Brindenford Notes page 13

2/10/13

Newly returned from their excursion to Vanhark, the PCs spent a few days at home recuperating, and then ventured into Brindenford. Sheriff Arro and Blacksmith Aesa were both very happy to see them; they told Aesa that her message had been delivered, and Arro filled them in on the latest activities of the Bestial Host, who have re-occupied the top level(s) of the dungeon.

Next day, when venturing out to the dungeon, they were surprised to discover not only that the Bestial Host was present, but that they had built a small stockade around the dungeon entrance, with a lookout tower. A single fireball, a handy attack by Gunter on the Ogre who emerged from the Stockade, took care of that! However, when they descended the stairs, a pair of bugbears and an orc priest managed to deliver a small amount of damage; the priest was sent fleeing by a Command from Coelwine, and Elrohir fireballed the kobolds who accompanied the bugbears; Coelwine and Valkrist  took out the bugbears, with a bit of archery assistance from Gunter. Descending to the old Temple of Glarias, the priest confronted them again, this time accompanied by a wicked troll and more orcs. A final fireball from his necklace of missiles killed the priest, wounded the troll, and slew two of the orcs. The troll charged, mad with rage and pain. The orcs, seeing their priest fall, instead fled. Valkrist landed a substantial blow on the troll, as did Coelwine, but the brute seized the cleric and rent him nearly in two with a horrible attack. Another blow from Val, and a flame spell from Elrohir delivered with his prize staff, were enough to slay the beast. Hurriedly they poured a potion down Coel's throat and brought him back from the brink of death.

Looting the body of the orc priest and searching the chambers nearby revealed only insignificant treasure; a quick trip down to level three to speak with Old Cora and the  Vesh revealed that the Bestial Host has been searching the dungeon; a large band consisting of at least two trolls and numerous orcs was seen descending into the prison level, wielding one of Urlaster's rods...

Following and tracking these Bestial Host members led to level six, where the PCs lost track of their path... but Coelwine and Val discovered that the flame skeletons are still present...

2/19

A small battle with the flame skeletons resulted in six dead skeletons and no party injuries; Gunter then climbed down and investigated the lower room; he could see 30' down the hallway but declined to venture further. Instead he climbed up the far side and dropped a rope so the rest of the party could climb down, clamber across the burnt stones, and climb up the far side. On the way, via a detect magic spell, Elrohir found a tiny red magical gemstone, which he presumed is what activates the flame skeletons. He pocketed it. The door on the north wall turned out to be jammed in its frame. Gunter dismantled the hinges, and Val lifted it out of the way. Revealed on the other side was a huge chamber, 30' square and 30' high. The north wall was entirely a stained glass window, depicting an odd blue man floating cross-legged on a purply-sky-like background. Behind it, in shadowy light, the figure of a large human-shaped form could be seen. With no obvious way to reach the far side, after dousing their light so as to remain undetected, Elrohir threw a flame burst beyond the window.

The creature reacted almost instantly, and threw a large chunk of rock through the window, smashing it, and injuring Val slightly. It was revealed as a massive troll, his hide studded with hooks and metal plates. Enraged, he charged straight into combat with Val, ignoring everyone else.  Within two rounds, he managed to grapple her. Elrohir did considerable fire damage the first round, and the others shot bolts and arrows at it, doing some injury. After Val hit the troll once, it grappled her with both arms, and began squeezing her to death. Coelwine used a spell which tripped the massive troll,  rendering him prone,  and as he fell, Val ripped free of his grasp, taking even more damage. However, she was then able to deliver a resounding blow and slay the foul beast. Several more flame bursts finished the creature off, beyond hope of regeneration.

