Mystery Adventure

Last week the players decided to take on a mystery style adventure that had been lurking in the background. I did not push the adventure at them. But a series of murders in the fantasy town they call home was being wildly reported by town criers and contacts in the poorer part of town. I left it up to the players to decide if they wanted to get involved. There were no obvious rewards offered and their usual contact at the Town Watch did not see the need to involve them or offer a reward.

I used "Legend of the Ripper" written by Andrew Hind for Dungeon Crawl Classics. As written the adventure places the players immediately in the area where the dungeon portion of the adventure starts. It does suggest the GM can add a search for clues to get the players started. I decided to do this, I also drew my own maps and rewrote a fair amount. Since the adventure is to take place in the slums of a large town and below the streets I took advantage of some old dungeons the players had already explored in this part of town months earlier. As it was the players immediately thought to investigate one of the old dungeons without any prompting.

In the session, the players uncovered about half of the plot but they still have a lot of detective work to do to figure out the true culprit.

Session 38: Legend of the Ripper

Players: Lakima (Human Magic-user), Eathwund (Human Fighter), Moonshadow (Elven Thief), Domago (Human cleric NPC), Lantosh (Human Fighter NPC).

Having recovered a suitable stand-in for the Tome of Artifice the heroes still have two days to wait before the blue dragon Synastarax is scheduled to show up. The Town Watch are making preparations. With nothing better to do, Lakima suggests checking into the horrible killings that are happening in Mirdton, the poor side of town. Lakima, Eathwund, Moonshadow, and Lantosh set out for the Bronze Key tavern in the shadow of the Emerald Moon Cheese company. They had previously cased these locations for an earlier adventure.

The Bronze Key tavern is the cheapest of dives and the group grimaces through a round of really poor ale. They suspect the barkeep might have deliberately given them the worst ale in the tavern. At first, their appearance in the tavern quiets the room, but once they settle in the conversation starts back up. The killings by the Ripper dominate the local conversation. The brutality displayed in the killings and the similarity to killings that happened 30 years ago in Milner’s Court is the main topics.

Moonshadow approaches a table with four particularly tough-looking men and manages to get a few more details. The name of the man who was killed and the fact that a member of the watch has gone missing. She returns to the table where her companions wait after paying the men a gold coin for the information. One of the men gets up and approaches their table offering to sell them more information for 30 gold. Lakima tries to negotiate the man down but he sticks to his demand. Lakima casts Charm person on the man but it fails. The man angrily accuses Lakima of using magic and the barkeep tells them to get out and don’t come back. They leave and they notice that the tavern is emptying of other patrons as well. Not many of the locals want to be caught on the street after dark in Mirdton.

The group decided to go to the Frozen Crow Tavern that is near the East Gate. As they leave the Bronze Key they notice how few people are on the street in this neighborhood. Once they get near the East Gate the traffic picks back up to normal. Inside the Crow they enjoy a round of much better ale to wash the bitter taste away of the previous ales. They note that most of the patrons are merchants who have recently come to the Town. The conversation is not about the killings. All of the talks concern the Blue Dragon who terrorized the town a few weeks ago and rumors that the dragon might return. Some merchants recognize the heroes as members of the Company of the Black Dragon and they come over to talk. They ask for news about the dragon. When Lakima confirms that the dragon will be returning any day it starts a hasty exodus of merchants from the tavern, eager to get out of town.

Over drinks, the group discusses what to do next. Lakima suggests that the Ripper might be an undead creature and he knows of an area nearby where they battled undead three months earlier. Only Eathwund and Lakima were part of the group when they entered the crypt below the abandoned Church of St. Bethesda. They return to the Chapter House looking to gather more of the members. Carric is nowhere to be found and Alonso out working with the Watch but they do pick up the cleric Domago. Lakima tells Domago that they may need him to deal with undead creatures.

