Ghost of the Forgotten King

I was hoping to get one more full session in from the modified 3E D&D adventure Barrow of the Forgotten King I was running for my Swords & Wizardry campaign. But it did not happen. The players rushed through the remaining part of the tomb. They almost missed fighting the Betrayer or picking up the big magical treasure at the end. They had become so on point with their intention not to rob the tomb they almost missed out. The Forgotten King practically had to throw his sword to them before they sprinted out of his tomb.

Thankfully I anticipated this and had a short encounter written up to cover the remainder of the session. This was an original encounter I wrote up the day of the session - Zarin's Tower.

Session 75: Barrow of the Forgotten King part 3

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Aashdoshan (human necromancer), Alonso (human fighter), Lantosh (human fighter NPC), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC), Domago (human cleric NPC), and Vervork (human fighter NPC).

After the encounter with the Tomb Spider, (in the previous session) the adventurers rest for a few moments. Aashdoshan produces three potions of healing and one each is given to Alonso, Eathwund, and Vervork. Now that the fighters are feeling a little better, they decide to move on. Vervork keeping a close eye on their wounded prisoner Leera.

Lakima sends the Glow Minion forward down some wide steps and it triggers an illusion. A scene plays out in which a man raises his sword as if to signal an attack. Soon the illusion vanishes. Lakima asks Leera about the illusion and she shrugs. The stairs lead down to a platform between several chambers. Stairs lead down into each chamber. In the chambers, they see several upright stone sarcophagi. Fenris checks them and tells everyone that the sarcophagi lids are carved to represent trapped men. Red rubies are set in the carved eye sockets. Before Fenris can pry one out, Lakima stops him. Telling the thief that avoiding robbery so far in the tomb has allowed them to bypass some of the defenses. They pass down another set of wide steps and see a second illusion. The man appears again, this time leading a goblin army against a human king. The two leaders meet and fight until both are killed. Leera says that this is a representation of the Forgotten King fighting the Betrayer. Lakima asks why this would be the illusion in the Forgotten King’s tomb but Leera has no answer.

The path leads down a few more passages and then into one end of a very large chamber. In the distance, they see a circle of blue light. In the center of the circle kneels a fighter clutching a longsword. Near the fighter is an overturned chest with gold coins spilling out from it. Before anyone can advance, Lakima warns that this looks like a trap. He sends the Glow Minion deeper into the chamber. The light from the phantasm illuminates an empty throne against the far wall of the chamber past the circle of blue light. Before the throne, gold coins scattered on the floor reflect the light. As there does not appear to be any other exits from the chamber, Lakima uses his Wand of Secret Door detection to spot two doors on the north wall of the chamber at either end. He uses the Arrow of Direction and asks where the tomb robbers went and it points north. By this time almost the entire party has entered the chamber (Aashdoshan holds back in the darkness) and viewed the strange scene. Lakima points at the secret door to the north and finds the lever to open it. He tells everyone, “This is the way, north!”

 Vervork calls out, “Wait!”. When asked why he says that he thinks the unmoving figure in the chamber is his ancestor Valdemar. He wants to investigate (yes the DM used an NPC to push the party into a fight). Lakima resignedly tells him to check. As Vervork nears the figure it becomes clear that it is the skeletal remains of a man. The skeleton holds a glowing sword that is thrust into a crack in the stone floor. As Vervork nears the skeleton, a ghostly human form materializes on the throne. The figure calls out, “Who would disturb the rest of the King!” Vervork responds to the challenge, trying to explain who he is and why he has come. The ghost will have none of it, accuses Vervork of being a tomb robber, and threatens to kill him.

Vervork stumbles back to the rest of the group but the ghost does not follow him. Lakima surmises that the ghost is held back by the sword. He tells Eathwund to go collect the sword. Eathwund advances and pulls the sword out of the skeleton’s hands carefully. He hefts the glowing sword and backs away slowly. As he backs away the ghost follows him, just on the edge of the blue light cast by the sword. The entire group moves through the secret door. But Fenris calls out that the ghost is ahead of them and waiting in the next chamber. They head back to the large chamber and the ghost arrives back at the throne again.

Lakima tells Eathwund he has an idea and asks Eathwund to return the sword to the skeleton. Then he casts Animate Dead and directs the skeleton to attack the ghost. The skeleton moves forward and the light falls on the ghost pushing it back until it has no place to go. It then cries out and its appearance changes to that of a horrible barrow wight. Its gaze falls across all of the adventurers in the chamber. Aashdoshan, Vervork, and Lantosh are struck with temporary insanity and fall gibbering to the floor. Lakima yells for everyone else to attack. Alonso and Eathwund attack with their swords. Eathwund lighting his sword on fire to burn the wight for more damage. The wight reaches out and strikes the skeleton but its draining ability does not work on the soulless skeleton. Lakima strikes the wight with the Staff of Striking and Alonso and Eathwund finish it off. Once the wight falls, the adventurers stricken with insanity recover.

Lakima lets the skeleton collapse. Vervork looks over the skeleton and tells them that he believes it is the remains of his ancestor Valdemar. He takes the family sword from its grasp. Looking over the bags of gold scattered about, Lakima hands the Bag of Holding to Fenris and tells him to scoop it up. “We no longer have to fear any curses.”

The adventurers head north through the second secret door from the chamber. It leads to the same room they saw before. A wide stair leads north. The room shows more signs of having been ransacked by the tomb robbers who are apparently still ahead of them. Four skeletons lie on the floor. Aashdoshan calls for a brief halt while he animates the skeletons as minions.

Fenris leads the way up the stairs which enter a large dome-ceilinged room. Many stone pillars hold up the dome. Sunlight streams down from a hole in the center of the dome shining onto a raised tomb in the middle of the floor. The sunlight appears to form a curtain of light around the tomb. Lakima quickly realizes that it cannot be sunlight because he calculates that the sun should have gone down by now. A glow of gold can be seen from a tomb in the center of the raised dais. In the center of the dais is a gold-lined depression in which lies a body. Lakima looks around but sees no one and no exits – and yet the tomb robbers could not be far ahead of them.

As the glow minion steps further into the chamber casting light into the darker corners, a pair of tomb robbers step out from behind stone pillars. The hobgoblin shaman Krootad and his master the man Leera called Xeron.

“Stop there! That is far enough,” Xeron calls out, “Perhaps we can parlay and make a deal?”

Lakima suggests that if the tomb robbers leave now, perhaps they will not be killed. Xeron laughs at his threats. He requests only that one of the adventurers reach into the tomb, remove the sword found there, and hand it over to the tomb robbers. While Lakima and Xeron talk, Fenris slips into the shadows and begins to sneak his way quietly along the wall to maneuver behind Xeron. Before Fenris can get into position, a fight breaks out.

Krootad illuminates Alonso with faeire fire. Alonso, Vervork, and Lantosh rush across the chamber toward the hobgoblin to attack. Meanwhile, Eathwund rushes toward Xeron. Before he can reach him, Xeron changes form into a gigantic thirty-foot-long snake. Fenris, who was about to stab Xeron in the back, turns to run but is struck by a tail whip from the snake and is crushed into the stone wall. The snake lunges at Eathwund and bites him. Eathwund manages to push the snake off before it can inject any venom. Nearby, Lakima uses magic to summon two elvish archers. The elves look briefly confused, but once Lakima yells for them to attack the snake, they pull out longbows and begin firing arrows at the snake. The giant snake bites Eathwund again and this time manages to inject poison into him. Eathwund collapses to the stone floor and blacks out.

Lantosh and Alonso fight the hobgoblin shaman and strike it several times. But the hobgoblin pulls out a flask containing a healing potion and drinks it regaining its health. Vervork sees Eathwund and Fenris in danger and he changes direction and charges at the giant snake. He is unable to hit the snake, but it distracts it long enough for Domago to cast neutralize poison on Eathwund. Aashdoshan arrives as well and cuts his wrist to allow some of his life energy to pour into Eathwund, reviving the fighter. Aashdoshan’s skeleton minions protect their master while he does this. Aashdoshan then sends two skeletons to help Alonso with the hobgoblin shaman. Eathwund gets his revenge on the giant snake finally cutting it down. But as the snake falls, Xeron rises up in its place. Eathwund sees that Xeron actually is not a man, but some sort of reptilian creature with scaled skin and the head of the giant snake. Eathwund and Vervork strike Xeron and the creature fights back with its staff. Just before it appears ready to fall it hisses, “curse you” and then leaps at Domago and bites the cleric on the wrist, pumping venom into him. Eathwund strikes Xeron down.

On the other side of the chamber, Krootad the hobgoblin shaman continues to fight off Alonso and Lantosh. Seeing Xeron fall, the hobgoblin yells a battle cry and attacks with renewed vigor. He strikes down three of Aashdoshan’s skeletons and tries to make a run for it. Alonso strikes him as he runs but Krootad manages to grab hold of Lakima and use him as a human shield, “back off or the Wizard dies!” he yells. Lakima yells for the elves to attack and burns Krootad with his acid finger spell. The hobgoblin tries to make it to the exit but he falls dead in a heap.

Everyone pauses to take stock. Eathwund tells Domago that he should cast neutralize poison on himself but Domago states that he feels fine. Lakima yells at Domago to do it anyway. When the cleric uses the spell, he begins to feel nauseous and throws up lumpy green bile from his stomach. Eathwund burns the muck with his flaming sword. Eathwund searches the corpse of Xeron and finds a backpack full of treasure and Valdemar’s journal that was stolen from Vervork’s family.

Fenris has by now made it to the tomb and tells everyone that the coffin is lined with gold plates. Lakima admonishes him not to rob the tomb. As he says that a ghostly figure of an ancient king appears before them in the chamber.

“I am King Theron, thank you for protecting my rest”.

Lakima asks the ghosts for a quick way out of the tomb. The ghost gestures at the ceiling, “you must climb out through the light to reach the outside”. Lakima tells Fenris to climb up to the exit and toss down a rope. As they start making preparations to leave, the ghost speaks again, “Take Merthuvial, I have no use for it in the Lands of the Dead.” Alonso does not need any more urging. He reaches into the tomb and picks up the longsword lying there. The ghost asks if the people of the lands still remember his deeds. Lakima makes a statement about making sure they will. The ghost nods and watches them go. Aashdoshan is the last to leave the chamber. He needs help getting up the rope and he pulls his last skeleton up behind him. As he takes a last look down the ghost says to him, “Do not let those items control you, make a wise choice.” And then it is gone.

