 |
| ....with several small changes due to party level, time and various other shenanigans! |
The party decided since they were still within the Forge of
Fury/ Halls of Durgeddin that they would do some more reconnoitering and
clean-up. They had, for the most part discovered the forge and foundry that
they were hired to find. They discovered that the duergar and drow (or duergar
hired by drow) were inhabiting the halls and trying to learn the secrets of the
magical forge. They found out why the halls and forge were lost by the dwarven
forces too. It seems they knew everything that was going on, except what was on
the floor above them and where did that pesky ladder on the edge of the small
rocky cliff lead.
They opted to hit the fancy elevator and head back up one
level to check out what was there. Well they found some chained doors with
comically large locks, a small stone bridge and a path into the darkness.
Well of course they had to check the chained doors first.
The rouge easily popped the lock and they entered…..a large room full of
rotting foodstuffs, beverages and various bits of everyday life equipment. The
paladin decided to investigate one of the barrels near him and as he opened it,
he was overwhelmed by the appearance and smell of dead trout. He began to
wretch uncontrollably. The rouge promptly walked out to check the other lock
and avoid the smell coming from the room and the paladin.
The party moved through the room and continued to search and
take in the aroma of rotting food and filth. Strange that there would be food
here after all this time. Why was it here? Who was it for? Why was it left to
rot? Is that a hand on the floor? Whose blood boot is that?
As the party searched and pondered a large rubber eye stalk
rose from a pile of broken crates and barrels. It scanned the room and noticed
a mage that looked especially tasty. The creature burst forth from its pile of
food and filth and lashed out and grabbing hold of the oblivious mage. The rest
of the party turned to see a giant fanged maw creature advancing on them, an
otyugh.
After he was initially grabbed the mage was able to teleport
a small distance away and escape the hungry garbage monster. The monk, paladin
and barbarian launched into an attack. The barb repositioned to keep away and
add some lightning and shatter spell damage. After a few turns the otyugh was
laid to waste with only a few bumps and bruises on the party. They dusted off
and gave the area a good exploration. All they found was that this creature was
being used as a possible garbage disposal or it had wandered into this giant
larder to feed and the duergar locked it in for their own safety.
The second locked door was popped open and the rooms beyond
were explored. They found a lot of old shoddy mining equipment and nothing
else. They continued on through the
area.
As the followed the small underground river that transverses
this floor, they found a patch of stalagmites along the river. Behind them was
a small hallway. Strange they hadn’t seen any natural cave formations before
now, but then again this area was rougher cut than the floor before. Plus there
is this river and stone plush dripping water from above would create
stalagmites. They moved through this little
“garden” of rock formations toward the hallway beyond. Well, until three of the
party were suddenly entwined by ropey tendrils that lashed out from a nearby
stalagmite. A stalagmite that now had a giant glaring eye and a large gaping
mouth.
The monk struggled to break free of the tentacle holding
him, but to no avail. The paladin was pulled into the mouth of the creature and
nommed on a bit. He then channeled his holy power and moved like the mists of
Avalon to escape. The barbarian unleashed blows upon the bitey rock monster.
As the party faced this creature the mage stood back
preparing to do his spell casting bit. However, a hand on his shoulder and some
strange elfish dialogue in his ear distracted him. Well, it was really the
dagger in his back that disrupted his spell casting. The touch and whisper were
just bit of good old fashioned creepy. He turned to see a thin male drow with a
bloody dagger standing before him. Oh no! Battle on two fronts!
The bard, with some quick thinking, tapped into his spell
book and cast a magical blindness on the stalagmite monster. The monster
continued to lash out with its four stony tentacles. The monk did escape and he
joined the paladin and barbarian in beating upon the rock monster.
The rouge rushed to the aid the mage. He drew his vicious
looking dagger and decided to bury right in the dark elf’s face. A single
strike and the drow sneak thief was dispatched. He then ran back to aid in the
fight against the stone tentacle monster. The roper promptly decided to die a
few moments later after a vicious pair of blows from the barbarian and flurry
from the monk.
The party continued searching the area and found some empty
jail cells and a large water logged room with a drowned orc corpse in it. A
collective “Meh!” went out from the group and they moved back
to the lift. They were headed back down a level to explore the ladder into
darkness!
After half an hour of climbing down a metal ladder, the
party reached the bottom. The sound of the rushing river finally seemed to end
in the distance and maybe this was a secret way out of the dwarven forge?
Magical light spells were activated and for some reason
their effect was diminished. It was as if the darkness of this area was
absorbing or trying to extinguish the light. The party found a series of small
rocky outcrops along the river and eventually a pair of rough stone bridges.
These were man (or more likely dwarf) made and were beginning to show signs of
age. The second bridge especially. As they slowly advanced one at a time, over
the second bridge they soon discovered where the river leads to, a giant
underground lake.
