Game summary for February 23, 2012, In Search of Adventure campaign, X8: Drums on Fire Mountain adventure; present characters included Dinendel Telemnar (elf hero-magician), Meriwen Arnatule (elf hero-magician), Nicholae Dragos (cleric curate), and Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf hero).
The Conquerors of Chaos proceeded into the hallway, the pounding of drums louder than ever. They followed a branch of hallway to discover an empty room garishly painted in reds, yellows, and greens. After looking around, they found they had circled back to the room previously containing the wood golems. The team then explored the other branch with the drums growing louder with each step.
The group opened a door at the hall’s end to find themselves beside nine drumming kara-kara warriors near a pair of manwu-papas beside a drop down into the fiery heart of the volcano! Across a swaying bridge danced and chanted hundreds of kara-kara! Overlooking the scene sat a pig-faced creature on a stone throne. As the party entered, the drumming stopped and hundreds of kara-kara charged forward in a rage, hurling spears and guttural curses. The pig-creature stood off the throne and vanished from sight.
A brutal fight ensued, with Meriwen shooting one of the kara-kara off the swaying bridge while the rest of the team fanned out to interfere with the approaching orcs. Legend ran forward brandishing his ancient sword of power and sliced through one of the support ropes, toppling the swaying bridge and dumping a dozen kara-kara into the flaming lava! From the far side came hurled spears, and the manwu-papa from near the throne closed in. They unleashed hold person spells that Nicholae shrugged off before he succumbed to a cause fear. He bolted for a doorway while kara-kara tried to maneuver around the party to close them in on two sides.
Meriwen, seeing Nicholae compelled to bolt, grappled with the priest to try and keep him from running into the kara-kara down the hallway. Ma’Kala, knowing the cleric’s deep infatuation with her, flung open her bodice to distract him and help shake off the magical compulsion. It took several moments for him to clear his mind, but the shock was sufficient to break the spell!
Regrouping, the party laid out several kara-kara warriors and surrounded the manwu-papas, cutting them down with swords, arrows, hammers, and spears. They then spiked the doors shut and blocked them with the massive drums. The party then ran to the throne to investigate. Finding no sign of the pig-man, they ran down a hallway discovered behind the throne. Beyond the throne was a confusing room filled with hanging crystals that caused intense disorientation. However, the party overcame it by each party member going to one of the six exit doors and opening them at the same time. They then proceeded out of the short southern exit to find a room of mirrors.
Nicholae discovered the mirrors were flexible when he struck it with his hammer, getting it stuck halfway through. Meriwen saw this and ran face first into the mirror, finding herself able to pass through to the other side revealing another mirrored room. The team found several such rooms and continued going through southern exits until they stumbled upon a lavish bath. Past this room, they found a bedroom with a toppled chair to which a beautiful woman was bound.
Legend ungagged the woman who revealed herself to be named Maerie, a hostage from the Lady’s Triumph captured two weeks ago by green-skinned pirates. The group untied her, and she revealed the leader of the pirates to be a man in a pig costume named KalnaKaa. She said he came in, tied her up and fled right before the party arrived.
The above summary is for a game session of Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC edition played by the Phoenix Gaming Club.
