“Ha”, exclaimed Tu [Shane], “the back door!”
“Might be” said Myrtle [Andrew], “or might not be.”
After finishing off our scouting of the area we assembled
back at the mine and reported to Captain Marion. It was resolved to head back
down the mine shaft first thing the next morning, and we all had a good night’s
rest, with no unwelcome interruptions.
In the morning we all rose for a hearty breakfast, noting
that no one was left in bed marmalading! Then we prepared for tunnel
exploration and confined battles, and all climbed back into the mine shaft
cages and clattered back down into the mine shaft. At the big chamber at the
bottom of the shaft we lit out lanterns, strapped on our shields, drew our
weapons, and cautiously advanced back into the newest drift.
We passed the location where we found and recovered the
first body yesterday and pushed on along the drift. Tu [Shane] soon
yelled back that we were coming up on three more bodies, definitely dead. Given
all the yelling and noise we were making, Debbie [Steven] decided that
fighting music would be appropriate and started up a joyful little tune to lift
our spirits [Bless spell giving +1 to all our attack rolls]
“Sushhh” whispered Bear [Ian], “I think I hear
something”
Suddenly a very loud growling noise came echoing from the darkness
ahead, quickly followed the sound of heavy “feet” thumping towards us.
“Brace” yelled Tu [Shane].
Bear [Ian] and Tu [Shane] braced back, with
their shields held out to the front, as a large, feathered creature came
barrelling up the tunnel in front of us. And it was indeed an Owl Bear!
“Ha”, screamed Tu [Shane], “I’ve got this”
Battle commenced.
Debbie’s [Steven] music played on, shouts of
encouragement rang out from the rear, Oliver [Jeff] fired off a few
Magic Missiles, Bear [Ian] and Tu [Shane] battled on and
eventually Bear [Ian] went down, Gillard [Kevin] stepped in,
Myrtle [Andrew] cast Cures, Bear [Ian] got back up, and Gillard [Kevin]
finally got in the killing strike with her magical armour piercing short sword.
Ouzo [Darryl] picked some feathers from the corpse,
Tu [Shane] again cut out the beak and claws for his trophy collection,
then we pressed on down the drift hoping that there was just the one monster
inhabiting the area.
We passed another dead body, obviously one of the mine
guards, dressed in chain mail, and after a further fifty yards we find the
drift had broken into a large natural cavern. There was one other exit from the
cavern, no doubt towards the surface, and the Owl Bear’s “nest” was easy to
spot in the back corner of the cavern. Adjacent to the nest was a pile of old
bones, and a partially eaten body of an elven fighter. We retrieved some chain
mail, a long sword, bow, and assorted jewellery from the elven body, and turned
towards the tunnel that led onward.
Bear [Ian] and Gillard [Kevin] took the lead
and we pushed on into the narrower and totally natural tunnels beyond the
cavern. We explored a few passages (that got narrower and narrower) before we
finally found another large cavern with a creek flowing across it and out a
large entrance to the outside. Sure enough, peering out into the light we saw
that this was indeed the cave entrance we had discovered yesterday.
We had not really found anything of interest, and certainly
no other creatures or tracks, during our exploring so we headed on back to the
Owl Bear cavern, gathered up all the “loot”, and started off to make our way
back to the main mine shaft and then up the elevators to the camp.
“Wait” exclaimed Tu [Shane] as we passed the Owl Bear
carcass. “Let’s just check its stomach, seeing as it eats all sorts of people
and stuff”
Voila, lots of gross smelly icky stuff including a relatively intact hand with a ring on its index finger.
Into the loot pile with that, and then Oliver’s [Jeff] Detect Magic reveals that the ring and the elf’s Long Sword are both magical items.
“That’ll be mine then” states Dexter [Jamie] as he
picks up the Long Sword and gives it a few experimental swishes around the
cavern. [Jamie shares top rank on the treasure distribution list but has the
only character that can use a long sword and pretty much automatically claims
it. Then subsequently drops a rank on the list]
Back aboveground at the mine camp we reported to Captain
Marion. Tu [Shane] waved the Owl Bear beak and claws in front of her.
“All sorted” he confirmed, “and we’ll take the sex slave
thanks!”
“Noo, you shood be taking mee” shouts Dubull the gnome from
the slave cage, “I am much more skilled than that skinny good for nuting
(snicker) piece of human fluff, who can’t even see in the dark!”
We received the three gems previously offered and collected
the girl. Her name is Tanya Hyde, and she used to work for Zarbo (the suspected
werewolf) at the Slavers Lookout, and she also knew Zara (the girl we had
originally been hired to find) from there. We stayed that night in the mine
encampment and prepared to set off first thing in the morning. Preparation
involved relearning and casting cures (Myrtle [Andrew]) until everyone was
back at full health, re-memorising a full complement of magical spells (Oliver
[Jeff]), gathering supplies (Scuttle [Chris], “And I didn’t even
have to pay”), and getting a good night’s rest (everyone).
