D&D Campaign Session for February 18th, 2001

Played with 3rd Edition Rules

Player Characters:

Azaki Ushento, Half-Orc Male Fighter, 3rd Level (Josh)
Borik, Half-Orc Male Fighter, 3rd Level (Greg)
Glothe Longstride, Dwarf Male Fighter, 3rd Level (Caleb)
Ithil, Elf Female Rogue/Fighter, 1st Level/1st Level (Dennis)
Kari Morningdew, Human Female Ranger/Cleric of Fharlanghn, 1st Level/3rd Level(Andy)
Kessem Chexz, Female Elf Wizard, 2nd Level (Neil)
Kobort, Half-Orc Male Cleric of Heironeous, 3rd Level (Bart)
Mike Steel, Human Male Fighter, 4th Level (Patty)
Odlits Burdfriend, Male Half-Orc Wizard, 3rd Level (Bill)
Selena, Female Human Monk, 3rd Level (Scott)
Westwind, Halfling Male Fighter, 1st Level (Andrew)

Non-Player Characters:

Deina, Human Female Cleric of Pholtus, 3rd Level
Targ, Dwarf Male Cleric of Clangeddin/Fighter, 4th Level/1st Level
Einin, Dwarf Male Fighter, 2nd in Command, 4th Level
Belfendd, Nalum, Okum, Hill Dwarves under Targ's Command, 2nd Level

Just Rewards

Flocktime 11th, In the Caves of Chaos

We have gained a companion, a halfling by the name of Westwind. He appeared alone just after we had finished with the last of the zombies behind the main temple, having lost the other three members of his party on the way from the Keep. We have been suspicious of him, as we did not expect to have any but foes turning up in such a place, but he has been an eager adventurer and we should, I think, be grateful that we have found two allies, however unlikely, in these unfriendly caverns.

We camped last evening in Beltar's temple, but were forced to move out to the hillside so that our own clerics could pray without the interference of evil. Although wolves appeared on the surrounding hills, they did not attack and we spent an uneasy night without incident. Glothe and Westwind agree that the wolves are worgs, and Glothe appears to be scheming up ways to bring the fight to them, but the remainder of the party preferred to rest, at least for one night.

In the morning, the temple seemed no less quiet than the night had been. Kobort performed a consecration ritual on the hall of skeleton warriors and although there was no visible effect, the change on the hall was profound and it ceased to brood and threaten. Borik, ever enthusiastic where undead are concerned, took the initiative and began smashing the skeletons. He took one row and I took the other, and in a few minutes the armored bones were but shards on the floor. The others began a thorough search of the room, though it was I who stepped upon the raised dais first to approach the throne. At the first step, a whispered shiver passed through the whole of the chamber and the smashed bones quivered on the floor before they lay quiet again. It is a good thing that we destroyed them first, or I suspect we would have had a fight on our hands.

We made a thorough exploration of the lower caverns beneath the temples. While some of the rock was the same black and red, it was unworked and simply part of the natural cave. The strange pipings and moanings seemed louder, although it may simply be winds passing through crevices in the rock. The passageways, narrow and dark, were also trapped in various places; Glothe nearly fell to his death several times on the brink of wickedly spiked pits. After he took the brunt of a trap I sprung, I managed with some difficulty to convince Ithil to use her scouting expertise at the front of our group rather than at the rear. Our explorations revealed mainly empty chambers, sometimes with a few things left behind. Glothe took a liking to a large silver mirror, which he stuffed in his backpack, and if he should wish to furnish his living room, there is plenty of furniture which we left behind.

A gruesome scene was obviously a torture chamber. Spectators' chairs overlooked a rack, an iron maiden, chains; all were occupied by decaying remains. It was terrible work to remove them, but all of us seemed of one accord that the chamber and the implements of pain should never be put to such use again. We left the bodies with the intent to burn them once we finished our survey of the caverns.

Soon afterward we passed a heavy, reinforced door with the symbol of Beltar. Obviously, nothing is ever meant to pass through the portal, because the door, rather than hinged, was bolted to the wall on all sides and scribed above with the same strange script we saw at the mouth of the cave and in other temple areas. We left it in favor of more explorations -- although the place seemed empty enough, we did not care to press our luck.

