Re: Late start Group 0 2021 OOC thread...
No, Syoku, there were Group 8s before I ever decided to add the OA game. Here are some of the past exploits of some of the early groups:
The OG Group 1:
As the game began, the Council of Delkrag put out the call for adventurers, and several folks answered the call. The Council let the party know that strange things were afoot at night. The party went into action, and some of the group questioned those townsfolk who saw something, while others checked the outskirts of town for tracks or other signs of the creature. Although those particular efforts proved fruitless, the members of the group did become better acquainted. Soon, though, some of the council went missing, as did the constables sent to find the councilmen. The party reassembled and went to investigate Wolzaat Manor, home of one Thomas Wolzaat, a wealthy merchant and town leader. Here their real adventure began.
During their investigation, they first discovered that the house’s furniture and belongings were mostly destroyed, with the exception of Thomas’s. It wasn’t long before the party encountered a terrifying Bloody Bones, which sent the majority of the group fleeing in fear. That left a mage and a druid to tackle the creature by themselves, and they held their own, until the others calmed themselves and rejoined the fray. Though some of the party was wounded, they soon destroyed the Bloody Bones and continued on. They found that many of Thomas’s belongings remained intact, and later encountered a zombie and some undead rats, dispatching them with no injuries to the party. As they explored, they found the bodies of the constables and the councilman who had recently gone missing. Steeling themselves for the worst, they headed upstairs to the bedchambers.
In the master bedroom, the party found Mrs. Wolzaat dead, with a note from a scorned lover of Thomas’s. The group explored the attic, where after facing more undead, they found a painting of Thomas and his paramour. After facing more undead, the group found the Wolzaat children barricaded in a closet. The party put their examination of the house on hold, to get the children to safety.
Back at the local inn, the council was shocked to learn that Thomas’s long-ago lover, Dema, had caused all this chaos. Once they assured the party that they would look after the children, the party returned to the house, making a much more detailed search of Thomas’s library. There, they found an old text on necromancy tucked in the back of a shelf, with a map and a note from Dema inviting Thomas out for a visit. The group quickly returned to the inn, to inform the council, and make preparations for the next day.
In the morning, the party was greeted by the council and two clerics, who healed the group and gave them some potions and items to help them against Dema. As prepared as possible, the party headed for the X on the map they found. It marked the ruins of a house built at the base of Flandal’s Tower. Nearby, they found an entrance built right into the stone at the base of the Tower. After remembering the note written on the map, the party spoke the correct words and gained access to Dema’s lair.
The group carefully made its way inside, and after searching the entryway and finding a great hall, they soon discovered an art gallery. As they viewed the art, a trapped pedestal shot some of the party with darts, but the dwarf’s quick thinking broke the trap before it could do too much harm. The party then looted the art gallery and moved on. They found a staircase going down, but elected to stay on their current floor. Continuing their exploration, the group located a kitchen, where two gnomish cooks in chains were preparing Dema’s next meal. After determining that the gnomes were prisoners, they tried to free them, but the chains proved too strong, and the locks too well made. The group moved on, thinking to return to free the gnomes later.
A short time later, the group found a treasure chamber, with more riches than all of them had ever seen! The mage, however, determined that it was an illusion, and after a quick check by the thief, who found nothing hidden by the illusion, the group continued their search for the necromancer. They located the stairs up to the next level, but again chose to check everything on their current floor first. Backtracking, the party next found a ghoul in an unused sitting room. They quickly defeated it, and after healing the dwarf, continued, finding a rather disturbing shrine to Thomas containing many unnerving items. One of those was a Bloody Bones, but this one was destroyed without too much trouble. After looting the jewelry there, the group found a safe in another room, and although they were tempted to stay and get the thing open, they opted to find Dema first.
The group climbed the stairs to the next level, first locating Dema’s study, filled with books, which the mage promptly looted. Moving ahead, they next found Dema’s bedchamber, with a secret door in the back of a wardrobe that led to her ‘throne room’. Preparing themselves, they burst inside to face down the necromancer Dema.
Dema was accompanied by five undead, which she sent attacking the party, and cast a spell. The battle began well for the party, as the cleric turned two of the undead, and another quickly fell to the druid. The thief hit the necromancer, and things looked good so far. But Dema’s next spell knocked the dwarf unconscious, and an undead knocked out the human fighter at the same time. The cleric quickly got the dwarf back into the fray, and he charged Dema with a vengeance. The party began pressing the advantage once the dwarf was back on his feet, as the ranger kept inflicting harm on the necromancer, preventing her from casting her spells. She soon did manage to successfully cast a spell on the ranger, wounding him severely, but not killing him. Just as the party looked to finish the necromancer, she pulled something from up her sleeve and broke it, disappearing in a flash of green light.
