Klambake

Session 10: Jackals… Where?

The adventurers pass a quiet night holed up in the cellar beneath the Crooked Bar. They arise in the morning and cautiously crawl out of the cellar, wary that enemies may be lying in wait. They split up. A couple exit via the exterior cellar doors and check for hostile parties in the street, while the others emerge in the bar’s kitchen. Inside the barroom, they hear snoring coming from a booth. Upon investigation, they find that they have been rather lucky. Their protector, Louie, has fallen asleep in a corner booth. They wake him, and Louie wearily expresses his chagrine at his having nodded off, rather than remaining alert to potential troublw. Fortunately it seems the jackaweres, perhaps disorganized following the loss of their leader, found themselves lacking the wherewithal to mount another attack. Additionally, it turns out that Louie’s night was not entirely unproductive. Before turning in for the night, he delivered Wrenn’s note to Silk’s “old lady,” Ineeza. Louie and Silk have had a recent falling out. Silk had brought some extraordinarily unsavory “business associates” into the bar despite Louie’s objections. Louie describes these folks as “disturbing” and far worse than the usual thieves, gang members, and smugglers. Silk has been working as an independent broker… putting together “specialists” with clients, and helping to facilitate shady business dealings. Louie believes Silk is good at heart, but has recently taken a turn down a dark road. He also believes that Ineeza still has contact with Silk, and will do what she can to pass along Wrenn’s message.

After a simple, nourishing breakfast, the party decides to pay a visit to Mimi’s Adult Book Shop – a place that Louie has indicated is run by the Rivington Rats. He suggests that an alliance with the Rats might help them stay safe, now that they have made enemies of the jackalweres. They leave the Crooked Bar and head down the street, where they discover that the body of the slain jackalwere leader still lies on the cold wet street where he fell. They decide to take some mementos that might help make an impression on the Rats.

They knock on the door of the not-yet-open-for-business book store, and after much delay, are greeted by a gruff, sleepy older man named Roj. Roj is astonished by the gall of this group… that they should be in such need of smut this early in the morning. But Roj soon warms to his sales-clerk duties and tries to interest them in various pieces of literature… mostly poorly written bawdy stories illustrated with amateurish drawings of various creatures in compromising positions and states or partial undress. They express their interest in books that might be of value to somebody seeking entrance at Candlekeep. Roj assures them that it has been tried. The Avowed at Candlekeep see no value in such works. He does however, have one unique book that might suit their purposes… although it will be expensive. He brings forth a book from a locked cabinet behind his desk. Roj opens the book and displays the contents: a series of skillfully drawn diagrams of human female anatomy. It is far from erotic. In fact is is rather unsettlingly matter-of-fact. Anatomical features are rendered with the utmost precision, and labeled like scientific specimens. The effect is rather disturbing. Grixori realizes that the drawing style has a marked resemblance to the diagrams featured in “DU.EE Model One: Instructions and Designs for the Candlekeep Servent.” They ask Roj who did the artwork for the book, and he replies that it was done by an itinerant artist who went by the name “The EnGRAVEr.” Roj describes the EnGRAVEr as a very creepy individual. He did some work for the bookstore (which produces and prints much of their own material) but despite his talent, his work had no soul… no spark, so they let him go. The EnGRAVEer seemed content with that arrangement. He took his pay and left for the upper city, where he claimed to have more pressing business. That was several months ago and they have not seen him since.

The group takes a keen interest in purchasing this book, but they do not like the exorbitant asking price. Rather than negotiate, Roj decides to defer to his boss. He takes the group downstairs, where they are introduced to a trio of Rivington Rats. The group’s leader, Jughead, looking weary, sits in discussion with his gang-mates, a woman named Mickey, and a large half-elf named Templeton. The group relates the story of the previous night’s jackalwere encounter, and display the gruesome evidence of their victory, demonstrating to the gang members that they share a common enemy. Jughead, agreed that yes, they have a common enemy. The jackalweres are relative newcomers to Rivington, and very unwelcome ones at that. In fact, the mysterious Rio was a double agent put in place by the Rivington Rats to try and collect information about the jackalweres. Jughead laments the apparent loss of this asset, but he states that she had recently delivered some valuable information. The jackalweres call themselves the “Blood Horde” and they are part of a much larger population of jackweres which has recently blossomed throughout the Balder’s Gate area. More importantly, Rio believed that she had learned the location of their lair. She reported that the jackalweres inhabit a system of tunnels, accessible via a hole in the crumbling seawall in the western river district.

Jughead would love to be rid of the jackalweres and he suggests that now might be the ideal time to strike. If the Blood Horde has just lost its leader, they might be in a vulnerable state until a viable “beta” jackalwere should be elevated to alpha. Jughead proposes that that party should go now, and take Mickey and Templeton with them. If they can clear out the jackalwere lair, Jughead will see to it that they receive passage on a boat to the wharfs in Baldur’s Gate… thus bypassing the arduous road through the outer boroughs.

