A Night at the Cemetery

A Night at the Cemetery

Once more into the Void Session 5 - A Night in the Cemetery

This is the last of the retroactive write-ups of my D&D 5th edition campaign. Session 6 was the first session I posted on my site just more than a year ago.

Intruder in the Night

“I was robbed!”, Oto yelled as he came down the stairs to the common room of the Inn. The Innkeeper looked up with concern.

“I.. I am sorry?” Artain Whitlow the Innkeeper said.

“I said I was robbed, in the middle of the night some foul miscreant snook into my room and stole my oar,” Oto said.  “And the replaced it with this… this thing.” Oto flourished the brand new quarterstaff in the face of the innkeeper.

“Your oar was stolen?” Artain asked with a puzzled look on his face.

“Yes, and I know which group of unreliable miscreants is responsible!” Oto spun about taking in his fellow travellers heads bent over bowls of porridge at a nearby table. After a pause, everyone at the table burst into laughter.

Oto gets robbed.

Session 5

The heroes are walking toward the village of Winterton in the company of the cleric Hans who they have just rescued from skeletons.

Hans explains to the adventurers that Winterton has been having problems with undead activity and could use some help. Hans asks that the adventurers meet with the leader of Winterton. The heroes agree and Hans leads them to Omir Estates to meet the leader. Lord Kilian is the head of the Omir family and the Lord of the village. Hans gets the heroes in to meet with Lord Kilian.

Lord Kilian explains that the undead problem has been going on for several days. Thinking back the heroes recall they encountered the undead pirates at sea one week ago. The Lord explains that they do not know where this land is in relation to Neverwinter. The village is founded by people who were lost at sea. They also all passed through a mysterious fogbank. Apparently, there are other settlements in this land including a larger town to the north. Now that it is winter the passage to nearby settlements is nearly impossible. Lord Kilian commissions the group to patrol the area around the village and destroy undead. In return, the group gets free room and board and a guide to take them to a larger village to the north.

The heroes are put up at the Blue Goose Inn and Tavern. Artain Whitlow is the innkeeper. The group enjoys eating and drinking their fill. The innkeeper is full of information telling the heroes that the dead have been rising every night. Sometimes undead animals and goblins are also seen.

The group goes to the nearby Trader’s Emporium to buy equipment. Oto attempts to negotiate a free quarter staff since he is working for Lord Kilian but the owner of the Emporium refuses. Oto declares that he prefers his trusty oar instead.

The heroes return to the Inn and each settles into a peaceful night of sleep. At some point in the middle of the night, Oto’s oar is stolen and replaced with a quarterstaff (snuck into the room by Talrek). They sleep during the day and head to the cemetery at dusk.

The Companions come up with a plan.

Once at the cemetery the heroes meet in front of the tiny chapel and set up a plan. Thyrell will stand watch from atop a mausoleum and the rest will patrol. Mukah and Oto in one group and Alcor and Talrek in the other pair. Oto tries to strike up a conversation with Mukah but the half-orc is not in a talkative mood. Oto suggests they not look very hard for the undead.

Suddenly, skeletons begin to erupt from the graves. Thyrell spots them and calls out a warning to the rest of the group so no one is surprised. Thyrell shoot and hits one skeleton with an arrow. Everyone else begins to move to one area to form a defensive position. One skeleton armed with a bow hits Thyrell with an arrow. Mukah holds his ground while Oto vaporizes a skeleton with magic missile. Mukah misses a skeleton with his longsword but Oto backs him up and turns the skeleton to ash with Burning Hands.

Thyrell gets surrounded and is hit twice more by arrows. Talrek destroys a skeleton with Guiding Bolt. Thyrell goes prone on top of the mausoleum and tries to cure himself but is unable. Talrek is also hit by an arrow. Oto blasts another skeleton with Magic missile destroying it. Mukah ducks behind a gravestone and taunts the skeletons surrounding Thyrell. Thyrell stands and hits a skeleton in the skull with an arrow destroying it. Alcor Fenn destroys a skeleton with unarmed strike and the last skeleton runs off into the woods.

Thyrell takes off after the skeleton and tracks it through the woods to the beach where he loses the track. Talrek catches up to Thyrell and picks up the tracks. Thyrell and Talrek catch up to the skeleton and destroy it. On the way back to the cemetery Talrek spots another set of tracks. This time the tracks are clearly made by boots and the lead up close to the cemetery and then back into the woods. The heroes search amongst the skeletons and find a handful of silver and copper coins.