The adventurers climb one by one through the glowing sunlight exit and enter a small stone chamber. Fenris has already found and opened a door in the chamber side. It leads out onto a hill. They have exited under the statue of the Forgotten King beside the river in the village of Hookhollow. The group set out following Vervork toward the Keep. Almost immediately shocked citizens scream and close doors and shutter windows. The adventurers look about trying to figure out what is causing the commotion until Domago tells them it is Aashdoshan’s animated skeleton. Aashdoshan reluctantly lets the skeleton fall into a heap beside the road.

Back at the Keep, Vervork’s brother Lord Roland warmly greets them. They cured his son not two days before and now they have put an end to the curse on the family. After a good night’s sleep, everyone meets in the High Hall for breakfast. Vervork tells his companions that he has agreed to his brother's request to stay and help run the fief at least until his nephew is a little older. Lakima tells him he can call on the Company for aid at any time. Alonso talks to Roland about his desire to join the nobility. Roland tells him he would be happy to take him on as a knight. But once he outlines the duties it brings, Alonso decides not to make this choice for now. The Company remains in Hauger Keep for several days while everyone recovers from the fighting. Eventually, they say their goodbyes to Vervork and set out on foot for the Hillside Villages where they hope to catch a riverboat north.

The company makes it on foot to the village of Tahn. As it is late in the day, they get rooms at the Goose and Feather Inn. The next morning, they are able to book passage on a small riverboat headed north to Edgerton. The boat is owned by Lennox and his son Tern. They set out north. A few hours later they see a crowd on the eastern bank of the river. Travelers on the road to Edgerton have stopped near an excavation. Even a pair of riverboats have stopped here. They see a new excavation in the side of a hill that has uncovered an ancient-looking large stone obelisk. What is more amazing is that from the river they can see a pair of people floating in the air above the obelisk. Below them, three tents have been set up. Lakima asks Lennox if he will stop so they can find out what is causing this. Lennox happily agrees, “this wasn’t here when I passed a few days ago, I want to find out what’s going on.”

The company disembark and head toward the obelisk. They see that it is walled off by some simple cloth barriers. A busker seeing them walk up launches into his sales pitch, “Come one, come all to Zarin’s Tower of Wonder! See the rune of ancient magic, fly like a bird and escape the bonds of the earth! It is all guaranteed to be a completely safe and wondrous experience. For only 1 silver coin amaze your friends!”

Lakima goes over and purchases a ticket. He walks up and examines the obelisk which is carved with deeply cut runes which he does not recognize. A busker tells him he need only touch a specific rune (which is pointed out to him) and he will fly up into the sky. Lakima ignores the busker and casts Detect Magic. He sees immediately that the runes are a permanent magic spell. A pair of runes show particular power. But he is unable to discern the purpose. Lakima heads back to the main tent and demands to speak with whoever is in charge. The rest of the company fan out amongst the crowd and take in the spectacle. A dwarf named Oren who sold Lakima the ticket calls for the owner. A dwarf named Zarin comes out from inside the main tent and speaks with Lakima. Lakima angrily tells Zarin that he has no right to be fooling with magic he does not understand. Zarin is indignant and tells Lakima that it is all duly registered in Dolmvay. He is the owner of the land and the obelisk that he recently found. Lakima then offers to pay for the ownership of the obelisk But Lakima only offers 1,000 gold and Zarin scoffs at the offer, stating that he can make that much in a month. Lakima walks away.

Lakima gathers the company together and tells them he would like to investigate further. Since Lakima was the only one in a hurry to get back to Edgerton, the rest agree. They pay Lennox to stay the night covering any penalties he might receive for being late to Edgerton. The company set up tents in a nearby field. As the sun goes down, the stream of visitors to the obelisk comes to an end.

Early the next morning, all of the members of the Company buy tickets to view the obelisk. The dwarves running the show sell them with a quizzical look. Lakima casts Comprehend languages and finds he can read the obelisk runes. Many of the runes just detail the history of the town of Jenkel and some local battle that was fought. But one rune indicates a portal and another indicates levitation magic. Alonso touches the rune for the portal and a doorway opens in the side of the obelisk. Alonso goes to step inside but then notes that there is no floor. Only a drop down into darkness. Alonso asks for a rope but then Fenris suggests they just use the levitation rune on the side of the obelisk. One by one the adventurers tap the rune and float down inside the obelisk. As they begin to disappear one of the dwarves runs up and yells at them to come back. They ignore him.

The heroes float down into the darkness. After about twenty feet they see a reddish glow at the bottom of the shaft. After sixty feet they come to a solid floor. A doorway leads out into a large cavern. The ruins of ancient buildings lie buried in dirt and rock. Nearby they see an open fissure full of brightly glowing magma.

Barrow of the Forgotten King 2

Last week in the Swords & Wizardry campaign the players continued through the Barrow of the Forgotten King adventure. As usual, the players went through it a little quicker than expected. But it does appear I will get almost 3 sessions out of the adventure. We had a new player join and he played one of the NPCs. We made this decision since explaining the presence of the new adventurer so deep into a rarely explored dungeon would not make a lot of sense.

Session 74: Barrow of the Forgotten King part 2

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Aashdoshan (human necromancer), Alonso (human fighter), Lantosh (human fighter NPC), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC), Domago (human cleric), and Vervork (human fighter).

After their battle with the skeletons, the heroes discuss resting. Fenris in particular is laboring, clutching an open wound in his side. Looking about at the chamber strewn with more than a dozen skeletons they decide to push on. But first Domago prays for healing for Fenris and Alonso. After the healing, Fenris tells them he can go on.

Fenris lets them know that the exit from the chamber is a rough slide that descends at a steep angle. He scouts ahead with Lakima’s Glow Minion in the lead. They find a large cavern filled with water. The other adventurers make it down the slide one at a time using a rope. At the bottom of the slide, they stand on a ledge forty feet above a flooded cavern floor. Fifteen feet away they can see a pillar of stone rising up out of the water to about their height. A hemp rope stretches from the ledge to the pillar. Fenris checks the rope and tells them that it is new and sturdy. The Glow Minion and Fenris make their way across to the rock pillar. Fenris shouts back that there is another pillar twenty feet further away in the cavern but fifteen feet lower than the first one. Another rope is found that connects them.

The rest of the delvers begin to make their way to the first pillar. Not having the agility of Fenris they string two more ropes across to make it easier. First Lakima, then Eathwund, and Alonso cross successfully. To make room, the Glow minion and Fenris move down to the second pillar. Vervork makes it across to the first pillar and is followed by Aashdoshan. But halfway across Aashdoshan loses his grip and plummets into the water far below. They hear a splash and then some sputtering. Alonso pulls up some of the loose rope and tosses it down to where he can hear Aashdoshan splashing about. Aashdoshan calls back up that he is not going to be able to climb up the rope so Alonso tells him to hold on and he will pull him up.

As Alonso works on pulling up Aashdoshan, Fenris spots a large dark shape out of the corner of his eye. Spinning about he ducks and yells as he sees an enormous black, leathery shape glide down from the darkness overhead headed for him. The creature looks like an enormous black leathery kite. Seeing the danger, Lakima casts Lightning Bolt striking the creature. It veers off from attacking Fenris and tries to get away, Eathwund fires two arrows into it from his longbow. As it glides by the first pillar, it is hit by more missiles and crashes into the water far below. Fenris calls back that he is okay. He also yells that there is another rope but it is cut. He can just make out a ledge twenty feet away and fifteen feet down just above the level of the water. He suggests that he climb down and swim across, but Lakima tells him that they do not know what might be in the water. Lantosh and Domago are still back at the first ledge so they begin to move across. Domago loses his grip and falls into the water. His heavy armor immediately drags him under and he drifts down in pitch darkness. Domago remembers the Book of Protection from Drowning and he casts a charge to get water breathing. The spell is successful and he finds he can breathe underwater as he drifts down to the floor of the cavern in complete darkness. He hears a splash and a rope with a rock tied to the end drifts down to him. Alonso, and Vervork drag Domago out of the water and up the side of the pillar. Now that everyone is exhausted Lakima advocates that they rest so he can recover spells including Luminous bridge.

The party decides to rest. The Glow Minion, Eathwund, and Fenris are on the second pillar and the rest on the first pillar. Shortly after they settle down to rest, Lakima and Lantosh who are on the first watch hear someone making their way down the slide from the chambers above. Lakima quickly wakes the rest of the adventurers on the first pillar. He moves right to the edge of the pillar and extends his glowing staff so that he can just make out the ledge and the tunnel entrance. For a few seconds, he sees a humanoid shape in the darkness of the doorway. He shouts out a challenge, and the shape vanishes. They hear the sound of someone going back up the slide. They are not disturbed for the remainder of their rest.

After several hours of rest, the group is ready to move on. Lakima casts Luminous bridge all of the ways from the first pillar to the ledge on the far side of the cavern. They make their way down the bridge to an archway in the side of the cavern. A man-made tunnel extends away into the darkness. This tunnel soon enters into a maze of stone corridors only five feet wide.

Lakima again summons the Glow Minion and he sends it and Fenris into this crude, stone maze with Alonso close behind. They encounter a few dead ends. Alonso checks down one passage and triggers a magical trap. A Manticore is summoned and appears almost right on top of Eathwund. The Manticore appears confused by its surroundings and Alonso and Eathwund manage to strike it before it can react. But once it gets its bearings it leaps upon Alonso clawing him once. Working together, Alonso, Eathwund, and Lantosh do most of the damage to the Manticore with Lakima supporting by throwing darts at it. The creature falls dead and Lakima retrieves his darts. Lakima uses the Wand of Secret Door detection but does not find any. Then he uses the Arrow of Direction to ask for the quickest way out. They try to move in the direction the arrow indicated but the halls do not always allow movement in that direction. A second magical summoning trap is triggered and this time they fight off a Sabre-tooth tiger. The creature is killed when Lantosh smashes in its skull with his ax. Alonso asks if there is time to remove a tusk but the rest of the group tells him they need to move on.

They consult the Arrow of Direction again and arrive in a large cavern flooded with water. On the other side, forty feet away they see a continuation of the maze. With no clear way across they follow the “shore” around to the north where the distance to cross is short. Fenris scales across by climbing up the wall of the cavern. At that moment they hear a distant rumbling sound and a high wave of water runs up the cavern drowning the area above water. The water soon recedes without harming anyone but in its wake, they see a weed-covered mummy stagger up out of the water. The mummy makes its way toward Lakima’s glowing staff and is fought off by Alonso. Domago tries rebuking it with his holy symbol and Aashdoshan tries dominating it but both fail. Eathwund and Alonso manage to chop it down and it sinks under the water. Fenris briefly considers swimming after it to see if it had any treasure.

