They Met in a Tavern 35: New Players Enter the Game

No, not necessarily at the table. Tonight: 

• Dan: Kiara, elf Ras Godai
• Rick: Bjorr, 1/2 orc Paladin
• Seana: Zanegar, 1/2 orc Sea Wolf
• Dave: Darkmist, elf Thief
• Andrea: Gabor, goblin Priest
• Chris: Thorn, Dwarf Wizard
• Gordon: Gnashkrud, Half-orc Priest 

Gordon's been at the table before, but has been running and playing in other campaigns that conflicted with stopping by lately. So again, not the player I'm referring too... 

Anyhow. The party spent the night at Saint Gyles' pyramid. Being good houseguests, they helped with a little light housekeeping (disposing of serpent-folk bodies) prior to departing. They rode eastward, to the sound of grinding stones, as the ghost resealed his crypt.

The party rode on, discovering a cairn carved with old runes and a depiction of a deity - a woman with raven feathers, geometric symbols, and a measuring staff. Zet peered at it and declared her to be Gyslana, an old goddess associated with portals and gates. Sometimes travelers and road-builders also prayed to her.

The meditations on the goddess were abruptly ruined by a pair of ghasts and several ghouls. Most of the party fought off the choking stench, and Gnashkrud effected a turn undead. Most undead fled, a couple rolled Nat 1s and exploded, and one very angry ghast remained to proceed to take revenge on the priest. Ghast-stomping happened. With the presence of the Gyslana shrine, the party theorized the undead to be a party of unlucky surveyors.

Did they come from a grave or barrow? Can we raid it? Well, of course you can. This is why I always keep a few extra barrows on hand. 

Light was cast, and down they went. Darkmist checked a door - no traps. No, trapped. A burning hands rune singed off their eyebrows. Some minor grave goods, a healing potion, and a piece of meteor were found. A second door was not trapped, but the chamber had already been cleared but for some pocket change. The main chamber of the barrow appeared to be where the original foes hung out. A final door at the end of the chamber was cracked open, revealing a grumpy Wight. 

rawr

Bjorr charged it and... got his sword stuck in the door. The wight attacked back, causing harm and drain to the paladin. Thorn webbed up both of them, allowing the party to dispatch the wight without any more bad touch. 

More loot (primarily decorative weapons and armor) were claimed, and on they went. 

Being now-seasoned desert wanderers, they were able to avoid the roving magical cloud of darkness on the horizon, thus avoiding whatever unpleasant side-effects it held. 

Kiara, riding point, came upon the remains of a roadway. 

source

Splendid. We're on the right track to somewhere. Since the old track ran roughly east-west, the party spent the remainder of the day playing connect the dots through the dunes and barrens. Apparently, so had someone else, as well. A collection of scrag pack-lizard tracks, accompanied by a handful of humanoid tracks, had been recently left by fellow travelers. 

The tracks, and road, led to an abandoned and dilapidated waypoint fortress. 

real estate

Some scouting happened, but occupants were not seen. Probably more serpent-folk. Looking at the darkening sky, the party opted to bypass the fortification, hoping to sneak past whoever was holed up inside...

They made a cold camp and posted watches. Second watch, and sure enough, the fortress occupants sent a scouting party. Suspecting something might happen, Bjorr was playing bait while Darkmist laid in wait... He heard them speaking in an elven dialect, but one tempered by centuries of isolation... As the scouts approached, Darkmist sniped one, sending the remainder fleeing. 

Checking the body, their suspicions were confirmed. Drow. Why are drow in the desert, of all places? 

Third watch, and their subterranean cousins returned, this time with a caster. In spite of the party now alerted, they lost initiative, with Bjorr being slept by drow-poison and the two priests tangled up in a web. Thorn cast a web of his own, and was able to envelope the four drow. The three soldiers were dispatched. Darkmist was most intrigued by their crossbows. Both hand crossbows with poisoned bolts, and heavy crossbows, slow to reload but devastating. The caster spared to question.

She said her name was Vickiira, and revealed that she was part of a scouting party also seeking out the city. Were they allied with the serpent-folk? No - they had traded with them for mounts and supplies. What do you seek in the city? Resources, particularly metals not available in the depths, such as sky-metal. "Oh, like this?" said Thorn, holding up the meteorite fragment... Her already-large eyes bugged a bit more (more on this later).

Waiting until sunup, the party, with their hostage, returned to the fort. A brief parlay. Vickiira confirmed that she had not been harmed, other than the indignity of capture. They were allowed entry into the fort. The drow uncomfortably stood about swathed in cloaks, floppy hats, and smoked glasses, crossbows trained on them. 

so, ya wanna parlay?

The second leader, Xakyn, appeared to speak with the party. Through the party elves, they explained that they were also seeking the city, and that their numbers had been thinned by the inhospitable desert climate (and those damned grabby plants). Unfortunately, this included their poison-master. Hence, they were willing to trade and settle for peace with the surface elves (and the barbaric races accompanying them...). The drow typically travelled at night, and recognizing that the party was capable, agreed to travel a "parallel" path to the city. Some back-and-forth, and the meteorite was traded for a one-use magic ring, and some information was shared.  The party freed Vickiira, and rode eastward.

DM Notes:

First of all... in my concept, this:

source

...is not a drow. THIS: 

source

...is a drow. Centuries underground, even more melanin-impaired than your regular tree-hugger elf. Adapted to the dark like some sort of humanoid deep sea fish, or perhaps a night-hunting wolf spider (keeping with the whole spider-thing). Cringing at the light. Uncanny valley, even to the elves.

Anyway, so that's a thing now. Someone even guessed drow right before I revealed them, too...

Overall - a fun session. The ghast/ghoul encounter was a random, so the whole barrow thing was an add-on and a bit of fun random rolling. I had set up the abandoned fort for a potential assault, which could have been a fun knock-down-drag-out and/or strategery. The party, rudely, chose to bypass. But the night assault and resulting interrogation/negotiations provided a bit of world-building, and a reminder that the party are not the only ones seeking lost cities along the buried roads.... Time will tell how much truth the drow were telling, or if they hold to their part of the bargain.

Squeezing in another session this weekend, as I'm taking a break at the end of the month...