Mysterious Shores

Mysterious Shores

Once more into the Void Session 4 - Mysterious Shores

I have only two more early adventures of the Once more into the Void Heroes to post. The fourth session was one that first gave me the idea of creating renders of the adventures. Our misadventures in the lifeboat had all of the players busting a gut laughing. And no one got hurt too much.

Misadventures in a Lifeboat

“Hsst!”

“Huh,” Oto muttered sleepily. He had been trying to sleep in the rocking boat for hours but it was just too cold and it was moving from side to side too much.

“Wake-up Oto!”

Oto snapped his eyes open to see the drow Thyrell shaking him awake.

“I’m awake.” Thyrell had already moved away to take a position in the center of the lifeboat. Oto, looked about and saw everyone was awake. So it was not his turn to watch.

“Something bumped the boat twice,” whispered Thyrell. “Really? Maybe it was a piece of debris or something?” said Talrek.

Just then something did hit the boat and hard. Oto had just been rising to his feet to crouch. The lifeboat tipped to the right and he realized he was not going to be able to keep his balance! Oto windmilled his arms in desperation, tried to take a step to the left and felt his foot descend into the ice-cold water. In an instant, he had been tossed entirely in the sea.

The water washed up over his head and Oto struggled desperately to pull his head clear of the water. He could feel one hand in the air above. His robes felt like they were weighted down with stones. He kicked desperately. The cold clasped his head like a vice. His head passed clear of the water out into the cold air and then dunked again. Re-doubling his efforts he kicked for the surface. His hand whacked against something hard and cold.

“Ahhhh!,” Oto screamed recoiling from the object as his head breached the surface again.

“Quit yelling and thrashing about and grab it!” Oto heard a voice say. Opening his eyes he saw the end of one of the wooden oars was the object he had struck. Thyrell was perched dangerously nearby in the lifeboat and was holding out an oar for Oto. Oto’s hand grasped at the oar.

“Don’t pull or I’ll fall in with you,” Thyrell said with a chuckle. Oto looked up and could see the drow had been trying not to laugh. Sitting nearby in the boat, Talrek had given up trying to hold in the laughter and was bent over clutching his stomach laughing out loud for all his worth.

Oto let Thyrell pull him to the edge of the lifeboat. To his left, he saw Mukah swim up to the lifeboat and drag himself onboard. Oto reached the lifeboat and clung onto the side. He tried to lift himself but all his strength was gone. He clung on weekly.

“C’mon Oto,” Thyrell said and he and Talrek each grabbed an arm and dragged the sodden wizard into the lifeboat. Oto sat shaking in the lifeboat staring up at the dark sky.

Alcor leaped lightly over him brandishing his spear.

“Here it comes again, hold on everyone!”

Misadventures in a Lifeboat

Session 4

The action opens with Alcor Fenn, Mukah, Otrivush Oto, Talrek, and Thyrell adrift in a small ship's lifeboat. They have managed to board with all of their equipment. The group has set up watches with two awake at all times.

After about four hours drifting in the lifeboat in the fog Mukah and Thyrell notice that the temperature is dropping. Then something big brushes against the bottom of the boat. Mukah stops rowing. The lifeboat is struck again and this time heels over to one side before righting itself. Thyrell wakes Talrek, Oto, and Alcor. Shortly after everyone is awake the boat is a third time. This time the boat pitches over and everyone has to hold on tight. Mukah and Oto are pitched into the sea. Mukah was just standing up and is pitched the furthest from the boat. Oto starts to be dragged under by his heavy robe but Thyrell pulls him into the boat with an oar. Mukah swims back to the boat and is hauled in by Alcor.

Everyone is quiet and watching the water. Mukah and Alcor are standing ready to fight. A sea serpent or serpent-like fish surfaces near the boat and glides toward them. Oto casts Sleep and it has no effect. Talrek casts Sacred Flame. As the creature dives under the boat, Alcor and Mukah both stab it. The creature cries out and then vanishes into the fog.

The rest of the evening passes without incident. The next day the fog is still present limiting visibility to a few hundred feet. The boat continues on moving with the current for four days. In the evening of the fourth-day ice is encountered in the water. The sea also begins to shallow. In the distance, the group can hear water washing up onto a shore. The fog clears slightly and they see land in the distance. The land is covered with snow. The lifeboat is pulled aground on a snow-covered beach. The snow is more than a foot deep.

Oto takes one of the oars to replace his broken quarterstaff. After fully equipping themselves the group begins to move inland up a slight rise. In the distance, they hear a man calling out in desperation. The heroes advance up the hill rapidly and come to a 10-foot wall. Cries for help come from the other side of the wall. Mukah boosts Alcor up to see over the wall and he reports that the wall surrounds a cemetery.