Before going forward, Domago prays to St. Aleena to allow him to detect traps. Domago now takes the lead of the group with the Glow Minion. As they make their way, he spots the outline of a pit trap on the floor of the tunnel as it enters a room. Eathwund and Alonso leap over the pit and are attacked by two animated statues. Eathwund switches weapons to a hammer to help smash the statues into pieces. After the statues are dealt with, they see another, pit trap that has already been triggered. Fenris steps to the edge and looks down and tells everyone there is a human corpse in the bottom of the pit. He climbs down to investigate. As Fenris moves to check the pockets of the body in the pit, it is revealed to be a woman who is badly injured but still alive. She grabs Fenris by surprise and tries to bargain for food and water. Fenris manages to struggle free (and out of the pit) after giving her his waterskin. The woman, who tells them her name is Leera, admits to being one of the tomb robbers but claims she had nothing to do with the poisoning of Vervork’s nephew. She names the other members of the tomb robbers including the leader Xeron. She asks to be pulled up and set free.

Lakima asks Vervork what he wants to do with Leera. Vervork responds with. “Let her rot here in the pit.” Domago immediately objects and argues that they should take her into custody. Eventually, Domago manages to convince Eathwund and Lantosh as well. It is put to a vote and they decide to haul her up but bind her hands behind her back. Vervork says he will stay close to her and watch her. While the discussion about Leera was ongoing, Fenris scouted ahead. He returns now and tells them that there is a makeshift barrier ahead with several hobgoblins behind it. The Glow Minion is sent ahead to illuminate the area. The hobgoblins react excitedly to this and call up more reinforcements. Lakima peaks around the corner and then hurls a fireball just past their barrier. There is a loud explosion and the walls of the dungeon shake for a moment. When Fenris scouts ahead again he reports six dead hobgoblins. The group proceeds into what is clearly a camp the hobgoblins have set up. The stone lids of a pair of sarcophagi have been broken and used to create barriers at both exits of a pair of chambers. From the far exit, they can hear the sound of a waterfall. In the camp they find a backpack holding some treasure and they find a magical brazier. Leera tells them that one of the hobgoblins is their leader. But she does not see the thief Teryl, the hobgoblin shaman Krootad, or their “human” leader Xeron.

The exit from the hobgoblin camp leads to a large cavern. A stream of water enters from one corner and falls forty feet down to the floor. The exit leads out onto a ledge, thirty feet above the water. The ledge appears to lead around behind the fall of water. Lying on the ledge they find a dead hobgoblin with no marks of violence on his body. Just as Fenris moves forward to the waterfall the adventurers hear a loud voice call out, “So many visitors in recent days. Tell me, why came you here?”

Lakima immediately calls out that they are chasing tomb robbers who murdered the brother of one of the members of the group. A creature of water and mist emerges from the waterfalls. It is very large being about the size of a hill giant. The creature examines them for a moment and then tells them that they may pass. The adventurers quickly make their way around behind the waterfall and out of the cavern as the ledge leads to a stone passage. That passage ends in a stone door that is slightly ajar. Fenris checks the door and declares it safe, so Eathwund and Alonso take the lead and shove the door open.

The door opens into a room with a stone-tiled floor which is unlike any other area of the dungeon so far. The walls are covered in thick spiderwebs that undulate and drift in the breeze. The webs reach all the way up one side of the chamber. In the center of the chamber is a web-covered statue of a king on a throne. Lakima asks Leera to look at the statue and she tells them the story of the Forgotten King and the Betrayer. Eathwund and Alonso move up to the statue and as they near it a mummy, covered in webs, emerges from its shadow. As it moves to attack Alonso, hordes of fist-sized spiders emerge from the webs and swarm all of the heroes in the chamber. Alonso, Eathwund, Lantosh, Vervork, and Domago all find themselves stepping on and knocking off spiders. The mummy strikes Alonso twice but only raises some nasty bruises. They do manage to destroy the creature but as it falls, another horde of spiders erupts from its body. Now hundreds of spiders spread across the floor of the chamber. Lakima summons a skeleton and sends it forward to stomp on spiders to help Eathwund, Alonso, and Lantosh. After several tense minutes of stomping, they eventually squish everything that moves in the chamber. Looking about they see a web-shrouded set of stone steps leading up to a balcony.

Fenris leads the way up the steps followed by the fighters. The steps lead to a chamber that overhangs the area below. Again, the walls are covered in webs. Three large web sacks hang down from the ceiling. Just as Fenris moves forward into the chamber, an enormous spider drops out of the webs covering the ceiling. The spider has long legs and is about the size of a horse. Its coloring matches that of the webs. Eathwund and Alonso move to attack and Lakima hurls darts past them at the spider. The tomb spider leaps at Alonso and attempts to get a poisonous bite past his armor but it fails. Eathwund and then Alonso each strike it in the abdomen with their swords and kill the creature. Fenris enters the chamber again and cuts open the web sacks. Two contain dead hobgoblins but the third holds the body of a dead halfling. Leera identifies the body as her friend Teryl. The trap finder for the tomb robbers. Helpfully she points out to Fenris that Teryl wears magical leather armor. Fenris strips the corpse and also finds a sack of treasure.

The group decides they need to rest again but first they move into the next chamber which is not covered in spider webs.

Barrow of the Forgotten King

In the last few sessions of my Swords & Wizardry campaign, the players have been delving their way through the Barrow of the Forgotten King. This is based fairly closely on the D&D 3.5 edition of the adventure of the same name. Of course, I had to make a number of changes because it was written for the 3.5 edition of D&D and for much lower character levels (2nd level). I also created all-new maps more suited for online play.

The Barrow of the Forgotten King is considered one of the classics, but it has a very peculiar layout. The entire adventure is presented in a summary format and then each "tactical encounter" is presented at the back of the product in a 2-3 page detailed layout with detailed maps that assume miniatures are going to be used. I found it very annoying when I was rewriting the adventure for my own use (in a more traditional linear format). I cannot imagine trying to run this as is straight from the published product. I believe this was the first and last time this format was used.

Session 73: Barrow of the Forgotten King

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Aashdoshan (human necromancer), Alonso (human fighter), Lantosh (human fighter NPC), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC), Domago (human cleric), and Vervork (human fighter).

The adventurers have arrived at Hauger Keep in Hookhollow, the home of their fellow adventurer Vervork. They spend the night in the keep.

The next morning the adventurers meet with Lord Roland and Vervork. Lakima asks if they can all see Roland’s son Vilhelm. He is reluctant as his son is near death but once Lakima tells him that he believes they might have a cure, he insists they immediately go to his son. Lakima, Domago, and Aashdoshan go to see Vilhelm. The boy is unconscious in bed with his mother Yelda at his side. A local priest greets them at the door. Lakima checks the boy and then pours a neutralize poison potion down his throat. After a few moments color begins to return to the boy’s face and then his eyes flicker open. The boy calls out for his mother. Roland thanks Lakima effusively as does Yelda. Within an hour Vilhelm is sitting up in bed and eating soup. Soon he asks if he can go outside to ride his horse. But his mother and the priest will have none of that.

The full group meets with Roland in the Great Hall of the Keep again. Lakima tells Vervork and Roland that he believes tomb robbers are the ones who poisoned Vilhelm to get their hands on Valdemar’s Journal. This would allow them to find their way through the traps beneath the Forgotten King’s barrow. Vervork says he wants to leave immediately to track down and kill the people who killed his brother Yandel. Roland tries to counsel against this.

There is little chance of any other decision. Vervork will join the Company of the Black Dragon on the trail of the mysterious tomb robbers. Vervork takes them to the west tower of the keep and points out the low mounds barely a mile to the west. He explains that there are four mounds. Traditionally called the King, Queen, Prince, and Cleft barrows. The names were applied long after the barrows were abandoned. He is not sure which one is the Barrow of the forgotten King but they will know they are in the correct one if they find a large mausoleum. The entrance to the Forgotten King’s barrow was used as a crypt by the village of Hookhollow before his ancestor Valdemar found a way past the something he called the Beholder puzzle in his journal. He does not know the details of the puzzle. After Valdemar’s child died because of the Curse the villagers stopped using the crypt.

Since the barrows are so near the company of eight men set out over the fields on foot. Arriving at the barrows Fenris scouts ahead and notes many tracks but Vervork tells him it is probably from the men who found and brought back the body of his older brother Yandel. Lakima points at the Prince’s Barrow and suggests they start the search with that one. A narrow tunnel into the barrow leads to stone steps down into a crypt. Vervork immediately recognizes that they have entered the old mausoleum. They have found the correct barrow on the first try.

In the first chamber, they see a crumbling room. Four skeletons lie out on stone biers. Lying in the center of the room lies a human corpse. As everyone slowly advances, Fenris checks the corpse. It is that of a young woman warrior clad in leather armor, a sword sheathed at her side. She has two arrows in her chest. Aashdoshan looks at the four skeletons and reaches out with his necromantic powers to raise them. But he immediately realizes they have already been raised. Aashdoshan shouts a warning just as the four skeletons begin to rise from the platforms. Lantosh is caught by surprise and struck with a rusty blade. Aashdoshan quickly wrests control of the skeletons from whoever else raised them. The four skeletons are now dominated by Aashdoshan. Fenris continues checking the warrior’s corpse and finds a silver badge of crossed arrows. The symbol means nothing to any of the adventurers, but Lakima muses that she might be a ranger.

Fenris advances into the chamber with Lantosh a short distance behind to provide light from his lantern. The chamber is L-Shaped, and as Fenris turns the corner, he spots five more skeletons. He backs away as Lantosh, Alonso, Vervork, and Eathwund move in to take care of the skeletons. Lakima casts Glow Minion and summons a servant of Light to help illuminate the area. Both Alonso and Eathwund destroy a pair of skeletons while one of the skeletons controlled by Aashdoshan destroys the last skeleton. Aashdoshan raises two more skeletons to increase his army of the dead to six skeletons. In the fight with the skeletons, Alonso does take a nasty slash to the chest. Fenris checks some of the crypts lining the walls of the chamber and tells everyone that many of them have been broken into and looted of everything, even the bodies.

A stone door leads from the chamber. Fenris is unable to figure out how to open it as it has no handles or hinges. Vervork is able to shove it open. Beyond they see another long chamber lined with crypts. On the north wall are a fountain and the statue of an angel. A corridor leads north and a door blocks passage to the south. Eathwund manages to manhandle the door leading south open. Lakima sends the Glow Minion through the open door into a small chamber. Fenris follows and declares that there is a statue of a magic-user covered in cobwebs. There are also two stone coffins. Fenris asks some of the strong fighters to help him open the coffins. But Lakima casts Detect Magic and tells them not to enter. The statue is showing a strong magic aura. He suspects it is a protector of the crypt.