The group head over to Mirdton and circle the boarded up Church of St. Bethesda. Darkness has not yet fallen but most people have already left the streets. In Milner’s square, they stop to talk to some members of the Town Watch then they enter the still abandoned cottage they used when they exited the crypt months ago. They immediately see signs that someone is using this entrance. Once they drop down through the trap door they approach a door and Moonshadow tells them that she can hear voices on the other side. It sounds like several men arguing over the deal of some cards. Lakima points to Lantosh and Eathwund. Without a word, Eathwund kicks open the door and then rushes into the room followed by Lantosh. Inside they surprise three thieves sitting around a table playing cards, a lantern lighting the room. The room is packed with all manner of crates and goods. The leader of the three men, Thurlo demands to know if they work for a rival gang. When the thieves are told that they are looking for clues to lead them to the Ripper - they laugh. They assure the heroes that there is no Ripper in their safehouse. The thieves appear to be cowed by the heroes' reputations and let them pass through the chamber further into the crypt. At the end of a long hall, they see a chamber with stone coffins. Moonshadow stops and Eathwund and Lantosh move up to take the lead, unfortunately, Eathwund does not see the canvas tarp on the floor covering a pit trap and he steps in it. Eathwund does manage to grab the edge of the pit and pull himself out. From the thieves back in the safehouse they hear laughter and Thurlo calls out, “Oh, sorry I forgot to mention the trap!”

Moonshadow throws her grappling hook with a rope attached into the room beyond and latches it securely on the edge of a stone coffin. Then she makes it across going hand-over-hand. Lakima follows with ease. Eathwund manages to slip but recovers. His mace falls from his belt into the 20-foot deep pit. Lantosh and Domago manage to make it across. Moonshadow climbs down into the pit and recovers Eathwunds mace. Before she can hand it over, Eathwund and Lantosh slide aside the lid of one of the stone coffins and are attacked by a skeleton. Four other stone coffins open and skeletons emerge from them as well. The adventurers make very quick work of the skeletons smashing them to pieces. An examination of the skeletons suggest they are not the original occupants of the coffins.

Once all of the skeletons are gone, Lantosh asks Lakima if they could have been the Ripper. Lakima is certain this is not the case. They continue on exploring several rooms that Eathwund and Lakima had explored months earlier when Daen, Raeish, and Marta were members of the group.Eventually, they come to the intersection of hallways where they see the familiar statue of St. Bethesda. To their right is the chamber where they battled the Wormwraith. Now they see a curtain has been hung up over the entrance to that chamber. Some flickering light comes from the chamber and they can hear the sound of moaning. Eathwund brushes past the curtain and they confront two of the thieves they encountered earlier. A third man lies on a bed in the corner with a bad wound in his stomach. The two thieves seem indifferent to their friend's condition. There is some back and forth conversation and then the heroes decide there is nothing here and they should leave. Domago checks the man who is moaning and gives his opinion that the man will die without healing. His wound is infected. He motions to Lantosh and the two help the man up and then carry him out of the room.

Lakima talks with Thurlo once they arrive back at the cellar beneath the cottage. Thurlo tells him that the remaining door from the room is a dead-end trapped corridor - nothing to see. Once he sees the obvious interest the heroes have in finding the Ripper he offers them some information at a price. Lakima threatens Thurlo with arrest by the watch and he agrees to show them something they will want to see - the latest victim of the Ripper.

The entire group follows Thurlo up to Milner’s Court. Lantosh and Domago head off with the wounded man Holgar for the nearby Church of St. Aleena. Lakima, Eathwund, and Moonshadow follow Thurlo to a dark alley leading to a small courtyard. Once they enter the courtyard they can smell death in the air and see a pool of blood dripping into a sewer grate. Thurlo immediately leaves his part of the bargain complete. Moonshadow examines the eviscerated corpse. She tells the others that this victim is a man. Apparently a member of the Town watch. He was cut up by someone using a large knife or a thin dagger. There are not many more clues. There is plenty of blood about the corpse but no tracks.