Finding a break in the wall, the heroes rush in and see a man being menaced by three skeletons. He is desperately avoiding the attacks of the skeletons. Mukah charges forward and attacks a skeleton. Thyrell moves up and swings and misses. Oto casts Magic Missile at one skeleton injuring it. Thyrell is struck soundly by a skeleton wielding a sword.

Oto casts Magic Missile again and still, the skeleton continues to try to hit the stranger. Thyrell hits one with little effect. Talrek casts Guiding Bolt and destroys a skeleton. A skeleton moves toward Oto and the mage backs up rapidly right into Thyrell. He casts Blade Ward on himself. Mukah knocks an arm off a skeleton and then smashes it to pieces. Oto strikes the last standing skeleton with his oar destroying it.

The stranger expressed thanks to the heroes who have rescued him. He introduces himself as Hans. He is a cleric tasked with looking after this cemetery. He casts Cure Light Wounds on Thyrell. Impressed by the heroes, Hans asks if they would come to meet the Mayor of the nearby village of Winterton. The undead have been rising from the grave for the last few days and they need help with the problem.

The heroes decide to follow Hans to Winterton which is a short distance away (just down the hillside in a valley).

The Voyage

Once more into the Void Session 3 - The Voyage

I am going back and posting session reports of the early adventures of my D&D 5th edition group. I started writing session reports after the fifth session. But I have the notes to write up the older sessions.  In this session Otrivush Oto joins the team and the heroes go on a voyage.

A Meeting

“Another ale, barkeep,” Oto slammed down his nearly empty tankard and waved at the approaching barman. The barman held out his hand in askance.

“Fine, fine,” Oto said in exasperation. Reaching into his pockets he searched about and found two coins. His last two gold coins. He handed out one of the gold coins.

“That should pay for the several ales and a spot on your floor tonight!” The barman snatched up the coin, sniffing at it suspiciously then shrugged and placed another full ale in front of Oto.

Otrivush Oto, a scholar of Candlekeep, brought to this he mused. My last two gold coins. Well, better to go out smiling. He drained the last of the ale and picked up a new one, looking about blearily. Across from him was a new face. A great big half-orc sat at the common table of the bar.

“Cheers, big one,” said Oto said raising his ale to the half-orc. Digging out his last coin Oto looked at the half-orc. “Can I buy you a drink?”

The half-orc looked Oto over for a moment then made a grunting noise. Oto realized it was a laugh.

“Big One,” he chortled, “You are twice my weight human!”

Oto took another swig of ale. “Now hear me, do you know who you are talking to?”

“Clearly not”, laughed the half-orc.

“Otrivush Oto, lately of Candlekeep, wizard second class of the School of Evoca.. Evo.. Evocation,” Oto mumbled.

“A wizard?” The half-orc rubbed his chin. “We might have some work for you wizard, Maybe  I’ll take that drink”. Oto looked at the half-orc unsteadily. Did he say work? Why I never. And then things started to go a little dark.

“Yes - I think I have some friends who would like to meet you”.

A pirate ship appears.

Session 3

As the new adventure opens the heroes are in Neverwinter. Thyrell the drow ranger, Mukah the half-orc barbarian, Alcor the tiefling monk and Talrek the dwarven cleric are joined by Otrivush Oto the human wizard. The group takes a job loading cargo onto a galleon and protecting the cargo on a long voyage at sea.

As the heroes are loading the cargo they are interrupted by explosions in the harbour area. Zombies appear and start moving along the docks attacking dockworkers and travellers and turning them in turn into zombies. A wayward traveler emerges from the mob of zombies and runs toward the ship yelling for help. Oto fires a magic missile at a zombie chasing the wayward traveller but it shrugs it off with little damage. Thyrell retreats up the ship’s gangplank as the captain begins yelling orders to shove off and make sail. Alcor runs onto the ship.

Talrek moves forward and smashes a zombie with his war hammer destroying it. Oto runs for the gangplank but trips and falls in the harbour. Thyrell throws Oto a rope and the wizard grabs hold and is dragged up onto the deck of the ship. Mukah runs for the ship but it is already pulling into the harbour so he leaps and misses the ship landing in the harbour. The rope that was used to pull up Oto is thrown to Mukah.

A large, grotesque creature appears in the zombie horde holding a longbow. He shoots the wayward traveller who stumbles into the harbour. Mukah scoops up the wayward traveller and both are dragged onto the ship.

