Each player gained 1300 experience for the session.
Total XP: 22000 (level 11 at 26000 xp)
Showing posts with label Session Eight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Session Eight. Show all posts
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Taking out the slave camps
We tied Charles and George together and left them near the river. Then we flew up and scouted the area around the town. We found the church on the outskirts of town, and after a bit more searching, we found a grave site northwest of town where about 40 slaves were digging out mass graves from the great Battle of Dragonwood Forest in the Hundred Years' War about 40 years back. A great pile of skeletal bodies were piled up near the excavation pit... poor souls, so much for "rest in peace."
The slaves and their masters spotted us as we flew over, so we had to engage them. I leaned over the railing and hailed them, telling them that we'd brought more cargo. After we disembarked, Treble stuck a dagger into one and battle ensued: us against three human cultists, two dragonborn whipmasters, one dragonborn death priest wielding a sceptre, and four zombies. The whipmasters were skilled in wrapping their whips around our ankles, grabbing us and knocking us prone. The death priest shot bolts of black ice at us, and the zombies were weaker, though still they charged at us and protected the others. It was a skirmish, for sure--especially for Aurora, who took a lot o' heat.
Afterwards, we searched the tents and the bodies of the fallen, finding a False Blood Amulet (which will help with my disguises) and Luckbender Gloves, which Treble put on. We found a journal that the death priest was keeping, whose code we have already made good progress in deciphering (I think we're a little more than half done with it). We also found 200 gold worth of gold, gems, and so on. We freed the slaves and talked to them, advising them not to return to the town. We found that there wasn't much else in the way of viable alternatives, so they agreed to wait at the camp until we cleanse the town of the slavery operation when we plan to return and tell them that it's safe. Many of them, however, had worked around the facilities, and they had a lot of useful information about the various operations. We learned that there are two kinds of undead that the slavers are using: zombies, raised from the ages-old skeletons and relatively mindless; and ghouls, turned from misbehaving slaves as a threat to keep the other ones in line (these have some level of intelligence and use their claws to immobilize a target before biting).
The others all agreed it would be best for the bodies at the mass graves here to be burned, which the slaves agreed to do after nightfall so as not to attract attention from the church. They said that the slavers go in rotation, and they weren't expecting a shift change until another day or so, so we had some time. We also learned that this is the only mass grave that was currently being excavated; others having been excavated in the past.
Some of 'em drew us a most useful map of the cathedral itself and the surrounding area. I found it interesting that they are shipping slaves from the mass graves while the graveyard right in front of the church had not yet been emptied, though the slaves said that they were already excavating slaves beyond their capabilities to raise them so far. On the map, they pointed out the inner structure of the old church and the new inner chamber constructed where Alhunder spends most of his time. They pointed out the two docks where slaves bring lumber from upriver on the barges (giving us a rough heading so we could pursue this remote camp as well), and a bunch of sleeping tents on the opposite sides for the slaves who are working on the cathedral itself.
The slaves told us we should expect to encounter scores of undead, a couple of whipmasters in the logging operation and a couple in the cathedral, three more death priests, and another six or so cultists. They also told us something new about Alhunder: that he is human, but one of his arms and hands is skeletal. It sounds like he has had the necrotic skin grafted onto his body, which we suspect should grant him some of the abilities of the undead.
We went along the river up to the logging camp, which was easy to find thanks to the trees felling in plain sight. We saw two whipmasters and about 70 slaves, as well as a couple of barges onto which the slaves were loading the lumber. We also saw three cultists, as well as some ghouls and zombies. The slaves had told us to be prepared for more undead at the logging camp because the slaves were armed with axes, so the ghouls would be used to help keep them in line. We landed near the smaller group, consisting of one whipmaster, one cultist, two ghouls, and three zombies. I told 'em we were bringing more cargo and should be unloading, and after we disembarked, Aurora attacked the whipmaster, stirring up a battle. We did a little better this time, though again somehow Aurora ended up in the thick of things. It was really tense for her there for a few moments before she regained her composure and helped to defeat the foes flanking her on all sides. One exciting turn in the battle happened once we had most of the enemies under control: while many of the slaves understandably ran for their lives, five brave ones came and fought against their captors alongside us! We cheered them on, and they seemed to have regained some vigor! Although once their immediate masters were dispatched, they thanked us and ran as well before the second wind of foes was upon us.