Moonshadow checks the nearby buildings and finds them all boarded up. She climbs up onto the roof of one building and scans the nearby rooftops. She comes to the conclusion that certainly it is possible to travel across the rooftops unnoticed from below. Several alleys over she spots an open trapdoor in the attic roof of a two-story building near Milner’s court. Moonshadow descends and tells the others what she has seen. The trio decides to head for the building with the open trapdoor. Once they cross a larger street, Moonshadow again climbs the side of a building and makes her way across rooftops. As Lakima and Eathwund approach the apparently abandoned building from street level, Moonshadow approaches the open trapdoor in the roof. Looking inside she spots a corpse lying on the floor of the attic. This body is of a woman and the attack looks a lot cruder than the previous one. The arm and head have been almost completely removed. Moonshadow descends into the attic and looks about. There are a few crates and boxes piled up in the chamber. Then she climbs back out of the attic to tell her companions what she has found. As she leaves the attic she hears a faint whimpering from inside the attic. She hurriedly heads back to the street level. Moonshadow tells Lakima and Eathwund of the corpse she found.

Rooftops

Since the Town Watch is standing a short distance away across the courtyard, Lakima waves to get their attention and then waves them over. Three members of the Town watch approach. Lakima tells them they have spotted a body in the abandoned building. The sergeant of the Watch present, Breve, tells them this is the old Ten Bells Tavern. It makes sense that the Ripper would leave a body here. The last victim of the Ripper 30 years ago was left here. A woman who worked at the Ten Bells. Moonshadow impatiently suggests the Town Watch get inside the abandoned building and investigate. The men of the watch pry boards off a door and then take turns slamming the door until the bars inside gives way. Inside they find themselves in a long-abandoned kitchen. The three guards and the three heroes quickly make their way through the tavern and upstairs. On the second floor, they spot a ladder to the attic. The watchmen go up and find the corpse. One member of the watch heads down to get more help. The other two examine the body while Eathwund, Lakima, and Moonshadow check the attic. They find what might have been a cache of stolen goods that have long since rotted. Moonshadow finds a man curled up in the shadows in the fetal position whimpering. She calls the Town Guard over. One of them exclaims that they have “caught the Ripper!” but Moonshadow and Lakima both tell them this is more likely a victim or witness. Breve notes that he recognizes the man as a local thief. But when they examine the whimpering man they see that his eyes are completely white. He is blind and that was not the case before. The man seems incapable of talking, Lakima tells them that he thinks the man is in shock.

With things under control, Lakima, Eathwund, and Moonshadow descend to the tavern’s second floor and check some of the guest rooms. They find a few empty rooms, a room with a bat nest, and what looks like the former owner's room. At the end of the hallway, Eathwund almost falls through the floor where it has rotted away. A shower of debris falls into the tavern below. Checking the last room they find it is set up like a creepy, forgotten bridal suite. Dried out roses in a vase, dust everywhere, and on the bed is a human-sized shape under the faded sheets. A skeletal arm and leg poking out from beneath the sheets. Moonshadow sneaks up and pulls the sheet back revealing the corpse of a woman in a wedding dress. Her hair and skin still stretched across her bones. Examining the corpse she decides it has been dead for 20-30 years and there is dirt on the dress suggesting the body was dug up. Moonshadow moves over to the table and picks up the ring and appraises it. It looks like a cheap silver wedding ring worth a few gold coins. But as she picks up the ring a ghost of a woman rises up from the bed and angrily yells at her, “Put that back! It does not belong to you!”

Moonshadow quickly tosses the ring back on the table. But the ghost has already moved to attack. It slashes at Eathwund twice with a ghostly dagger. Then throws the dagger at Lakima. The trio back out of the room and the door slams shut. They hear the ghost shouting, “Get Out, get out!!”. A member of the Town Watch stationed in the hallway rushes over and asks what happened. He is not happy when they tell him there is an angry ghost in the room.

