Session 14 Notes (2/25/11)

Tault, Malarous 1st, 868 ID.

After Langston's dismantling of the bone shrine, the PCs are attacked by a quartet of terrifying batlike creatures. Three appear to be giant, hungry varieties of the standard flying mammal, but the fourth has a cloak-like shape to it and numerous special abilities, which it uses to freeze Slab in place and later to create illusionary copies of itself to escape with. The PCs manage to defeat the bats, although that one gets away, and they discover a cache of old gold coins in the remains of the shrine.

Meanwhile, Mudgol is floating above the Haunted Pass in Weatherby's 2-man balloon, scouting to see if the Blooded Lash have made their move towards the Hud Horrn. They seem to remain encamped about the vast entrance to the Haunted Horrn, and Mudgol and Weatherby count possible hundreds of bugbears, goblins, and larger humanoids (ogres) below, their network of crimson dyed tents splayed out about a central stockade, where Weatherby believes his companions to be kept. The balloon lands in a hidden stone niche behind the Haunted Horrn, and Mudgol and the Professor set out on foot to find a possible secret entrance. He finds an empty, stream-like recession in the stone that leads to a rear grate entrance, quite ancient, and then a latch that partially opens it (enough to crawl inside).

Below ground, the rest of the PCS travel onwards for what seems like miles before encountering a large crevasse in the earth that separates 10' of the path, and falls father into the Earth than they can see with darkvision. A cheap, rotting rope system that must have once anchored a bridge is still hanging across, so the PCs cut them, and Bulgoth hurls them into the depths. The party comes up with a system to cross, first with a grapple hooked line and then a second rope to secure each person crossing. Despite their caution, they almost lose Fey'danor Beyd as the first line gives and he plummets to the crevasse wall below. Once he's back up, the rest cross safely and they travel on until the natural tunnels reveal dwarf craftsmanship once more...

Having avoided hippogriff eyes around the two broken towers above, Mudgol climbs beneath the grate and finds himself in some ancient refuse pit surrounded by the old, decayed bones of what look like large canines or wolves. He climbs out of the pit into the Haunted Horrn proper, a crude stone village set in a cavernous overhang. Goblins and bugbears appear to patrol the area, so he climbs to the roof of a nearby, abandoned dwelling to get a better look. He finds that there are several larger structures in the Horrn, a pair of massive towers that stretch through the ceiling, and a block-like gatehouse near the front entrance. In the middle of the town, Mudgol spies a ramp that leads into the lower levels of the stronghold, but it's heavily guarded. He sends the Professor for a closer look.

The dwarf-crafted corridors lead to an underground gatehouse haunted by a spectre named Chalgar Gnarlbottom, who warns the PCs to turn back, as his ancestral home is invaded by a number of 'strangers'. Seeing that they won't change their minds, he asks them to find the remains of his young ones, who he must put to rest in order to pass into the true afterlife. The PCs continue on until they find themselves in a 2-story stone gatehouse. Upstairs, they find strategic maps and several coded letters signed 'Klasp', all of which have only a thin layer of dust above. Ogeir senses evil figures moving about in the stronghold outside the building, and after scouting the front gate to the Blooded Lash encampment, the PCs decide to stay put for the time being. What they don't realize is that they're being watched, by a toad familiar!

A patrol of guards eventually discovers that the front door to the gatehouse has been wedged shut, and they can't open it. They send runners off, who return with a deep-voiced and lighter, snarling voiced individual who the PCs can't understand. The deeper voiced individual leaves, and suddenly the steel door to the gatehouse begins to melt down! The PCs recognize that the goblin sorcerer they have previously encountered is outside with several bugbears, and lie in ambush. A deadly battle ensues, with the sorcerer hurling a fireball into the first level of the gatehouse, which immediately kills Fey'danor Beyd, one of the bugbears, and knocks Langston unconscious. The PCs rush out to slay the other bugbear and then take on the goblin, who screams an alarm before unsuccessfully attempting to fireball himself and take out all his attackers. He is brought down finally, and Luz kills him. They remove the goblin's head and then flee back into the underground corridor, back the way they came.

Mudgol decided to disguise himself as a bugbear, and somehow manages to fool a number of the guards, and two members of the Score, as he spies on the commotion the other PCs created (through his familiar, Mudgol knows that his companions have arrived). He does not deceive one particular goblin, but murders it with a magic missile spell, before fleeing back out the rear grate entrance to Weatherby's balloon. But before he runs, he notes that the exotic looking Score member in robes has dispatched not only a troop of bugbears, but a tattooed, orange haired dwarf wielding a double headed waraxe to chase down his companions...

PCs: Langston, Luz, Mudgol, Ogeir, Slab

NPCs

Chalgar Gnarlbottom (dwarf male): Chalgar is not alive, but a spectral presence haunting the corridors that lead from the Blowback Mine to the Haunted Horrn. He's been dead for some time, and appears to have abandoned all hope, since he cannot pass to the afterlife without burying the remains of his children, which are located somewhere in the Horrn itself. He tasks the PCs with their recovery, and promises them to reveal a secret stash somewhere in the fallen dwarven stronghold.