Aye, a huge ruckus arose and the rest of the enemies rushed across the battlefield towards us. We're ready to finish them!
The slaves and their masters spotted us as we flew over, so we had to engage them. I leaned over the railing and hailed them, telling them that we'd brought more cargo. After we disembarked, Treble stuck a dagger into one and battle ensued: us against three human cultists, two dragonborn whipmasters, one dragonborn death priest wielding a sceptre, and four zombies. The whipmasters were skilled in wrapping their whips around our ankles, grabbing us and knocking us prone. The death priest shot bolts of black ice at us, and the zombies were weaker, though still they charged at us and protected the others. It was a skirmish, for sure--especially for Aurora, who took a lot o' heat.
Afterwards, we searched the tents and the bodies of the fallen, finding a False Blood Amulet (which will help with my disguises) and Luckbender Gloves, which Treble put on. We found a journal that the death priest was keeping, whose code we have already made good progress in deciphering (I think we're a little more than half done with it). We also found 200 gold worth of gold, gems, and so on. We freed the slaves and talked to them, advising them not to return to the town. We found that there wasn't much else in the way of viable alternatives, so they agreed to wait at the camp until we cleanse the town of the slavery operation when we plan to return and tell them that it's safe. Many of them, however, had worked around the facilities, and they had a lot of useful information about the various operations. We learned that there are two kinds of undead that the slavers are using: zombies, raised from the ages-old skeletons and relatively mindless; and ghouls, turned from misbehaving slaves as a threat to keep the other ones in line (these have some level of intelligence and use their claws to immobilize a target before biting).
The others all agreed it would be best for the bodies at the mass graves here to be burned, which the slaves agreed to do after nightfall so as not to attract attention from the church. They said that the slavers go in rotation, and they weren't expecting a shift change until another day or so, so we had some time. We also learned that this is the only mass grave that was currently being excavated; others having been excavated in the past.
Some of 'em drew us a most useful map of the cathedral itself and the surrounding area. I found it interesting that they are shipping slaves from the mass graves while the graveyard right in front of the church had not yet been emptied, though the slaves said that they were already excavating slaves beyond their capabilities to raise them so far. On the map, they pointed out the inner structure of the old church and the new inner chamber constructed where Alhunder spends most of his time. They pointed out the two docks where slaves bring lumber from upriver on the barges (giving us a rough heading so we could pursue this remote camp as well), and a bunch of sleeping tents on the opposite sides for the slaves who are working on the cathedral itself.
The slaves told us we should expect to encounter scores of undead, a couple of whipmasters in the logging operation and a couple in the cathedral, three more death priests, and another six or so cultists. They also told us something new about Alhunder: that he is human, but one of his arms and hands is skeletal. It sounds like he has had the necrotic skin grafted onto his body, which we suspect should grant him some of the abilities of the undead.
We went along the river up to the logging camp, which was easy to find thanks to the trees felling in plain sight. We saw two whipmasters and about 70 slaves, as well as a couple of barges onto which the slaves were loading the lumber. We also saw three cultists, as well as some ghouls and zombies. The slaves had told us to be prepared for more undead at the logging camp because the slaves were armed with axes, so the ghouls would be used to help keep them in line. We landed near the smaller group, consisting of one whipmaster, one cultist, two ghouls, and three zombies. I told 'em we were bringing more cargo and should be unloading, and after we disembarked, Aurora attacked the whipmaster, stirring up a battle. We did a little better this time, though again somehow Aurora ended up in the thick of things. It was really tense for her there for a few moments before she regained her composure and helped to defeat the foes flanking her on all sides. One exciting turn in the battle happened once we had most of the enemies under control: while many of the slaves understandably ran for their lives, five brave ones came and fought against their captors alongside us! We cheered them on, and they seemed to have regained some vigor! Although once their immediate masters were dispatched, they thanked us and ran as well before the second wind of foes was upon us.