Despite the ghost, the three decide to check one last room and they find nothing. They head back to the owner's room and search it more carefully but find nothing. As they exit, two Town guards come down from the attic carrying the man they found. The man mumbles something about his, “lovely bride..” The mumbling gets the attention of Lakima who stops the guards to question the man some more. The man manages to get across that he saw a man kidnap his wife from where she works. He followed but he was not in time and he found her corpse. While he stared at the corpse the ghost of a woman appeared and began weeping. This is all he can remember. Lakima questions him about the man’s appearance. The witness is confused mentioning he was dressed in black with a red cap. He was tall sometimes and short sometimes. He wore heavy, strange shoes. The man is then led away by the Town Guard.

While they are discussing the case in the hallway they hear the door to the wedding suite thumping. The ghost passes through the wall and attacks them again. Throwing her dagger at them repeatedly. Lakima tries spraying her with acid but it just passes through her. Moonshadow does manage to hit her with an arrow and she vanishes.

The Ghost

Lakima suggests they head down to the tavern level and look for a ledger to see who booked the bridal suite. They head down to the tavern level but cannot find anything behind the bar but dust. There are two doors in the tavern that they have not checked. Moonshadow opens one door and sees a dusty, cobweb-covered storeroom. The cobwebs actually look a little like spider webs so she quickly closes the door. In the next room, they find the office of the Tavern. A small bookcase holds a number of ledgers. The desk is just a table with a chair behind it. They take some of the ledgers from the bookcase and look them over. They do notice that the ledgers detail ten years after the last victim of the Ripper. Making them question how the body ended up upstairs in the bed. When they check through the ledger at the time when the Ripper killings were occurring they note that many people used the room. Including some women repeatedly with different gentlemen. Suggesting to them that the Tavern was used by prostitutes.

The heroes search through the ledger for almost half an hour before setting them aside. They discuss what they should do next.

Full Table

After just finishing a session (#36) with only two players at the online table this session saw a "full" table. Now with five players although one was still away this week and one player was mainly a spectator. For me, a group of five players is my maximum. Even in a face-to-face game, I prefer to max out at five but I can do more. For an online game with the current technology (Discord) I would recommend not going over five players. There is still the issue that not everyone can talk at once. With five players it is going to happen on occasion. I think with more people some players are not going to be heard. You want the players to be more than just dice rollers. During the combat portion of the session, I did find myself scrolling back up the chat a few times to catch up on a few attacks by players that I missed.

It was also nice to have more than one player in the group who was assertive. It led to more roleplaying. I actually found I had stretches of five minutes or more when I could settle quietly into the background while the players interacted. It greatly reduces the stress on the Gamemaster. This session was a fairly straight forward one with travel and a short troll encounter. It will be interesting to see how this works in future sessions. There is the possibility, depending on what the players decide to do, of the players heading into an investigative session. That could be interesting.

This session was one where the players did not burn through everything I had prepared. I find that I have more than enough written and set aside for the next session for once.

Session 37: New friends and Old Enemies

Players: Lakima (Human Magic-user), Eathwund (Human Fighter), Moonshadow (Elven Thief), Carric (Elven Thief NPC), Domago (Human cleric NPC), Lantosh (Human Fighter PC/NPC).

With the Tome of Artifice carefully stowed in a sack and packed away the adventuring party of the Black Dragon set out following the Crescent stream south. They have a four-day journey ahead of them to get to Edgerton. They need to reach Edgerton before the Blue Dragon Synastarax returns. The deadline is one week away.

On the first day, they pass the ford that leads to the village of Garanton. From here they see their tracks in the snow are covered over by wagon tracks. Carric examines the tracks and declares it is several wagons that are a half-day ahead of them. That night as they make camp Carric scans the river valley ahead but sees no sign of any campfires set by fellow travellers.

The next morning Lakima decides to tell the charmed ogre Otun to go back to the wild. Figuring they would have a problem travelling with an ogre once they left the wilderness. The adventurers set out again. Around noon Carric, in the lead, holds up his hand to halt. Ahead on the frozen river they see an empty wagon has fallen halfway through the ice. On the shore, there is a confusion of tracks. The tracks of at least two wagons head south. Another set of tracks created by a large creature dragging a large sack head east into the wilderness. Carric examines the tracks and suggests they were made by a troll who appears to have ambushed some merchants on the trail. Lakima agrees but says there is no need to investigate.