“We are here on a mission, not as tomb robbers”, states Lakima. Fenris protests a little.

The corridor leads to another blank stone door. Fenris is unable to find a means of opening it and each of the fighters is unable to budge it. Lakima casts Detect Magic and discovers the door is Wizard Locked and covered by an illusion. He tries to cast Read Magic but it fails. Aashdoshan is able to cast Read Magic and he sees the image of a beholder carved into the stone doors. Each of its eye stocks ends in a strange tile. Below the image is a riddle. Aashdoshan takes a sheet of parchment and copies out the words:

Magic Dies Fast Men Slow the passage you seek below.

Eye of death, eye of stone the key to passage they haven’t shown

Fear and mind you can say will move you around in the wrong way

Friends are shy, sleep in rest. Neither points to the passage that’s best.

Enemy friend painful wound oblivion aids it is ruined.

Lakima casts Dispel Magic and is able to remove the spell holding the door. It slides to one side. Inside they find an octagonal chamber. The floor in this chamber is covered in stone tiles. Some of these tiles have images painted on them depicting men. It matches the tiles Aashdoshan saw on the door. In the center of the chamber is a large stone eye looking at the ceiling. Lakima casts Detect Magic and sees that the tiles and the eye are all radiating magic. The eye is projecting a dispel magic field.

Lakima suggests that the tiles need to be stepped on in the proper order to open a door to continue. Vervork tells them that Valdemar’s journal mentioned the riddle of the beholder. But he has not viewed the book since he was a child and he cannot recall the solution to the riddle. Lakima asks Aashdoshan to direct one of his skeletons to step on a tile. Nothing appears to happen at first but they realize the skeleton has been slowed. Aashdoshan directs it to the central eye and the enchantment is dispelled. Another tile is found to vaporize a skeleton into ashes. All of the heroes step carefully back from the tiles.

Over the next hour, Lakima and Aashdoshan try to solve the riddle. Using the skeletons, they test many of the tiles. They find only two of the tiles they tested seem to have any effect. Fenris notices that the tiles are loose and could be moved. Lakima becomes convinced that they need to be paired and the riddle must show the order. They try some more but the death ray tile is in the first pair and two more skeletons are vaporized.

Eathwund hesitantly makes a suggestion, “Maybe they need to be put in the order on the image?” Aashdoshan tells Eathwund that they are already in that order. But when they recheck his sketch, they realize they are not in order. Lakima excitedly tells Aashdoshan to have the skeletons move the four tiles that are out of order. A skeleton easily picks up a tile and moves it. Then moves the rest. As the last tile is placed down in the order on the image, the stone eye rapidly descends revealing a shaft leading down thirty feet.

Fenris descends on a rope and yells back that it is another small chamber with an exit. The rest of the adventurers and Aashdoshan’s three remaining skeletons descend. A corridor leads down over three flights of steps. Fenris takes the lead with the Glow Minion behind him. As he reaches the third landing, he is startled to see an enormous Ogre standing mutely against a wall. The eyes of the ogre open and it moves toward him. Fenris realizes that the ogre has gaping wounds on its body. It is an enormous zombie. Yelling “Zombie!’ Fenris flees from the chamber back through the group. Alonso takes his place and holds the enormous zombie at bay with his magic spear, striking it in the chest. Eathwund joins him and lights his sword on fire, swinging it at the ogre-zombie. Lakima hurls some darts at it. The zombie swings an enormous club at Alonso and smashes the puny human fighter against the wall. Alonso struggles to his feet and attacks again. But the ogre swings the club in a huge arc once more and smashes Alonso again knocking him back several feet. Eathwund slashes the zombie again with his flaming sword and it staggers. Aashdoshan tries to use Banish undead but the creature resists him. Then he casts Magic missile from his wand. The bolts of fire blacken the creature. Eathwund strikes it a third time and a magical dagger thrown by Aashdoshan hits it in its magical source. The creature collapses in a huge mound of flesh.

The adventurers scramble over the large corpse into the next chamber. Fenris checks the exit from the chamber and reports that they have to cross a bottomless pit. As the others join him, they see that a rope bridge extends across the pit. Fenris checks it and reports that the bridge is sound. It appears to have been put up by the tomb robbers they are chasing. The Glow Minion is sent across the chasm without incident. Fenris then sprints across easily. Eathwund is about to go next but he realizes that the rope bridge is very precarious. Lakima tells him to step aside and he casts Luminous Bridge. A bridge of light extends across the chasm. Everyone crosses the bridge easily.

On the other side of the bridge, they come to a dead end. Lakima takes out his Wand of Secret Door Detection and finds a door in one wall. Fenris is able to open it. Inside is a small chamber with a stone lever in the up position. After some debate with the others, he decides to pull it. A wall slides aside revealing an enormous octagonal chamber.

The chamber has partition walls extending partway out from each wall joint. In the center of the room, they see a pair of hobgoblin corpses blackened by fire. The entire center area is covered in black ash. Fenris peers around a wall and reports there are two enormous dragon statues sitting to either side of their entrance. Their heads pointed toward the fire damage in the center of the room. Also in the room are the statue of a princess and a warrior. On the far wall is a stone door. The Glow Minion is sent into the center of the room and nothing happens. One of the skeletons is sent into the center of the room and the dragons breathe fire. The skeleton is incinerated.

Fenris climbs onto the walls and makes his way around the chamber. He examines both statues depicting humans but does not find anything. Then he makes his way to the door. It is another unmarked stone door.

A second skeleton is sent around the chamber skirting the middle of the room and ducking under a dragon skeleton. It makes it without triggering the fire trap so the rest of the team of adventurers follow its path. Eventually, they are all at the door. The fighters take turns shoving the door but they are not able to open it. Eventually, Fenris tries and he opens it easily. Beyond is a small chamber and two stone doors separated by five feet. Fenris manages to open the south door. A wave of moisture and mildew smell pours out of the opening. There is a distant sound of running water. Fenris checks and tells them it is a short hall leading to a ladder going down. Lakima suggests trying the other door.

The other door is opened and Fenris and the Glow Minion lead the way. A short hallway leads to a large room. The adventurers discover they have entered high up on a balcony overlooking a canal fifteen feet below. A bridge crosses the canal. On both sides of the canal are five stone statues of warriors. On the far side from them, they see the corpses of two hobgoblins. Also, two broken statues. Lakima tells everyone that the statues will probably animate and attack. At the far end of this balcony, he spots a stone door.

“Hurry, everyone to the door!”

They begin to move toward the door but the water in the canal erupts in a geyser. A serpent made entirely of water rises up from the canal. The head of the creature is as big as a full-grown dragon. The water weird looks at them at speaks in a strange bubbling voice:

"More intruders. Leave this place the way you came, or face the price of your folly, as have those before you.”

Stunned, everyone stops for a moment and then retreats back to the hallway. Except for the Glow Minion which does not receive instruction to move. A vote is taken on whether to continue on and fight the creature. They decide to go on. Fenris moves down the ladder so he can flank the creature from the other side. The heroes move out on the balcony and prepare to defend themselves. The creature speaks again and threatens all robbers of this tomb. Lakima tells it that they are not tomb robbers. They are chasing the tomb robbers and plan to apprehend them. The creature seems suspicious at first. It extends itself to be within five feet of them and slowly moves down the line of adventurers looking at each of them. At Vervork it tells him it has smelled him before. Vervork tells it that that was an ancestor. It lingers on Lakima telling him it does not trust him. But standing beside Lakima is Domago and the creature says it does trust him. It tells them they can depart without a fight. Then it drops back down into the canal.

Everyone quickly leaves the chamber via the door in the north wall. Fenris is last as he has to make his way across the chamber. He stops and checks the bodies of the hobgoblins and pockets a few items. Then he quickly runs across the bridge and up a stair. The door leads to a chamber with a zig-zag wall pattern. Along the north side of the room are four statues of warriors in front of closed crypts. Fenris checks a few and reports that they have been opened and looted. At the end of the hall, they find some evidence of a camp for several humanoids and a stone door.

The door opens into a wide hallway. At both ends of the hall, a passage enters from the east but both passages are fifteen feet lower. Iron ladders lead down. Fenris and the Glow Minion again take the lead, Lantosh and Eathwund come next. They head down a hallway with a ceiling far above. As it rounds a corner, Fenris sees more than a dozen skeleton warriors waiting for them. One skeleton is clad in heavy plate mail armor. Fenris tries to yell out an alarm but no sounds come from his mouth. The skeletons rush toward him and he is forced to flee toward a hole he sees in a far wall. Bricks have been removed from the wall to create the hole. The rest of the adventurers file into the chamber and are attacked by a horde of skeletons. Aashdoshan sends his skeletons forward to defend them adding to the confusion. Aashdoshan tries to cast a spell but he finds he also cannot make a sound. Eathwund and Alonso push to the front and begin smashing down skeletons. The fight continues in eerie silence. Swords hit swords without making a sound. Alerted to what is happening, Lakima casts Shield on himself before entering the room. 

Fenris is stabbed twice before he is able to hide in a tunnel that goes down at a steep angle. Eathwund and Alonso destroy most of the skeletons. In the confusion, one of Aashdoshan’s skeletons is destroyed by Alonso. Lantosh is hit twice by skeletons. Lakima finds himself surrounded and lashes out with his Staff of Striking exploding skeletons. His shield spell protects him. The armored skeleton stabs Alonso in the back when he is engaged with other skeletons. This apparent leader proves a lot tougher than a normal skeleton. Eathwund and Alonso strike it repeatedly with little effect. Lakima hits it with his Staff as well. In the end, the skeleton leader falls and once that happens, sound returns to the chamber. The remaining four skeletons continue attacking but now everyone can hear the battle. Aashdoshan shouts for everyone to hold as he takes control of the skeletons and then de-animates them shortly after.

A badly wounded Fenris drags himself out of the hole in the wall. He reports that he can hear the sound of splashing water at the bottom of the shaft he was in. The rest of the group looks about and decides to rest a few moments.

The Great Hall

Last weekend the players in my Swords & Wizardry campaign more or less did what I expected so luckily I had everything prepared. The problem with playing online on Roll20 is the need for maps. I can never be sure where the players might want to go and I might not have a map prepared. I do have some generic maps of trails in the forests, roads, and rivers but you cannot really have a generic dungeon map. So before this session, I had maps prepared for four possible directions I thought they might go. I bought a couple of Heroic Maps online and I created the other maps.

