Hellish Conclusion*
*In which Zionestes gets pussy at last
So now that the action is over Barakor reappears and confirms that our escort has left. He assesses the formidable door infront of us and all agree it will take some muscle to shift. Fortunately we have some muscle with us, namely Holly; Barakor; Saladin* and Zionestes.
*Saladin is having some issues having decided this session that he is an orc named Grom. We await him inserting pencils up his nose and saying ‘Wibble’
The doors give under the combined strength of our gym-master pumped Adonis’s revealing another level of the main keep building and an unfriendly looking hill giant.* It hurled a large boulder at Holly, fortunately missing the monk. Grom and Barakor charged to attack whilst Eldras and Roscoe moved to attack from behind. Zionestes cast his spiritual hammer to engage the giant and I put two magic missiles into it.
*Distinguished from the many unfriendly ones by its next action
The giant proved highly resilient even though some solid blows were landed and it concentrated its attacks on Grom, felling him. Fortunately our combined efforts killed the creature at last whilst Zionestes revived Saladin/ Grom. Barakor searched the giant’s bag and located two transmat crystals and a suit of chainmail which would prove to be magical.
The turrets off the chamber were empty except one which contained a familiar sight, a teleport terminal. Otherwise it was a dead end, though we knew there was another level above.
Aware we had left loose ends, we returned to the room accessed with the gold key we had liberated from the spider room. The door concealed nothing more exotic than a wardrobe however, containing a robe which I donned. It felt good and drew some positive comments so I decided to keep it on.
Grom, ever more warlike in his orcish persona smashed the strange dial in the guardroom as we returned up the stairs to the scene of our battle with the spice worm. Eldras scouted the room on the other side and reported a torture chamber with nothing of note. Searching further on the second level we checked a dead end corridor before returning to the grid room where Saladin had disappeared before.
This time Eldras entered the room and examined the glowing orb there, but he too was trapped by the descending metal plates and disappeared like Saladin had before him. Grom lifted the portcullis but he and Barakor were driven off by volleys of smokey bombs that emerged from the smoke obscured ceiling.
We retreated back upstairs via the accessway through the cell roof hatch only to find more dead ends on the level above. Then Holly hit on the idea of checking the ceilings for secret doors to the upper level and we successfully located cunningly concealed roof hatches in all three turrets in the hill giant’s lair.
Holly climbed up through one and began to set up a rope for the others when a giant boa constrictor with a sting in its tail attacked her, snaring her in its coils. Zionestes and Barakor raced to assist and Roscoe and Eldras climbed up too. The snake was killed and Holly freed and I removed the stinger from the animal. Curiously it appeared to me that the stinger appeared to have been surgically attached. Still no sign of Eldras though. We moved on through the new level and came upon a grell in a fetid room filled with slime and fungal growth.
The grell paralysed Barakor and killed Holly with its multiple tentacle attacks before we eventually overcame it and Zionestes, who had avoided attack by using his sanctuary spell managed to heal Holly to save her in time. Checking the rest of the area we discovered an ancient book scribed in Allerzoi that I was able to translate in fragmentary passages only as much of the script was no longer legible.
Grom searched a cavern that ran out of the chamber and discovered that it was a half mile long tunnel that ran to a secluded thicket on the hillside above. Meanwhile the rest of us searched the area, moving confidently as Zionestes had his trap detection incantation operating.
We discovered several chambers containing warped surgical experiments; a rat headed horse, a cat with hooves and several pre op creatures including mercifully Eldras, an elf and a female human. In a secret chamber discovered by Barakor we found an intelligent and somewhat disagreeable longsword named Gut Wrencher.
It seemed a little anti dwarf and he engaged in a battle of wills with it, losing out several times as it forced him to kill several creatures. It almost forced him to kill an imprisoned cat but he missed with the blow he was forced to make and Zionestes promptly adopted the animal. Meanwhile Holly reassured panicked survivors including a horse named Bernard.
Grom then returned and an argument developed over ownership of the sword: Grom decided that the dwarf could not be trusted with it and decided to take it into his custody, not that the sword (who showed pro elvish tendencies if anything) seemed particularly enamoured with human ownership, even one who claimed to be an orc.
Grom ran away but in his plate mail had little chance of escape. Zionestes attempted to slow him down ordering him to ‘Undress!’ with a command spell, but Grom saved twice and the cleric got a shield in the face for his trouble. The fight was about to get serious when Eldras darted in and lifted the sword with a delicate cutpurse move. Barakor ended it bloodlessly using a hold spell.
We decided to return after freeing the animals and teleported back to Krim, Grom handcuffed by Eldras. Back at Krim Eldras was awarded custody of the fractious sword by amicable agreement, but will the quarrel have lasting effects? The Mage of Krim identified our artefacts including the amulet which enhances my powers and the robe which has protective qualities. One thing I discovered is that the robe enables me to detect evil by touch, and Roscoe is making my spider senses tingle.
The sword is a gut ripper that on a lucky hit explodes within the guts of its victim causing massive injury. We sold various bits and bobs including some nick nacks, the teleport crystals and the book which seemed of great interest to the Mage. Eldras, Holly, Barakor and I have all levelled up and 80,000 gps of party funds has vanished quickly, 80,000 gps we don’t have.
Kravaine
Mapping 50
Hill Giant 290
Characterisation & Roleplay 30
Robe 3000
Grell 160
Book Room 31 1000
Locating and freeing Eldras and prisoners 100
Total 4630
Eldras
Hill Giant 290
Characterisation & Roleplay 30
Gutwrencher 1000
Stealing Gutwrencher 200
Total 1520
Barakor
Hill Giant 290
Chainmail 1200
Characterisation & Roleplay 30
Boa 80
Gutwrencher 1000
Grell 160
Locating and freeing Eldras and prisoners 100
Discovery of secret door to room 36 50
Find Traps 20
Holding Grom 50
Total 2980
Holly
Hill Giant 290
Characterisation & Roleplay 30
Thinking of searching ceilings 200
Scouting Room 30 25
Boa 80
Grell 160
Locating and freeing Eldras and prisoners 100
Talking to the animals 30
Total 915
Saladin/ Grom
Hill Giant 290
Characterisation & Roleplay 60
Boa 80
Realising Boa had been altered surgically 30
Gutwrencher 1000
Grell 160
Scouting exit tunnel 30
Total 1650
Roscoe
Hill Giant 290
Boa 80
Grell 160
Locating and freeing Eldras and prisoners 100
Total 630
Zionestes
Healing 50
Critical Healing Holly & Grom 150
Hill Giant 290
Characterisation & Roleplay 20
Boa 80
Grell 160
Use of Find Traps 50
Use of Command 50
Locating and freeing Eldras and prisoners 100
Use of Sanctuary 40
Total 990
Name Class 2nd Class B/F Cumulative Target Current Level
Kravaine MU*
5093 9022 14,115 22,500
(5) 4
Eldras T*
1672 9969 11,641 20,000
(6) 5
Barakor F*
1639 C*
1639 7149/
7149 8,788/
8,788 18,000/
13000
(5/5) 4/4
Holly M
915 11280 12,195 22,500
(5) 4
Grom F*
1815 9709 11,534 18,000
(5) 4
Roscoe T*
693 8410 9,103 10,000
(5) 4
Zionestes C*
1089 8226 9,315 13,000
(5) 4
*EP Bonus applied
30.11.13
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