They continue south and after a short distance spot a thin figure approaching from the south. The adventurers fan out in case this is an enemy. As the figure approaches and tosses back her hood they see it is a pale-skinned elf. The elf introduces herself as Moonshadow. She was travelling with a merchant out of Garanton. The day before they were attacked by at least one troll in the early evening. One wagon got separated from the rest. Once the merchant leading the wagons realized that four travellers were missing he stopped. Moonshadow volunteered to go back and look for them. She found the wreck of the wagon and followed the tracks to a cave entrance. Wisely deciding she would not be able to fight a troll in its lair she proceeded back to the trail looking for help. Looking over the group with some suspicion she asks if they will help her find the missing merchants.

A new friend on the road

The members of the adventuring party confer. The blue dragon Synastarax’s deadline should be Dechem 27. It is only Dechem 21 or 22 by their reckoning. They should have a few days to spare to get back to Edgerton in time to meet the dragon’s deadline. Lakima tells Moonshadow they can spare a day to look for the missing men. Moonshadow corrects him - three men are missing and one Halfling.

Nash suggests he wait by the river with the horses once Moonshadow explains that the troll cave is only a few hours away. But Lakima tells Nash that this would leave him all alone with trolls wandering about. He quickly decides to come with them.  Moonshadow leads them through light snow to a large hill. On the side of the hill, a frozen stream emerges from a cave. She points at the cave indicating that it is the troll lair. Nash sets up a camp while the rest of the adventurer's don gear and ready their weapons. Outside the cave, Lakima suggests that the two elves enter first and scout ahead since they can see in the dark. Moonshadows gestures, “after you” to Carric and he enters first. Moving as quietly as they can, the two elves enter the cave and follow the frozen stream to a cave. A scattering of broken wood crates is piled on the cave floor. The stream continues into another cave where Carric spots a mound of fresh dirt with an entrance in the front. He hurries back to Moonshadow to confer. Then the two elves return to the exit and tell the humans what they have found.

The adventurers decide on a course of action. Carric and Moonshadow enter the caves first and take up positions covering the hole in the mound with their bows ready. Eathwund, Lakima, and Domago hold back with Lantosh in the back with his lantern. Nothing happens at first but as soon as the mound is illuminated by the light of the lantern carried by Lantosh, a giant lizard rushes out of the mound. It does not see Carric and Moonshadow and rushes right past them for Lantosh. Both elves take a pair of shots with their bows and miss. The 10-foot-long lizard clamps down on Lantosh’s thigh in its jaws. Eathwund comes to Lantosh’s aid, striking the giant lizard and it releases its grip. The rest of the adventurers fire missile weapons at it until it stops moving. Domago checks on Lantosh and casts a Healing prayer on the unfortunate man. Lantosh asks Moonshadow if this is a Troll cave or a Lizard cave?

While the adventurers discuss this, Carric and Moonshadow move further into the caves. Carric sees some large wooden cages with dark shapes inside. Then Moonshadow spots a troll moving about in another cave further up the stream. Moonshadow moves back to the other adventurers and warns them. The entire group moves forward into the cave with the two large cages. The humans are unable to spot the troll in the darkness but Moonshadow assures them that the troll is in the cave. Lakima tells Moonshadow to draw out the troll so she fires a pair of arrows at it and misses. The arrows hit the cave wall above the troll. The troll reacts and begins looking around turning its back to the group. Carric joins Moonshadow and they fire four more arrows. All of the arrows miss. The troll becomes aware of the attack as it picks up a broken arrow. It growls and moves in large, strides toward the heroes.  Once the troll enters the lantern light Lantosh and Eathwund move up to block its passage at a narrow point in the passage. Eathwund activates his Ring and his sword bursts into flame. As he strikes the troll it cries out and Eathwund sees that the wound is not healing. He strikes it again but then the flames go out. Forced to strike the troll now without flame Eathwund watches as the wounds on the troll begin to heal. A second troll appears in the passage and moves towards the group. Lantosh is bitten by the troll and staggers. He moves back and Lakima steps up and casts Atanazabar’s Acrid finger. A stream of acid hits the troll doing more damage. The troll decides to flee and it runs north down the tunnel splashing through the unfrozen portion of the stream. The adventurers let it go and concentrate on the other troll. They hit it repeatedly with their weapons and it is driven to the ground after Eathwund chops off one of its legs. The troll lies on the ground but as they watch its wounds begin to heal and the leg wriggles towards the body. Lakima moves his acid spray onto the troll and slowly dissolves it.