After looting Dema’s chamber, the group freed the gnomish cooks, found a spell book (pleasing the mages to no end) and tried their luck with the safe. Unfortunately, the safe was a trap, which blew up when opened, knocking out the druid and the ranger. After the dwarf poured some healing potion down their throats, everyone moved on to the basement, where they found Thomas held prisoner in the back of Dema’s laboratory. Returning to Delkrag, the party cashed in their loot, received the thanks of Thomas and the rest of the council, and rested and recuperated while deciding their next move.
The Adventures of Group 2 – The Mines of Nemrac
Group 2 began in Delbraga, a town just outside Nemrac's easternmost mine. It's actually a bit larger than Delkrag, with a population of about 1,200.
The party found themselves at the Wine Mine, a local pub that many of the miners in Delbraga frequent. While you were equipping yourself earlier that day, you heard disturbing news. Several gnomes over the last few weeks had gone missing, and the constables in all the nearby towns and villages were baffled. The only thing the disappearances had in common was the fact that they were all gnomes, and that they all went missing while outside of town. You'd been told that Delbraga's sheriff, one Robert Wertel, frequented the Wine Mine, and was offering real gold for anyone willing to assist in the investigation. You asked for his description, and you were pretty sure you'd be able to spot him that night.
Sure enough, he arrived not too long after the party did, and after making their acquaintance, filled them in more specifically about the disappearing gnomes. Everyone got a good night’s rest, and headed out in the morning. Following the sheriff’s information, the group headed south. After a chance encounter with an aggressive beggar, the group discovered a trail that led to a campsite for smaller folk. Upon searching, the group found a trail leading to the southeast, toward the Eastern Cliff. The druid sent his bird up to scout around, and it returned with news of a cave guarded by several small creatures.
The party split up at that point, with the stealthy ones approaching along the cliff face, and the armored ones approaching openly. The paladin attracted the attention of the six kobolds guarding the cave entrance, and although he took a minor wound, the party soon made quick work of the kobolds. After looting the bodies, the party entered the cave.
The party soon discovered the whereabouts of the gnomes, as they were in this cave working as unwilling miners. The first chamber contained several gnomes, but fortunately, no kobold guards. The thieves quickly freed some of them from the walls, although they couldn’t separate all the gnomes. They also disturbed a group of centipedes, which they dispatched, although the druid was bitten in the ankle. They learned of five tunnels that left the main chamber, and began a tunnel-by-tunnel rescue of the gnomes mining in each tunnel.
In the first tunnel, the thieves and the fighter took on the guards, hoping for complete surprise, but one of the thieves took a vicious dagger thrust before the kobolds all died. It was as the party regrouped after clearing the first tunnel that another character joined the party, a cleric/ranger. She quickly healed the wounded party members, and the group headed down the second tunnel. There they accidentally set off an alarm bell, but they still managed to defeat the kobolds (only taking a bit of damage in the process), loot some supplies, find a strange bottle, and free more gnomes. The third tunnel proved more difficult for the thieves, as one took a viciously thrown dagger in the chest, but a fast retreat saved him. As the kobolds gave chase, the fighters and druid stepped up and took care of them. Moving on to the fourth tunnel, the female thief had her revenge, expertly dispatching the kobolds with only a bit of help from the fighter. While freeing those gnomes, the party learned that the bottle they found earlier was in fact a potent healing salve. The group healed up, and upon returning to the main chamber, met another new character, this time a druid. She helped them clear the last tunnel, and the party brought the gnomes back to civilization.
After conferring with Sheriff Robert, the party returned to the mine to wait for Grag, whoever that was. Grag turned out to be a Verbeeg, who thought the party was after his eeshnerig. Although he managed to knock out the fighter, the group defeated him without killing him, and found that he had nothing to do with enslaving the gnomes – that was all the kobolds’ work. Grag just wanted his eeshnerig – a glowing stone that he apparently used to season his food. The group decided to consult with the sage in Nemrac City about the eeshnerig, and Sheriff Robert asked them to convey a message to the authorities about the kobold threat.
The trip to Nemrac City was mostly uneventful, but one bandit attack put the fighter on his back again. The cleric healed him (again), and the group reached the city two days later. After visiting the sage, and sampling the local fare, the group headed back to Delbraga with the sage in tow. Sure enough, Grag needed eeshnerig for his food (it was a much-needed mineral for Verbeeg) and negotiations regarding mining the stuff went smoothly. The party received a generous finder’s fee and reward, and construction on a new mining camp began post haste.
