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.
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