The Troll Cave - old enemies

Carric is sent to scout ahead in the direction the troll went. The rest of the heroes look about the cave. Two men are found alive in one of the cages. With some effort, working together the adventurers manage to tip the cage over and free the two men. Moonshadow recognizes the men she knows as Natty and Karker. Karker thanks them for the rescue. He tells them that another man was taken away and eaten several hours ago and the halfling was dragged away still alive a short time ago.

Carric returns and tells everyone the next cave is the last in the underground. The stream continues north in a narrow passage. He was not willing to follow the stream. He could hear the Troll moaning in the distance. Quietly he tells Lakima that he found some gold coins strewn about the cave and picked them up. Gold that likely belongs to the merchants. The entire party moves into the next cave. In the lantern light, they find a troll nest filled with debris, parts of humanoids and animals and bones. Moonshadow identifies the partially gnawed head of the halfling that went missing. Satisfied that they have rescued everyone still alive, the group leaves the caves and reunites with Nash. Domago chants another Cure prayer on Lantosh.

The party sets out again heading south with three extra party members. That night they set up camp and set a watch for more marauders. Moonshadow offers to take a shift on watch. The next day they arrive at Wayfarer’s End. The small hamlet consists of a trading post/inn and a few cottages. At the Inn Karker, Natty, and Moonshadow are reunited with Bregor who was leading their caravan. Bregor thanks the group and produces two bottles of wine to share so they do not have to drink the innkeeper's terrible home-made spirits. The merchants have taken all of the rooms so the adventurers sleep on the floor of the common room thankful to be inside and out of the cold. Carric and Moonshadow take a watch together and Moonshadow learns a little about Carric and his companions in the Company of the Black Dragon.

The next day Bregor learns the adventurers are headed for Edgerton and asks that they travel in company. Deciding strength in numbers is a good idea, the large party heads out together. Overnighting in the wilderness for one night before reaching The Goose Inn in Whetwhistle. Their business partner Whexley greets them and makes sure his friends get all of the private rooms. The merchants bed down in the tavern.

Just before noon on the next day, the entire caravan reaches the South Gate of Edgerton. The watch stationed at the gate greets them and ushering them past without inspection. The grateful merchants wave goodbye. Lakima invites Moonshadow over to the Chapter House of the Black Dragon. There she meets their staff and is shown around. Lakima also shows her the vault which she looks at with interest. Lakima explains that the building used to belong to a moneylender. She meets their newest member Alonso.

Once everything is settled Lakima, Eathwund, Lantosh, Alonso, and Moonshadow head over to the Watch Station and meet with Colten Brightmoor. They assure the worried Guard Captain that they have located the Tome of Artifice demanded by the blue dragon Synastarax. They will be present for the hand-over of the book or will make sure it is available to Brightmoor. Brightmoor tells them of the plans he has made for the defense of Edgerton. He also notes he is short of men in the evenings because of a number of killings that have occurred in the Mirdton district.

Upon hearing of some of the details of the killings, Lakima dismisses it as not being a job that would pay them. Colten Brightmoor does not ask for their help with it certain that the extra watch he has assigned to the district will put a stop to the killings.