Once the session was over I gave some thought to what scene or scenes that occurred that I want to illustrate with a 3D Render. Usually, it is a pivotal combat moment or a dramatic landscape. This time I found that I really wanted to render their dinner in the Great Hall of a Lords' Keep. Something I always wanted to create.

Session 72: Stormcrow Manor

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alonso (human fighter), Aashdoshan (human necromancer), Lantosh (human fighter NPC), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC).

The next day, with the gold they got from the Witch's lair, the Company of the Black Dragon make a large donation to the Church of St. Cuthbert. In return, healing prayers are chanted until every member of the group is feeling in top shape. They also visit Domago and Vervork who have recovered enough to be brought back to the Manor. Alonso takes the demon horns he procured over to Cromly and asks for them to be made into daggers. He also picks up his demon wing cape from Red Leatherworks.

That night, Lakima, Eathwund, Alonso, Aashdoshan, Lantosh, and Fenris head over to the Manor owned by Loris Raknian. Once the foot traffic has vanished, they advance stealthily on the Manor. Fenris checks the front door in the courtyard and tells everyone that it is locked. While Fenris works on the lock, the other party members take positions facing the door in the courtyard. Fenris holds up his hands to tell them he cannot get the door unlocked and at that moment the door opens. A guard standing in the doorway angrily tells Fenris to, “Take off, or I’ll have the watch on you!”

Aashdoshan casts Hold Person on the guard and then cobweb on his mouth to prevent him from yelling. As they step into the entry hall a magical suit of armor greets them, "Welcome to Stormcrow Manor". The challenge is loud enough to bring a second guard to investigate. Lakima casts Charm Person on him. This second guard tells them he is Tagil and that he is just a hired guard. He tells them he figures Master Loris is a smuggler since he hired guards. Tagil takes them to meet Loris Raknian in the downstairs bedroom. However, when they enter the room, they find the window is open and Loris has escaped into the courtyard. He is quickly captured by Lantosh and Alonso.

Loris tries to bargain for his release but refuses to tell them who he works for. Lakima accuses him of being just a middleman. Finally, Loris agrees to show them some documents and reaches into his desk. He pulls out a pair of vials, one he smashes on the floor, and the second he drinks. Loris gasps, apparently poisoned and he collapses to the floor. The second vial releases a black cloud that forms into a creature. The creature claws Alonso on the arm and he is frozen in place. Eathwund slashes at the creature several times and manages to avoid its claws. Eventually, he manages to kill it. It dissipates as black smoke. Once the creature is gone, Alonso is able to move again. Lantosh checks Loris and tells everyone that the merchant is dead. Aashdoshan decides to use necromancy to raise Loris as a zombie but the ritual fails. This puzzles Aashdoshan. Eventually, the adventurers conclude that Loris is only feigning death. Lantosh ties him up.

Tagil tells them he thinks the gold is kept in the cellar. Lantosh carries Loris along as they all head over to the cellar doors in the courtyard. Fenris checks the cellar doors and finds that the key to the doors is in the lock.  The two guards and the cook are allowed to leave.

Entering the Cellar, they find the type of goods they would expect of a merchant. They also see two doors. Behind one door is a storage room for ale. The other door is locked but they use a key found on Loris to open it. Fenris opens the door, then yells in alarm, and rushes from the door. Alonso and Eathwund, who were behind Fenris, see three horrific ghouls in the chamber. The creatures advance and attack. The three ghouls prove to be no match for the fighters and are quickly dealt with.

In the guarded chamber they find a pine coffin and an altar with a human skull on top of it. Fenris suggests that Alonso and Eathwund open the coffin. They do and inside they find bags of gold and silver and four journals. They also find a strange vial full of black liquid. The journals are written in common and detail the defenses of Edgerton, Caster’s Ford, and Ethelstan Keep. The last journal contains detailed notes on the personages of the Company of the Black Dragon. Known associates, family, habits, and the like. They learn that Aashdoshan has the Eye and the Leg bone of the Ghoul King in his staff. The likely target of Loris. It is clear from the notes that Loris is a spy for the Ghoul King.

During the commotion, Lantosh left Loris to his own devices and the merchant managed to wiggle up the stair to the courtyard. He is grabbed again now and taken inside. Now that it is clear he is not dead Loris drops the act. He again tries to bargain for his freedom without success. He confirms most of what they have learned but refuses to name the Ghoul King out loud. He confirms that Aashdoshan was the target of the attacks because the Ghoul King needs his body parts returned to be able to attain his full power. Loris genuinely seems to not be aware that he was dealing with a Mind Flayer. He only worked with the Mind Flayer’s Drow thralls. Loris also admits to arranging the theft of the Cudgel of St Cuthbert and sending it north with other agents. He mentions that two of his handlers or spies for the Ghoul King are upstairs on the second floor.

A search of the second floor reveals that the men left in a hurry. They also find a chamber with four paintings on artists’ easels. One painting is covered in a black cloth. Lakima goes behind the painting and removes the cloth. Aashdoshan is the only one brave (or foolish) enough to look at the painting. He sees the painting depicts two men in rags lying in a dungeon. He feels drawn into the painting but manages to pull himself away. Aashdoshan covers the painting and takes it with him.

Once they have learned all they can from Loris they take him to the Night watch along with the three journals showing the defenses of the settlements of the north. Then the heroes return to their manor.

The next day Aashdoshan uses Identify on the painting and learns it is a Painting of Confinement. He decides to hang it, covered, in his cellar laboratory. The rest of the group takes several days to rest. Domago and Vervork tell everyone that they should be ready to adventure again in a few days.

A few days after Vervork and Domago have recovered a message is delivered from Abbot Marta at the Church of St. Cuthbert. Three men and one woman have arrived from the south looking for Vervork. From their names and descriptions, Vervork reveals that they are retainers of his brother Roland Hauger, Lord of Hookhollow. Probably, they want to take him back to Hookhollow to work for his older brother, which is not something he is interested in doing. Lakima suggests they invite them to dinner at the Manor to see what they want.

That night, Jakub, the seneschal of Lord Roland arrives with some retainers. At first, he is reluctant to speak in front of strangers but Vervork assures him that anything can be said in front of his friends. Jakub tells Vervork that an illness befalls Roland’s son. He fell into a deep sleep and has not awakened. A message was found in his room demanding the return of the Journal of Valdemar. Vervork tells them some of his family’s background and the legends around the local barrows. Jakub tells them that his other brother Yandel set out with the Journal despite Roland’s objections. He was found dead, lying in the grass near the barrows. The journal was gone. He had been shot in the back with three arrows.

Jakub asks Vervork to return to Hookhollow. With Roland’s son Vilhelm dying, Vervork is now heir to the family seat. Vervork tells Jakub that he will return. But it will be to enter the Barrow and put an end to the family curse. Lakima tells Vervork that as a member of the Company of the Black Dragon, they will join him. Vervork tells them that he cannot ask them, but that he would welcome their company. He will need their swords and spells.

The next day the entire company takes passage on a boat to Hookhollow. They travel south and spend the night on the boat near the Cursed Marsh. Eathwund spots will-o-whisps in the dark but they do not come close to the boat. The next day the captain of the boat puts them ashore in Taryn (the Hillside villages). From here they will need to walk all day to reach Hookhollow before dark. The company manages to reach Hookhollow as the sun is low in the sky. Vervork is greeted in the village by a childhood friend, the owner of the local Inn. The man offers them rooms for the night. But Vervork is anxious to speak with his brother and see his nephew. He invites everyone to the Keep.

The Company of the Black Dragon arrives at Hauger Keep. Jakub introduces them to Roland. Roland asks to speak to Vervork alone and arranges rooms for everyone on the second floor. Later, that night everyone is invited to the Great Hall for a meal. The atmosphere is subdued. Vervork argues with his brother Roland. Roland tries to change the subject and their mother Liena dozes at the table. But a fine meal was had by all.

The next morning they will make plans to enter the Barrow of the Forgotten King.

Hauger Hall

Halloween Special

 I had a break from the game for a few weeks. The latest session just happened to fall on Halloween Night. I was busy during the downtime so I did not get a lot done but the day before the Halloween Session I wrote a one-session Halloween-themed adventurer. I borrowed the outline of the plot from The Horror of Ochre Grove written by Justin Andrew Mason (AAW Games). At least the motivation of the villain. Then I tailored it for my Campaign.

Session 71: The Witch of Ochre Groove

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alonso (human fighter), Lantosh (human fighter NPC), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC).

The party gets a good night's rest and then the magic-user Lakima tells Alonso he wants to take a few of the strange items they found in the Mind Flayer Lair over to the Apothecary so he can show them to the Wizard-sage Malyn. Alonso tells Lakima that he should accompany him. They both agree as they are not certain if all of the doppelgangers or thralls of the Mind Flayer are dead.

At the apothecary, Lakima shows Malyn the strange doll that is dressed like him. Malyn comments that it could be sympathetic magic or necromancy. He advises Lakima to cast Dispel Magic on the doll and then destroy it. The preserved head of a juvenile gold dragon is shown to Malyn and he asks to purchase it. He claims that it appears to have no purpose. He also examines the Soul Cage. He explains what it is and how dangerous it is. Malyn asks about the fate of the Mind Flayer and learns that it is dead. They ask Malyn about Loris Raknian but he has not heard the name.

After leaving the Apothecary the pair head over to the nearby Church of St. Cuthbert. One of the priests leads them to one of the priest cells where their companions Vervork and Domago are recovering. They also ask to see Abbot Marta. Domago is asleep when they enter but Vervork is awake and eating from a bowl of soup. Vervork tells them about some strange memories he has of his “fall”. He asks Alonso to send a letter for him to his family. He is concerned about the health of his older brother.

Abbot Marta enters and they tell him about the Mind Flayer. Lakima reveals that he knows about the missing Cudgel of St. Cuthbert and tells what he has discovered about Loris Raknian. Marta reveals some of what has happened and suggests they investigate Raknian Manor just outside the Town Walls. Lakima, Alonso, Marta, and Brother Donegal head outside of town and look over the Manor from outside. Marta tells them that as far as he knows Raknian is just a dealer in furs, carpets, and fabric. Lakima uses the Arrow of Direction and asks for the location of the Cudgel of St. Cuthbert and then the Mace of St. Aleena. Both times the arrow points north. Marta also uses Locate Object and states that the Mace is not here.