Eight strong, the group walks uncontested through the quiet morning streets of Rivington. They can see fishing boats leaving their piers and heading downriver. Small knots of workers shuffle through the cold misty morning to their jobs at canneries and mills. Reaching the water’s edge they head west, downstream toward an even more desolate part of town, characterized by abandoned warehouses, empty lots, and rubble. There is a two-tiered system of stone seawalls built to protect the riverbank from erosion. The group staggers around the rocky, weedy terrain, seeking out the entry to the jackalwere den. The finally find an area where tracks seem to converge, and they discover a gap between two large blocks of stone. Just as they are ready to examine this gap, they are beset by a group of jackals. The snarling animals lunge and snap, but they do little damage. Most are quickly dispatched. One flees, and another is taken captive. Waldo speaks to the captive, and learns that it is an actual jackal – a wild animal, not a transformed beast like the jackalweres whom they fought the previous night. Still, these jackals are thralls of the Blood Horde. The creature fears for its life, but does not wish to betray its masters. Yet, under duress, it discloses that the lair is underground, and that there is another entrance in a nearby abandoned building.

To seal the back entrance, or perhaps to smoke out the jackalweres, Waldo sets fire to the abandoned warehouse. Then they gather at the seawall to wait… hoping that the jackalweres will attempt to evacuate via the seawall tunnel. They wait and wait and finally lose patience. They decide to enter the tunnel. It is a tight passage, wending its way crookedly between walls of stone. They soon discover their way blocked by a large rock, but with some muscle and effort, they find that it can be pivoted out of the way. It opens into a small stone-walled room. In the center of the room is a rusted metal desk, bolted to the floor. Waldo pulls open a rusty drawer, and finds some old paperwork, the ink long since run together into an unreadable mess. The rear and left walls of the room have shifted out of alignment, resulting in a gap in the corner. This opening leads to a dirt tunnel leading down into darkness. The recent tracks of many feet and/or paws indicate that this passageway sees frequent use. They gaze into the darkness while they consider their next move.

Episode 102-103 – The Return to Shadowfurst

As the party travels east, they reflect upon their recent adventures. Caso and Foreman Sy have shared some interesting news regarding the goings-on in Shadowfurst. Before leaving town the adventurers had a deadly street fight with a band of thugs. Several of the thugs were slain before the rest fled. These were members of a rival gang to Hack’s “Mange Gang,” calling themselves “The Stoneheaded Bastards.” They have been causing trouble at the Yur Inn. The Stoneheaded Bastards hold great malice toward “The Four.” Furthermore, the slaying of those thugs has resulted in a turn of public opinion against “The Four.” Many of the local citizens simply cannot abide the killing of local young men by needlessly violent outsiders. Meanwhile, the citizens of Shadowfurst are chafing under the heavy-handed policing of the Countess’ personal guards and the royal soldiers who remained in town following the summer uprising. These outside security forces have been dominating the local guards, but carry much less understanding of the local situation. On the bright side, Caso informs them, the renovation of the Yur Inn was moving ahead quite aggressively last he had seen it.

The first two days of travel are uneventful. The temperature slowly drops, as do autumn leaves, while the skies remain clear. On the third day, as evening falls, rain starts to fall, and shadows deepen. They warily pass between low bluffs, when Cycek comes to a halt. He detects a low growl. He points to the right hand bluff. Davros picks up the signal and springs into action. He quickly takes a position of cover and prepares to fire an arrow. A moment later a vicious creatures leaps from the opposite bluff and charges into Caso. It’s a gnoll! It attempts to spear the young man, and failing that tries to bite him with gnashing fangs. Caso is miraculously unharmed. An instant later, Davros unleashes an arrow, injuring the aggressor. Before another breath can be taken, more gnolls take the field, attacking with spears, teeth, and arrows. The skilled adventurers believe they have the battle in hand, but out of nowhere, a cold, shadowy presence is felt. Mishok senses the deadly evil, and seems to see a demonic form. Sartan lights his magical torch and throws it at the feet of this shadow. The creature seems to momentarily flinch. At that moment, a familiar voice shouts in excitement and frustration in Sartan’s mind. “What are you doing!? Don’t mess with hammers and gnolls! Let me kill the demon! I want to kill it! It’s been too long! Let me at him!”

The gnoll ambush turns into a fierce battle, made even more harrowing by the presence of a shadow demon. Sartan’s demon-hating sword, however, gives him an edge in the battle, causing substantial injury to a foe that itself appears insubstantial. Davros fires arrows from a concealed location, a tactic that proves lethal to his adversaries. Despite the fearsome enemies, the four adventurers prove victorious, destroying the entire ambush party. Before the demon itself could be dispatched, it utters a malevolent threat, insisting that the fight would prove hopeless to the mortals, and that more like him would be upon them soon. Be that as it may, they hack at the creature creature as it flees, undoing its wispy flesh with many cuts from arrow, sword, and crystal axe. 

Combat over, they loot the bodies. The gnolls carry the usual gruesome trophies of battle: ears, teeth, fingers, scalps and such, many of these most likely once belonging to hobgoblins. One of the gnolls bore the blistered scars from either fire or some kind of caustic substance. They take what little of value they can find, and then return to the road.

Farther down the road, the group begins to encounter small groups of travelers, primarily rural folks from the south. These people are heading to Shadowfurst, seeking refuge from the purported hobgoblin incursions. Many had only heard rumors, but others had direct experience with the interlopers.   One traveler from the Greenfields area tells a tale of a clash between hobgoblins and gnolls. He reports having seen an scaly black lizard-like humanoid in the company of hobgoblins… fighting for them or with them. It is unclear whether he saw a dwarf among them.