Lakima checks in with his fiance Alayna and shows her the two potions he found in the Plundered Tomb. Alayna gets to work on identifying them. Later Lakima, Eathwund, and Moonshadow go to the Apothecary and speak with Malyn. Lakima angrily tells Malyn that the Dark Lady cultists are messing with the Well of Mana. Malyn implies that Lakima should have expected this as the cultists are tied to the god of chaos. There is an angry exchange and Lakima ends by telling Malyn that he will deal with any cultists at the Well.

There are a few days before the dragon’s deadline so everyone settles down to relax. Lakima invites Moonshadow to join the group and gives her a room at the Chapter House. Moonshadow does not commit to the group. She does spend some time exploring the town of Edgerton which is new to her. In the Low Market, she grabs a young urchin/sneak thief named Snipe and asks the boy about the local underworld. Snipe turns out to be one of Carric’s crew. But the young man seems eager to have another employer. Snipe fills Moonshadow in on more details about the killings of the two women both of whom were streetwalkers.

Back at the Chapter House, Moonshadows tells her new friends what she has learned. Lakima asks what is the pay for getting involved? With no good answer, Moonshadow drops the discussion. Lantosh privately tells Moonshadow that if she wants to investigate he will back her play.

The next morning they hear one of the town criers announcing another murder in Mirdton. The town crier calls it the work of the “Ripper” a killer of legend who killed five ladies of the night over fifty years ago and was never caught. The town crier also yells out that the latest victim is a man. Which would not be the usual pattern.

Lakima goes back to meet Malyn and offers the mage his notes on the Magic Jar spell he found in the Plundered Tomb in exchange for a scroll containing the Wall of Iron spell. Malyn agrees to a deal that includes the added price of 900 gold. Malyn says he will have the scroll ready in two days.

It is Dechem 25, the annual date of the Winter Solstice and Yule festivals but no one in Edgerton is celebrating. The dragon is set to return in two days and preparations need to be made.

 

Legacy of Madness

After the previous session when the party wandered off and avoided all of the encounters I planned this week, they stuck to the adventure. The adventure was based on the AEG D20 adventure Legacy of Magic and I had a time element included that heightened the tension. My players can be pretty mercenary at times but getting them to save their town did not take any effort. We were down to just 2 players for this session because other players had work to go to but it still worked.

Session 36: Legacy of Madness

Players: Lakima (Magic-user), Eathwund (Fighter), Carric (Elven Thief NPC), Domago (Human cleric NPC), Lantosh (Human Fighter NPC).

The Blue Dragon Synastarax has delivered an ultimatum to the Town of Edgerton and the Order of the Black Dragon has stepped up to save the town.

The company makes immediate plans to locate the Tome of Artifice demanded by Synastarax. They set out with a large caravan, all five members who are going are on horseback and they bring a team of mules led by their ostler Nash. By early evening they arrive in the small village of Whetwhistle. The Innkeeper (and business partner) Wexley Windham bring the group up to date on what has been happening in the development of the nearby Copper Mine they co-own.

They stay for the night at the Goose Inn and Lakima has a dream in which the blue mana flame at the Mana Well turns into a gout of red chaos flame. He hears the goddess expressing disappointment in him. That morning Lakima pens a letter to the wizard Malyn in Edgerton asking him to go to the Well and protect it. Wexley gets a neighbour's son to take it into Edgerton for a small fee. The adventurers get back on their horses and set out northwest along the Crescent River. There is light snow on the ground and the river is frozen over in places. It takes two uneventful days to get to the hamlet of Wayfarer’s End. The hamlet is no more than a trading post/inn and a few hunting cottages. The innkeeper, Marsden gives them some insight into the trail ahead. Telling them how to get to the Shroudlands. He also warns them that Trolls have been spotted along the trail. He tells them of the ruins of a village in the Shroudlands where a hermit has taken up residence.