Marta suggests that they go to the Church of St. Aleena and talk to the abbess. They return to the town and enter the Church of St. Aleena and are quickly brought to the elderly abbess of St. Aleena. Abbess Edwina reveals that she knows about the missing Cudgel of St. Cuthbert but also that the Shield of the legendary St. Poul was also taken from its resting place. The High priest of St. Poul in Dolmvay had used Commune to learn more about the missing items. Working with the priests of St. Aleena they had learned that the three Holy artifacts were taken by followers of the Ghoul King. They were brought to the “feathered mound” to the north. The reason for stealing them has been conjectured to be to break the Ward of Valen. The Ward protects the Duchy from the undead of the Ghoul Lands. The church scholars realized that the feathered mound was likely White Plume Mountain near Ethelstan Keep to the north. A troop of warrior priests was sent to investigate but did not return. The Abbess of St Aleena realized that professional adventurers were needed. Domago was told to look for suitable heroes. He suggested the Company of the Black Dragon. The Abbess had some misgivings because of their reputation. But with Abbot Marta vouching for them she agrees. Their commune prayers suggest that whatever is going to happen will occur on the Night of the Blood moon (Novem 1) in about five months.

The Abbess examines the Ledger taken from the Mind Flayer lair and agrees it would be enough evidence to get the Castellan to arrest and question Loris Raknian. But she is concerned about Castellan’s ability to keep what he learns secret. Lakima agrees to have the Company investigate Raknian themselves. Alonso and Lakima return to the Manor and tell Eathwund, Lantosh, Fenris, and Rune Frost what they have learned. Fenris suggests they investigate Raknian manor at night. Lakima suggests midnight.

The group prepares, Alonso, Lantosh, and Fenris drink some healing potions. A few hours before they are prepared to leave, they hear the sound of a fireball exploding from the direction of the kitchen. They race to the kitchen and the cook tells them the sound came from the courtyard behind the manor. They all head outside. As they head down the alley, they see the flickering light of a fire in the sky. Neighbors shout questions from their windows. Someone starts yelling, “Alarm! Fire!” As they enter the courtyard, they see a Manor house is on fire. Fire is shooting out of windows. In the courtyard, a family of five has escaped the fire. But they are being menaced by three strange creatures which look like Scarecrows. The scarecrows are trying to pull two screaming children out of the arms of the mother. A teenage boy can be seen trying to fend them off with a short sword while his nearby father struggles with one of the creatures.

Alonso and Eathwund leap immediately into action and draw weapons and rush the scarecrows. Luckily, they are fully armed as they were preparing for a raid. Two of the scarecrows turn to fight them off. One scarecrow yanks the children out of the mothers’ arms. She begins screaming for help. Alonso slashes at a Scarecrow with his sword and manages to smash it down. It collapses into a pile of debris. Eathwund is then able to destroy another one. Lakima summons a kobold to fight the third scarecrow but the diminutive kobold has trouble hitting it. Just as things are going well, a skeletal horse flies down out of the sky with a creature on its back that looks like a scarecrow with a Jack-O-Lantern in place of its head. The creature grabs up the two children, cackling loudly in delight, and flies off in the direction of the river. The remaining scarecrow strikes the man dead and the woman collapses in a heap. The teenage boy screams, “mother!” and runs to her side. Eathwund and Alonso manage to destroy the last scarecrow. Lantosh runs up to the burning building and pulls the man’s body from the flames. Then Eathwund picks up the woman and carries her to safety.

Town guards begin to arrive and soon a fire brigade is formed and they start throwing buckets of water from the river on the fire. Now that the Jack-O-Lantern is gone the fire seems to lose some of its energy and starts to die down. Lakima questions the boy who he learns is called Samuel. However, the boy does not seem to know anything. Lantosh wakes the woman who tells them she is Amelia Cornelius. She tells them what she saw. They heard the explosion and then the manor caught fire. They ran outside with the kids and the scarecrows attacked. She cries for her husband Victor and her abducted children. She does not know of any enemies her family might have. She does tell them that her husband owned the Ochre Grove Winery.

Lakima tells the town watch which direction the Jack-O-Lantern went but he does not offer to chase after it. The guards tell them they will take Samuel and Amelia to Amelia’s Aunt's manor elsewhere in the town. Lantosh suggests they should help but Lakima tells him, “Who is paying us? It was not an attack on us, why get involved?”

Lantosh stubbornly says he is going to get a horse and head after the children, he looks to Eathwund. Eathwund nods and says he is in. Alonso also says he is ready to go. Lakima says, “Okay, I will go then.”

The five adventurers gather their horses and head out of town to the north, the last direction they saw the skeletal fury heading. Once they leave town they pick up the trail by questioning the few farmers who were outside when the Jack-O-Lantern flew overhead. The direction points toward the Old Forest. As they near the forest they come to an orchard of grapes. A foreman of the orchard tells them this is Ochre Grove Winery. He tells them he saw the Jack-O-Lantern fly overhead toward Grisham's farm. When they ask why the farm is abandoned he tells them the story of Grisham farm. The owner had a conflict with Victor Cornelius over his land. He disappeared one day and the farm fell into debt. Victor purchased it and drove his woman Margaret off the land. The farmhouse has been abandoned for two years.

Lakima leaves convinced that the children are at the farmhouse and surmises that Margaret is a witch who raised the scarecrows and Jack-O-Lantern. As they near the farmhouse they see a tattered scarecrow in the yard. The scarecrow has a rotting pumpkin on its shoulders. Alonso and Lantosh both strike the scarecrow and it falls apart into a pile of sticks and a rotten pumpkin. Fenris yells that there is a skeleton in the barn. The heroes enter the barn and find the bare skeleton of a man arranged on the floor. They also find the rotten corpse of a horse.

Alonso suggests that they check the farmhouse. As they leave the barn, they hear a familiar chilling laugh and look up to see the Jack-O-Lantern astride his skeletal horse flying overhead. The Jack-O-Lantern breathes out a ball of green flame which hits the ground amongst the heroes and bursts into a fireball. Everyone is scorched with flames. Lakima casts Lightning bolt and hits the Jack-O-Lantern knocking it off of its mount. It falls to the ground. As it stands up, Eathwund and Alonso attack it with their swords. Lakima casts Mirror image and creates four duplicates of himself. The Jack-O-Lantern swings a large, wooden arm at Eathwund striking him twice. The skeletal horse lands near Lakima and attacks him but manages only to dispel the Mirror images. Lantosh rushes over to help Lakima. Alonso and Eathwund manage to defeat the Jack-O-Lantern and it collapses to the ground. The pumpkin rolls away. They briefly see the spirit of a man who mutters, “My murderer must pay for what he did to me!”

Lantosh manages to keep the Skeletal horse at bay long enough for Eathwund to arrive and destroy it. The bones collapse in a heap on the ground. Lakima points at the door to the farmhouse and tells Fenris to check it. He also casts Detect Magic on the door but finds nothing. Alonso checks amongst the remains of the Jack-O-Lantern but finds nothing of value. Fenris tells them that he can hear a woman chanting through the door. Alonso says, “We should rush in and stop her!” Lakima nods and Fenris swings open the door. Eathwund and Alonso rush into the main room of the farmhouse. They see a witch standing at the end of a large table. Her eyes are rolled back revealing only the whites of her eyes. Before her is an open book and she is chanting in an infernal language. Nearby her stands a demon who appears to be a burly naked human with curving horns jutting from his head. The creature grins at Alonso and laughs.

Alonso looks from the demon to the witch. He also sees two children are tied to chairs at the table. A cauldron rests on the fire behind the witch. He hurls his magical spear at the witch but it bounces off of an unseen barrier and falls to the table. Eathwund and Alonso then move to attack the demon. Lantosh rushes into the room and tries to pick up the children but they are tied to the chairs. Lakima tries to cast Confusion at the witch but it has no effect. Alonso is clawed three times by the demon as he fights it but he and Eathwund both strike blows that penetrate the demon. Fenris enters the farmhouse and uses a dagger to cut the children free. Lantosh picks them up and hands them to Fenris telling him to take them to safety. Fenris picks the two children up and runs outside. Just as the children escape the witch's voice begins to reach a crescendo but Alonso stabs the demon in the chest banishing it from the material plane. The connection from the demon to the witch breaks and she opens her eyes and screams and then is engulfed in infernal flames.

Once the witch is gone, quiet returns to the farmhouse. Lantosh heads outside to look after the children and Fenris enters again. He closes the book lying on the table. Lakima asks him to open a large trunk in an adjoining room. Fenris looks at the trunk but shakes his head, “there is no way to open this thing?”

Lakima casts Detect Magic and sees that the trunk is held shut by a Wizard Lock spell. He asks Alonso to search the witch’s corpse. There is not much left of her. All of her belongings have been turned to ash. Even her bones are bent and blackened. But Alonso does find the shaft of a dagger. Lakima asks for the dagger and then taps it on the trunk but nothing happens. He casts dispel magic and the trunk springs open. Inside, Fenris finds a longsword and several bags of gold. In a nearby bedroom, Fenris finds a pile of fourteen books, all lying on the floor. Some are quite damaged. He calls for Lakima. Lakima casts read magic and realizes these are all spell books from different magic-users. “How many wizards did this witch kill?” he muses out loud. The rest of the adventurers search the farmhouse but do not find anything else. Lakima puts the blackened dagger and the spell books into the bag of holding.

The five heroes remount their horses and return to Edgerton. One of the children rides in front of Lantosh and the other in front of Fenris. They return the children to the Town watch who assure them that they will be certain to get them to their mother safely. The heroes return to the Manor. The raid on Raknian Manor will have to wait.

Battle with the Mind Flayer

After months of play, the players finally had the epic final battle with the Mind Flayer who had been engineering attacks upon them. But the Mind Flayer is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak. Maybe I can finally introduce the campaign plot.

Session 70: Confronting the Mind Flayer

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alonso (human fighter), Aashdoshan (human necromancer), Domago (human cleric NPC), Lantosh (human fighter NPC), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC).

The Company of the Black Dragon has brought their fallen comrades, Domago (priest of St. Aleena), and Vervork to the Church of St. Cuthbert. Their friend Abbot Marta has agreed to Raise both of their dead comrades.

“There is more work on this earth for Brother Domago and for your friend Lord Vervork, but there will be a price put forth by the God of Law!”

After a few of the adventurers pay for healing prayers they all leave the church and head back to their Manor House. Lakima asks Aashdoshan to spy on the Laboratory of the Mind Flayer using his Crystal Ball. Aashdoshan does this for a while and observes the Mind Flayer enter the area and place the dead octopin abomination in the tank. While most of the adventurers decide to rest, Lakima, Alonso, and Aashdoshan walk across town and visit Malyn at the apothecary. Malyn tells them that they are being scryed upon and takes them back into the Temple of the Dark Lady where they are protected from scrutiny. Lakima tells Malyn of their encounter with the Mind Flayer and asks for help. Malyn tells them he is not interested in challenging a Mind Flayer. He does examine a tentacle Aashdoshan had removed from the Octopin creature they killed. He is unable to tell them very much.