The group had heard of bandits harassing the town of Delmarb, and after resting for a day or two, headed out to see how they could help. They ran into the bandit leaders outside of town, and after one of them nearly killed one of the thieves, the party took down the bandits, leaving only the chief alive. The chief bandit gave the group all his loot, and was never heard from again. The town of Delmarb was most grateful, and after a bit of rest, the group pondered their next move.
(Thus ends the record of Group 2.)
The Adventures of Group 3 – The Mines of Nemrac
This group started its adventure in Lester, the southernmost town in Newford, just north of the border between Nemrac and Newford. A paladin and a druid learned of goblins who were raiding the merchant caravans, and the Merchants’ Guild offered a quite generous reward. They hired a ranger to guide them to the goblins’ lair, and set off straightaway.
After camping uneventfully, the group continued on to the goblin cave. They discovered eight goblins celebrating heavily, having just acquired a large amount of treasure and grog. The party allowed the group to become quite drunk, then made their move. With the ranger’s bow dropping goblins by surprise, the only hurt the party received was to the druid. The party grabbed the loot and entered the cave. Venturing in a short distance, the group encountered two prisoners – a fighter and a thief. They freed them, and the party grew to five members.
Continuing on the party found the goblin treasure room, and defeated the goblin guards camped there. By now the group was rather beat up, but they knew there weren’t many goblins left around. However, someone else showed up. Four giants arrived outside the cave, looking for their dogs and their stuff. While some of the party wanted to attack right away, calmer heads prevailed, and the group began a dialogue – it turned out the goblins had stolen a bunch of stuff from the giants, who had tracked them down to get it back. The party found the giants’ worgs caged inside the cave, freed them and returned the giants’ goods. The giants allowed the party to keep the gold as a reward for finding their dogs and their sword.
On the return trip to Lester, an ogre attacked the group. The druid’s Entangle spell, though, stopped it in its tracks. The group tied up the ogre, but then decided to dispatch it a short while later. With a tremendous effort, though, the ogre broke its bonds and fled into the forest, and loaded down with treasure as the group was, nobody could have caught the ogre if they had wanted to. The group returned to Lester and received their reward for retrieving the Merchants’ Guild’s goods and exterminating the goblins. After resting briefly, and purchasing more/better gear, the group headed south to Delkrag.
Upon reaching Delkrag, Group 3 disbanded, and the paladin planned to go to the village of Curbral after hearing that a budding necromancer was digging up trouble. He sent a message to the ranger, who joined him in Delkrag, and the two of them set off for Curbral. Upon reaching the village, they visited the Temple straightaway. It was while talking to the priests that the pair realized that they needed to check the local cemetery immediately. Sure enough, several graves had been violated, and a mausoleum opened. Entering the mausoleum, the pair fought two zombies, and located a secret passage leading down. Following the passage, they soon entered a chamber where the necromancer waited.
The necromancer sent four skeletons to attack the ranger. The paladin and ranger fought off the skeletons, while the necromancer repeatedly cast a spell from his evil tome at the paladin, wounding him time and again. Just when it looked like the paladin was finished, the ranger wrested the book away from the necromancer, and ran away down the passage, to set the book on fire.
The paladin and the necromancer continued to fight, but neither could pass the other’s defense. Then, as the book caught fire, the necromancer reacted as if he, too, was on fire. He fled from the paladin and charged after the ranger, bent on killing her. The paladin gave chase, but the necromancer reached her first, knocking her unconscious. Finally the paladin struck the killing blow, ending the chaos. He laid hands on the ranger, reviving her, and the pair made their way back to the Temple. The priests gave the pair healing and shelter, and after resting, the paladin and ranger left to right more wrongs.
(Thus ends the record of Group 3.)
The Adventures of Group 4 (AKA The Koboldbusters)
After Groups 1 and 2 finished their other adventures, they turned their attention to a large band of kobolds attacking Curzani in the northwest part of Nemrac. Some of the adventurers had dealt with a few of the kobolds already, but without a large group, the lair had to wait until now. After hiring some men-at-arms and porters the massed group set off to the village of Curzani.
In Curzani, the mayor gave the party some much-appreciated magical aid, and the group headed for the lair. They split into a faster, lighter advance group, and a heavier group following behind. Both groups encountered scouting parties and disposed of them easily, but as the advance group reached the lair, they were tricked into attacking a decoy guard, while the real guard ambushed from a distance. The advance party was victorious, but both groups had expended enough spells that a withdrawal back to Curzani was in order. Taking their kobold prisoners for interrogation, the group replenished their spells and returned to enter the lair the next day.
