. Gnarrr mourned the loss; if anyone were to eat Bill, it should have been him.
The oil stashed in a hopefully more secure location outside the temple, the party began their assault on the kobold sector of the temple. With little difficulty, they slew more than a dozen kobolds and located the kobold king's throne room. The frightened lizards had barricaded their room's door, but the mighty thews of Unser and Gnarrr burst it open with little difficulty, and a fierce battle was joined. In this battle, careful tactics on the adventurer's part won the day. Even the fragile Senor Foggy acquitted himself well, slaying a kobold with his handaxe. The only hero to sustain serious wounds was Unser, who escaped with a set of nasty scars from a few lucky crossbow shots. Two kobolds chose to lay down their arms rather than be slaughtered; these were interrogated and then summarily executed. But no victory is without cost: while cataloging the kobold king's treasure, Aladdin was surprised by a king cobra that had been hiding in the folds of an Opelenean tapestry. The serpent sunk its fangs into the nightblade's flesh and its venom blinded him in a matter of moments.
With one of their number convalescing in a nest of metaphorical snakes, another blinded by the bite of an actual snake, and a third in desperate need of a good night's rest, now may have been a prudent time for retreat. But adventurers have never been known for their great prudence. Instead, careful investigation of the king's throne room revealed a hidden chamber filled with three treasure chests, one each of gold, silver, and copper. These chests nearly claimed the life of Borgnar, as their opening released clouds of poisonous gas. His mystic powers were unable to throw off the poison, and only the frantic healing of Senor Foggy saved him from a supremely painful death. But each chest contained a wonderful vastness of riches both magical and mundane.
Yet there was still one great trial left for the heroes. It was decided that the group would return to Türos Tem so that Aladdin's blindness might be cured. Laden with unfathomable amounts of treasure, leading a pair of elves, one blind and the other not yet recovered from his near fatal scarring, the group crossed paths with a trio of hungry gnolls. The gnolls assessed and then took advantage of a most favorable situation. This was the most desperate battle yet waged. Twice Borgnar was rendered unconscious. On the first of these occasions, Senor Foggy leapt into the fray to revive the mystic. He did this with remarkable skill, and Borgnar was immediately ready to continue fighting. Such healing, though, exposed him to the bloodthirsty gnolls, and a brutal smash by one of their flails ended the good doctor's life in a flash. In the end, only two combatants remained standing: Gnarrr and a gnoll. The two titans struggled with each other for entire minutes, neither managing to land the fatal blow, until, finally, Gnarrr's gladius curved under the gnoll's guard and ended its savage existence. The still weak Unser rushed to attend to Borgnar, but his healing prowess proved insufficient. Surrounded by his maimed friends, the mystic slowly bled to death.
Their strength having been shattered in mere minutes, all seemed lost for the adventures. Yet when faced with this abyss, Unser and Gnarrr did not flinch. They escorted their friends and their bodies outside of the temple, and then went back inside to retrieve Sinbad from the brigand's camp. Fate gave them a minor reprieve, though, when they encountered Drusus. Gnarrr explained away the absence of his companions by saying that they were all waiting outside. The bandit king was as skeptical of this account as any reasonable man should have been, but he let the wounded gambler leave without trouble. After all, he had gotten the adventurers to eliminate one of his major rivals, so perhaps they deserved a break. His demeanor was further sweetened when Gnarrr decided to leave some of the heavier treasure they had found as tribute for the beneficent brigand.
The surviving adventurers knew that, in their condition, they would have difficulty fighting off even an especially determined feral cat. And they fully expected to encounter far worse on their way out of the Viaspen. But yet another reprieve was delivered, and they made it back to Türos Tem without further trouble. It was decided that a quick journey to the nearby city of Cyfaraun would be made. There a cleric powerful to raise the doctor and Borgnar could be found. Through the grace of Ammonar, Borgnar was indeed returned to life. He seemed a bit empty from his brush with beyond, but otherwise no worse for the wear. However, Calefa, the Mistress of Fate, had one final twist of the knife left for our heroes. During the second attempt to raise Senor Foggy from the dead (the first having been inconclusive), the cleric's restorative spell went horribly awry, and the divine-blooded Nobiran's soul was extinguished by the oblivion of nothingness. (Two natural 1's rolled in succession on the Tampering with Mortality chart meant the wonderworker was never coming back!)
Mortal Wound Count:
- Sinbad, damaged knee
- Unser, notable scarring
Death Count:
- Bill, eaten by something unpleasant
- Doctor Senor Foggy, killed instantly by a gnoll's flail, soul extinguished while trying to be raised
- Borgnar, bled out after unpleasant encounter with wrong end of gnoll's flail, later raised
Tampering with Mortality Count:
- Borgnar, XP penalty