A Dip in the Woods
Well I’m not sure how I ended up with this lot, not a dwarf amongst ‘em or an ounce of sense if I’m any judge, and I am. I guess times are hard when you need the coin to go off on a wild goose chase after strange happenings around Steeplefell in Estergrad. Disappeared villagers, a rogue druid blasting people with lightning. Threats to the trade route to the coast, mysterious apparitions haunting the area. You can guess which of these is causing concern to the local Lord, as we dwarves like to say, it’s the economy stupid.
So who are these motley shower I’m saddled with – A monk from somewhere up north and boy is she tall, and blond. Bernice is her name. Then there’s the Ranger or Cleric, or both, a half elf named Zunee. Last and quite possibly least, Malakai the Brown, a great wizard or so he says.
So it seems this druid named Ash has kidnapped half the young girls in the village as well as killing the blacksmith after inveigling his way into their trust for a few months. He lives on a wooded hilltop where there are ancient standing stones and a pool.
We decided to approach in daylight as presumably we like to be above board, no underhand sneaking up under cover of night for us, oh no. We entered the wood on the only path, the atmosphere was ominous. The monk tried to speak to some passing birds but could get little intel.
So we wandered into the clearing and into the stone circle, the stones had some scrawl on them but it was incomprehensible. The whole wood was very overgrown with thick brambles preventing anyone leaving the clearing other than by the path. We went up to the Pool and Malakai started prodding it with his staff, then suddenly a shower of arrows from the trees, we found ourselves trapped and encircled. I got a shot off at a shadowy humanoid I saw in the trees but I’m pretty sure it was a miss.
Malakai lowered himself cautiously into the pool and then dropped out of site. Then we heard his voice calling for us to jump in. Now Bernie was deflecting arrows left right and centre with some nifty moves but unfortunately I don’t have that kind of dexterity, and I was hit several times. Trusting Malakai, possibly unwisely, the monk and I leapt in. We landed on a broad staircase descending downward and I nearly broke my ankle and ended up flat on my back. The half elf lowered himself more delicately and the humans helped him down.
We picked ourselves up and considered our surroundings. No light penetrated the pool surface, the corridor grand staircase was lit by our continual light torches. It descended northwards to great double doors bearing carved human faces. Sculpted scenes of nymphs and satyrs processed down the walls, the ceiling vaulting to increasing heights as the staircase dropped away. A gong sat at the top of the stairs, the use of which we debated but decided against.
Malakai started mapping and we proceeded cautiously but suddenly both he and Bernie started taking hits from darts being fired from hidden apertures high up on either side. Malakai ordered us to fall back up the stairs (did I mention that he is in charge?) and we did, taking healing out of range of the darts that mysteriously failed to register on find traps.
Once we felt stronger we decided to proceed down one side of the stairs with no torches, the two with infravision guiding the humans. We duly did and further shots were fired, concentrating again on the unarmoured humans, but our tactic meant that only one side could bring darts to bear. We shoved the heavy doors open at the bottom and found ourselves in a wide corridor running east west with two staircases ascending on either side of the entrance.
We took the west staircase bounding up the stairs to be met by two hobgoblins who manned the gallery lined with peepholes and slots from where they could fire their poisoned darts using blowpipes. (That explained why find traps had not worked). I fired on them but missed and then Zunee and Bernie piled in on them. As the battle was joined a doorway opened right next to me revealing a huge hobgoblin with two more behind him. At last an opportunity for my axe and I landed a couple of good blows for my part as we despatched the enemy.
Malakai contributed with magic missiles but one hobgoblin slipped away somehow as we were distracted searching the bodies which produced very poor spoils; some shortswords, a morning star, longsword, some darts. We descended the stairs into the hobgoblins’ guardroom which contained a table, chairs and bunks. Behind one door we found an armoury and several of us helped ourselves to weapons and a few flasks that we presumed to be more poison.
Behind another door (that I had to open as Zunee is clearly a typical wimp with too much Elven blood), we were startled to see a huge spider on the ceiling but we quickly realised it was just a cleverly realistic painting. Zunee stepped into the room but immediately regretted it, he jumped back with a yelp and the floor rippled some powerful looking tendrils into existence that swung menacingly towards us. I grabbed the door and forced it shut, struggling for a few seconds as whatever it was tried to get to us. Bernie threw in a flask of the poison, but before we could see any result I managed to get the door closed.