The arrow that struck the wayward traveller in the back turns to black powder. Turning the man over the heroes see that the man is convulsing and black veins are spreading over his body.

“Don’t give it up,” he gasps and then hands a package to Talrek. Inside the package is a shiny, black rock. The man dies. Moments later his eyes open and he attacks, his hands transforming into huge, malformed claws. It claws Mukah and the half-orc crushes him with his longsword. The body is tossed overboard.

The heroes look back as the ship clears the harbour. The zombies are pushing out onto the docks. The ship heads out to sea.

The ship sails on for several days. One night a thick fog bank rolls in around the ship. In the distance, the sound of water splashing over rocks can be heard. The captain calls everyone to the deck to look out for rocks.

A ship comes unerringly out of the fog and crashes right into the bow of the ship. Pirates come pouring over the gunwales and attack. Oto casts magic missile at three pirates and kills one. Alcor strikes and kills one with his forearm. Thyrell runs one through with his short sword. Oto casts Acid splash with little effect but Mukah strikes down the pirate marked with acid. The pirates start to be pushed back but then another wave of pirates jumps onto the bow and push forward. Oto casts Magic missile again and is out of spells. It becomes a desperate melee and Oto readies his prized quarterstaff.

A fireball flies off the pirate ship and crashes into the galleon blowing a hole in the deck clear through to the waterline. Water begins to rush in. The captain calls to his crew to abandon ship. While engaged in melee Talrek realizes that the pirate is one of the weird black-veined zombies. A commanding voice calls out from the pirate ship.

“Grab the dwarf, forget the rest!”

Talrek is grappled by several of the undead pirates. One of them grabs the package holding the black rock. There is a horn blast from the pirate ship driving the zombies into a rage. The zombie who now has the black rock breaks free and jumps back onto the attacking ship.

Oto moves up to help Talrek swinging his quarterstaff but he strikes Talrek’s shield instead of a zombie and the quarterstaff splinters into several pieces. The heroes redouble their efforts and clear the foredeck of zombies. But the black rock is gone and the attacking pirate ship pulls away and disappears into the fog.

Looking about the heroes see that the ship is awash and sinking. The masts are engulfed in flames. The crew has abandoned ship and is nowhere to be seen. They launch the remaining lifeboat and drift away into the fog. They see the glow of their ship burning and then sinking out of sight.

Otrivush Oto ends up swimming in the harbour

Retro Session 2 Waking the Sleeper

Once More into the Void

Another retro session from last year. When last we left the heroes in episode one, had taken on a mission to rescue a missing young man from the Village of Hruelin’s Post. The young man, Cynric, had entered the nearby Tomb of the Sleepers. They found the young man just inside the entrance but then continued on into the tomb with the sleeping boy slung over the shoulder of Mukah the half-orc.

Retro Session 2 Waking the Sleeper

The heroes decide not to continue south through the rough-hewn tunnel. Instead, they return to the Preparation chamber. As they walk down the hallway Talrek spots a secret door in the south wall. Peering into a chamber at the end of the hall they see several corpses lying on stone biers. The heroes assume these are undead. Since they are low on health they decide to ignore the chamber and the secret door and instead decide to head back to the broken tomb and follow the rough-hewn tunnel.

However, as soon as they enter the broken tomb three troglodytes attack with surprise from the shadows. There is a long struggle (4 rounds) and the heroes prevail. Alcor is badly wounded by one troglodyte after being hit twice (down to 2 hit points). They pause to rest.

The heroes continue south entering the rough-hewn tunnel. Talrek notes that the tunnel is a rougher construction than the rest of the tomb but not natural. In the distance, Thyrell hears the sound of running water. Entering a cave they see that a swift-moving underground river is passing through its center. The river is 20 feet wide and too wide to cross. They discuss the possible method of crossing the river. Alcor notes fist bones lying on the cave floor. The bones are gnawed on but the fish heads have large jaws and sharp teeth. Suspicious of what is in the river, Talrek, and Mukah pick up a troglodyte corpse and toss it part way into the river. The carcass is hungrily attacked by a pool of quippers.

They decide to not cross the river and head back up the tunnel to explore the rest of the tomb. Talrek operates the secret door and a 5-foot wide section of the wall slides back into the wall revealing a tomb. Inside is a stone sarcophagus and very little else. Thyrell and Talrek work together to lever the stone lid off of the sarcophagus. As they slide it back it reveals a withered corpse of a man in a long robe.

While Thyrell and Talrek still have their hands on the stone lid the corpse's eyes open and it springs up attack Mukah. The heroes fight a quick battle with a wight. The wight strikes Thyrell but the dark elf manages to save against the attack. The wight is eventually destroyed by Talrek using multiple castings of Sacred Flame. The rest of the heroes were unable to hurt the wight.