When at last they arrive at the south gate of Shadowfurst, there is a small crowd waiting to be allowed into the city. This is apparently a new procedure, as folks generally had been free to come and go as they pleased during daylight hours. But these new arrivals are being not only questioned and inspected, but are apparently being shaken down by Countess Velnarion’s “Flaming Fist” guards. The group intervenes on behalf of the travellers, paying their way through with a hefty bribe. In doing so, they also learn that there are a large number of people coming to the city, and the guards stress that is is imperative that they thoroughly screen new arrivals. It’s even worse at the north gate, where refugees are arriving from New Elturel.

The four adventurers are allowed into the city. They cross the bridge, and can see that work is being done to fortify the seawall on the inner bank of the river, crowning the stone structure with metal spikes. They drop off Caso and the Foreman at the Stoneyard and are soon at the site of the Yurr Inn. It is immediately clear that much work has been done in their absence. Piles of cut stone lay stacked in the dirt yard among other bits of construction debris. It appears that about a quarter of the building has been demolished. It now has a decidedly smaller footprint, and a temporary wall of rough-hewn boards has been erected where the building original façade and entry way have been removed.

Inside, they find Lolly at work arranging furniture (which appears to be new). Some of the flooring also appears to be new. In fact, the remaining original parts of the barroom seem to be quite clean and orderly. Lolly greets them excitedly, expressing her relief that they are safe, and gushing about her progress in renovating the bar. Her expression falls, however, when she recounts the extortion attempts by a gang called the Stoneheaded Bastards. She has run out of money to pay for masons to build the new stone façade, and this gang is demanding “protection” fees. She has already paid them for a month, and unfortunately, she only has Shaggi and Skids to protect her. They have been doing their best. They have stood up to the thugs who have come to cause trouble, but they recently took a bit of a beating, outnumbered by gang members who came to intimidate the money out of her. This gang is headed by a thug named Mortlock – one of councilwoman Vanthampur’s sons. The Stoneheaded Bastards have long been rivals of her own son Hack’s “Mange Gang.” With the Mange Gang disbanded, and Hack gone, the SB’s have become the most powerful gang in the city. They have a grudge against Lolly and and even deeper grudge against “The Shadowfurst Four” for killing a few of their own on a street corner last summer.

Despite these issues, Lolly is proud of the work that has been done. The bar is stocked with new, higher quality liquor. She has in fact been open for limited hours, simply to bring in a little income. She shows them four paintings on the wall, each a somewhat amateurish, but remarkably recognizable portrait of the four new owners of this establishment.

The four head upstairs to find rooms where they can get some rest. They find that this part of the inn has seen little improvement yet, other than clean linen on the beds. The floors are still warped and rotten in places, the paint still flaking off the walls, and the windows still grey opaque. They find some loose floorboards and stash their Durgeddin weaponry within.

They decide to get a good night’s rest and pay a visit to the Mayor the following morning.

Episode 19: Exploring Ekso’s Lair

Having suffered injuries from the magical blast, the party takes an hour to hunker down in the now-wrecked safe room to recover. The wrack their brains over what may have happened to Wendella and Eve. Coriander asserts her determination to find her and return her to her parents. Eventually they leave the room and cautiously explore, seeking a way out. They hear a dog barking and decide to investigate a nearby door. Sartan cautiously opens the door as his companions guard the passageway, only to be rushed by a vicious 2-headed dog. It resembles the two-headed dog ridden by Berniece the Dwarf, but this one is smaller, and one of the heads seems to be of normal dog-like proportions, whereas the other one is distorted and monstrous. Sartan tries to bribe it with a bit of food to no avail. The creature shows no interest. He quickly slams the door.

They walk through the passageways, taking note of the faint hint of distant voices, and the occasional clang of metal. They try another door, and find what appears to be a study. It is furnished with a large oval table, chairs, several book cases and shelves. Among the items found here, Coriander identifies what must be a spell book, although she cannot read the writing. The cover bears an embossed 8-pointed star. Another book’s leather cover appears to have the skin of a human hand stitched into in. Inside are drawings and diagrams of body parts and bones disassembled and rearranged into grotesque and evil shapes. There are several unidentified scrolls, and various small containers of what appear to be spell components. Sartan, very suspicious of the “hand” book, decides to destroy it. Initially, Coriander is resistant to the destruction of arcane knowledge, but relents and Sartan points out that only something evil can come from it. He builds a pyre using some of the mundane books found on the shelves and throws the evil book on top. The heavy tome is slowly engulfed, and despite Sartan’s concerns, nothing unnatural seems to come of it.

in a nearby passage way, Davros encounters a pit trap. It is only his roguish dexterity that enables him to react, and jump back rather than plummet 20 feet down to a stone floor. He marks the location of the trap and returns to the study. There he and Sartan open a metal hatch in the floor. A wretched, undead creature leaps out and attacks. But Sartan and Davros, now much more experienced in battling such things are able to dispatch it.

Further explorations reveal the body of a dead goblin and bloody footprints leading into a rough-hewn passageway. The passageway seems to lead into a kitchen area. Here the party discusses taking a break and recovering from their wounds.