When they returned, the party found an offering of coins and weapons laid out in front of the lair. As some party members approached the entrance from the side, more approached the offering, as the others waited anxiously, weapons ready. The kobolds released two giant weasels to attack, and one of the thieves took a serious wound before the others could defeat the animals. One healing spell later, though, and the thief was back to full health. The party gathered up the offering, and just as they were to enter the lair the paladin from Group 3 arrived to join the group. Now sixteen strong, the Koboldbusters moved inside.
As the thieves scouted the first few tunnels, another group of kobolds returned to the lair, surprised to see adventurers inside. With a Sleep spell from the magic-user, and several missile attacks from the others, the kobolds fell quickly. After the scouts returned, the party advanced to a chamber with kobolds and their wild boars. The kobolds were put to sleep immediately, but the boars fought viciously, rendering one of the men-at-arms unconscious, and a moment later, also the cleric/mage. But the party pressed the attack, and prevailed, and the paladin quickly got the cleric/mage back on her feet.
Continuing on, the party encountered a few more kobolds, but prevented them from raising an alarm. One of the magic-users took a serious wound, requiring more of the party’s precious healing magic. As the group pondered their options, they realized that there were now enemies both to the fore and to the rear. The group decided to split up, strike in both directions hard and fast, and re-form later.
Both groups beat upon a bunch of kobolds, and didn’t get beaten upon too badly in return. While separated, one group discovered a half-orc stuck down a pit, and rescuing him, increased the Koboldbusters to seventeen. The other heard a large group to the left, and passed them by until later. When the groups met up again, they quickly backtracked to that large group, and concocting an expert battle plan, forged ahead. The only party member to be hurt was the half-orc. The dwarven fighter used a Speed potion before entering, but the party’s plan worked so well that he barely needed it before the kobolds were all dead or asleep. So as not to waste the potion, the dwarf raced through the passages ways at top speed, looking for more enemies to kill.
The dwarf entered a narrow passage that led to the only unexplored chamber, the torture room. Two dozen kobolds were mistreating eight of the local farmers, so the dwarf charged in while his potion was still working. After taking down several kobolds single-handedly, the kobolds started inflicting too much damage for the dwarf to ignore. He immediately raced back to inform the others what lay ahead.
The half-orc and the paladin also took offense to the torture, and raced toward the torture room themselves. The half-orc put a kobold down immediately but was knocked out by a rock thrown with great accuracy. Fortunately, the paladin pushed ahead of the fallen fighter, distributing his own brand of justice. Sweeping strokes of his two-handed sword dropped enough kobolds that the last few surrendered without harming the hostages.
After healing the party, and clearing the entire kobold warren, the group returned to Curzani with the farmers, receiving a hero’s welcome. The celebration lasted well into the night, with townsfolk asking again and again for the highlights of your excursion. While the village could not afford to reward you with money, they told you that their doors were always open to you, should you need a meal or a place to stay.
After everyone recovered from the celebration, and rested a while, the whole group returned to Delkrag, where they knew other adventurers would be gathering. There, at My Brother’s Inn, they hoped to find even more adventure.
(Thus ends the record of Group 4.)
The Adventures of Group 5
Group 5 began its adventure in Nemrac City, where they heard of several leads of interest. They opted to take on a band of goblins that had been robbing folks along the northern roads. Packing their gear, they journeyed first to Delkrag, where they learned that the goblin attacks took place mainly outside of Curtal. The party found a merchant headed to Curtal, and hired themselves on as guards. Their journey to Curtal was uneventful, and upon receiving their pay, the group split up to purchase more gear and to ask around about the goblins. At this point a local dwarf introduced himself to the party, and they all headed to a nearby tavern to begin discussing their assault on the goblin lair. As the planned and discussed, a merchant of Lester approached them and offered a reward for property of his that the goblins had stolen. Some of the group felt that they could just keep his stuff for themselves, but others decided that returning the stolen property would be for the best. Agreeing to the reward, the group set out the next day.
Arriving at the goblin lair, the party happened upon a celebration – apparently the goblins had been quite successful recently. The cleric used himself as bait, luring most of the goblins away from their cave and into the vegetation, where the druid promptly Entangled them. The two goblins that stayed behind immediately surrendered at the sight of a huge fighter bearing down on them, and so the party entered the lair with eight prisoners, and without a single scratch. After the thief found no traps, the group proceeded inside. A short time later, the group found a pit trap, where a fighter had the misfortune of falling in. Freeing him, the party grew to six. The party found some more goblins and a caged worg. They dispatched the goblins and heard a deep voice from outside. Apparently somebody else had come here to get their stuff back.
