[this is version 1, some modifications still remain, will be done very soon]
The first few days of adventuring had taught the party of the fragility of armour, so extra suits had been purchased (it was cheaper than getting them fixed).
The journey to school involved a couple of minor melees (some goblins and four big insects ‘Horax’ who where eating someone (he had some crossbow bolts and a potion and some goggles of detect magic), and enabled most of the party to gain the necessary experience to allow them to join the dwarf and thief at the Kobar (what a schools called). A rickety bridge was negotiated successfully with a bit of rope splicing and ingenuity, and the week at the Kobar went quite successfully (except the Rivers magic goggles getting stolen and the master not doing feck all). Tusker the half-orc after haven done in four big goblins who’d chased a bear up a tree. He became the teachers pet on arrival.
Various courses where taken courses where taken, but the drain on the companies (the party = an adventuring company) funds.
At the end of the week they set off back across the marsh, bypassing the fogmen, but encountering a large red scaled dragon snake monster which nearly fried ruby. Tobias the dwarf butchered it and a few things found, a Lyre of Building, a Book of Infinite Spells and a Rug of Smothering, and enough scale for 3 suits of ‘red dragon’ scales
(Well its a magical Lyre, a Magic rug and a ‘Book of Infinite Spells’, you would normally have to research or ask a sage the names, but you still have to work out their uses)
Hungry returns to school, as he feels the fight with the dragon snake had taunt him enough to further his studies, the rest continue through the swamp.
That night they encounter two eyewings, these eyeballs with bats wings dropped acid but where soon dispatched with explosive acid effects leaving a few large egg sized dry eyewing tears, poisonous to the touch, though Tobias was poisoned his constitution fought it off.
The next day they leave the swamp and take a detour towards the white fortress on the hill, as they approach the notice skeletal bodies draping the battlements, most characters feel fear, though River, Ruby and Tobias stride bravely forward, the dwarf in through the open gate eager to find some treasure. A massive tentacles mass appears and Tobias runs for it, tentacles whip forward, grabbing River who uses his seeking grasping hand to reach out and prompt the creature to release him feeling him to be white hot.
The party leave quickly, they are not pursued, and set up camp up river, towards the north western mountains, the land rising as they travel. The next few days are pretty uneventful, Ruby and Tusker track around the area (1 mile radius) and find no signs of recent enemies, the land seems pretty safe. River sets up traps, but succeeds in trapping only a bear cub, which he straps down, but then releases, considering it an undignified feast item.
After a few days of hanging around and recovering hungry returns and the journey up the west bank of the stream continues. Later that day ahead is a water fall, the eagle eyes elves notice a cave behind the water, orcs are noticed with, and an assault is launched, missile fire protecting the climbers, the fighting in the entrance tunnel of the den. It took a clerical command from Tobias to get Tusker up the rope, causing a bit of bitterness. A couple of the orcs survived and where released but River shot one in both knees and threw him in the river.
We leave the group, behind the water fall, with Tusker refusing to leave. They have been adventurers for 24 days.
The day began testing new items. The Book of Infinite spells bound itself to the cleric, causing some damage in process. The Lyre or Building strummed a lovely chord when struck by Ruby, and the ground shook a little. The rug of smothering smothered Billy, and had to be destroyed to get him out.
Continuing onward and upward towards NW, spy down in valley a trader and son heading in opposite direct. A trade is made of the 9 gems gained from the lizard man for 5 magical items. a couple of nice sets of armour, a +4 bastard sword, a potion, and a helmet. The cleric promptly grabbed the helmet and put it on (it was a helm of opposite alignment!) The LE god hijacking his soul. Billy claimed the sword, the orc and thief the armour.
The continued on, around 1330 hr. they stopped for lunch, and a wrought iron gate was seen hidden behind some ivy, the gate was pushed down by hungry. The graveyard beyond soon erupted in skeletons, zombies and ghouls. Though they proved easy prey the archers snapped his bow, and ruby managed to get scratched by a ghoul (hope it doesn’t become infected)
A general look around the graveyard found no loot, but a trapdoor entrance leading down into 1 60’ by 40’ by 20’ deep chamber, a mausoleum, two doors leading off east, and something big slithering in the dark Torches were thrown down (cross off 5 torches) and arrows shot at the massive black termite-like worm, oozing black slime. The shots just bounced. I shot black ichor and sucked hungry within its body, Tusker leapt onto its head, the cleric having tried and fell. The cleric released one of the spells from the Book of Infinite Spells and a giant spider joined the attack (though later splattered against the wall by the worms tale). Billy having lost his weapon in his first attack (having being become glued in the worms spit) attached a rope to allow descent. Ruby and archer stood firing from the trapdoor as Billy slid down the rope to join the attack. After the difficult battle, a small amount of treasure was found, and it was decided that before trying the doors that a return to school was needed.
Everyone went up a level, and took auxiliary courses in exchange for the huge Garnet found earlier
The group have now been together 59 days
The exploration of the dungeon proceeds after a stint in school.
First, room 60’ by 40’ with two doors in east wall. The north easterly door was a trap and was disarmed, the south easterly door led to a 30 ft corridor sloping 45 degrees down to the East, ending in a room.
The room was square 40’ by 40’ and appeared empty, though on investigating a trap it turned out to be a mimic, though it was soon killed. The treasure in sacks was protected by a pit trap though this was also detected. The party left through an arch in center of north wall by which the body of a previous explorer had been impaled.