Session 9: The Crooked Bar

The travelers continue along the road, moving steadily northward while encountering no further aggressors. Over the course of several days of travel, they discuss their plans. They are interested in finding Matreous’ sister, to share the sad news of his demise, while perhaps finding some clue as to why he might have been killed. Quae had informed Lis that Matreous’ sister lived in the Seatower neighborhood of Baldur’s Gate. Lis, a one time resident of the city, knows Seatower to be an area in the western part of the city. He himself had grown up in the temple of Kelemvor in the “Temples” neighborhood in the Upper City. Lis explains that he was in fact, cast out from his order for his “heretical” views, and members of his order would like to do him harm.

As they proceed northward on the Coast Way, the wilderness slowly gives way to occasional farmsteads and cultivated fields, interspersed with stands of trees. Not far from the Outer City, they encounter a ragged looking man in a long coat, in the company of three children. He hails the strangers and introduces himself as Scorg. He explains that he is taking his children out of the city on a camping holiday. Noticing Scale, he reminds them that Baldur’s Gate forbids animals larger than a peacock within the Upper City. He recommends that they avoid the untrustworthy stables outside the gate, because there is no telling what might befall the animal. Instead, he offers a couple of solutions in the form of potions that he has for sale. One of them will reduce the size of the beast so that it can be legally brought through the city gates. The other would turn the animal invisible so they might surreptitiously bring it through. The prices for both of these potions are too high for their liking, so they decline to make the purchase. Waldo opts to dismiss Scale for the duration of the trip to the city, sending him home with the intent that they will reunite once this journey is complete. Waldo trims a bit off wool from Scale and puts it in his pocket. He gives Scorg and his children enough rations for six meals, and then bestows the gift of a throwing stone on each of the children.  Realizing that they also have a giant rat to deal with, they release it to make its own way in the wilderness.

They move on and as the road begins to descend to the river valley, they can see the city in the distance, along with the “Outer City” settlements clustered along the road and the river.  The first such settlement they come to is the town of Rivington. This is a fairly squalid town. Many of the buildings appear dilapidated, and the people in the streets looks a bit rough around the edges. However, they don’t seem to attract any undue attention. Wrenn, having spent some time in the area decides to seek out an acquaintance, a man named Louie who runs an establishment called “The Crooked Bar.” The building which houses this inn is, in fact, crooked. Its 3rd floor is shifted off-center from the floors below it. As a result the west-facing rooms on the 3rd floor overhang the sidewalk below.

Louie welcomes the six travelers  into his place and speaks warmly to his old friend, Wrenn. Apparently they haven’t seen each other for many years. Wrenn leaves a note to their mutual acquaintance, Silk. Louie informs Wrenn that Silk has not been welcome in the Crooked Bar for some time, but his “old lady” comes in from time to time. He says he will pass the note along to her.

Lis, still in the guise of Bella Wend, goes over to speak to a couple of thuggish looking blokes who are playing cards at a table. The go by the names of Ro and Dennis. They are members of the local street gang, the Rivington Rats. The gangsters find her mannerisms peculiar, so they are on their guard, particularly when they inquire whether she is related to Archduke Wend of the Kingdom of Tethyr. “She” concocts a story that implies a close relationship to the archduke, and his farming background. They scoff at the notion that such a well-to-do, powerful individual came from farming, and they dismiss the credibility of her story. However, as she inquires about the location of any book shops, they tell her about “Mimi’s Adult Books” just around the corner, where they stock some marvelous illustrated books that she or her companions might find interesting.

As evening deepens, they ask Louie for sleeping quarters. He sends them to two vacant rooms, one on the third floor and one on the second. DU.EE, Lis, and Grixori take the room on the second floor, while the others go up to the third. They examine the third floor room and find a loose floorboard where small items could be concealed, and also a loose wall panel. Moving the panel aside reveals a space between the walls of the adjoining rooms. There is a small peephole in the wallboard of the adjacent room. Peeking through, they see a an unoccupied room similar to their own. A grey, hooded cloak lies strewn over the bed, and a wide-brimmed hat hangs on a hook near the door.

During the night, their rest is disturbed by loud footsteps and angry voices in the corridor. It is clear that a small group of aggressive individuals is making their way up to the third floor. These individuals bang their way into the unoccupied third floor room. Grabnar bars the door, and Waldo assembles a molotov cocktail while Wrenn peers the through the peephole. He observes four hairy humanoids clad in leather and spikes, tossing the contents of the room. They have doglike snouts, pointed ears, and tails, and more menacingly, each is armed with a scimitar. They slice open the mattress, yank the drawers from the dresser, and generally make a mess of the place. Shortly, the largest of the four gestures toward the room next door, and barks a command in a language that Wrenn cannot understand. The intruders abruptly head for the door, and it become obvious that they mean to continue their search in the next room.

Grabnar braces the door, and shortly he feels an sharp impact. He holds firm, only to receive a second and a third even stronger impact against the door. This has given Wrenn time to take a tactical position behind a bureau, and for the downstairs team to head out into the corridor to investigate. Eventually the door is forced open and the four bestial humanoids burst into the room. They demand to know where Rio is. Of course, none of the three adventurers have any idea who Rio is. The aggressive intruders won’t take no for an answer and the confrontation erupts into violence. Two of the assailants run for backup, only to encounter “Bella Wend” on the landing. She tries to sweet talk them, but her charms fall flat. Frustrated, she lashes out, scorching one of them with arcane fire. The attackers turn the tables and bring Lis to the ground with a sleep charm. They try to hack at his prone body, but his companions are there to defend him. They kill one of the two and drive off the other, who flees down the stairs and out toward the street.