Returning to the entrance, the party met four Verbeeg, looking for their pet, among other things. The goblin prisoners were now squished, so the party freed the worg, and returned the giants’ belongings, earning their thanks and respect. As the giants took their leave, the party continued searching the lair until they found the rest of the goblins’ loot, with the merchant’s chest right on top. Gathering the treasure the party headed back to Curtal, where the merchant had an unpleasant surprise for them. It turned out that his shipment was worth less than half what he said it was, making the party’s reward less than half of what was promised. Fortunately, the Merchant’s Guildmaster from Lester had journeyed to Curtal to check up on the merchant, and thank the party personally. He more than made up for the smaller reward with official border passes, so the party could enter Newford at will. After resting and relaxing for a few days, the party headed to Delkrag to see what other adventures they could find.
(Thus ends the record of Group 5.)
Another Group 2
After their last adventure, this party formed to answer the call of Nemrac City’s foremost sage. Soon they found comfortable lodgings in the city at a nearby establishment called Davyd's Inn.
The next day, they visited the sage, who was human, with long white hair pulled into a ponytail, and a trimmed white beard. His face, however, didn't show any wrinkles or other signs of advanced age. Rather than wearing a robe, which might be expected of a sage, he had donned scuffed leather breeches and a worn leather doublet, covered by a long apron with several pockets. He smiled and waved the party all to a seat. Nodding, he promptly sat down on thin air, and did not fall immediately to the floor. Stretching his feet out in front of him on what looked like an imaginary footstool, he began to speak.
"Welcome, all. I am Bey, M.P. Bey, and I'm glad to see you are interested in my offer."
"Many years ago, when this region was much more sparsely settled, a school of higher learning was built into the base of the Eastern Cliff. The privacy this complex afforded was ideal for students of many disciplines to gather and sharpen their minds, perfect their crafts, and hone their skills. In its day, the school, once called Valraydaehr, attracted the best and brightest from miles around."
"Quite some time ago, one of the experiments being conducted began to spiral out of control. The school was quickly evacuated, as the sorcerers, alchemists, and magicians attempted to regain control of the process. As they were unsuccessful, the decision was made to close the facility, and disguise the entrance with magic so that unsuspecting folks, who were by then becoming more prevalent in Nemrac, wouldn't blunder in and get hurt, or worse, by any of the leftover energies that couldn't be moved or dispersed. Along with disguising the entrance, the school was also made invisible to any scrying attempts, so long as the seal remained intact."
"Until recently, no one, or rather I should say, I, have been unable to determine the exact location of Valraydaehr. I stopped scrying ages ago, but I never forgot about the ancient school. Then a short time ago, one of my devices registered a large surge of magic. Suddenly, the entrance to the school became visible to my devices and spells. Which means the seal has been broken... whether by force from the outside, or somehow from the inside, I cannot say."
"I wish to send an expedition to Valraydaehr. There is the distinct possibility that many rare tomes and scrolls may be found inside, as well as ancient artifacts that I would be most interested in obtaining and studying. And while I can only provide enough money for room and board on your journey, I can provide each of you with some small magic that may be useful once you reach Valraydaehr. And I will pay quite handsomely for any information or artifacts you do recover."
"Unfortunately, with the seal broken, I cannot guarantee that the place will still be empty. It doesn't take long for caves, even man-made ones, to attract visitors, as I'm sure some of you remember from your youth."
Smiling once again, he asked, "Have you any questions?"
After a hot meal and one more restful night in a comfortable bed, the group headed out for Valraydaehr. It was located on the Eastern Cliff, and as the party approached the grassland gave way to bare, rocky ground. Around noon, the party found a cave entrance in the base of the cliff. Examining the entrance for a brief moment was enough to reveal that this was not a natural cave, about 10 feet across, and arched at the top, about 15 feet at its highest point.
The noonday sun did not send much light into the entrance. A few feet in, there was nothing but darkness. The party lit a lantern and moved carefully down the tunnel. The thief moved out ahead, cautiously examining the floor, walls and ceiling as he went, again finding nothing. After about seventy feet, he reached the end of the passageway, which was dominated by a very large, very ornately carved wooden door, arched like the tunnel, and along the curved part of the door near the top, were carved the words, "Valraydaehr, where our minds are filled, as well as our hearts" in several languages.
The group began their exploring in earnest, locating old, rare books and strange black cloths in the offices of long-gone professors. Along the way they defeated a group of hobgoblins, who told them about some nearby gnolls and a strange blob. Soon the party found more books and cloths, beat up the gnolls, and discovered a body with odd wounds. The thieves found a crack near the ceiling, and when one climbed up, he saw nothing, but he heard the blob moving on the other side, so the party decided to avoid it altogether – a very wise move. After a bit more exploring, and locating some ancient maps, the party left to rest and rememorize their spells.