The Sleeper is revealed

With only one chamber remaining the heroes decide to draw out the corpses in the chamber they passed over. Thyrell fires several arrows at the corpses but they just do not move. As soon as Thyrell enters the chamber, two corpses rise up and attack. The fight is fairly short with Mukah easily overwhelming one zombie and aiding in the destruction of a second zombie.

The heroes head back to the Preparation Chamber (the first chamber entered with the 4 stone pillars and the statue of Selune) and examine the statue closely. They realize that it can be shoved backward on tracks. Working together they shove back the statue and reveal an opening below holding a leather sack. But when the statue moves back all of the stones in the entrance hall slide into a position blocking the way out.

The sack is opened and it contains 200 ancient silver coins, 1 potion of healing and 1 unknown potion. Unable to figure out how to move the stone blocking the hall they try to move the statue back into position. Once the statue is moved back into position the stones move to allow the heroes to leave the tomb and head outside.

The heroes head back to Hruelin’s Post, Mukah carrying the still sleeping boy Cynric. Reaching the Inn, which is still open, they enter and are greeted as heroes by the villagers. Still, no one is able to wake Cynric. Eventually, the village herbalist is summoned and she realizes that the unknown potion the heroes found is a sleep antidote. Once Cynric is given a draught of the potion he wakes up.

Once more into the Void Retro Sessions

The online D&D 5th edition campaign I am in is on hiatus, so I thought I would post the first few adventure session reports. I started posting reports at session 6 so this gives me 5 extra session reports I can post. I was the Dungeon Master for the first two sessions. Our chosen DM needed a few weeks to prepare so I stepped in and ran a short, starter adventure.

I had written a short adventure that was designed to be an introduction to a Phandelver Campaign. So it takes place on the Sword Coast just north of Neverwinter along the High Road.

The Sleeper Wakes Session 1

The players are caravan guards who are between jobs returning south to Neverwinter. They have worked the High road for more than a year becoming good friends and becoming known to the people of the small villages along the road. This is a good thing because first impressions of this group are important.  You almost all of them are a little unusual.

Alcor Renn is a tiefling monk with red skin and red eyes, Mukah is a half-orc barbarian prone to rages, Tyrell Beam Catcher is a dark elf with dark skin and white hair and rounding out the group is Talrek Ironblood a dwarven cleric. They are used to fearful glances as they enter new villages, but the small village of Hruelin’s Post has grown used to them and accepts that they are not a danger.

Traveling from Icewind Dale they reach a favorite Inn, The Llast Post in the late afternoon. Knowing that they can reach Neverwinter with one more day of travel they decide to stop for the night. Just as the four companions are sitting down to a good meal an old woman races in the door. The woman is hysterical and crying out for help. She spots the heroes and immediately rushes to their table asking for help. Widow Demelza’s son Cynric has entered the Sleeper’s Tomb and has not returned!

The heroes calm her down and ask a few questions, it seems her son, who is a clever boy, told her that he had figured out how to enter the Sleeper’s tomb. She forbade him from entering of course but he slipped out after yesterday’s chores, took a lantern, a mirror and grandpa’s sword and set off. When Demelza got up in the morning and found him missing she ran to the Vale of Selune where the tomb entrance is located. There she spotted the missing mirror lying on the ground but no sign of her son.

A few questions to the locals reveal that the Sleeper’s Tomb is in a low valley in Neverwinter forest. It is a doorway flanked by two statues of Selune. The heroes volunteer to find Cynric and return him to Demelza. One of the local farmer, Egerton, volunteers to show them the way to the Vale of Selune.

The heroes are taken to the Vale of Selune by Egerton who points out the valley and then takes his leave. From this vantage point, they can just make out a stone wall at the end of the valley. The sun has set and the moon rises.

The Vale of Selune

The heroes approach the entrance with stealth and see two worn statues of Selune. One statue is missing its head. Searching the area Thyrell spots recent tracks going back and forth, an “X” scrawled in the dirt and a mirror lying on the ground. Mukah tries bashing in the stone block that blocks the entrance without success. Talrek notes that Selune is a goddess associated with the moon. After thinking it over for awhile they decide to reflect moonlight onto the entrance. Nothing happens. Finally, Mukah reflects moonlight onto the face of the Statue of Selune and the massive stone block slides slowly to one side. A stair leads down. They see a broken lintel over the door with an inscription. The only part of it can be made out, “disturb the rest of he who sleeps”.