Upstairs, Waldo tries to attract attention by dropping his molotov cocktail out the window. It smashes on cobbled sidewalk with a gout of liquid flame. Two curious gnomes come out the front door of a hostel across the street, they see the fire, and then scurry away to retrieve water. Meanwhile the invaders attempt to shove Grabnar out of the window. He is too strong for them and he holds his ground. In fact he turns their tactic against them and sends the leader out the window. He lands in the flames with a shriek and a heavy thud. Burnt and wounded, he staggers to his feet and is promptly doused by a bucket of water flung by a gnome. He limps away, but is felled by an arrow in the back, and falls dead in the street.

When the hostilities end, one of the intruders has escaped, one lies dead in the street, and two lie dead in the Crooked Bar. Wrenn rousts Louie to explain what happened. Louie, no stranger to lethal fights in this rough town, helps to dispose of the bodies. He warns that if one of them escaped, he is sure to bring back allies. These are members a gang of jackalweres who he believes to be responsible for all kinds of trouble in the area. The Rivington Rats are their sworn enemies. Louie views the Rats as protectors of the town. Yes, they are dangerous thugs, but they are Rivington’s own, and they help keep other criminal forces at bay. He suggests that making friends with the Rivington Rats might be a good idea, especially if they have run afoul of the jackalweres. For now, they decide that they should lie low and recover from injuries sustained in the fight. Louie leads them down to the cellar, where there make themselves as comfortable as possible among sacks of potatoes, beans, and flour. Louie promises not to give them up when jackalwere enforcers inevitably come seeking vengeance.

Episodes 99-101 – The Fall of Scaythe’s Stronghold

Following a fight in which Slender James is killed, and Scaythe sent running, the party rests in Croncho’s cave. They consider several options for next steps. Croncho indicates a pair of tunnels, one of which wends deep into the earth… a passage to the legendary and much-feared Underdark. The other tunnel ultimately will open upon the surface world, miles to the east in the wilderness. Before they can decide, they are assaulted by another group of Scaythe’s minions. This bunch appears to be the squad of searchers they had seen leaving the mine the previous day. Lead by a fearsome hobgoblin captain, this band of enemies includes a huge, hideous, multi-legged reptile, a hulking jerky golem, and a full complement of foot soldiers and goblin archers. In the ensuing fight, Mishok is turned to stone (granting him an enhanced affinity for the nature of stone). In the midst of battle, they learn that the reptile is in fact a basilisk – a very dangerous creature. However, Croncho looks kindly upon the “misunderstood” beast and seeks to protect it. The battle is fierce, but the heroes prevail. The hobgoblins, goblins, and the jerky golem are slain. Croncho subdues the basilisk, and adopts it as a pet. They cure Mishok with the generous application of a slimy substance from the basilisk’s gullet.

The group decides they must take their leave of Croncho. Conferring with Caso and the foreman, who had previously spent some time in the service of the evil taskmaster Scyathe, they determine that the number of foes within the mine must be significantly diminished by now. They learn the location of Scaythe’s main headquarters and decide to seek him out, and hopefully retrieve Krago.

They backtrack through the mine, and soon find the steel sliding doors leading to Scaythe and Slender James’ workshop. Inside, they find a pair of large chambers, into which are built several tiers of iron catwalks. The main floor of the space is filled with at least a dozen prone, catatonic villagers. Bodies float and bob in a pool of aromatic water, like a ghastly stew. A gnoll prisoner screeches and gibbers, manacled and chained to a stone wall. Goblin archers nimbly scamper along the catwalks, firing arrows from above. The adventurers fight their way into the room, slowly cutting down the archers one at a time. Those who stray too close to the pool are subjected to an unsettling, soporific sensation, as if a spell has been cast upon them. In fact, Cycek for a time is put to sleep by some unseen magical force. The group eventually makes its way to a curtained area at the back of the chamber. There they find a ghoulish lab, in which the horrible jerky golems had been created. A body with disarticulated limbs is strapped to a stone slab. A workbench is strewn with cutting utensils and jars filled with herbs and assorted strange substances. A huge stone column houses a brazier outfitted with a grate, chains, and other weird hardware. It is clearly a smoking chamber. This appears to be the bottom of  the chimney down which Cycek had climbed just a day before. Mishok discovers Kheldegan Tolm (owner of Tolm’s Superior Out­fitting and Dry Goods) among the catatonic victims. He is still faintly breathing. Mishok calls upon Divoc for healing power, and finds that he is able to get the good Dwarf back on his feet. Unfortunately, his strength is such that he can only channel this power once before resting and regaining his strength.

Once the adventurers have cleared the space of enemies, they quickly move from combat-mode to the rescue of the stricken townsfolk. They bring in the cart from outside the mine and load it up with the unconscious townspeople.

They cautiously travel back to Blasingdell, keeping a close lookout for enemies, particularly Scaythe. They see no sign of him, nor of Krago. They arrive in town within the hour, returning the men to their concerned families. There is relief for some few, and deep sorrow for many others. An unfortunate number of good men were lost to the monstrous experiments of Slender James and Scaythe, including Shadwick, father of Wicklow. Many of the men are still stricken with the frightful catatonia. Mishok rests enough to recover some healing abilities, and assists some few victims with recovery. But, the team knows they need to move on. They simply cannot linger for the weeks it would take to restore all the men. Mishok offers what advice and wisdom he can, in the hopes that the local clergy will be able to successfully perform the healing rites themselves. Kheldegan, himself an new adherent of Divoc, commits to lead this effort.