Aye, a huge ruckus arose and the rest of the enemies rushed across the battlefield towards us. We're ready to finish them!
Friday, November 13, 2009
A valiant....... escape
We continued exploring through the catacombs, opening a door that led into darkness. Horadric lit the way as we walked through a long room, finding on the far side of it the boy, Thuran. Treble shouted at him, which just seemed to upset the poor thing. I went over and told him we were there to help, and attempted to break him free of his shackles. However, the iron chain was very thick and I wasn't able to break it. I tried attacking a length of the chain with my flail, attempting to break it, but again saw no results. Horadric and Jellissa came over and helped me try to break the chain again, but even together we were unable to break such a thick chain. I followed after the others, leaving Horadric behind to pick the lock and take care of Thuran.
Through the pillared hallway, Keh'r lit up his sunrod to illuminate a room full of foes. We found ourselves facing three skeletal archers, two blazing, fiery skeletons, two bonewretch skeletons, a deathwalker wight, a bone shard skeleton, and six decrepit skeletons. I maneuvered to the front lines to find a spot from which I could better mark my enemies, and found myself being besieged by ranged attacks: three arrows from the archers, an orb of black energy from the wight, and two flaming orbs from the blazing skeletons. I was looking pretty ragged, and so I was grateful when Rhogar touched my arm and infused me with healing energy. In the meantime, Rhogar cast a safe zone behind the pillars, to bolster our defenses as we awaited the melee enemies to join with us as our allies traded ranged attacks with the skeletons. However, this didn't work as well as we'd hoped, as Rhogar was subsequently knocked unconscious in short order and we found ourselves in a position where we needed to run in earnest.
Keh'r went into the fray to grab Rhogar and drag him to safety, as I dealt a grave injury to one of our foes and used the Earth's gifts to slow them down behind us. As Keh'r and I were heading out, we found Horadric and Elaira were still too close to the enemies, so we slowed and encouraged them to run ahead of us. I took a few more hits, and Elaira and I became slowed. I found myself again in need of healing; I paused from the fray to heal myself and push my enemies away, and was surprised and grateful when Horadric lent me his aid as well... I didn't know he had such an ability. As Keh'r and I were bringing up the rear to help cover Elaira and Horadric, and I was slowed and therefore unable to run quickly away, I found myself again the target of several attacks. I would have been alright if it weren't for the fact that the blazing skeletons had set me aflame and I was unable to douse the fires, and therefore I found myself still weakening quickly. Keh'r was on fire, too, but he didn't even seem to notice it. However, he did notice that I was having some trouble staying upright, and he pulled a flask from his belt, ran over to me, and said, "Here, drink this!" and reached up to pour the potion into my mouth. I was too weakened to protest that I'd rather drink it myself, and took a big swallow of the healing potion. This gave me the energy I needed to follow Horadric and Elaira out the door, with Keh'r and Rhogar behind me. Even so, the fires continued to burn me until finally Rhogar helped me to put them out before they sapped the rest of my energy reserves. We fled from the castle and headed back for Brindol, taking a much-needed long rest so that we could replenish our strength. During our rest in the forest, Elaira broke the news to Thuran about the death of his father. She did it as gently as she could, but the poor boy was still devastated. When we got to Brindol, we took him to his mother.