Aashdoshan, Lakima, and Rune Frost take turns watching the Mind Flayer with the Crystal ball. They see it pour green slime into a pool before the main doors to its lair. It also replaces the wooden bar on the doors with an iron one. There is some indication that the Mind Flayer may be abandoning the lair, they see humans and zombies packing books in crates in the laboratory.

The next day Brother Corwin of the Church of St. Cuthbert arrives to tell them that Domago is awake and asking for them. Lakima, Eathwund, Lantosh, and Alonso go to the Church to visit Domago. Their comrade is alive but weak from the ordeal. He also appears a little delirious. He asks Lakima to promise to find and return the Mace of St. Aleena. Brother Corwin listens intently. Lakima advises Brother Corwin that documents the Black Dragons found suggest the Mind Flayer may know that St. Cuthbert’s cudgel is here in this church. Corwin tells them that this is a secret they must not tell anyone. He also slips up and implies that the cudgel is missing.

On the return to the Manor Lakima and Aashdoshan drop in to meet Malyn again. Lakima asks Malyn to search for records of a Manual of Learning. A rare magical tome sought by many magic-users.

They continue to spy on the Mind Flayers lair for the next few days. The Mind Flayer rarely appears in the view of the Crystal Ball. During this downtime, Aashdoshan purchases a cow in the market and has it lowered down into the cellars for some unspeakable purpose.

Alayna collects her entire stock of Healing potions and Neutralize poison potions to prepare the group. Lakima argues that they should wait for Domago and Vervork to recover before going up against the Mind Flayer again. But others are concerned that the Mind Flayer will get away. They decide to question their doppelganger prisoner.

The doppelganger maintains the guise of Nevain, Alayna’s father during much of the interrogation. Lakima places a Circle of Protection around the doppelganger in hopes to remove it from the domination of the Mind Flayer. But the creature still seems beholden to the Mind Flayer. The creature does tell them that the Mind Flayer instructed them to capture Aashdoshan by infiltrating the Company of the Black Dragon. It does not seem to know much else. It changes its appearance to that of Aashdoshan and taunts the necromancer. Aashdoshan responds by stabbing it in the heart with his dagger. The creature dies. Aashdoshan then uses Speak with Dead to determine if it was lying but it seems to know little. Aashdoshan raises the corpse as a zombie minion.

The adventurers have one more visit with Domago who seems better now. He worriedly asks if the Mind Flayer is still alive. With some convincing from Domago, they decide that now is the time to confront the Mind Flayer in its lair. They prepare spells and potions for the expedition. The smaller group consists of Lakima, Eathwund, Alonso, Aashdoshan, Lantosh, and Fenris. Rune Frost and Glason decline to join the group. They enter the abandoned Cold Forge Smithy at noon and descend into the sewers. They are forced to wade through some stagnant water to get to the entrance to the caverns. Inside they pass over the burned-out areas that provide evidence of their last foray. In the cavern of the naga they find the naga’s skeleton picked clean of flesh with the bones polished clean. Lakima uses Animate Dead to raise the skeleton as a minion. As they watch, a horrible black ooze slowly advances on them out of the darkness. The black pudding ignores the raised naga skeleton and slowly moves toward the living prey. The adventurers are able to kill it with lantern oil set on fire from a distance, magic missiles, and well-placed arrows fired by Eathwund.

In the next cavern, they find the cleaned bones of the Drow they had killed a few days earlier. They see that the portcullis to the south is now open. They pause while Aashdoshan raises four of the skeletons as minions under his control. As they cautiously advance into the cavern, three of the octopin abominations slide down the walls from the ceiling and move to attack them. Aashdoshan and Lakima both cast Fireball and immolate the area in flames. Two of the Octopins are killed but the third moves forward and destroys all of Aashdoshan’s minions and the Naga skeleton. Lantosh attacks the remaining Octopin but it strikes him with both pincers crushing in his chest. His lifeless body falls to the chamber floor. Alonso and Eathwund manage to kill it before it can do much more damage to the group. Alonso gives Lantosh a healing potion and revives him. Lantosh drinks three more of his own healing potions before declaring himself ready to continue.

Finally, they arrive before the stone doors to the Mind Flayer’s lair. A large pool of Green Slime lies before the doors filling the cavern. Lakima casts the spell Luminous Bridge and funnels light from his staff into a bridge of light. The adventurers quickly walk across the bridge and stand before the stone doors. Aashdoshan casts Knock and they hear a clang as the door bar falls to the stone floor and the doors swing open.

The adventurers pass through the chamber of the stone brain and enter the laboratory – the scene of their battle with the Large Octopin days earlier. The corpse of the abomination rests in the iron tank. The chamber shows signs of being cleared of useful items.

Fenris checks the door from the chamber and tells everyone it is unlocked. But they decide to head up the ramp leading from the chamber which they saw the Mind Flayer using when they spied on it. At the top of the ramp is another unlocked stone door. Fenris pushes it open but an obstruction blocks it. The door opens only about 2 feet. In the chamber beyond, they can see a display case and a zombie standing near it. The zombie stares vacantly into nowhere and does not react to the door opening. Aashdoshan moves up and uses his necromancy to take control of the zombie. Fenris and Lantosh slip into the chamber and yell out in surprise. The rest of the adventurers join them. They find three humans and three more zombies emptying display cases and placing items into wooden crates. Aashdoshan takes control of all of the zombies and uses them to grapple with and hold the humans. The humans behave as if they are under the control of the Mind Flayer – shouting that they are under attack by intruders.

Looking about the chamber the adventurers realize that they have entered a museum. There are three display cases some partially emptied. Several wood crates, a large glass tank with an iron lid, and in the center of the chamber on a marble pedestal is an onyx statue of a winged demon.

Feeling the Mind Flayer is nearby, the adventurers leave the zombies and captives behind and leave the chamber down a spiral ramp. The wall of the ramp is carved with an elaborate frieze depicting Mind Flayers ruling over all other creatures of the surface world. As they reach the bottom of the ramp they see their adversary, the Mind Flayer.

They reach a large round chamber with a high ceiling. The Mind Flayer floats 15 feet up in the air over a stone pool of green liquid. Behind the Mind Flayer is a black stone obelisk with glowing green sigils on its surface. The adventurers feel a sense of disquiet looking upon the obelisk.

Lakima shouts for his comrades to spread out just as the Mind Flayer hurls a small flaming bead at the floor. The bead strikes the floor and a fireball explodes amongst the heroes. Several of the heroes are badly burned or injured. Aashdoshan’s Ring of Fire resistance protects him from the worst of the flames. Aashdoshan casts dispel magic at the Mind Flayer and it falls with a splash into the pool of liquid. The Mind Flayer pulls itself unceremoniously from the pool while Lakima tries casting Confusion upon it without success. Eathwund hurls his Javelin of Lightning at the Mind Flayer and the Lightning bolt that is generated strikes it in the chest knocking it prone again. The Mind Flayer struggles to its feet and levitates up in the air again. Alonso hurls a spear at it but misses. Eathwund fires arrows at it and hits once. The Mind Flayer hurls another Fireball at the party and it explodes hurting everyone but Aashdoshan. Now Lakima casts Dispel Magic and the Mind Flayer falls ten feet and strikes the hard stone floor beside Lantosh. Getting to its feet the Mind Flayer’s tentacles wrap around Lantosh’s head and drag the struggling fighter to the Mind Flayers' mouth. Lantosh begins screaming as the creature bites into his skull. Before the Mind Flayer can remove Lantosh’s brains and consume them, Alonso, Eathwund, and Fenris all join the melee and the horrid creature is finally struck down. Lantosh is released from the tentacles with only a bloody and scarred head.

With the battle over, Lakima yells for the group to quickly search the body and the area. The Luminous bridge will only last for a short period of time. They spot small tadpole-like creatures in the pool of green liquid. When no one is watching Aashdoshan scoops a sample of the liquid and a creature into a jar. Eathwund searches the corpse and finds a magical rod, a magical necklace, and a simple, iron key. He tosses the key to Fenris. Fenris opens a wooden door into a small chamber. Inside they find a Ledger in an unknown language and an iron chest. The key fits the chest and inside Fenris finds bags of coins and gems. Lakima places the ledger into the Bag of Holding. Back in the main chamber, Lantosh dumps his last flask of oil in the pool. He sets the oil on fire and the entire pool is set alight with flames.

The heroes return to the museum and discover that the humans are now free from the domination of the Mind Flayer. They plead to be released from the grip of the zombies. Aashdoshan drops his control of the zombies and they collapse to the floor. The rescued humans plead to leave immediately but Lakima stops and begins looking into the chests. One of the humans warns that they were told by the Mind Flayer not to touch anything or they would die. The zombies moved all of the items that were being packed up. Lakima then promptly picks up a large book to examine it. As he does this Alonso’s sword, Nuldrang immediately shouts a warning in his mind, “Demon!”

The onyx stone statue of a demon animates into a demon that roars in anger and fixes its glare on Alonso. Lakima tries threatening it but it ignores him and moves to attack Alonso. The human prisoners flee from the chamber screaming. Alonso attacks the demon and it manages to bite him on the shoulder. Eathwund strikes the demon twice knocking it off of Alonso. Lakima and Aashdoshan both try casting controlling spells on the demon but they do not take effect. Luckily, Alonso and Eathwund are able to kill the fiend on their own.

Lakima begins picking up everything small in the room and dumping them into the Bag of Holding. While he empties the crates and display cases, Eathwund runs off to find the humans who fled, and Alonso removes the demon’s wings and stuffs them into the Bag of Holding. By the time Eathwund returns with two of the humans they are ready to leave the museum. As they pass out of the Mind Flayer lair, they find a third captive, and this one they realize is actually an elven woman. They all reach the luminous bridge over the green slime pit before the bridge enchantment ends. They then travel out of the caves without further problems. The two humans, who introduce themselves as local merchants, and the elf are sent on their way to friends or family in the town. The adventurers return to the Manor House.

In the next few days, Lakima and Aashdoshan examine the artifacts taken from the museum. Lakima casts Comprehend Languages and reads through the Ledger they found. It details the transactions in magical devices that the Mind Flayer has been conducting. They note that someone named Loris Raknian had made some recent purchases. Loris Raknian also requested the Cudgel of St. Cuthbert should be “procured” six months ago. He also finds a letter from Loris requesting the capture alive of the necromancer known as Aashdoshan.