Morgan quickly pulled his crossbow and fired an illuminated
bolt across the lake. The monk and barbarian thought they saw a large fin sink
beneath the water, but they assumed it was just a trick of light and shadows as
the crossbow bolt flew through the cavern. Everyone could see this was a huge
chamber and that there was a small island just about 100 yards from the rocky
shore where they stood. There was also a series of rocky outcroppings and large
stepping stones along the far wall. The
mage, monk, bard and barbarian took to these to see if they could find a route
around the lake. The paladin rouge and bard hung back to explore the
shore.
The paladin, while exploring the shore with the rouge,
thought he saw something within the water. It looked like a dim purple light
shining up at him. No it was a pair of purple lights, wait were they looking at
him? Wait? Are they getting closer?
An explosion of water and a deafening roar are heard
throughout the cavern, as a dragon darker than night bursts from the lake. The
paladin is stricken with fear as is frozen in place. The rouge turns as he is
drenched with water only to see a gaping maw unleash a stream of darkness upon
him and the paladin. The two of them can feel their life essence draining from
them as they are bathed in dragon’s breath weapon.
The mage, barbarian and monk spring to action! The turn to
head back across the stepping stones when a tidal wave of water slams them into
the wall. They somehow kept their footing and started to move to the aid of
their friends.
Morgan turned and cast one spell on the half-ork, Haste! The
barbarian already foaming at mouth in a battle rage ran off to face the dragon
of darkness. Meanwhile the monk and mage’s world suddenly went black as the
dragon encircled them in a globe of complete darkness.
The paladin was able to quell his fear and promptly moved
away from combat? He retreated back across the crumbling stone bridge. The
rouge pulled and drank a potion of healing to keep himself up and in the fight.
The dragon, having only one target now, attacked the rouge with claws and a
vicious bite. The freshly healed dragonborn succumbed to the trio of fresh
injuries he just received. The bard seeing the rouge fall ran to his aid. The
barbarian full of magical speed deftly sprinted over to the dragon and laid
into him with his great sword. The mage slowly felt his way through the
darkness along trying to find the end of the spell. The monk turned toward the
sound of battle and promptly fell face first into the lake.
The paladin healed his wounds using his divine might and
then gathered his wits and the bard was able to heal the downed rouge with some
magic. The newly risen rouge then turned and ran off to join the paladin on the
stone bridge. The crumbling and weak stone bridge that the party crossed one at
a time for safety.
The paladin turned to see the dragonborn thief running
toward him. As he was preparing to strike at the dragon he felt the stone
bridge begin to shudder as the rouge raced a crossed it. The paladin’s might
swing never had a chance to land as the old stone bridge succumbed to weight of
the two people on it. The rouge and paladin fell into the river below them.
The dragon seeing only an elf musician and a frothing half-orc
approaching, had a good feeling that this would be a very productive day! He
took in another deep breath and unleashed another torrent of darkness upon the
two warriors in front of him. He stopped and looked to see the elf limping away
slowly, yet the half-orc was still moving full steam at him and swinging wildly
with his sword.
Meanwhile, the mage was still trying to move along the wall
to find the edge of the darkness. The monk struggled to keep afloat, swimming is
not his forte.
The paladin and rouge managed to pull themselves free of the
river before they were washed into the lake. The barbarian unleashed a flurry
of blows that struck the dragon in the chest. The beast roared in pain and
lashed out with tooth and claw. The barbarian brushed off the pain of the
attacks and kept swinging. The paladin managed to channel some holy magic to
wound this dragon of darkness. The rouge, spitting and sputtering water
advanced as well. The monk slowly, and awkwardly, swam to shore. He was able to
climb free of the treacherous lake water and stumbled toward the battle.
The half-orc continued his brutal assault on the dragon.
Blow after blow hit the beast, each one more furious than the last. The rouge
was able to drive his dagger into the side of the dragon to increase the damage.
The bard with his life force almost completely drained, managed to drag himself
away and heal himself with a potion. The mage…..was still limping through the
darkness. The paladin advanced to add
his holy might to the combat, but it was not needed.
The dragon’s head lolled backwards as his body slowly sank
into the dark lake with the barbarian still driving his sword into the belly of
the beast. He wasn’t finished with the dragon yet.
A minute later the half-orc burst from the lake sputtering
with the head of the dragon in hand. He dropped the head and removed one of the
creature’s large purple eyes and devoured it to honor Grummsh. The dragon head would
be a very worthy trophy, but it would need a bit of taxidermy work.
The party spent some time recovering and struck out to
explore the dark cavern lake, which for some strange reason was not so dark
anymore. They made their way to the small island to discover, surprisingly, a
small hoard of treasure and the dragon’s napping spot. A bit more time exploring
and they found a large tunnel that lead them to a small swamp on the surface.
They were finally back above ground.
Now all they had to do was to find a way back to their
little tower outside of Stonekeep.
No comments:
Post a Comment