The adventurers prepare to leave Blasingdell. The traumatized but resilient townspeople resolve to hold their village against aggressors as well as they can, but acknowledge that they may need to pull up stakes and retreat to Shadowfurst. First, however, they intend to retake the mine as a defensible stronghold. The foreman advises them that there are valuable crystals in a newly discovered lower chamber which may prove an economic boon for the town. Of course, they may face legal challenges from the Wend family. That will be a concern for a later date.

The group sets out to Shadowfurst, keeping their eyes on the sky, still fearing an appearance by a vengeful black dragon. They travel with a horse-drawn cart, hauling their cache of weapons and other loot retrieved from Khundrukkar. They have approximately six days of travel ahead of them, which are certain to be fraught with peril.

Episode 18: Under-Staffed

Sartan charges up the passageway to take on the opponent facing the now gravely injured Cycek. He bashes into the bandit and knocks him to the floor. Cycek makes an ill-advised attempt to chase down the fleeing Skinny Minnie. She turns and deals him another blow with her club, knocking him to the floor where he lies bleeding. Sartan, stabs his bandit combatant with a javelin, killing him, and then rushes to Cyceks aid. He pulls out his medical pack and manages to stop the bleeding and stabilize him.

Minnie runs up the stairs, following Hack, and disappears from sight.

Across the room, Mishok and Davros follow Coriander to the lobby where she has laid Wendella out on a couch. Mishok heads up the eastern passageway to scout, and discovers a metal door in the north wall. They decide to investigate, so Davros picks the lock. they carefully look into the room and find what appears to be a well-stocked safe room, with 2 beds, shelves of supplies, a couple of chairs, and an oil-burning stove. Weakened as they are from a day filled with battles, they decide to lock themselves in and rest for the night.

During their rest period, Wendella awakens. Her emotional state ranges from furious, to defiant, to resigned and passive. She says that she doesn’t hate her parents, but they are always trying to control her, and lead her into a typical mundane life, working in Shadowfurst. She becomes agitated when she begins talking about the power and glory that can be restored to this land, if only she could continue her work here. The party insists that she will be returned to her parents. She finally states that if she must return to the city, she wants to be brought to her room, so she can retrieve some of her personal belongings. The party, suspicious, refuse.

The next morning, Sartan and Mishok decide to go in search of Eve, who they have not seen since the previous night. They find her, still asleep in Ekso’s bed. She seems somewhat moved, as much as a bugbear can be moved, by the fact that these two former adversaries have come back to find her. She goes back to the safe room with them, to strategize their exit plan. Eve remarks that they are going to have to watch out for the wretched hobgoblins. They have their own agenda, and she has no doubt that they will return here in force, perhaps with an army, to establish a strategic stronghold. She wants that stronghold for herself. But she also cautions against the Duergar, a mysterious group of “dark dwarves” who apparently have been working with Ekso. She says they are “even worse” than the hobgoblins.

Curious about the staff taken from Ekso, they ask Coriander if she knows anything about this kind of staff. She inspects it and believes that it is a Staff of Wizardry, a very powerful magic item that should not be used by one not well experienced or strong in their magical practice. Such staves have been known to corrupt the weak with a lust for power. Sartan realizes that this must be what happened to his former colleague who won the staff from the evil mage Klesto-Dirk, years ago. The group also wonders if the staff is affecting Wendella similarly. She does seem less agitated when the staff is farther from her. They decide to see if they can remove the hovering ball.

They try to pull it away several times. It seems to just barely move, but they cannot seem to get enough hands on it, or a good enough grip on it to apply sufficient strength to pull it away. Cycek hits upon an idea to wrap a cloak around it, providing the leverage and good hand-holds for many of them to pull together. They do so. They pull, and the ball separates from the staff with a huge explosion. Everyone in the room flies back, slamming against walls. various objects fall off of shelves and crash to the ground. When the dazed and injured party members look around, they realize that Wendella and Eve are gone, both disappeared in a blink.

Stunned, Coriander cries out, “What happened? Where did they go!?” She is distraught about losing the girl, and in complete disbelief about what has just happened.

Episode 17: Hack is Back!

Battle continues in the cavern. Cycek and Eve join Sartan on the catwalk. They check Ekso’s body for any additional items of interest, and then carry the corpse to the lip of the platform and prepare to dump it into the water.

Hack and Skinny Minny survive their battle, and head toward the spiral staircase. Catching sight of Sartan and Mishok disposing of Ekso’s body, he bellows, “Damn you, you killed my ticket out of here! He owes me money! I worked long and hard looking for this gem, now I want my payment. Where’s Della!?”

Sartan yells back at him, “What the fuck do you care!? Take your gem and get out of here!” 

Meanwhile, Wendella has awoken and she groggily asks, then demands to know where she is. Mishok and Coriander try to calm and reason with her.