After slaying the troll, the group discovered that he had a prisoner; hanging from a chain and hook over a pit in the room was a hapless young adventurer named Braddock Fess - he told them that he and a pair of companions had sneaked past Arro's guard in town to follow the "Old Man's Tunnel" to the dungeon, hoping to loot the now-abandoned Venom Cult lair.  Instead they met this troll, whom they assume is one of the Bestial Host members, and it probably killed both of Fess's companions. The troll was apparently trying to force Fess to drink his blood, with the intent of turning Fess into another troll, so they could go and "find the others"... Elrohir does not think it was likely to happen.

Braddock says that he is grateful for his rescue, and will be happy to continue to adventure with his rescuers, for so long as they wish him to go along. However, the only skill he has is fighting, and he is not terribly talented.

2/24

On their way out the "Old Man's Tunnel" the PCs found one more room to search - an old store-room perhaps used by the venom cult or a predecessor; the only thing of value were ten potion bottles stashed in a crate of ceramic mugs! Gunter was unable to force the lock on the box, so they carried it out with them and knocked it open - inside were 4 potions of bear's strength, 4 of cure moderate wounds, and 2 of cat's grace. They felt this was quite satisfactory after the troll's lack of treasure...

In Brindenford, the PCs were quite unhappy with the guard who was supposed, at the Sheriff's behest, to be guarding the Old Man's Tunnel. He was asleep on the job, and Braddock says that when he and his friends used the tunnel, they were able to easily sneak past him. Discovering that the heirs to the previous owner were squabbling over the property, the PCs decided that the easiest way to prevent further dangers to the town was simply to buy the house and 1/2 acre of land that accompanied it. Using Sheriff Arro as their go-between, negotiations were  quick and easy; 60 silvers found them the proud owners of yet another piece of property. To repay Arro for his generosity in arranging the sale, they've written a letter and left it in a locked box in their tower that declares if they are ever "lost and declared dead" that the house becomes the property of the Town of Brindenford.

They also hired Braddock and a couple of other men to live in and guard the house, and have rigged up a barricade over the entrance, and a signal for him if they come from below...

Then they decided it was time to deal with the island of Khorant, and rescue the sword-souls that Maximus had told them about. They also hope to break the hold the island has on Ilisthra, who resides on the Aberrant Lab level of the dungeon and claims that the evil temple on the island is driving her insane.  They bought a bunch of feather fall potions, and a good quality spyglass, and then ventured back down into the dungeon. Arriving on the island, they first staked out the Pirate Village. They fireballed one ship as it sailed out into the Sea of Storms, and never knew its fate, then firebombed two more that were in the Cove, including one which they saw arrive and offload a coffle of slaves. (IMC part of what the pirates are doing is forcing slaves to hunt for the rare gems and plants on the island, and then taking them off to sell).  The pirates were unable to determine where the fireballs came from, and both ships were badly damaged - one burned to the waterline, and the second on the border of salvageable.

From there, the PCs felt comfortable resting for 12 hours (by flying out nearly to the storm wall and hovering there) and then heading for the temple. In their skyship they avoided a nasty trek, and the sharks in the waters, but upon landing and entering the temple, they were attacked almost at once by a horrid seven-headed snake-monster of doom, which seriously challenged them. Val and Coelwine were both injured several times, and eventually Elrohir had to use 3 fireballs on it to finish it off... (I boosted the hydra a little by giving it a thick mucous skin layer that negated 5 pts of fire damage each attack - that and the mega-fast healing were enough to make it a very tough fight). Eventually they slew it, but as soon as the body vanished, they knew it would be back when they re-entered the temple. Instead, they've decided to change tactics; recalling their sky-whale, they intend to fetch a number of large boulders from the mountain on the island, and use them to bombard the temple from high above...

3/3

After resting for a day, Elrohir, Val, Coelwine and Gunter spent a second day digging up rocks with use of a levitate potion, unseen servants to aid in the digging, and their skywhale as a crane. They recovered 10 large boulders, weighing about 200 lbs each. At the same time, they noticed a couple of things; a path leading from the jungle up and around the mountain to its peak (they decided to ignore this), and the Grahlus fort ("ape men with slaves") which they decided merits future investigation and possible disruption. A discussion of whether or not to bomb the pirates again was put on hold til they finished the temple.