Upon re-entering, one thief attempted to pick a locked door. He succeeded, but when he tried to open the door, it resisted. A face emerged from the center of the door, berating the thief for his lack of manners, and demanding to know what rule 47 was. After unsuccessfully guessing out of the bluem the party’s fighter-mage knocked, and the door politely asked him for rule 21. The party left and continued exploring until they found an old student handbook, although along the way they fought some hobgoblins and an ogre, which was carrying a beautiful long sword. Just two rooms later, the group ran into two adventuring parties that had just fought – one evil, one good. After reviving the lone ranger to survive the melee, they looted the evil party and buried the good one outside. They gathered their humanoid prisoners, and returned to Curtal to drop them off.
The party then returned to the library, recited the correct rule, and entered to the sight of more books in one place than most f the party had seen in their entire lives. They soon found that any book they removed from the library, without checking it out first, teleported itself right back in – unless they put it into a bag of holding first. Loading theirs up, they brought a sizable amount of books out for the sage, and themselves. Before they left the school for good, they double-checked some previously checked rooms, and found some magical incense and some more books and cloths. Returning to the sage, the party cashed in their finds, had their magic items identified, and said their farewells as many party members left to follow their own pursuits.
The adventures of Group 7.
This band of adventurers assembled at the request of Markus, one of Nemrac’s most powerful druids. Markus sent the group south into unexplored territory, with instructions to record what they found. After spending a pleasant evening in the village of Curbral, enjoying the hospitality, the party set out for the Western Cliff, intending to follow it southward. After two uneventful days, the group heard wolves howling in the distance and prepared for the worst. That evening the pack attacked, but the party was well prepared. Arrows flew, as the party’s own druid Entangled several of the wolves. The magic-user put down another, and the warriors finishes off the rest with only the dwarf taking damage for his trouble.
The expedition continued, and some days later, the party came upon a village of giants. Rather than skirting the village quietly, one of the fighters decided to openly greet the giants. Things might have gone badly for him at that point, as neither could understand the other’s language, but the fighter offered them his eeshnerig, which appeased them. The party moved on, and a few days later discovered the ruins of an ancient town on a lake far south of Nemrac. A dilapidated cathedral dominated the landscape, so the party, explored inside. The cathedral contained many odd statues, large and small, inside and out. The dwarf found one statue, in particular, to be exceptionally delicate. Seeing that the statue was much more fragile than the rest, the magic-user took up a big chunk of granite and broke the arm off the delicate statue, filling the room with a hideous stench. While several party members were overcome by the odor, the dwarf smashed the rest of the statue, revealing a narrow spiral staircase leading down into the darkness. After the noxious fumes dissipated, the party formed up and descended.
In a network of chambers and passages, the party first encountered some desiccated bodies laid to rest in a special crypt. However, upon closer examination, two of the corpses turned out to be undead, and as they stood to attack, dark blood began seeping out from their bodies, terrifying the party. Several party members broke and fled, while the rest fought the creatures bravely. Unfortunately, the undead soon knocked one halfling archer to the floor, bleeding and pale. The druid’s cudgel sent bone chips and blood flying as absent party members cleared their heads and raced back toward the battle. Soon the party managed to knock the horrid abominations to pieces, and thanks to some quickly-administered healing magic, the halfling was back on his feet in no time.
After catching their collective breath, the group continued exploring the underground passages, and found many more statues, but they could not determine why the statues were there. An encounter with about two dozen giant centipedes provided a few tense moments, as the druid and halfling thief both received painful bites, but fortunately for them, the bites contained no poison, else they might have died. Continuing on, the party disturbed a very large three-armed, three-legged statue, which chose to animate and attack the party for their rude intrusion. Fortunately, as the party ran away at top speed, the statue chose to remain in its chamber. Some chambers later, the party handled some zombies without a scratch, and located a statue, immobile, this time, wearing an inordinate amount of jewelry. After looting it, the party found a second animated statue, as well as a nearby chamber with some ghouls. The party formed a plan to have the ghouls fight the statue for them, and planned to lure the statue to a nearby intersection.
The plan took shape, but a small timing glitch forced the front-line fighters to hold off the ghouls for a round before the statue arrived. Unfortunately, a pair of fighters dropped, paralyzed, but the party was able to pull them clear as the statue arrived and tore into the ghouls. Everybody fled the carnage, carrying the fighters along, as the statue used all three arms to tear the ghouls to bits. The magic-user realized that the only foe strong enough to beat this statue was the other statue, so while he stayed behind to guide this statue to the other, the druid raced through passageways, hoping to force the statues to meet somewhere in the middle. Both mage and druid had no difficulty outpacing the statues, and with a good, if hastily shouted plan, and a little bit of luck, the pair of adventurers led the statues right toward each other, and as they saw each other, raised all six hands for battle.
