Return to the Known Lands #2

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merias
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Return to the Known Lands #2

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From https://smolderingwizard.com/2020/11/12 ... session-2/

Date: 9/12/20

PCs:

Brother Berthold (Cleric L1)
Sporith the Gambler (MU L1)

Hirelings:

Pelgos (Sellsword – RIP killed by a cultist’s dagger)

NPCs:

Rubric, Dwarven beer merchant
Blunt, rowboat ferryman

LL Notes:

The party explored most of the first ‘Dolm River dungeon’ level, which is split into two parts, one abandoned and unlit, the other inhabited and well-lit via magical light sources. One area of several rooms in the abandoned section can be accessed only via locked door, sealed off due to the undead creatures within it. A demonic cult lives in the other half of this level, the cultists wear dark red robes and wooden or silver amulets carved with a picture of their demonic idol, and there are clues that some of them have studied necromancy.

The stone door exposed by the rock fall is the entrance to the uninhabited section. The cultists use another entrance, as yet unknown to the PCs. The stone door is atop a 30-foot winding stair carved into a cliff face, at the base of which is a sandy beach, along the shore of the Dolm river. A forested island lies in the middle of the river, across from the beach, and is home to a vicious warthog.

Complicating things is the presence of Gareth Holtz, a thief (my own modified Knave class as LL OEC has no thieves) who lives in Larm and is in league with the Thick Skull Orc tribe. He has three of the Orcs with him. Holtz heard the rumor of the stone door, and is intent on plundering the dungeon before anyone else.

Session Notes:

Sporith and Berthold decided not to waste any time after returning from the hermit cave and enlisted the aid of Blunt to row them and Pelgos upriver to the stone door. He agreed to partial payment in wine, and after preparing their packs, the group set out. After an uneventful couple of hours on the water, they spotted the rock fall and nearby island, and went ashore on the latter.

After being chased off of the island by the warthog, the party beached their rowboat by the cliff, leaving the drunken and sleeping Blunt within, and climbed the stairs to the stone door. As they approached, they could see the door was half open, a broken crowbar evidence to the method of forced entry. They lit torches and descended a 30 foot stair, into a room empty save for a dead Orc. As they passed the Orc they were attacked from above by reptilian creatures with clawed feet and large fangs. They managed to kill them and moved on.

In a circular room with a pool they encountered their first cultist, who Pelgos killed with his spear, but not before the cultist was able to yell an alarm. As there were no other exits, they thought it wise to stay put and douse the floor in front of the one door with oil.

They were soon joined by three other cultists, one of whom rushed into the room and was engulfed in flames when Sporith lit the puddle of oil with his torch. Before the flames claimed his life, he stabbed Pelgos through the chest with his dagger, killing him instantly. The two other cultists backed away from the flames and the party went after them, tracking them to a closed door. Beyond they could hear even more voices, so Berthold made good use of his iron spikes, pounding three into the door jamb. Convinced that the door would hold for a while, they explored south and came across a pair of ornate, gold-handled red doors that seemed impossible to open, despite the lack of any lock or keyhole.

The two moved on and returned to the uninhabited section of the level, exploring the cultist’s living quarters (they noted six beds) and a storage room. It was while investigating the latter that two cultists found them. Berthold was wounded in the battle, but eventually they were able to kill the cultists, with Sporith making good use of his dagger from the rear.

Continuing on, they came across a locked door. Sporith could hear Orc and Human voices beyond it, and rather than trying to break it down, they knocked. The human (who was Holtz) answered, and some bickering ensued about who would plunder the dungeon and who was going to kill whom. Eventually they goaded Holtz into opening the door, thinking he could surprise the two adventurers with a crossbow bolt and two Orc spears.

All of them missed their targets, however, and the fight was on. One Orc fell to Berthold’s mace, while Holtz almost ended Berthold’s life (LL note: Save vs. death house rule left him with 1hp) before being killed by Sporith’s dagger. The remaining Orc fled, through a door into a nearby room.

As Sporith was not injured, Berthold took a minute to use his cure light wounds scroll on himself. At that moment the two heard screams coming from the direction the Orc had fled, and upon investigating found the Orc had entered an old kitchen and been killed by a ghoul. The ghoul’s back was turned to them as he feasted on the Orc, so they closed the door to that room and moved on.

The last room they entered had clearly been the private quarters for someone, with a single bed and chest of drawers. In fact the former occupant was there as well, albeit now a zombie, still dressed in cultist robes. The two fell back, luring the zombie out of the room. Berthold tried but failed to turn the creature, so they were forced to fight it, but landed a few lucky blows and were able to kill it without injury to themselves. They went back and searched the room, finding a silver amulet and a book titled “Master the Undead”, which had hidden in it a scroll (animate dead). Sporith and Berthold decided now was a good time to return to town, so they exited the dungeon via the stone door, roused Blunt, and headed back down river to Larm.

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