Dropping the rocks took some work, but eventually they bashed a hole in the ceiling that was about 8' long and 1-3' wide, with many radiating cracks. Coelwine was fairly certain that this was enough to break any temple-wide summoning ward. It also destroyed some other evil effects within the temple proper. Seeing how weird the room appeared, they decided not to enter within, but instead went back to the front entrance to begin their explorations. They were pleased not to be attacked in the entry chamber again, and soon went west, past the sealed doors, and on to the western antechamber. Gunter discovered the grappling effects of the fog there, and Elrohir burned it away with a fireball. They could see it would come back soon, and quickly mounted the stairs; the squishy effect quite freaked out Valkrist. At the top, they began to advance on the doors, Gunter eager to search for traps; instead, the gibbering mouther attacked, first blinding Gunter, and then slamming at Coelwine. However, with Elrohir's fire and arrow-fire from everyone, it stood little chance. Soon, its mutterings fell into silence. They examined the southern door first; Gunter opened the lock by a narrow margin, and they peered within. The empty shelves frustrated them, and they decided not to mess with the fishy sarcophagus at that time. Quickly, they moved north; again, Gunter opened the door's complex lock without much trouble; inside, they saw the gold items and the book, and entered rapidly. No sooner had they done so, than the animated wall paintings ripped themselves free and began to attack; but plaster was no match for steel, and a grease spell rendered the two smaller automotons helpless. Soon they had the book of the pale sea in their possession. A return to the southern reliquery (whose silence effect had been ruined by the gaping hole in the roof) led to a short fight with the mummy there. Elrohir's ice-lance pierced and stunned it for two rounds, and while it was motionless, it was smashed to bits. The book of the black waters joined their possession.

Descending the eastern stairs, they found a room full of shattered bone, and the giant mattock of Rivenyk. While they did not connect it to him, they did realize it could bash things. They broke open the chained door, and fought the chaos beast. Val was struck by it, and nearly failed her Fort save; she felt her bones shift and soften, but was able to will the effect back, and survived. They found the tourmalines soon after and stripped them from the pillars with glee after Gunter identified just how valuable they were - and this without even knowing of their semi-magical properties.

Finally, they used the last strike remaining in the Mattock to drive open the broken-sealed doors on the east side of the temple, and entered the inner sanctum. Here, they found and searched the alters; they ignored the font and the shield, glove and headband, because Ilisthra had told them solemnly that they needed to find and rescue "three swords" with souls in them. Her insanity had caused her to forget their true forms; because Maximus was a sword, she re-imagined them as such as well, misleading the PCs.

Gunter failed his save after touching an alter, and is cursed to lose a point of STR each day until cured. After that, they finally examined the font, and retrieved the three items there; Coelwine picked up the shield, since it bore the symbol of Kehret, his god, on it. Ulster, the Lion, promptly spoke to him, first cursing him for a demon, but eventually accepting him as a true follower of Kehret. Ulster is a +2 large steel shield, and will happily serve Coel in battle from now on, roaring his god's name as they fight against evil.

The other two items they quickly tossed into Val's bag of holding; they were in a hurry to get out of the temple...

3/10

This week the PCs decided that they were not quite ready to flee Khorant after all; they decided that the ape-men (Grahlus) needed to be dealt with, and the slaves rescued. Elrohir used many applications of fireball from on high, combined with fly and invisibility potions, burning much of the compound down over several nights, but he was not able to badly injure the grahlus, who were too tough for fewer than 3 fireballs to kill. Eventually, by targeting the leader, they were able to cause the grahlus to decide to retreat, but they took most of the slaves with them; only a few were rescued, not including those who belonged to the local village.