From around a nearby corner the pair of adventurers watched the battle, as stony fists flew, as well as pieces of rock from both statues. Minute after minute, the statues punched each other, and soon the hallway was littered with broken pieces of arms, heads, and torsos. Finally, one statue fell, shattering into a thousand pieces. The remaining statue, looking like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle, appeared as if a good hard knock would finish it, too. The mage reached for his throat, tugging a bead from his Necklace of Missiles, and hurling it at the still-standing statue. The bead detonated in a fiery blast, blowing the statue to bits, but in the narrow passage the backblast singed the adventurers just a bit as well.
The party, with all fighters back in action, regrouped and discovered that both animated statues were guarding impressive treasure troves of jewelry, coin, weapons, armor, and other items. After assuring themselves that the underground complex was clear, the group loaded up their find, and, deciding that they’d gone far enough for Markus, high-tailed it back to civilization. It turned out that Markus was, in fact, quite pleased with the information they had recorded, especially the giants’ village and the ancient town. The party received their reward from the druid and decided what to do with their new-found wealth. They heard that other opportunities awaited at My Brother’s Inn in Delkrag, so they journeyed to the inn to live it up a bit while they pondered their next move.
Thus ends the record of this Group 7.
The continuing adventures of another Group 1.
During their last excursion, the party had seen an abandoned mage’s tower, rumored now to house some troublesome monsters, so after gathering some information, they decided it was time to investigate it more closely. As the party approached they found no doors, so while the party’s magician looked around for a hidden way in, the fighter began pounding in spikes for a climb to a window. Soon the mage found a hidden stairway in the nearby underbrush, but unfortunately, several orcs and goblins on the roof heard the pounding and began dropping rocks on the fighter, injuring him just a bit before he could run clear. Another fighter shot one of the goblins, and then the mage cast a spell, putting the whole group to sleep. Rather than risk a climb, the party opted to use the hidden staircase, which led to an underground tunnel heading straight for the tower. Soon the party found themselves in an unfinished basement level of the tower, with a set of stairs leading up.
As the party explored, they discovered rooms of broken jars, smashed wine barrels and destroyed furniture, along with a pungent trash pit with a giant bug of some sort down there. The party decided to leave the carrion eater alone, and continued upward, knowing there would soon be trouble. They found it in the form of several goblins. During the melee, one of the fighters was so tickled to be killing goblins that he forgot to keep his guard up, and was promptly knocked out cold when reinforcements arrived. The elf also took quite a beating before all the foes lay dead, and every party member involved in the melee was injured at some point. Fortunately, a healing potion brought the fighter back to his feet, but the group was now in no shape to continue forward. Wounded and out of magic, the party packed up all the goblins’ weapons, and returned to the safety of the nearest village, where they made a decent amount of money as arms merchants that evening.
Returning to the tower through the underground passage, the party had much better success fighting a band of orcs, thanks to a fresh Sleep spell and much better fortune. These orcs had captured an elven cleric/mage, who promptly joined the party when they freed him. With another spell-caster in the group, the party continued upward, making short work of some more orcs, and pressing on, the elves discovered a secret door in the orcs’ bunkroom, which they themselves had never seen. Inside was the former owner’s intact wardrobe. Leaving that for later, the group continued upward, reaching the top floor, and again those keen elven senses found another secret door. Instead of opening it, they moved ahead, running into another group of goblins. The elf mage’s Sleep spell made short work of them, so after checking the rest of the top floor, and finding some large treasure chests, they wedged the trap door to the roof shut from their side, and opened the second secret door, where they discovered the wizard’s study.
Inside the wizard’s study, they found a potion, a dagger, and a Continual Light stone, and took the opportunity to rest inside the study before continuing on. The mages had just enough time to recover their spells before the group was disturbed by a huge ruckus outside the door… the remaining foes were trying to get the trap door to the roof open. The fighter threw an axe, killing one immediately. The stunned orcs and goblins soon fell victim to a pair of Sleep spells, and the party kept one alive for questioning. They soon learned that there weren’t any monsters left in the tower, as they had all fled rather than run into the adventuring party. The party then gathered all the valuables they could carry, and returned to town, pleased with the fruit of their labors. They put their wealth to good use, and headed for the town of Ennien, hoping to find more lucrative opportunities there.
(Thus ends this chapter in the ongoing adventures of another Group 1. )
The Exploits of Group 8
A trio of adventurers – fighter, magician, and cleric – assembled at My Brother’s Inn looking for their next adventure. They had learned of a caravan bound for Newford, and the prospect of visiting Nemrac’s wealthy neighbor to the north intrigued them all. After the evening meal, the trio visited one Reginald Ells, the merchant in charge of the caravan, a small young-looking half-elf dealing in fabrics and clothing.
