Campaign Journal: On the Road Again

 The Usual Suspects last Sunday:

• Frederick
• Slick
• Bonk
• Stumbleduck
• And a Player to Be Named at a Later Time

(Jax got introverted and went flower hunting, Rondel stayed to babysit 'his' gnolls, and Fulvus was suddenly absconded with by some extended family).

The gang stood at the town gate of Mithlonde as dusk fell. One of the guards asked them business and chatted about recent fires and increased humanoid raids in the area. He gave them the quick run-down of the town's amenities, and welcomed them in. Mithlonde is a modest walled town situated around a 'Y' in the trade road. 

The party approached the town square, where a number of caravans were parked. They recognized a certain odiferous wagon, that of the peddler gnome Hugo. Hugo greeted them and was relieved to find out that his potions had mostly worked, and no harmful side effects had occurred. He sold a few remaining healing potions to the gang for a slightly inflated price (most had been bought out, demand was up). He also had a few smoke bombs available to experiment with. Fred bought these for later use.

Campaign Journal: Knowledge Found, and Treachery Most Foul

"Slave, thou hast slain me. Villain, take my purse.

If ever thou wilt thrive, bury my body,

And give the letters which thou find'st about me

To Edmund Earl of Gloucester. Seek him out

Upon the British party. O, untimely death! Death!"

 - King Lear, Act 4, Scene 6

Foreshadowing...

At the conclusion of the last session, the party had retreated from the ruin and barricaded themselves in the annex building, hoping to retreat east to the trade roads in the morning. They spent a rough night being harried by many legs scratching and testing the spiked doors and a spider's voice in their heads warning them of their impending dooms for intruding upon her lair.

Frazzled, the party gathered their gear, preparing to break out and face the threats. While gearing up, Mareth noticed that the flagstones below the electric trapped plinth were mis-matched, hinting at a passageway. Some cautious prodding and levering tipped the stone off the hidden door. Mareth just had to touch it anyway in his ongoing quest to collect rubbings of etchings and carvings found. Fortunately the trap was 'mostly' discharged, and he took only minor damage from a weak shock.

As the party pried open the passage, and exterior door gave way, and this unfortunate monstrosity lumbered in:

Inured to the appearance of various Chaos mutations, the party focused fire on the creature, quickly putting it out of its (and their) misery. Fortunately, it was not able to spread its disease to its assailants, although Slick did dip a dagger into its bodily fluids for later use. Eww.

Hearing more spiders approaching, the party re-barricaded the door and descended into the dark.