The corridor from the northern arch led in a north easterly direct for 30 ft before ending in a door.
Beyond the door a 40’ by 40’ room, an iron fence and rusted gate dividing the room in two (east to west), a door in south west corner of room (in west wall). 4 giant scorpions attack, and although eventually killed, Hungry is killed outright by a sting.
A local Micharu (‘Mike’) called Father Leonard offers his services (he would followed group into dungeon) and charges a 3000 GP deposit and 3000 GP to raise the dead thief. Tusker swears a blood oath in order to repay the debt in future. Father Leonard is a 6th level cleric of CG worshipping Odin, he will follow the party and heal as needed and has 2 more raise dead scrolls. Opening the door in the South west corner (that gate with the maze mosaic beyond is left until later) the passage head west for 30 ft the turn north, after 20 ft it ends in a door, though a steamy mist emanates from beneath the door, and a grating sound of stone on stone can be heard beyond.
The door is opened and a mist filled room is found (30’ by 30’) .A rotating pillar in center of room is turning through 90 degrees even round in a clockwise direction) a pointer on the pillar indicating direction, and causing grating noise as turns. Everyone avoids the points though the dwarf experiments and finds himself aging rapidly by 3 years. (The pointer ages subject 1d4 years.) Using coordination of elven archer group find three exits to this room, two in east wall and on in west wall (SW corner), the party run towards the SE corner east wall door and enter into a small 10’ by 10’ room containing treasure.
From this room, coordinated by archer they run to NE door in Eastern wall and open it, a corridor heads 30 ft to the North east, and opens into a room 30’ by 40’, containing 5 displacer beasts, a decent amount of treasure and no other exits. After a strange fight versus the displacer beats the aging-pointer room is again successfully navigated and the PC’s go through the SW door, which opens to a 20 ft long passage ending in a 70 ft diameter hemispherical room divided by a lake of sulfuric acid with 6 huge snakes rearing heads on far bank, a rickety bridge the only way across.
A flurry of arrows (is that the right word)? Destroyed one of the snakes (about 15 ft long, 1 ft diameter) and the other 6 disappeared into hidden holes/burrows amongst rocks. The party form a rope securing device and head across the acid lake. Hungry, Tusker and River are across and Ruby is upon the bridge as the 5 remaining snakes launch their attacks from their burrows. They get killed.
The one exit in the west wall of the room leads to a long corridor westward. The corridor continues westward into the darkness, 60 ft along is a door in the right hand wall (north) though this seems to require a key of some sort to operate it, a magical key. 20 ft along on the left side of the passage is an archway leading to a corridor heading south easterly for 60 ft with a door half way along on the left hand side, and continuing on south easterly for another 30 ft until branches south and east. The door is investigated and appears to have a contact poison on it (left for later investigation). The party choose the eastern fork that continues on for 60 ft and then turns north (this passage seems to take group under original entrance room), there is a turn to the South after 30 ft but this turns out to be a dead end, construction halted for some reason.
The group turn to the North, it ends in a small room, though this room contains a chimera with 3 heads, 1 goat with 2 horns, 1 lion, and one dragon, the dragon head gets attention first with a flame attack, and the poor thing did managing one more breath attack before dying!, mainly due the ruby rolling natural 20 twice with two arrows in one round (one hit the lower jaw of the lion head, causing it to fall prone and bleed lots)
After battling through a few hundred hoarding gibberlings they found that the gibblerings had destroyed the Kobar (school) where they where heading. The new party member (a Fighter/Cleric/Magic-user Half-elf) knew of a nearby school, but the journey would still be near a week. They set off.
The land was becoming barren and dead the more the party traveled north, in places burnt trees where interspersed with lava pools, not a very nice place.
As they where traveling through a tricky area (the Ox and cart having just been lost to the lava), 4 hellhounds appeared running eye-burning towards the party and they where followed by their master, a huge 18 foot tall Fire Giant throwing rocks. The Hellhounds where quickly dispatched but the Giant took some pummeling.
The fire giant, when searched seemed to have a map detailing the area, and the location of a forward giant scouting party for a coming attack based at a cave a few miles NW.
The lair was found and attacked, this time more hellhound, a half-dozen fire-giants and a giant-crossbow with three troll crewmen. By the end of the battle, a good haul was found, the giants had been busy looting or robbing. They where based at a nearby keep just 6 hours travel to SE of the Kobar they are traveling to anyway. By the symbols on the map found, it appears to be guarded by two dragons.
Spying out the keep from a distance it was on a huge flat burnt out plain. No life could be seen. It was a newly build, sheer black walled square keep, 12 towers (4 corners, 2 each wall), atop two of the towers where seen a large dragon and a smaller one of the same breed (Red). The trouble was that the smaller dragon is staring right at the group and has obviously noticed them, it squawks something at the other and then vanishes down into the keeps courtyard out of sight.
After a few minutes a startled group notices the dragons reunite and start flying directly towards the group, the range being only a mile. At the same time the castle gates opened and 12 fully armoured fire giants ran out and also headed towards the group, before them ran 8 hell hounds. The group braced for attack, bows at the ready. River and Ruby where of most effect, the smaller dragon only an infant was dispatched easily when it got into arrow range before its older companion. It fell to the ground like a rock as the archers turned their attack to the large dragon, expert marksmanship by River, aiming to disable its wing, caused it to spiral out of control, landing 20 yards closer then the smaller dragon, though not dead it was quickly dispatched by the waiting warriors.