"Well, you folks are a lot better equipped than most of my applicants, it seems. I'm looking for real muscle to guard my caravan... I'm headed to Ennien. I make it there safe and sound, then you're free to do as you please. I'll even fix it with the Newford folk that you don't have to return to Nemrac right away. But," he added, "you have to have some skills to get the job. Can't let just anyone who owns a weapon join on. If you'll come around back with me, you can show me what you've got."
Around the back of the shop, two hired brutes waited to test the adventurers’ mettle. The fighter quickly showed that he knew which end of a sword to wield, and then it was the magic-user’s turn. His Sleep spell not only put the two hired hands to sleep, but also Reginald the half-elf. After waking their prospective employer, the cleric demonstrated his deity’s good intentions with a Create Water spell. Convinced of their value, Reginald signed the three adventurers on, and the caravan headed out the next day. The caravan, including two halfling archers, struck off to the north.
Several miles passed uneventfully, but just shy of the border, the caravan approached three man-sized forms ahead, standing in a line across the road. One cried out "Halt! Give us your goods and turn back, or I'll tell my men to open fire!" Immediately the speaker fell dead as the halflings let fly without warning. The two remaining would-be bandits cursed, and fled. Eight slingers, all scruffy-looking humans, rose out of the grass to the left, prepared to shoot at the group. However, a roared threat by the fighter gave them pause long enough for the magician to put them all to Sleep. After making quite sure the bandits could not bother anyone else, the caravan crossed the border and soon reached the town of Lester.
While relaxing for the evening, the three adventurers met a monk, complete with zero vices and shaved head. He told the trio of an abandoned monastery north of Ennien, where he was heading, and when the party invited him to join them, he accepted. Reginald didn’t mind another traveling companion, but made it clear that the monk was not on the payroll.
Soon the party reached Ennien, and after receiving their payment, took some time to look around. The magician caught wind of a shop that sold real magical potions, not poultices and old-wives’ tales, and soon the party’s purses were much lighter. The monk learned the exact location of their goal, and the party used what gold was left to hire on a couple extra fighters to round out the group. Before the group could head out, however, they encountered a half-orc cleric looking for entertainment and treasure, and soon the group was seven.
At the monastery, the group found everything above ground level destroyed, and quickly located a stairway descending into the darkness. Forming up, the group headed down. After dispatching a large spider, and finding some minor treasure, the group ran into a handful of hobgoblins, and after a brief melee, ended up victorious. Pressing on, the group heard a goblin gang in mid-celebration, and lured them out of their room to be slaughtered by fighters who get multiple attacks. Inside the room sat a bound gnome adventurer and a bound human fighter, relieved to no longer be the goblins’ entertainment. Now the group was nine.
Continuing, the group found a long-unused sanctuary, where they exterminated some giant rats. The gnome found a secret door behind the altar, and after discovering a hidden latch at the base of the altar, the party opened the door and pressed on. Proceeding down a short hallway, the group found the monastery’s “confessional,” which was actually a well-equipped torture chamber. As the group examined the place, the monk found a secret drawer inside one of the racks. Inside the drawer lay a whip and two daggers, seemingly unaffected by the passage of time. The group collected the three weapons and moved on.
After finding the monastery’s offices and records, the mystery of its demise was quickly solved. Moving on, the group found a large group of hobgoblins and goblins, and after a hard-fought melee, finished them all. At this point the magician and the gnome decided that they’d had enough underground time, and departed from the party. The rest of the group locked themselves into one of the offices for a well-earned respite. The spell-casters recovered their spells, nothing tried to break in, and the party was ready to continue.
The group continued exploring, and found some rotten supplies, and then the monastery’s water supply, an underground stream. The cleric shed some Light on the chamber, and the monk saw a strange mineral formation on the bottom of the stream. He poked it with his spear, and a cylinder rose to the surface and floated down the stream. The monk leaped into the stream to catch it, but merely wound up cold and wet for his troubles. The half-orc dove in next, also soaking himself thoroughly, but missing the cylinder. Finally, one of the hired fighters made the catch, soaking his chainmail but rescuing the cylinder in the nick of time. At the same time, the monk realized that the mineral formation is a skeleton, and searching the unfortunate soul, found a large steel key. The party realized that the cylinder was a scroll case, and inside was a map of underground crypts and their occupants. The party started a fire to warm its now-freezing members, and pondered their next move.
Following the map, the group encountered a secret door, and when they opened it, five stirges zipped out, skewering the party. After a nasty fight, the party was running low on light, and spells, and decided to exit the monastery for now. Perhaps back in town they could find a few more companions to join them in their next delve into the unholy place.
(Thus ends the record of Group 8.)