Online Session 13 Notes (2/18/11)

Here is a link to a .RAR bundle which includes all the .html transcripts for AIM online sessions 1-32.

PCs: Doorjamb

Session 13 Notes (2/4/11)

Aric, Clairis 31st, 868 ID.

The PCs engage the bugbear & goblin forces at their barricade of the Haunted Pass. Mudgol uses a freezing spell to slow the enemy, while the robed goblin riding a hippogriff rains fire upon the party. Several PCs are taken out of the fight, including Mudgol, as the battle shifts to close melee combat. At one point, Slab is trapped behind the goblins' barricade and knocked out by a bugbear hereafter referred to as the Dwarfgrinder. The mounted sorcerer flees the battle not long into its duration, after unleashing some dangerous spells and seeing that the battle may have turned against its forces. Once the PCs finally fell their foes, they go through their belongings and take some of the crossbows and their coins. They also notice that the bugbears and goblins have painful looking, living scars on their backs from a recent lashing.

A strange, small shadow passes above the the PCs as they return to the Hud Horrn to warn the Eidolorn guard of a potential, imminent attack. The shadow belongs to the Wintersbreath man Weatherby, who claims to have escaped the Blooded Lash that are camped out about the Haunted Horrn further up the pass. He was traveling with two 'frost giant' companions, Nonce and Franny, who have been captured by the Lash. The bugbears and goblins are also supposedly working in tandem a group of humans that are exploring the ruined stronghold, and the PCs recognize these as the members of the Score that they are tracking. Slab and Luz heckle and threaten Plex Hosspotch, a smart aleck halfling who runs the Holdings outlet in town, but no good comes of it. The PCs are ordered by Sgt. Mastiff to travel north and meet the Lash, since he has confidence they can greatly reduce their number before ever arriving at the Hud Horrn. Meanwhile, the locally stationed Guard will settle in for a defense.

Tault, Malarous 1st, 868 ID.

It is decided that Mudgol will take to the sky in Weatherby's balloon to scout the area for enemy movements and possible back or side entrances to the Haunted Horrn. The diviner might be able to blast off any hippogriffs that threaten the balloon. The PCs meet the foreman of the Blowback Mine, Vigsyd, through the drunken gnoll Velpaw. He offers them work if they'll take it, and then when pressed, tells the PCs that the Blowback has old, abandoned tunnels that lead all through the mountain, to unknown destinations. There is one in particular, 'Tunnel D' which has been boarded up since the miners are superstitious of haunts and ghosts infiltrating the mine. Vigsyd claims this tunnel leads due north below the Haunted Pass, and the PCs decide they will follow it to hopefully find a secret entrance into the Haunted Horrn.

After a short time traveling through the seemingly endless underground passage, the party discovers a massive cavern at a branching in the corridor. They find that the ceiling is full of bats and the floor covered in pools of ammonia and droppings. Once they reach the far end of the cavern, they discover a shrine of bones, some giant creature that seems part bat, part bugbear. After stirring the shrine, they cause the bats to stir up in a fury, especially four very large ones that descend upon their next meal....

PCs: Langston, Luz, Ogeir, Slab, (Mudgol played as an NPC)

NPCs

Degger (halfling ale): A severely obese halfling, he's got mighty jowls, uneven sideburns of a thick brown, and yellowed, crooked teeth beneath his pug nose. He smells of bread and sugar much like his establishment. Degger is a renowned baker and the best 'chef' in the Hud Horrn.

Dwarfgrinder (bugbear male): An adversary that proved incredibly difficult to kill during the assault on the Haunted Pass blockade. The bugbear fought with great skill, avoiding many death blows while nearly slaying the dwarf Slab. The markings on his back revealed him to be a 'seasoned' warrior of the Blooded Lash tribe. He was finally brought low by the half-elf man at arms Fey'danor Beyd.

Vigsyd (dwarf male): A stout dwarf with a bald head and pinched face, he's got only a mustache above his heavily scarred chin. He has a hollowed horn slung across his chest and pick a hammer at his belt. He seems slightly hard of hearing and has a nervous twitch at the corners of his mouth. Visgyd is the foreman of the Blowback Mine in Hud Horrn, and leads the PCs to the mysterious 'Tunnel D', which he believes will lead them below the Vernal Wall to an area near the Haunted Horrn, that they may avoid traversing the Pass above.

Weatherby (human male): A tall, wiry, bespectacled man getting on in his years, with narrow wisps of hair surrounding the crown of his skull. He speaks very politely, and is an engineer of some ingenuity, piloting a 2-man balloon after escaping from the Blooded Lash that are camped around the Haunted Horrn in the Vernal Wall. He claims to be accompanied by two 'frost giants' from a cursed tribe in Wintersbreath, his native province.