Glothe and Ithil both spotted a strange shimmering approaching us in the corridor as we rounded a corner. Our reluctant scout immediately retreated to safety while Borik and Glothe charged our mostly-invisible foe, slicing off thick, acid-laden chunks of something gelatinous. As we fought it with steel and magic, it became obvious that whatever it was, it filled the breadth and heighth of the corridor and would engulf us. Watching what its innards did to my javelin, I was not anxious to venture inside it myself, although neither dwarf nor half-orc could avoid it and continued to chop through it even as in slid over them. A spiritual longsword guided by Kobort took a final cut and it dissolved to the floor, freeing our companions. They were slightly burned by its acids and Glothe was momentarily paralyzed by it, but both seem to have recovered from the experience. Ithil immediately discovered that the gelatinous cube had been carrying around some coin and some more interesting things; Kessem now has a new toy: a wand that casts fireballs.

Continuing on, the corridor led to a large storeroom with all manner of rations, weaponry, and other goods. We would do well to clear out any items of a military nature to be sure they aren't used by the next tribes that move in, for certainly the caves will not remain empty for long. A secret door led to a gnoll area, according to Kari's sense of smell; my own was deadened long since by the stench of decay that permeates this place. The secret entrance cannot have been used recently, though, for a skeleton lay undisturbed, probably an adventurer who met a bad end. He had done well up until that point, for Ithil immediately claimed his boots and uncovered several gems of worth. We determined only that the secret doors let to more passageways before we turned back into the temple complex.

Another corridor led to prison cells, complete with skeletons in manacles. We were surprised to hear a soft whimpering from one of the cells, and were thus caught off-guard as we came to the rescue of whatever poor creature was trapped within. In hindsight, it should have been obvious that if anything was left alive in these caves, it was something Beltar's priests could not easily torture, kill, or raise as undead; and that area of the undercaverns did not show recent use.

The figure, seemingly female, was raggedly dressed in what was once a priest's robe, and was manacled to the wall. When we realized she was a possible enemy, I ordered her to surrender, but it was too late; she turned toward us and Borik, catching full sight of the serpent-crowned head, froze, turned instantly to stone.

"Free me and I will turn him back," the medusa bargained, striking out at my refusal. I fended off her scratch; she was still bound and it was not as difficult to avoid her attacks as to avoid looking at her. I ordered her to turn him back or be killed, but she didn't like that option, either. Before we could stop him, Westwind charged into the room, luckily averting his eyes in time, and his spear struck and she shrank back, trying to buy herself time and freedom. Before she could do any more harm, Glothe retrieved the silver mirror from his pack, aiming it at her; she caught a glimpse of herself and petrified. Thank the gods that the pouch which contained the potion vial did not mineralize with her, for it was, as we suspected, the antidote for the medusa's looks. Borik was restored to himself once more, mid-lunge, and he nearly speared Kessem by mistake.

Having explored the whole of the second level of the temple caverns, we returned with picks and axes to the bolted door. The first blow exploded the same sort of runes as caught us on the way into the fanged mouth of the cave -- the script glowed and both Glothe and Borik were flung back against the far wall. Glothe dusted himself off, but Borik lay still and Selena rushed to his aid. After some help from Kari, he insisted on taking his turn at the door once again, and within minutes he and Glothe broke through with a rush of stale air and soon had a large enough hole in the door to allow passage.

When Ithil refused to scout the corridor, Westwind volunteered cheerfully, climbing through the hole without waiting. The stairs led steeply down into the dark; we knew something was moving around by the quietest shuffling. Glothe threw a torch into the room beyond, and we saw the outlines of sarcophagi, and then the creature struck.

It moved in silence and dark, an undead abomination with drawn, leathery skin and burning eyes. It wore the remnants of fine chainmail and a once-white tunic, and carried a sword that, with its deadly claws, it did not need. A helm capped its brow, ringed with the same eerie script that sealed the door. We moved in to attack it, although the close quarters made it difficult to position ourselves. Kari invoked the name of her god, attempting to turn it back as she had done the skeletons and zombies, but it came on unaffected.