The trip back to Toluene was relatively uneventful. We got
to the first fortified camp around midday of the first day, noticed that the
ghoul bodies had been dragged off into some nearby marches, and decided to
carry on for the rest of that day before finding an overnight camp, far away!
Which seemed to be a fine thing as the night passed with no excitement, apart
from some brief arguments about who should keep the slave girl warm!
The next day was also uneventful, and we passed the next
fortified camp around midday. We noticed there some recent Orc tracks and carried
on through the afternoon to camp on the trail that night. The night was not
quite so uneventful as Myrtle [Andrew] and Oliver [Jeff] woke
everyone during the second watch after hearing some extremely load and very nearby
bird-like screeches.
“Orcs” whispered Tu [Shane], “keep the noise down”
Everyone quietly drew their weapons and we all kept low and
quiet. VINGT-ET-UN was with us [successful roll against the maximum party
Luck score (Myrtle-18)], and although we heard more screeching noises and
the trampling of many booted feet passing nearby, everything quietened down after
about ten minutes and the rest of the night passed with no more excitement.
In the morning we took a look over where the noises had
originated and found two dead bodies of very strange creatures. They looked a
bit like horses, but definitely not.
“Well, certainly not the wolves or 25-30 Orcs that passed
through here last night” stated Tu [Shane].
We nervously carried on back towards town and arrived there somewhat
later. [The DM messed up the trip duration and we arrived back safety a day quicker
than it took us heading out!]
We returned the wagon back to the miners’ office, collected
our 200gp per person reward, sold the various bits of armour and non-magical
jewellery and gems (for 450 gp), and cautiously snuck the Halflings, and other
members of the party known to the suspected Werewolf Zarbo, back to the Mistress
and Crop. Oliver [Jeff] hustled off to the Mages Guild and organised
some magical Identification of the Long Sword and Ring, at a cost of 400
gp. The Ring would be done overnight, and the Long Sword the following day.
There was much talk around town about a terrible attack that
had occurred a few days ago in Penstoke (where we had come from a few weeks
ago). Apparently, the REAL “temple” (more like a small shrine and austere
priest’s accommodation) had been sacked and burned to the ground. The REAL
priest, two local Paladin’s, and some other worshipers had been killed!
“Well, at least they can’t blame us for that” stated Scuttle
[Chris].
We quizzed Tanya about her prior employer Zarbo, his
friends, his typical movements, and the layout of the Slavers Lookout. A mister
Malcom Clough owned the “Inn”, while Zarbo "ran"
the business there. Apparently,
Zarbo and his two burly “friends”, Toby and Jack, were want to disappear for
days on end, every so often. Tanya provided us with a description of the
establishment, and particularly the few areas that Tu [Shane] had not
managed to frequent during his previous exploits with the girls there. This
included the owner’s private room on the ground floor, the presence of a locked
cellar.
“Never been in there though” she noted.
Tu [Shane] and Dexter [Jamie] concoct a plan
to visit the Slavers Lookout each night, “Just to see if Zarbo is around”, so
they head off while the rest of the party settle in for a quiet night laying
low in our rooms at the Mistress and Crop. We had taken two rooms on the second
floor, one for the ladies and the other for the men. Of course, we set watches
in each room, just in case.
Scuttle [Chris] pointed out that the strange figure
had left bloody footprints on the floor, and bloody smears on the door handle
and door frame! And by then Ouzo [Darryl] had actually disappeared.
“Did you see which way he went?” asked Bear [Ian],
peering unsuccessfully down the three gloomy streets leading off from the door.
Sometime later, Ouzo [Darryl] appeared out of the
darkness and spun some tale about following the figure into the restricted area
at the centre of town, and onto the grounds of an old manor house with a clock
tower. He said that once he heard the sound of growling dogs from the rear of
the house, he had retreated and returned.
After some discussion among the party about what this might
all mean, and what might have led the strange figure to attack the men’s room
in particular, everyone settled back down for the rest of the night. Traps were
set, and furniture piled against doors, in both the rooms!
Not long later, towards the end of the second watch, Oliver
[Jeff] and Scuttle [Chris] heard a sharp crump as the trap on
their door was triggered, and they again saw the door swinging open to reveal
the same shadowy figure slipping into the room. This time they opened a lantern
to bathe the figure in light, and Oliver [Jeff] cast another Magic
Missile. As the burning missile delivered four points of magical damage,
the light revealed a young boy, albeit around six feet tall, dressed in
tattered rags. He appearance was otherwise normal, but as he turned and fled back
down the corridor, they noticed that he was leaving bloody footprints on the
ground, and the handle was also smeared with blood!