We stayed in the room for a while resting up to regain spells, and searched the room thoroughly during those hours. We turned up a small steel chest that contained some silver coins and under the leader’s bed a longsword that injured the ranger when he picked it up. There was some giggling and we realised that it was the sword, but the giggling soon stopped when Malakai proposed dumping the sword in the hobgoblins’ latrine. The sword raised an area of darkness around it to try and prevent this and eventually Malakai relented, taking the sword himself, not that he can wield one. The sword did not harm him, perhaps mindful of its promised fate if it did. The sword’s name is Sleethin and seems to me is something we could probably well do without.
We headed back to where we had entered as there had been a fresco at the entrance we had not seen properly as we were without light at that point. Pictured were some hobbit massacres going on, but Zunee spotted a real locket and a sack containing some ceramic containers with pieces of string sticking out. Zunee theorised that they were some sort of grenade.
The locket contained 5 tablets or pills of some sort. Malakai, who seems increasingly reckless took one, with no apparent effect. We headed back west and ended up turning north before reaching a dead end. Turning back after finding no secret doors, 2 doors had now appeared in the corridor behind us. Malakai felt that something was wrong as we back tracked and checked the first door. Ahead the corridor instead of turning back east as it should, dead ended.
Malakai, who apparently has experience of teleportation, now announced that he felt we had teleported somewhere when we reached the dead end. Now I had done a lot of checking for traps and sliding stonework as we approached the original dead end, and studying the walls where I had seen distinctive markings and cracks I realised, somewhat to my own surprise that he was right: this was not the same stonework I had searched carefully only a few minutes before.
Returning to the end of the corridor and looking back again the 2 doors vanished, confirming that when we reached the dead end we were teleporting with no outward sign to a different location. We returned again and suddenly were hit by a crackling powerful bolt of lightning that badly injured all of us though Bernie less so. I caught a glimpse of a figure disappearing through the more distant door. Malakai, who had already been brought back once from near death, now looked even worse and we carried him into the room beyond the first door.
Our earlier scouting had showed this room to be a richly furnished bedroom, complete with impressive double bed, two suits of armour, a wardrobe, dressing table, thick carpeting and tapestries. As we laid Malakai down and Zunee started his healing incantations, the two suits of armour drew broadswords and moved to attack us.
I engaged one and the monk the other, but the armour was tough and I feared for Bernie. I managed to land a couple of good blows with my axe, but these were much tougher than the hobgoblins. Expending his last healing (our healing potions were long gone) Zunee now joined the fray with his spiritual hammer that took the pressure off Bernice. She was able to work her way round and attack from behind, easily done as the room was very large. With the recovered wizard adding his magic missiles the armour fell to pieces and we were victorious again.
Sorely injured we rested to heal, the wardrobe and dressing table moved to block the two doors, though Zunee again located a secret door, a sliding panel behind the double bed. We took a long time in this strange boudoir to regain our strength, but somewhere outside, our opponents were doubtless doing the same.
29.5.21
Experience
Bernice Requires 25,000 No Bonus
Trying to get intel from the birds 20
Hobgoblins 40
Picking Chest Lock 20
Armour 100
Required 24,820
Malakai the Brown Requires 20,000 Bonus
First to catch on that pool illusory 25
Hobgoblins 40
Realising that some sort of teleport had occurred 50
Armour 100
Sleethin 400
Required 19,323
Varamir Requires 35,000 Bonus
Hobgoblins 40
Slamming the door of 4b 20
Confirming difference between corridors after teleport 10
Armour 100
Required 34,813
Zunee Requires 20,000/5,500 No Bonus/Bonus
Checking for tracks on approach 10
Use of find traps 20
Sticking to one side of the stairs for second descent 20
Hobgoblins 40
Avoiding the occupant of 4b 20
Grenades 100
Armour 100
Healing 50
Secret door detection 50
Locket 200
Required 19,682/5,150
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