Its claws raked Azaki, and the half-orc staggered visibly. Despite the torchlight, I do not think I have ever seen him pale like that. I took the first chance to close with it, hoping to prevent it from scoring him again -- a wound like that looked like it might have killed the halfling outright, and Westwind seems a sturdy halfling. Unhappily for myself, my diversion was a success, and as my sword glanced off its mail, those claws tore my flesh and its eyes chilled my soul. I was tired as I have never felt before. I summoned my strength and waited for an opening. Its chest was blasted by Kessem's force of magic, and I raised my sword and cut through its torso in a clean blow. Those unholy eyes flickered and died, and it was still.

We were stunned to discover several things about the man who had, by some evil, come to the fate of guarding a tomb of Beltar -- he seemed human, yet wore the symbol of Moradin and carried weapons of dwarven manufacture. Belfendd has since confirmed that both the silver dagger and the remarkable sword he carried both bear Durgeddin's rune. The armor was unfortunately in such poor condition as to be unrepairable, but it too was the work of the master smith. Ironically, he also carried a scroll which our clerics have identified as a spell to protect him from undead. The helm he wore bore the symbol of Beltar and was of much older manufacture, however, and when Odlits tried to read the script, he jumped back as if burned. One word he got -- "Mine" -- and felt a pull on his mind. I have no doubt that it was the helm that kept this man, a servant of Moradin, imprisoned as an undead guardian. Borik enthusiastically assisted by removing the helm and destroying it. I have kept the sword, which is a hand-and-a-half of better make than any I have held. Runes on the blade are in an older dialect, and read "Bright Fire", or "Tel Kuhn". The scabbard bears a cryptic hint, or perhaps warning: "Though it serves, flame has no master." It is magical; when the blade's runes are spoken aloud, the sword flames bright and hot.

The sarcophagi in the crypt were lined with flowing script as well, and Odlits was able to read them without incident to determine that they all supposedly contain devoted worshippers of Beltar. The largest declared "Here lay Beltar's Champion, the Highest of the High, the Founder of our Order. Beltar granted him Eternal Service." We are divided on the best course of action, for we want to remove the evil from this place, but are in no shape to take on the champion of a god today. We left the crypt without touching the sarcophagi, though I am sure that we will return with Curate Bradas if not before he arrives.

Instead, we brought the pickaxes back up to the secret door we found in the main temple corridor. Still unable to open it another way, we took turns carving away the stone of the door. While we worked, the other half of our expedition rejoined us, bearing the bodies of Cedasar and (insert dwarf name here). They lost their lives fighting the bugbear tribe along with a shaman and several cultists in an ambush. They also reported an event of interest -- during their fight, they killed the shaman, upon which the bugbear chief ordered his warriors to kill the remainder of the cultists. Apparently, the priests of Beltar were not as well accepted by the humanoid tribes as we had estimated.

We broke through the secret door to reveal a hallway which ended at the back of a wardrobe. The panel pushed through, leading us into the deserted quarters of the high priest. Lavishly appointed, it contained the personal stash of the priest and we were, all in all, quite happy to remove much of it. I imagine that Zeissmer would approve, and would certainly have gotten much better prices for it all than we likely will.

The passageways continue from the secret chamber to end at a tapestry -- figuring out that it would lead us back into the main temple, we left that for the consecration.

Flocktime 12th, The Caves of Chaos

Last night, the worgs again appeared on the hilltops again, but did not approach. As we discussed them, Kessem was studying her wand. Abruptly, she pointed it at a wolf and something bright flew from the tip to strike the hillside at the wolf's feet. With a loud flash, a huge ball of flame exploded on the hill and the wolf was engulfed. Singed and limping, he ran off, and the rest of the pack retreated from the hilltops. We have not seen them since.

By this morning, Azaki had regained his usual greyish color and I felt as if I had shaken off most of the effects of the wight's attack. We set about investigating the rockfall in the temple, and discovered that it blocked a tunnel. By the tracks Kari could find, it looks like most of the remaining humanoid tribes left the valley this way. As we still have a few days before Curate Bradas is expected to arrive, it might be worth exploring the tunnel.

Here endeth the session, as excerpted and translated from the journal of Mike.