Some of us stopped by Derrick the artificer's stall to buy potions of various types to help us when we re-enter the castle and face the enemies again. I am not pleased that we had to run from the battle in the first place, but still consider it somewhat a success that we got all of us out of there alive with the condition that we were in when we left. Tomorrow we will try again with more resources, and we will triumph and defeat the brigands who attacked Brindol. We also stopped by the Hall of Great Valor and returned the two artifacts to Sertanian. He was pleased to see us and looking relatively well; he was happy to see the artifacts returned. While I was there I saw Horadric, who told us that he had stopped by the Temple of the Silver Flame and met two acquaintances of his who he convinced to join us as we re-entered the catacombs and defeated the wight and its allies. When we took Jellissa to her temple, she offered us three healing potions as a token of gratitude for our help. If yesterday's battle was any indication of what we'll be facing tomorrow, we will definitely need them.
Through the pillared hallway, Keh'r lit up his sunrod to illuminate a room full of foes. We found ourselves facing three skeletal archers, two blazing, fiery skeletons, two bonewretch skeletons, a deathwalker wight, a bone shard skeleton, and six decrepit skeletons. I maneuvered to the front lines to find a spot from which I could better mark my enemies, and found myself being besieged by ranged attacks: three arrows from the archers, an orb of black energy from the wight, and two flaming orbs from the blazing skeletons. I was looking pretty ragged, and so I was grateful when Rhogar touched my arm and infused me with healing energy. In the meantime, Rhogar cast a safe zone behind the pillars, to bolster our defenses as we awaited the melee enemies to join with us as our allies traded ranged attacks with the skeletons. However, this didn't work as well as we'd hoped, as Rhogar was subsequently knocked unconscious in short order and we found ourselves in a position where we needed to run in earnest.
Keh'r went into the fray to grab Rhogar and drag him to safety, as I dealt a grave injury to one of our foes and used the Earth's gifts to slow them down behind us. As Keh'r and I were heading out, we found Horadric and Elaira were still too close to the enemies, so we slowed and encouraged them to run ahead of us. I took a few more hits, and Elaira and I became slowed. I found myself again in need of healing; I paused from the fray to heal myself and push my enemies away, and was surprised and grateful when Horadric lent me his aid as well... I didn't know he had such an ability. As Keh'r and I were bringing up the rear to help cover Elaira and Horadric, and I was slowed and therefore unable to run quickly away, I found myself again the target of several attacks. I would have been alright if it weren't for the fact that the blazing skeletons had set me aflame and I was unable to douse the fires, and therefore I found myself still weakening quickly. Keh'r was on fire, too, but he didn't even seem to notice it. However, he did notice that I was having some trouble staying upright, and he pulled a flask from his belt, ran over to me, and said, "Here, drink this!" and reached up to pour the potion into my mouth. I was too weakened to protest that I'd rather drink it myself, and took a big swallow of the healing potion. This gave me the energy I needed to follow Horadric and Elaira out the door, with Keh'r and Rhogar behind me. Even so, the fires continued to burn me until finally Rhogar helped me to put them out before they sapped the rest of my energy reserves. We fled from the castle and headed back for Brindol, taking a much-needed long rest so that we could replenish our strength. During our rest in the forest, Elaira broke the news to Thuran about the death of his father. She did it as gently as she could, but the poor boy was still devastated. When we got to Brindol, we took him to his mother.
Some of us stopped by Derrick the artificer's stall to buy potions of various types to help us when we re-enter the castle and face the enemies again. I am not pleased that we had to run from the battle in the first place, but still consider it somewhat a success that we got all of us out of there alive with the condition that we were in when we left. Tomorrow we will try again with more resources, and we will triumph and defeat the brigands who attacked Brindol. We also stopped by the Hall of Great Valor and returned the two artifacts to Sertanian. He was pleased to see us and looking relatively well; he was happy to see the artifacts returned. While I was there I saw Horadric, who told us that he had stopped by the Temple of the Silver Flame and met two acquaintances of his who he convinced to join us as we re-entered the catacombs and defeated the wight and its allies. When we took Jellissa to her temple, she offered us three healing potions as a token of gratitude for our help. If yesterday's battle was any indication of what we'll be facing tomorrow, we will definitely need them.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
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