Retreat

I never really had a group of players who were willing to retreat or regroup from a Dungeon. When they do this it requires some work for the DM. On the one hand, the dungeon maps and notes are already prepared but now you need to think about how the inhabitants of the dungeon will react with time to recover from the hero's first foray.

Session 69: Chambers of the Mind Flayer

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alonso (human fighter), Aashdoshan (human necromancer), Domago (human cleric NPC), Lantosh (human fighter NPC), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC), Vervork (human fighter NPC).

In the previous session, the players had finally located the Lair of the Mind Flayer who has been pulling the strings behind a number of attacks on their characters.

Fenris continues to lead the adventurers through the unused sewer tunnel until they come to a point where there is an intersection. Lakima tells his mimic to form a bridge across the open water. They cross over using the mimic as a bridge. Soon after they come to what looks like a natural cave opening in the side of the brick wall of the sewer. Fenris peaks into the cave but it is dark. Lakima lights the entrance with his staff and they see a patch of giant mushrooms and yellow fungus and mold. The light triggers several shriekers to let out painful, piercing wails. Lakima decides to fireball the cave destroying all of the fungal life. Once the fires have burnt down, the adventurers proceed into the cave and find a natural tunnel.

While moving carefully along the tunnel, a glass bottle drops from above shattering at Lakima’s feet. Oil that they now see on the floor of the tunnel explodes into flames. Lakima drinks a potion of Fire Resistance, while Aashdoshan’s Ring of Fire resistance prevents him from harm, but Fenris and Eathwund are burned. A wall of flames rises in the tunnel cutting off Fenris, Lakima, Aashdoshan (and his skeleton minion), Eathwund, and Domago from the rest of the party. Fenris points up at a ledge where they spot three drow warriors. The drow fire crossbow bolts at the adventurers from above. Eathwund uses his Magical armor to step into the ethereal plane and drift up behind the drow. He manifests and attacks them with surprise on his side from behind. Fenris climbs up the tunnel wall and joins the fight.

One of the drow is killed by Eathwund. One drow casts faerie fire on Eathwund and the other drow casts a globe of darkness over the area. However, Lakima summons a Glow Minion and it dispels the darkness. They catch the remaining pair of drow as they are trying to run for it. Eathwund kills one and pushes it off the ledge. It lands with a thump at Aashdoshan’s feet. The necromancer immediately raises it as a zombie. The last Drow is killed before it can get away. Lantosh uses water from his waterskin to put out the worst of the fires. The party is able to regroup together.

Fenris leads the heroes deeper into the caves. Aashdoshan raises another drow as a zombie. As they enter a large cavern with a stream and pool of water crossing it, they see an enormous snake uncoil from around a stone pillar. As the snake rears up they see that it has the head of a human female. Aashdoshan yells, “a naga!”

The Naga demands to know who has disturbed it, and Lakima proudly answers. The naga asks for proper deference and tribute or it will kill the adventurers. Lakima suggests the same if the naga does not want to die. The naga begins to cast a spell while at the same time but a little quicker Lakima casts Charm Monster but it fails. The naga finishes her spell and an area of silence settles over Lakima and Aashdoshan.

Spurred into action, Alonso and Eathwund attack the Naga with their swords and are joined by Lantosh and Vervork. The 30-foot long naga is stabbed and slashed repeatedly until a dagger thrown by Aashdoshan catches it in the head and it collapses in a heap. Aashdoshan busies himself inspecting the corpse. Lakima uses his Wand of Metal Detection and discovers there are several metal objects at the bottom of the large pool. Aashdoshan sends his skeleton minion into the pool to retrieve whatever it can find. While Lakima sends the glow minion. The skeleton returns with a femur bone while the glow minion returns with a few gold coins, a stoppered crystal jug, and a large emerald.

Waiting for the party at the tunnel exit from the cavern are a number of Drow warriors and several giant poisonous snakes. Lakima yells for the fighters in the party to move to the front. Eathwund, Alonso, Vervork, and Lantosh push to the front and into the tunnel. The tunnel widens into another cavern. A confused melee results with the Drow and the snakes, and more Drow including a priestess attack from a ledge overlooking the melee. At the height of the battle, the Drow priestess leaps down from the ledge to attack Aashdoshan. But Domago is nearby and intercedes. Domago is badly injured in the fight. The Drow manage to kill all of Aashdoshan’s undead minions but first, their snakes are killed and then the warriors fall. The Drow fight silently with single-minded attacks but soon only the priestess remains. She refuses to surrender and dies fighting.

The adventurers take stock after the tense battle. Domago casts healing on Lantosh. They find an iron gate leaving the cavern into a dark cave. Aashdoshan senses undead on the other side so they decide not to open it. On a nearby ledge, Fenris finds a shrine to a spider god. He pockets the crystal idol of a spider. At the back of the cave, they find another tunnel. Fenris takes the lead again.

Fenris comes back to report a trap ahead. Lakima tells him to disarm it but Fenris tells him that it is a magical trap. Aashdoshan and Lakima follow Fenris until they are within 15 feet of a purple, glowing glyph set into the floor. Aashdoshan casts dispel magic at the glyph and it vanishes. Fenris cautiously leads the way down the tunnel followed by the rest of the party. As Domago passes the spot where the glyph was set into the floor there is an explosion of flame without warning. Only Domago is caught in the fire trap. The fires burn briefly and then dissipate. But when the fire dies away, the party sees their companion Domago lying dead on the floor of the cave. His flesh, blackened and peeling revealing protruding bones. With no healing for this kind of damage, the group decides to stuff Domago’s corpse into the Bag of Holding.

They proceed with more caution and arrive in another cave. On one wall of the cave, they find two large, marble doors. The symbol of the mind flayer inscribed into the doorposts. Fenris checks the doors and reports that it is blocked by a bar on the other side. As they discuss the dilemma, three hideous, eight-tentacled creatures slide down stone pillars from the ceiling and start to move towards them. Lakima instantly casts Wall of Iron. A thick iron wall appears dividing the chamber and blocking the creatures in the other half.

Safe from the creatures, Vervork, Eathwund, and Alonso take turns putting their shoulders against the stone doors. Finally, they hear a crack when Alonso strikes the doors. The doors swing inward revealing a strange circular chamber. In the center of the chamber rests an enormous 15 foot in diameter, a 12-foot-tall stone carving of a human brain. The stone is slick and green with darker green veins shutting through it. The veins pulsate and glow with green light like they are alive filling the chamber with a green glow. Fenris and Alonso cautiously advance toward it – Alonso hears a strange voice in his head and feels intense pain before he fights it off. He warns the others.

“Smash it, Alonso!” Lakima yells.

Alonso strikes the glowing stone brain causing cracks to appear. Eathwund moves up to join him. Alonso again feels the strange presence in his mind, but this time he listens to it. He must protect the brain and kill the intruders! Alonso turns and swings his sword at a surprised Eathwund. Eathwund falls back from the onslaught trying to protect himself. Lakima casts Confusion on Alonso but it fails. Eathwund continues to stay on the defensive as Alonso continues to attack. Lakima now casts Mikda-Err’s Practical Tilt and Alonso stumbles and falls to the floor.

“Quickly, smash it!” Lakima yells.

Eathwund, Lantosh, and Vervork all smash away at the brain opening cracks in the surface. Finally, the brain grows dim. Alonso gets to his feet and shakes his head. Back in control of his actions, Alonso apologizes to Eathwund. Eathwund just pats Alonso on the shoulder.

Fenris continues to lead up a ramp leading from the chamber of the brain. The ramp leads to what is clearly a laboratory. The chamber is dominated by a 10 foot in diameter iron tank filled with bubbling green liquid. Strange metal boxes and pipes are attached to the tank’s sides. Against the wall are a number of enormous glass jugs filled with green liquid.  Against another wall are two large bookshelves filled with books. Before the bookshelves is a small table and chair. The table is covered in books, parchments, and writing implements. A stone door leads from the chamber and a large passageway that heads out and up.

Aashdoshan and Lakima are immediately drawn to the bookshelves and desk. Aashdoshan notes that the book spines that have titles are all written in infernal and all have to do with the subjects of anatomy and magical fusion of species. The desk is covered in notes in an unknown language. Lakima tells Alonso to smash the glass jars. Alonso walks toward them, sword in hand but Lantosh cautions him that they might explode if damaged. Lakima then casts Aztazibar’s Acrid Finger and burns a hole in the side of the iron tank. Green liquid sprays out onto the floor. The rest of the party enter and begin to look around. Then they hear a splash from the tank and an enormous tentacled creature with a single eye rises up out of the bubbling liquid. The creature drags itself out of the liquid and slides to the floor, tentacles lashing out at Aashdoshan and Vervork. One tentacle that ends in pincer-like claw clamps over Aashdoshan and nearly cuts him in half. When he is released Aashdoshan slides to the floor. Lakima yells for everyone to get out of the way and then casts Lightning bolt at the creature – but it seems to revel in the electricity and actually grow in size.

Eathwund, Alonso, and Vervork lead the attack against the creature. It strikes Eathwund and clamps down on an arm. It hits Alonso twice with clawed tentacles. Meanwhile, the attacks from the fighters hit the creature but its tough, leathery hide seems to deflect much of the blow. A pincer grabs Vervork and crushes his chest. Vervork falls to the floor dead. Lakima casts slow on the creature and that does affect it. But it still fighting on – only more slowly. With the creature slowed, Lakima yells that it is time to run. Most of the heroes run up the ramp which they find leads to a closed door. Eathwund stays to take two more desperate swings at the creature with his sword. The attacks strike home and the creature finally stops moving.

The party comes back to the laboratory to regroup. Rune Frost and Glason arrive – they had hidden for the entire battle in the room with the stone brain. Lakima feels they are close to the final lair of the Mind Flayer, but everyone decides the smart thing to do is to retreat. Vervork and Domago and dead and Aashdoshan is barely alive. Even Alonso and Eathwund are laboring. The heroes move back through the caves without incident and exit into the cellar of the blacksmith’s shop.

As they leave the smithy, they see that the sun is just rising. They make their way across town attracting a lot of attention as they drag Vervork’s body. They head directly to the Church of St. Cuthbert. Brother Wakefield greets them and immediately calls for Abbot Marta once he sees the state of the party. The bodies of Domago and Vervork are laid out on the floor. Abbot Marta tells them he can save the two men - but the cost will be great (and not in gold). Lakima tells him to save their companions and that they will pay the cost.

Several priests arrive with a stretcher and carry Domago and Vervork back into the private rooms of the Church.