Game summary for February 7, 2008; present characters included Chuck Ahammer (shield dwarf master thrower/rogue/thunderthrower), Eolas Windmaster (moon elf duskblade), Iapetus Hasur (hu-charad giant rogue/scout/vigilante), Lady Aridarye Phylund Brokengulf (human aristocrat/harbinger/ranger cohort), Lyrin Sinbal (simian incantatrix/ring sage/warmage), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), Syvarius Strongbow (moon elf archer-ranger/peerless archer), and Taravin Truesilver (human gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).
After a refreshing camp, the Mercenaries prepare to search the carrion pit for the key in earnest. Lyrin has the idea of casting elemental swarm and summoning a small army of air elementals to scour the caves for the key and wipe out the carrion crawlers. He summons over a dozen elementals who make short work of the vermin and discover a massive Mother Worm deeper in the caves. Morak shields the team with mass neutralize poison, and the elementals carry the party down into the darkness.
The Mother Worm horribly burned Syvarius with a blast of acidic spittle. Meanwhile, the air elementals surround the beast and try to batter away at it; however, its tough hide proves too resilient. It discorporates numerous elementals with its bashing tentacles. Arrows and spells bombard the Mother Worm, but she shrugs off many of the effects. Iapetus and Taravin rush forward and slash away at the beast with their blades. The Mother Worm fights back and severely injures Iapetus and beats Taravin into unconsciousness.
Syvarius pulls out the stops and takes power shots with his bow, while Morak continues battering away at the creature’s spell resistance. Eolas finds the monster at least partially vulnerable to cold and unleashes a barrage of polar rays. Aridarye casts a number of spells to aid allies and attempts several offensive effects against the crawler. With the assistance of Gazzilfek, Chuck makes an effective series of well-placed hammer throws. Finally, Lyrin’s magic breaks the last bit of strength held by the writhing worm, and she dies a horrendous, gore-soaked death.
After the battle, Iapetus uses locate object to find the vault key in the stomach of the Mother Worm. It takes a while, but the Mercenaries cut their way into the center of the worm and extract the key. They quickly exit the carrion pit and head toward the Citadel of Weeping Dragons. Once there, they send a magically cloaked Chuck over to scout. After hearing his report, the party moves up to the battered gates and slips inside. The only signs of giants so far have been the cooling pools of blood outside the Citadel. Is anyone home? Is Dragotha’s phylactery locked away safely in the vault, or have the dragons already retrieved it?