“Maybe It’s your dagger Oliver?” postulated Myrtle [Andrew]
who had joined us after hearing this latest disturbance.
Oliver [Jeff] transferred to the lady’s room for the
rest of the night, just to try and determine if it was his dagger attracting
this very strange creature. Everyone stayed awake on heightened alert, just
waiting for something to happen.
Sure enough, during the last watch, the window to the men’s
room exploded inward and the same odd boy climbed in clutching a knife. He jumped
to the floor just as Bear [Ian] launched himself in full attack mode. Bear’s
[Ian] sword passed straight through the boy’s chest, as though he was
made of insubstantial mist. But the boy’s return knife strike stabbed into
Bear’s sword arm, and he felt more than just the injury! A chilling cold
sensation penetrated his arm at the wound and began to creep along his arm
towards his body.
The boy struck again before Bear [Ian] could get in a
second (and probably ineffective) attack, which punched a knifed shape hole
right through his shield, but fortunately did not cause any damage to him. And
then, before he could launch his retaliatory strike, the boy just disappeared.
One second he was there waving his knife about, and the next there was nothing.
Bear [Ian] stumbled forward as the momentum of his thwarted attack
caused him to overbalance.
Myrtle [Andrew] healed Bear’s [Ian] wound, and
we erected a temporary covering across the broken window. We decided that Myrtle
[Andrew] would stay on in the men’s room and try her Detect Undead
spell if it returned.
“It’s all still chilly and weird” stated Bear [Ian], looking
down at his wounded arm.
About an hour later, just before light, a dagger blade
appeared through the sheet pinned up across the window, and a large gash was
cut down through it. The damn boy creature tumbled in through the opening and
rolled up into an attack stance just in front of Bear [Ian]. They both
missed each other, and Dexter [Jamie] swung at it with his new magic
sword, unfortunately missing. Then the boy struck back at Dexter [Jamie]
and knocked him down with a 5 hp gash. Myrtle [Andrew] cast the Detect
Undead spell and yelled “Not undead”. Oliver [Jeff] grasped the hilt of the
cursed dagger to check for vibrations.
“My cursed dagger isn’t vibrating” yelled Oliver [Jeff].
Just then Scuttle [Chris] appeared from the darkness behind
the boy and speared his silver dagger straight into the back of the boy’s neck,
aiming to sever his spine. But the dagger just passed straight through it as
though he wasn’t even there, and then he wasn’t there! Just disappeared, like a
bad smell in a hurricane.
“What the ….” stammers Scuttle [Chris] as everyone
looked around, checking the corridor and the street outside the window. Myrtle
[Andrew] casts a Cure on Dexter [Jamie] and states “Let’s
hope that’s the end of this nonsense, I have no more spells!”
The rest of the night (about one hour) passed quietly and in
the morning Bear [Ian] and Oliver [Jeff] notice something even
more weird than the strange happenings that night. The window wasn’t broken at
all, no one apart from them recalled any of those events from the night, Myrtle
[Andrew] and Oliver [Jeff] had their full complement of spells, and
everyone felt fully rested, as though they had a great night’s sleep with no strange
shenanigans!
“That’s super weird!” exclaimed Bear [Ian].
After some breakfast (room service, as no one was very keen
to frequent the common room) and some friendly ribbing of Bear [Ian] and
Oliver [Jeff], the group splits up to attack the day.
Ouzo [Darryl] heads out to check with his local “contacts”
about when Zarbo (the suspected were‑creature) and his two cronies last disappeared
from the city.
Dexter [Jamie] unsuccessfully checks for bloody
footprints or any other tracks around the local area, and Myrtle [Andrew]
meets with the Art Dealer who wanted the party to “recover” some of his pieces
that he was forced to abandon in the restricted “red zone” in the centre of
town.
“What have you recovered so far?” he asked.
Myrtle [Andrew] replied “blah, blah, blah” and fobbed
him off with some empty platitudes and promises that he would be the first to
hear once we had recovered any of his goods.
At the end of the day Oliver [Jeff] picked up the
Long Sword [+1 OV and +1 Damage] from the Mages Guild and delivered it
to Dexter [Jamie] at our Inn. The Halflings, Scuttle [Chris] and
Gillard [Kevin], laid low in our rooms, while Ouzo [Darryl] headed
out to keep a watch on the Slavers Lookout, and Tu [Shane] and Dexter [Jamie]
headed over to the Slavers Lookout to keep an eye on Zarbo.
During the night, the party members remaining at The
Mistress and Crop suffered from similar strange dream-type effects that had
occurred the previous night. There were sightings of the same strange boy and people
went missing, but then turned up in odd places. It was all very inexplicable!