Talrek leads the way down and triggers a switch on the second last step before another stone block. The block slides to one side revealing a small chamber. In that chamber, Cynric lies on the floor apparently sleeping. Another stone blocks further passage into the tomb. This one has the symbol of Selune on it with seven raised starts and two sapphire eyes.

Mukah is unable to wake up Cynric despite giving him a good shake. The stone block behind the heroes starts to slide shut but Thyrell is still on the other side and he steps on the trigger causing it to open again. Working out the trick to the door Thyrell walks back outside and comes back with a heavy rock. Putting it on the step it seems to hold the door open (thus bypassing my cleverly designed gas trap).

Talrek and Alcor realize that the stars on the next door can be pressed in. Nothing happens when they press the various starts. Eventually, Alcor, Talrek, and Thyrell work together to press in all of the starts at once and the stone door opens. There is a brief discussion of what to do with the sleeping boy. Mukah ends the discussion by slinging the boy over his shoulder.

Finding Cynric

More steps lead down into a deep, underground chamber. The chamber roof is held up by four stone pillars carved to resemble an open-mouthed worshipper of Selune. On the north wall is a six-foot-tall statue of Selune wearing a stone necklace with 7 sapphires in it.

Thyrell and Talrek decide that clearly, the open mouths are traps. Mukah is instructed to climb up and investigate and he sees copper tubes in the mouths of the statues. Climbing pitons are used to block the copper tubes. The group decides to head west down a passage. They pass a hole in the south wall of the passage and enter a chamber that is clearly a tomb. Six skeletons lie on stone platforms. As they enter the room three of the skeletons rise and attack. It is a quick pitched battle and the skeletons are killed but Thyrell is badly injured. Talrek uses his Cure wounds spell on the dark elf using up all his healing spells.

Finding this chamber is a dead end they come back up the passage and step through the hole in the wall into another chamber. It is a badly damaged tomb. While poking through the rubble two giant centipedes attack. Talrek moves forward and kills one, Thyrell fires wildly and hits Talrek in the back with an arrow nearly killing the dwarven cleric. Mukah kills the second giant centipede.

There is another, more rough-hewn, tunnel entering the chamber from the south. The heroes paused to catch their breath. Mukah again picks up the boy and tosses him over his shoulder. The boy, Cynric, continues to sleep soundly.

Once More into the Void 27 The Big Finish

Oto watched as Thyrell stumbled back yelling struck by the Necromancer. The drow struggled to hold his ground and appeared about to fall. Instead, it appeared to be a feint he lunged forward with his other sword. The Necromancer clutched at the sword in his belly a look of astonishment on his face. He appeared to gasp something to Thyrell and then fell to the ground.

We did it Oto thought and was promptly struck by another stone falling from the ceiling.

“We have to get out of here!” Oto yelled. The portly wizard ran as quickly as he could manage toward the archway through which they had entered the chamber a few moments ago. Oto looked at the collapsed archway buried under a pile of huge stone blocks and quickly realized there was no way they could exit this way. Turning back to the chamber, Oto could see Thyrell helping Alcor to his feet. Talrek was standing near Mukah who was carrying Tinda.

“It's blocked!” Oto shouted. Everyone turned to look at Oto. Then all of the heroes turned to look at the swirling mists of the portal. Without a word spoken all of them began running for the portal. Oto heard a huge crash behind him, as more stone crashed to the floor. Oto realized that the chamber would collapse in a matter of seconds. Pausing for a second, he leaped through the portal.

As Oto passes through the portal, one thought passed through his head, “I hope this is not a one-way trip to Hell!”

Oto stumbled from the portal and looked about rapidly for threats. There appeared to only one. A robed figure sat before him on a stone throne covered in runes. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light he could see it was an unmoving, dust-covered skeleton in a robe, the skeleton of a giant of a man.

Looking about Oto saw the other members of the party had made it through as well. No one was talking. All stood in awe of the skeleton on the throne. Alcor stood near a window.

“You have to see this,” Alcor gasped. Oto walked over to stand beside Alcor. Outside was a city of towers stretching into the distance, where it then bent perpendicular and more towers ran up the horizon to the sky which was not a sky but another plane of towers but these pointed down at him. Oto struggled with vertigo.

“We are in a pocket dimension,” Oto gasped. Amazing he thought. It is a cube curved back in on itself. He had read of such marvels but could scarcely believe it.

“Why? Why have you come!” A dry, rasping voice echoed through the chamber. Oto whirled about, the head of the skeleton was turned toward Talrek who had approached the throne.