Up in the gem lab, Davros begins firing arrows down the shaft, dealing a series of deadly blows to the dreadful creature below. With a final shot, the creature swells, and then bursts, spraying gunk and maggots everywhere. A towering black misty form emerges, wavering in the dark, and a booming, deep, disturbing voice rings forth, “You! You think you’ve stopped my emergence into your world. You’ve only delayed the inevitable. A minor inconvenience, but one I won’t forget. I have 18 more lives to claim, and yours shall number among them.” With that the looming figure vanishes. This abyssal proclamation resounds through the cavern and the rooms above, and thus is heard by Wendella, Mishok, Davros, Hack and any other bystanders. 

Hack is freaked out by this as one more freakish event on top of his fight with the freakish worm creatures, and he bolts for the spiral staircase.

Mishok and Coriander come to an agreement that they should start moving toward the exit. She thinks she knows the way out. She remembers being brought through a tunnel and then the gate with the riddling creature in glass. The two drag Wendella away through the dining room.

Downstairs, Sartan, Cycek, and Eve run down the catwalk and attempt to leap over the river. Only Cycek makes it safely. The other two land in the water, at the shoreline, and scramble at the wet stone, trying to get out. They soon do, but not before Sartan is bitten by an underwater creature. The ascend the staircase.

Mishok and company hear the voices of Hack and his crew as they bang around in Ekso’s room, and shortly seen to hear celebratory shouts.

Sartan, Cycek and Eve emerge into Ekso’s room just in time to see the west door slam shut. They also notice that the desk has been moved, the rug tossed aside, and a lid opened in the floor, revealing a 2x2x2 stone void in the floor, containing an empty burlap sack. They surmise that Hack has left through the west door and they run off in pursuit. Eve, exhausted, lays down on Ekso’s bed.

Cycek manages to catch up to Hack and Skinny Minnie when Hack slips and falls on the persistent grease spell. Hack gets up and keeps running, but Skinny Minnie deals Cycek a nasty knock with her club, before high-tailing it after her leader.

Mishok and Davros are standing guard at the mouth of the other corridor when Wendella starts making a fuss. Davros punches her and knocks her out again. Coriander begins to take her toward the stairs, followed by Mishok, while Davros begins to head toward the opposite side of the room.

Episode 16: Wormbominations 2

Sartan and Cycek descend the spiral staircase to the edge of the subterranean stream, while Mishok stays with Coriander and the still unconscious Wendella. The fighter and ranger find several melees in-progress, along with a truly monstrous, bloated version of the maggot-beasts, appearing to be at least three of them fused together and thrashing around, extruding from and fused to the conjuration platform. Cycek and Sartan leap across the river on to the end of the collapsed catwalk. Sartan investigates Ekso’s body which has tumbled halfway down the ramp. He finds his mechanical spider repeatedly biting Ekso, who appears to be dead. Sartan bids his former adventuring colleague a farewell. Cycek, heads to the scene of the ongoing battle between Eve and one of the monstrous worm-creatures. 

Upstairs, Davros dashes out of the room and towards the pit in the center of Ekso’s lab, intending to rain down arrows upon the giant maggot. Meanwhile, Mishok inquires with Coriander as to her interest in Wendella, finding that there may be some conflict in their interests. She has been hired by Councilman Donnwald, whereas the team, of course, has been hired by Wendella’s parents, Mayor Anton Strongbow and his wife, Mrs. Willa Strongbow. While they talk, Wendella begins to stir, groggily coming out of her unconscious state.

Back in the caverns, Cycek helps Eve slay her opponent, employing the handheld oil-torch that he had taken from Ekso’s workbench. Sartan goes to work, firing arrows at the gigantic worm, which proceeds to vomit up gouts of maggots. Across the stream, Hack’s and his cronies battle another pair of maggot-creatures.

Episode 15: Wormbominations

Their foe unexpectedly laid low, Sartan and Mishok are momentarily stunned. A harsh call to their left alerts them to the presence of a small group of figures stepping out from behind a large pillar of rock. The leader of a small band of humanoids shouts “No! Goddammit! He was my ticket out of here!!!” Sartan stops whirling the glow-sphere, but as the light fades he is nearly certain that the yelling figure is none other than Hack. Down below, Eve is struggling to crawl out of the river, as one of the horrid creatures approaches her, and the water froths around her. Sartan and Mishok launch a couple of attacks and are finally able to slay the creature nearest to her. Several of the misshapen worm-creatures sprout wings and begin flapping up toward the pair of adventurers on the spiral staircase. They decide that now is the time to get out of there, and they run up the stairs.

Upstairs, Wendella’s fierce hobgoblin guard shoves the bed aside and bursts into the room. Davros, ready to attack, immediately shoots the armored warrior with his crossbow, and yells at Wendella to return to her room – she doesn’t know what she’s getting into. Coriander, ready with a frost spell, fails to finish off the wounded hobgoblin.

Cycek, hearing the faint sounds of battle yells out to Davros, and gleans that there is trouble happening. He turns and run backs toward the passage from which he had recently emerged, right past the startled hobgoblin who had regained his feet and was making his way into position to attack the crafty Cycek. The elf ranger, in his haste, fails to account for the lingering grease spell, slips, and falls flat on his back, halfway through the corridor. This gives enough time for the hobgoblin to wound him with a thrown javelin. Weakened, Cycek continues running toward Ekso’s quarters, outpacing the relatively slow hobgoblin.