But sometime just after midnight, Tu [Shane] and
Dexter [Jamie] returned from their excursion to the Slavers Lookout. Ouzo
[Darryl] also returned and reported that he had seen Zarbo and his two
cronies leave the Slavers Lookout after midnight, had followed them to a house
at the edge of town where they stayed for only a short time before heading out
of town through the main gates.
“They’ll be gone for a few days” stated Ouzo [Darryl]
“if they stick to their normal pattern”
“It’s now or never” confirms Dexter [Jamie].
So we all equipped up for a sneaky exploration of the
Slavers Lookout, and head out into the misty darkness, makeing our way
stealthily across town.
“chink, chink, chink, … chink, chink, chink … chink, chink, chick”
“Shut up already” whispers Ouzo [Darryl] from the darkness ahead.
At the back entrance to the Slavers Lookout, first Ouzo [Darryl]
and then Scuttle [Chris] fiddle with the lock for a bit and decide that
the front door will be easier.
“But look at this strange symbol etched on the door” points
out Ouzo [Darryl], “some sort of five petal arrangement within a circle”.
We all look, then we all stealthily creep round to the front
door.
“chink, chink, chink, … chink, chink, chink … chink, chink,
chick”
First Ouzo [Darryl] and then Scuttle [Chris]
fiddle with the front door lock for a bit, until Scuttle [Chris] steps
back, wipes his brow, and whispers “After you”.
Ouzo [Darryl] eases the door open and skulks in first,
followed by the rest of us.
We are unable to unlock the door to the owner’s room on the
ground floor, behind which we can hear snoring sounds, but Ouzo [Darryl]
makes quick work of the lock to the cellar and most of the party descends
quietly down into the cellar behind Ouzo [Darryl].
“chink, chink, chink, … chink, chink, chink … chink, chink,
chick”
Tu [Shane] and Oliver [Jeff] position themselves
to either side of the door to the owner’s room and settled in to keep guard
there in case he woke and came out to investigate.
The cellar appeared to be a dead end, just containing a few storage
boxes, crates of wine, and other dusty junk that you might find in the cellar
of the local Inn and flophouse. But a more thorough investigation revealed a
trapped Secret Door. Myrtle [Andrew] points out the likely opening
mechanism to Debbie [Steven], everyone steps well back, and she has a
good poke around. [Debbie has the best saving throws in the party and is
often voluntold to open traps etc.]
A sparking and violent electrical discharge washes over
Debbie’s armour and she lets out a small squeal. [luckily only 2
points of electrical damage after failing her saving roll]
Baer [Ian] leads the way into the narrow passage revealed
after the Secret Door swung open. Then in single file behind Bear followed
Myrtle [Andrew], Dexter [Kevin], Ouzo [Darryl], Debbie [Steven],
and Gillard [Kevin] bought up the rear.
The passage led straight ahead and soon opened up into a small
room carved into the rock. An opening in the floor at the centre of the room revealed
iron steps leading down into darkness.
Meanwhile, back up on the ground floor of the Inn, Tu [Shane]
and Oliver [Jeff] heard a brief piercing whistle from behind the door of
the owner’s room and prepared themselves for a scuffle. Tu [Shane] drew
his sword, while Oliver [Jeff] rehearsed his Magic Missile spell
and began to sweat!
“Blam” went Oliver’s [Jeff] Magic Missile into
the man [3 points of damage]
Tu [Shane] attacked the dog, which was right in front of him, but his swing was way too high, and he stumbled forward into the dog’s violent attack.
[Shane rolled a 1, followed by a miss, and “fumbled”.
Stumble forward into opponent’s free extra attack at +2. This resulted in two
attacks by the dog on Tu, one fortunately missed, but the other rolled six
damage, reduced by 3 due to Tu’s Chain Mail armour, resulting in a 3-point
wound]
“Blam” went Oliver’s [Jeff] second Magic Missile
into the man [5 additional points of damage] and he collapsed to the
ground.
The huge dog had its jaw clamped around Tu’s [Shane] left
arm and was vigorously worrying at him. Hindered by the dog’s grip, Tu [Shane]
struggled to hit it, and to do much damage when he did.
“Blam” went Oliver’s [Jeff] third and final Magic
Missile into the dog [4 points of damage].
Tu [Shane] and the dog were snarling and shouting at
each other, spinning around and trying to get in decent blows, to no avail. The
dog’s teeth were fortunately skittering off Tu’s [Shane] armour, but
unfortunately Tu [Shane] was struggling to get in any decent blows.
Oliver [Jeff] whipped out the cursed dagger and had a
swing but couldn’t hit successfully.
Finally, Tu [Shane] managed to get in a lucky blow,
and the dog collapsed to the floor, a pool of blood slowly expanding out from
its body.
Tu [Shane] found the owners keys in his room, and the
owner was shortly gagged, well tied, and locked into his own room.
“We better go help the others now” Tu [Shane] boldly exclaimed.
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