Game summary for September 15, 2011, In Search of Adventure campaign, Keep on the Borderlands adventure; present characters included Grey Mouser (thief apprentice), Illithor (elf veteran-medium), Nicholae Dragos (cleric acolyte) and Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf veteran).
Joined by Illithor and Nicholae, who had been bringing up the rear, the party attacked the goblin and ogre. The brawl was brutal, with the goblin going down quickly. The ogre fell back into a narrow hallway to limit the foes who could engage him. He delivered a clobbering shot to Wuldric Mineshield, cracking several ribs and driving him into the ground. The battered dwarf had to fall back from the fight. Grey Mouser ran about the back ranks launching arrow after arrow at the ogre and missing. Theobald planted his spear in the ogre’s gut while Nicholae hammered its knee. Howling in pain, the ogre fell back further and vainly swung away at the armored and nimble Illithor who had just hit it with a magic missile. As the party closed in, Grey Mouser finally found his range and sank an arrow in the ogre’s throat, dropping it dead to the ground.
After ransacking the ogre lair, the team found a side corridor. At the end four burned and blackened bodies lay in a heap. The team decided they must have triggered a trap and fell back for the time being.
Advancing slowly, the team came upon a lair filled with dozens of goblins. The women and young fled out the back while the males advanced. The party tried to convince the goblins to pay tribute; however, the goblins, fearful and trying to protect their young, were soon provoked to fight. With reckless abandon, the goblins filled the hallway and fought. The party parried spear thrust after spear thrust and traded blows with the humanoids. Minor wounds were accumulated, and a couple of goblins went down. Things were starting to turn in favor of the party when a well-aimed spear penetrated Katarzina’s armor and skewered her. The retainer was dead before she hit the floor, her torch falling from her limp fingers. A sneaky goblin then stomped out the light source.
Plunged into darkness, the fighting got intense. Quick-thinking Grey Mouser pulled out a tinder box and torches and illuminated the passageway. Out of arrows, he also drew forth hand axes. He hurled one into the melee as the team began to fatigue. More goblins died, but the party lines were softening. Illithor’s blade ran red with blood, and Nicholae had bound his wounds and moved back to the front. Stout Theobald suffered several spear thrusts and had to fall back. Grey Mouser moved in to fill the ranks and found himself impaled upon a goblin spear. The cackling fiend ripped the haft from his chest as he toppled over into death.
Injured Wuldric advanced back into the fray, and the party drove the goblins back on their heels. One after another fell, but fighting for the lives of their families, the goblins did not retreat. They stood to a “man” and traded their lives dearly in blood and agony. With the foul creatures slain, they had a moment to catch their breath. Illithor picked up a goblin body and investigated the side chamber once again. He hurled the body down the hall trying to trigger the suspected fire trap that burned the other four bodies within. The floppy goblin hurtled through the air, splatted against the far wall, and landed in a heap with no effect.
Unsure about the hall, the team grabbed the bodies of Katarzina and Grey Mouser and fled back to the keep. Once there, Nicholae conducted two beautiful funeral services. They then proceeded to negotiate the hiring of Arathorn, an elven mercenary.
The above summary is for a game session of Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC edition played by the Phoenix Gaming Club.