Gunter raided the grahlus storehouse, and stole their alchemical kit; when the leaderless grahlus realized they were likely to be trapped on the island, they fled. Afterwards, the PCs took the 8 remaining slaves to Paoshay's village; she agreed to take them (and most of the leftover grahlus gear); in return she traded the PCs a handful of tourmalines, which the villagers use as jewelry. She also warned them to stay away from the "Jungle of Teeth"; when the PCs heard that the ruins there were from the same source as the temple, they decided it was indeed best to stay away. Paoshay told them about her god on the mountain, which keeps the village in peace; they decided that sounded dangerous, so they avoided it as well... though they did say they might visit again someday.

Returning through the dungeon, they checked on Ilisthra and Maximus; Ilisthra is now free of the nightmares from the temple, and was very grateful, though she would not leave the dungeon with them; Max agreed that he would enjoy hunting demons, and that when the PCs were ready to go down into the next dungeon level, he'd fight with them.

Once back in town (after having been gone for 5 days), they do hear that the Bestial Host are still raiding the area; they aren't sure whether they will deal with this next, or ignore it in favor of some more dungeon diving.

3/24

After resting, healing and relaxing for a day, the PCs decide it is time to teach the Bestial Host a lesson, and prevent some farms from being raided. They set out to investigate where the Host is coming from, following Sheriff Erro's advice and hunting to the northwest of town. Soon, after finding a raided farm, they stumbled into a small camp; here they found a group of kobolds, bugbears, orcs and a troll. Elrohir drank a fly potion, and started the battle by laying down a fireball on the bugbears, troll, and orc leader. The two bugbears succumbed, but the others were merely alerted and angered. Val, Coelwine and Gunter stepped out of the forest's edge, and sent missile fire at the leader-orc. Kobolds charged screeching at the fighters, and the lead orc threw a javelin of lightning into the sky at Elrohir, doing a moderate amount of damage to him. Melee combat between the others commenced, fast and furious; Coelwine smashed several Kobolds, and Val laid into the troll. The lead orc took on Gunter. Just as the kobolds began to flee in panic, four more bugbears arrived; two ambushed Gunter, and two approached Coelwine, but were driven off by fire spells from Elrohir. The troll fell to Val's attacks, and another fire spell from the wizard. Gunter took some serious damage, but was able to take out the lead orc, as well. Then Val joined him in slaying the two bugbears, and the battle ended in success for the party, though they were somewhat ragged.

They rescued a small herd of cows (which were not at all grateful) and ate the roasting cow on the spit; they also captured one kobold - they turned him over to Erro for questioning. That night, they again rested in town and the next morning set out a second time to engage the Hord. This time, Gunter (on foot) moved well out to one side of the trail the rest of the PCs were following on horseback. However, even Gunter was unable to spot a well-laid ambush, and a brutal fight was soon engaged. Six goblin javelin throwers, three goblins on worgs, and a very tough leader-goblin on worgback were a serious threat, even with Gunter hiding in the woods and sniping. The worgs were able to carry their riders close up to Elrohir, Coel and Val, and the javeliniers were free to stay back and pepper them. A minor misunderstanding on my part almost doubled the number of worgs present, and momentarily terrified the PCs, but I realized the problem... darn!

Val took on the leader goblin, and his worg, plus a second worg/goblin pair; Elrohir blasted the worg that attacked him, killing it in the first round; Coelwine used his lion-shield to good effect, but was still the slowest to lay the hurt on his worg and rider. Gunter was able to kill the leader with a pair of arrows in the back, delivering a devastating critical hit/sneak attack combo. Val's sword Silence finally fulfilled it's role, but unfortunately, the goblin died the same round. The javeliniers took off when their leader died, and two managed to escape. The PCs are gaining quite a reputation for being a thorn in the side of the Host! The PCs were irritated at having only piddling amounts of treasure from the war-parties; a few heal potions, a suit of magical leather armor, and some +1 arrows were the bulk of their reward.