There was stunned silence before Oto found his voice, “ahh, we had no choice, you see..” he stuttered out before being cut off.

“You have created a way out. You opened the last portal. It will know. It will perceive you,” the creature said.

Thyrell approached the guardian, “Who,” he said, “Who will know?”

“It is the destroyer, we are the guardians! We moved the city here to this plane.”

Oto looked at his companions. Mukah stood like a stone holding the unconscious wolf Tinda, seemingly unconcerned by the words of the creature, Talrek appeared to be deep in thought, strangely Alcor had turned and was looking back through the portal. Oto was drawn to the direction Alcor was looking. The portal appeared to lead somewhere new! The swirling mists looked out on a snowy, rock ledge on the side of a mountain. Maybe they could take the portal again, wherever it led.

“You must go, it is coming!" the creature shouted. As Oto watched the skeleton hands began to move in arcane patterns. Oto realized it was casting protective spells. In the distance, all of the heroes could see dark mist forming in the city. Then the mist streaked across the city directly toward the chamber.

“You must go now!” the creature shouted again. Blasts of arcane energy shook the chamber and an enormous cloud of black smoke began to stream in. Oto scrambled toward the portal fell to his knees and crawled into it for the second time. He emerged moments later on a cold, snowy ledge above a valley. Mukah appeared by his side, still carrying Tinda. A moment later Alcor and Talrek appeared. Finally, Thyrell leaped out of the portal onto the ledge. Everyone was safe. Looking about Oto realized that the portal had not moved. The dungeon had just collapsed and slid down the side of the mountain. Below him, there was a pile of rubble from the slide. A portion of the old keep had also collapsed.

The heroes all burst into laughter. They had made it.

“Too bad about my Ring of Invisibility,” Thyrell mused, waving his hand about and gesturing to where the missing ring had been.

“Wait, it is still here, embedded in the portal,” Talrek said. “Let’s see if I can remove it without breaking it.” Oto looked over and Talrek began searching through his pack for his stoneworking tools. As Oto watched, three black tendrils of smoke emerged from the portal, spiraling about as if they were snakes!

“Smash it, smash the ring!” Oto shouted at Talrek and moved desperately toward the dwarf. Talrek looked briefly startled and then gathered his composure and swung his war hammer at the ring embedded in the stone. The stone cracked and the ring broke free falling to the ground. The light of the portal immediately flickered and then went dark. Where the portal had once stood there was now a bare expanse of stone. The portal was closed. Oto looked worriedly at the tendrils of smoke, cut off from the portal. They seemed to study him as well for a moment and then sped off quickly into the distance.

There were several moments of stunned silence. Then Thyrell bent down and picked up the ring and placed it on his finger.

“I think it still works,” he said with a hint of humor in his voice.

The Guardian

Once More into the Void Session 27

Confronting the Necromancer

This week our D&D 5th edition adventure had its big finish. All the players made the session which was nice as we were not actually aware this might be the final confrontation. When last we left the party of heroes was trapped by a rockslide in a crumbling dungeon beneath an old keep looking to put a stop to the plans of a necromancer. The stability of the dungeon had been increasingly suspect with cave-ins and rockfalls. The heroes came up before another pair of doors this time with light streaming out from beneath.

When the doors were opened the entire group, (Mukah the Half-orc barbarian, Thyrell the Drow Ranger, Alcor Fenn the Tiefling monk, Talrek the Dwarven cleric and lastly Otrovush Oto the human wizard), stepped openly into a brightly lit, large chamber blinking their eyes at the unexpected brightness.

The room was a classic evil ritual, an open portal of swirling mist on the north wall, huge stone pillars, a raised dais with an altar and a pool of blood in the center of the room draining by four channels into steel grates. There is also a statue of Orcus facing the gate. On the dais was a tall man in dark robes, clearly the necromancer we had been seeking to thwart. Surrounding him were a number of goblins.

Not really by design, we immediately split up widely. Some heroes heading north around the pool of blood (Thyrell, Tinda, Talrek and Alcor Fenn) and Mukah and Oto heading south. Oto ended up holding his ground near the entrance and attacking with long range spells. The spread formation ended up being key as the necromancer had a number of area effect spells. Unfortunately, we entered the battle almost completely out of spells and with several party members injured already.

