"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.
They found themselves in a stone chamber, thankfully spider-free. After some exploration, they found themselves in an old crypt/catacomb. symbols on stone columns confirmed that this was a stronghold of the "Keepers of the Light." While investigating, they heard someone descending into the crypt from another direction, discovering the halfling Stumbleduck, an old companion absent while on halfling walkabout and mushroom rehab.
Frederick found an empty catacomb, its inhabitant reduced to ash. While poking about, two adjacent crypt doors opened, and the party was confronted by a pair of undead knights:
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| by Herbrex |
The knights assessed the party before addressing the cleric, Henry See, asking him why he was associating himself with such ruffians. Henry replied that they were seeking to do good and restore the Barrier against new threats.
"The Barrier has fallen?" Yes, a century ago. The knights were taken aback, but seemed to understand why they were reawakened, keeping an eternal vigil, an extension of their duty in life. They confirmed that their past enemies had included twisted beings and chimera, and were very concerned that similar beings were again appearing. Though their memories had faded, the knights knew that this fortified temple was one of the nodes of the Barrier, and that a hidden location contained information on the devices that controlled the lines of communication.
The knights were able to lead the party to an unexplored chamber, where they found a more accurate map of all the hard points of the Barrier, which confirmed the hidden meanings of their "Snake Map." Again, Mareth's keen elf eyes found a secret door, and the party located a hidden repository containing more maps, a communication codebook, and a much-degraded book explaining elements of the Barrier.
While rejoicing at this find, they were set upon, again, by arachnid horrors. The aranea and her giant spider had found their way into the crypt and attacked.
The party focused on the giant spider, slaying it. Bonk and his hench attacked the aranea. She again cast her charm spell, this time targeting Slick with her command of "Protect me." And he did. His unfortunate target was Mareth, who fell from a successful backstab...
Thankfully, the party was able to slay the aranea before she was able to sow any more discord (via a critical hit by Bonk's henchman). Slick shook his head, clearing it, trying to understand why Henry See was slapping him and cursing him out.
The party, saddened by this loss, said some good words over the indomitable elf. The undead knights, understanding that the party's quest was valid and that their post was rid of foul critters, retired to their crypts to maintain their vigil.
Ascending to the main level of the temple, the party found the former location of the signal lens, apparently exploded. Jax collected a handful of glass shards for later use. Treasure from other unfortunate victims of the aranea and her ilk were recovered.
The party gathered themselves and contemplated transporting Mareth's corpse back to town for proper interment. When Mareth first joined the group, he had claimed to have fallen from a giant eagle that was flying him across the Maranan Sea. The party had discounted the story as: 1) the elf had arrived by ship, and 2) his breath suggested other misadventures. As the party considered constructing a litter, a shadow appeared above them, manifesting as a giant eagle. With no hesitation or ceremony, the eagle collected the elf in its talons, disappearing over the horizon.
So he was telling the truth after all...
Shrugging, the party headed east, looking at 2-3 days walk, as the spiders had (of course) done in their horses.
The walk to the road was fortunately mostly uneventful, with the exception of spotting another (very) large flier in the distance. They luckily found a small settlement in the forest, getting a much-needed respite and a hot meal from the hospitable farmers and foresters.
Finally reaching the trade road the evening of the second day, the party encountered a local patrol who were keeping an eye on the road against increased raids by humanoids. True to form, the party stumbled upon a pack of gnolls the next day. Rondel (recovered from his pseudodragon-induced coma) did what he does best. Charmed the leader, and recruited the gnolls to the cause. In the name of Mareth.
We ended the session at the gates of the town of Mithlonde.
DM notes:
Really, I'm not a killer DM. The last couple of sessions have been harsh, partly due to the capriciousness of the dice.
We expect to lose a character now and then, it's just unfortunate that it went down this way. But again, the party is facing a number of different evils that will use whatever is at hand to protect themselves and forward their cause.
That aside, I was able to give the players a good lore dump and a couple of resources. Their intent is to return to Neuforde, and seek additional resources and allies in the search for the nodes and reestablishing the Barrier. I've spent some time bullet-listing possible encounters, NPCs, and locations that will hopefully be appropriate for whatever direction that the party decides to travel.
We look forward to meeting the newest PC in the party next session.
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