Gaining the top of the stairs, Sartan and Mishok join the fray. The hobgoblin is soon slain, and Mishok deals the crushing blow to the goblin who has pressed into the room, following his hobgoblin commander. Wendella comes into the room insisting that these interlopers leave. In reply, Sartan grabs her, holds her in place, and Mishok knocks her out with a punch in the jaw. Coriander, helps to gently lower the girl to the floor, taking great care not to hurt her, and helps to bind her with rope. 

Meanwhile, Cycek rushes into the room with his hobgoblin pursuer just steps behind him. When it enters the room and sees four additional opponents awaiting him, he turns and runs back into the library. Free from his pursuer, and back in the company of his allies, he asks Mishok for the power of healing prayer, to which the cleric gladly complies.

Uncertain about what to do next, the party begin to discuss options, but before long one of the winged worms surges into the room from the spiral staircase. It vomits a disgusting spew of writhing maggots, and lashes out at whoever is near. A fierce battle ensues. Mishok calls to his god Divoc for intervention, and sacred flames are sent to burn away this abomination. It takes some time, but the unnatural creature is eventually slain. Returning to their lengthy discussion, the team again is interrupted by an additional maggot-creature emerging from the stairs. Sartan splits the wretched creature’s face open with a mighty axe blow, but somehow, astonishingly, and horrifyingly, the monstrosity continues to attack. Davros delivers the killing blow with his rapier. The two dead creatures begin to dissolves, turning into a sickening goo resembling melted cheese on the floor that still wriggles with maggots, many of them crushed into a disgusting paste after being trodden upon by the battling parties.

Several options are considered for their next course of action. Is seeking an exit in the unknown lair wise? They decide to return to the cavern to Eve’s aid and ready themselves to cautiously head back down the spiral staircase.

Episode 14: Xodar Revealed… and Dispatched

The party continues investigating the items displayed on the shelves of Ekso’s private quarters. They discover a rather strange rod which remains motionless and immovable when a button on the end is depressed, only becoming movable again when the button is depressed a second time. There is also a pair of flat stones, approximately 2-inches in diameter and decorated with the stylized profile of a face, one being the negative image of its counterpart on the other stone. There is a lacquered wedge of cheese with several names carved into it. They drag Ekso’s heavy bed to the east door to keep it closed.

Rethinking the “walnut” approach to blocking up the hole, they instead decide to employ the magical leg trap purchased days ago from the Gnome merchant on the road to Duskhaven. Having set the trap, the team decides to carefully proceed down the spiral staircase. They see a faint light from below and hear the deep voice of Ekso chanting an incantation away in the depths. Quietly observing the distracted wizard, the see him standing upon a metal platform across a long metal catwalk. A large gloomy cavern opens around them, faintly illuminated by candles burning at the corners of an elaborate circular platform adorned with a large 8-pointed star. As the wizard continues concentrating on his mysterious ritual, the party notices faintly glowing, grotesque, wormlike creatures writhing on the cavern floor. They send one of the captured clockwork spiders to cross the catwalk and attack him. They soon learn that bugbears are no good at whispering, as Eve speaks a little too loudly, alerting Ekso to their presence. An angry Cycek fires an arrow at Ekso, striking him, breaking his concentration and ruining his ritual spell. nevertheless, he responds with a magic missile, dividing its damage between three of the party members.

Soon, Davros hears a “snap” and runs up the stairs to find the lizard creature caught in the trap. However, he also finds that a hobgoblin guard is pushing its way through the east door. The hobgoblin accompanies Wendella who clearly has found a way to either persuade or force her impromptu captors to release her. Coriander joins Davros back in Ekso’s room. She goes to deal with the captured lizard, placing a bag over it, while leaving it ensnared in the leg trap. Davros tries to intimidate the hobgoblin, while standing ready with his bow. He also has words with Wendella, trying to persuade her to reconsider what she is doing and return with them to her parents. The hobgoblin is unfazed, while Wendella seems to pause to consider what Davros has said.

Cycek, acting boldly, runs up the stairs, hastening through the library and into the passageway that had earlier been coated in magical grease. He sees the goblin guard they had stationed at the end of the pasageway lying dead, and a large hobgoblin coming toward him. Cycek bum-rushes the hobgoblins, slides on the grease, and takes the hobgoblin out at the legs. He proceeds into the lab where he takes the remaining empty glass globe and begins pouring a random concoction into it.

Back in the cavern, Sartan, affixes the light-orb onto the Gooey Grabber and whirls it around his head, revealing more of the cave. Ekso, in his anger and arrogance launches into a monologue, revealing his past connection to Sartan. He was once known as Xodar and had once adventured with Sartan, Ahura-Mazda, Lefto and Krago. Sartan is shocked! What has wrought such a change in his former colleague!? Eve, not one for talking, and stung by insulting words from her former employer, charges out onto the catwalk. Ekso pulls a chain, and the end of the catwalk plummets, dumping the bugbear chief into the river. She tries to climb out onto the slippery rocks, only to fall back in as the water begins to writhe around her, and the bizzare worm-creatures draw near.

Upstairs, Cycek takes his improvised alchemical device and throws it down the central shaft. It smashes onto the circular platform 30 feet below Ekso and erupts into multiple magical missiles. Five glowing arrows of pure arcane energy, each a different color, take flight and double back upon the robed figure. Ekso is bathed in intensely bright light and the missiles pierce him, and he collapses to the floor in a heap. All who see the sight are shocked, but none more so than Sartan who moments ago had learned such an unexpected truth about their foe.