Game summary for June 14, 2007; present characters included Evo Shandor (human fighter/rogue), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), Pitamian Kalal (human yang monk), and Taravin Truesilver (human gray guard/paladin of honor).
The Mercenaries proceeded past the room with the strange spider and found a small room with what appeared to be a shrine to Icosiol. A large gold statue sat on the shrine, but the party decided not to bother it for fear of setting off traps.
Instead, they followed the footprints through another door and found a large roundish room with a floor sloping toward the center like a funnel. A metal spike protruded from the ceiling, and at the end of it floated a blue sphere of arcing lightning. Within the sphere, suspended in mid air, floated Delfen! As the party moved in, they were blasted with deadly bolts of electricity.
With no obvious means to turn off the sphere, the team resorted to their specialty—brute force. Using a grappling hook, Evo snagged the metal rod, and the four party members all grabbed the rope. With a number of forceful tugs, they managed to rip the rod from the ceiling. As it crashed to the ground, so too did Delfen as the sphere winked out of existence. Evo rushed in and administered a potion of cure moderate wounds while Morak used magic to heal the injuries of his companions.
The party spoke to Delfen for a while and then returned to speak with Walker Across the Threshold. However, they discovered he had left and Cornerweaver had come in his place. After a while of talking, the party decided Cornerweaver was as crazy as Walker Across the Threshold. The spider provided them a lot of information, including more details regarding the Marquis of the River. However, it soon became apparent that Cornerweaver’s concern for their safety was suspect at best. It appears the spider answers questions exactly and literally, despite the intent behind the questions. The Mercenaries made sure the spiders would not harass them while they rested, and Cornerweaver assured them he was almost fairly confident that he was pretty sure the Hungry Prince might not try to harm them in their sleep. After this discussion, the party made camp, and Delfen “Yellowknife” Ondabar used some sort of transportation magic to leave their presence and head back to Daggerford.
The mind-numbing circular conversation with the spider had actually gleaned useful information. Apparently the direction Walker Across the Threshold had sent them was the “short way” to the Marquis because it leads directly into a waterfall or some such. Cornerweaver described a “long way” that had more guardians but would still lead to the Marquis. The team opted to try the long way.
The party opened another set of double-doors from the spiders’ chambers and found a fast flowing river the color of freshly spilled blood. Spanning the river stood an old stone bridge badly worn by time and the erosion of the water below. Across the river stood a gatehouse with massive doors. Desiring that none be trapped on one side of the river or the other, the party charged as a group across the rickety stone bridge; however, at the last moment, Pitamian pulled up short and decided not to run across. A moment later, the combined weight of the party brought down the bridge and submerged the Mercenaries in the river! Pitamian quickly used his monk ability to fall safely to descend to the riverbank, but a strange creature rose up out of the stone and mercilessly injured him. Wasting no time, Pit dove into the river after his companions. The creature remained on the banks as Pit swam circles around his allies and they all began to be washed downstream.
Aiding one another, the group managed to go down a fork in the river where the current calmed. Following this branch of waist-deep water, they found a strange “plug” of red ice on the ceiling. As they looked it, they noticed the glistening, undulating form of two blood red oozes slithering up on them!
The Mercenaries quickly engaged the blood amniotes and found them hardy opponents. Whenever one of the oozes hit a target, the person’s blood began to flow out of his pores, float through the air, and enter into the ooze. Taravin and Pit fought against the creatures while Evo feverishly retrieved and lit a torch from his kit. Morak attempted to use flame strike but was struck violently and lost his concentration. The team hammered at the creatures and Evo burned away with his torch. Taravin reached out and used his lay on hands ability to devastate on creature who quickly succumbed to blows the next round. Soon, both creatures had been dispatched.
Morak took a few moments to heal injuries, and now the party gazes up at the ice in the ceiling above.
Leave a Reply