Round 1

Thyrell shot a goblin with an arrow killing it in one shot, the goblins then dashed toward the heroes. Oto was struck by an arrow, then pulled out his scroll of Ice Storm and successfully cast the fourth level spell (being only able to learn 2nd level spells). The necromancer successfully passed his save but took a fair amount of damage from the spell. Alcor used dash and his monk quickness to sprint most of the way toward the altar. The necromancer made a speech about our stupidity of bringing the one object he needed to complete the ritual, with a gesture the ring of invisibility Thyrell was wearing dissolved into mist and reformed in the portal causes it to become active. The ring Thyrell took off the body of the necromancer’s assistant back in Winterton.

Round 2

There is a lot of swinging and missing by the heroes and by the goblins, Mukah is struck once. Even the Necromancer missed twice with Eldritch Blast. The necromancer spots Alcor Fenn advancing and moves south along the dias to put some distance between them but the quick-moving monk closes the distance to melee. A rumble shakes the dungeon and debris falls from the ceiling striking everyone. The only one really hitting is Tinda the wolf who flings a goblin prone.

Round 3

Thyrell dispatches the prone goblin then peers through the enormous portal and sees a figure sitting on the stone throne. A goblin is crushed and killed by debris falling from the ceiling. The necromancer again yells out his plans telling the heroes that they will not prevent him from summoning his lord Orcus. The necromancer then casts Fireball hitting Mukah, Talrek and two goblins. Mukah survives but Talrek falls unconscious. Both goblins are killed by the blast. Tinda kills another goblin. Oto misses the Necromancer badly with Firebolt hitting the wall. The blast is still showy so Oto yells out “Fireball” hoping to convince the necromancer of his power. Mukah kills the last goblin then moves to help Talrek.

Round 4

Thyrell casts a crucial Ensnaring Strike and moves toward the necromancer. The necromancer casts Blight on Alcor Fenn and pushes him prone and unconscious. Oto hits the necromancer with Firebolt but he shrugs most of it off. Oto taunts the necromancer but still cannot get his attention. Thyrell closes to melee with the Necromancer and strikes him with his sword restraining the Necromancer. The necromancer uses his turn to break free of the restraint. Mukah locates a healing salve on Talrek’s body and applies it.

Round 5

More stone falls from the ceiling striking everyone. Tinda is struck and falls unconscious. The entrance to the chamber collapses and is blocked. At this point, all of the heroes still standing are at 6 hit points or less and things look grim. Talrek casts Sacred Flame but the Necromancer counters it. Mukah hurls a javelin at the necromancer and it misses. Thyrell strikes the Necromancer again and is then hit by Hellish Rebuke. On his last legs, Thryell strikes again and the sword impales the necromancer killing him. The dying necromancer whimpers, “Orcus.. You promised!” then dies. Thyrell moves to Alcor Fenn uses a healing salve and brings the tiefling back to consciousness. Talrek administers aid to Tinda stabilizing the wolf. Oto checks the exit and sees it is hopelessly blocked with rubble.

At the climactic moment of the battle, Thyrell stabs the Necromancer

At this point, the dungeon begins to completely collapse, stones falling and striking every round. Realizing they only have seconds to get out of the chamber they all run for the portal. Mukah scoops up and carries Tinda. Everyone runs through the portal blindly hoping for the best.

Through the portal is a large chamber. A skeletal figure sits motionless on a stone throne. The exits from the chamber are blocked but open windows let in light. Out the windows is the incredible scene of a deserted city of towers that is inverted in on itself. Oto realizes the heroes are not in hell, they are in a pocket dimension.

The skeleton, who is covered in dust, suddenly moves its head and speaks in a dry rasping voice, “Why? Why have you come?

Oto explains that they had no choice, the skeleton explains that he is one of a group of guardians holding some ancient evil trapped in this pocket dimension. The heroes have opened a portal that will allow the evil to escape. The guardian then tells the heroes that they must go - the ancient evil has sensed the open portal and it is coming. We see a dark cloud forming in the city and racing toward the portal, the guardian cast protective magic against attack. Looking back through the portal the heroes now see that it leads through to a windswept ledge above a snowy valley. The heroes leap back through the portal and emerge on a mountain ledge. The dungeon has collapsed down the side of the mountain and the portal is now perched on the edge of the mountainside. As the heroes stand their congratulating themselves they realize that the portal is still open and that three tendrils of mist have emerged, Oto yells at Talrek to smash the ring that is embedded in the portal stone. Talrek strikes it and it falls free to the ground and the portal collapses. The tendrils of mist fly off into the distance in the valley.

The heroes sit down for a well-deserved rest. Oto transcribes Feather Fall to his spellbook. Talrek cast Detect Magic on items stripped off the corpse of the necromancer. A magic cloak, magic periapt, a ring and a wand.

With that the epic quest is complete. Or is it. All the characters level up to 5th.