It is another two days to get to the Shroudlands. On the first night, they got the feeling they are being watched, and Carric slips away from the campfire looking to spot the watchers. He does not find anything. But the next morning they find troll footprints in the snow near the campsite. They set out again and are attacked by a pair of trolls as dusk is falling. Lakima hits one troll with a Lightning bolt almost killing it. Eathwund stabs it with his sword enchanted to flame and the troll falls. The other troll fights with Lantosh and Domago while Carric and Nash lead the horses and mules to the riverbank. The troll that was seemingly dead begins to heal and get back up so Eathwund stabs it through the heart with his flaming sword and the troll stops moving. The other troll is kept at bay by Lakima using Atanazabir’s Acrid Finger. The troll is unable to regenerate the acid damage. Eventually, the second troll is driven off. Lakima takes the time to dissolve the first troll's remains with acid. Pushing on they make it to Northrun by evening.

Northrun is a collection of chimneys and stone foundations poking out of the snow. The ruins appear to have succumbed to nature and not any unnatural calamity. There is one intact, albeit shabby cabin. The adventurers hail the cabin but get no answer. After knocking on the door for a while the hermit of the cabin answers telling them to go away. Eventually, they convince the old man to open the door a crack. He tells them there are no dragons in the area and no old lairs. When they point out the clearly visible cave in a cliff a quarter of a mile away he tells them it is an ogre cave. The hermit slams his door shut and tells them to leave.

The heroes camp out in the lee of the cabin that evening. Nothing is seen from the cottage except a trail of smoke from the chimney and a single loud thump during the evening. The next day they walk for a few hours to get to the cliff face. Up the side of the cliff leading to a large cave entrance, they can see a ledge. Nash sets up a camp at the base of the cliff caring for the horses and everyone else climbs the ledge to the large cave entrance. Carric is sent in first. After a few minutes, he returns and tells them he spotted a pair of ogres sleeping in a side cave. The main cave continues deeper into the mountain past a wall of stalagmites.

Carric leads the way and the rest of the adventurers follow as quietly as they can. Lakima directs Carric across the 15 foot wide mouth of the cave leading to where he saw the trolls. Carric comes back and tells everyone he can now see four ogres. Two on either side of a pool of murky water in a cave. Lakima directs Carric to sneak forward so he can get behind the ogres when they draw them out. Then Lakima casts a Lightning bolt hitting two of the sleeping ogres. One of them alerted at the last moment dives to one side and survives the lightning blast. The other is killed. The remaining two ogres in the cave pick up clubs and move toward Eathwund, Lantosh, Domago, and Lakima, affording Carric the opportunity to sneak forward. Lakima casts Charm on one ogre and it succeeds. Meanwhile, Eathwund and Lantost are pummeling the other ogre.

Carric steps almost directly into the ogre that survived the lightning blast. Before he can draw his sword, a sling stone hurled by Domago strikes the ogre in the forehead killing it. The charmed ogre manages to convince the other remaining ogre to stop fighting and the battle ends. Lakima tries speaking to the charmed ogre but finds he cannot understand it. Luckily, Lantosh speaks orcish and the ogre is able to understand this language. They learn its name is Otun and it is the leader of this small gang. Searching through the bones and debris in the lair Carric finds a few gems of worth and a number of nearly worthless ones. They take the valuable gems only.

Stepping deeper into the cave the adventurers see a line of natural looking but unnaturally placed stalagmites that form a rough wall. Suspended on rusty chains looped over the stones are skulls. Most appear to be human but some are larger than human and one is that of a dragon. At the edge of the stalagmites, they see the frozen corpse of an ogre. Otun relays through Lantosh that this is Gizor. Otun sent Gizor and another ogre named Irek to check the back of the cave but they did not return and he saw Gizor killed by a blast of frost. Carric checks the area carefully but is unable to find any traps. Eventually, Carric dodges past the stalagmites. As he makes it to the other side he is hit with a blast of frost and injured. The adventurers check for a trigger again but still cannot find anything. Eventually, they give up and all of them run through the frost trap, even Otun (the other surviving ogre retreats to ogre cave). The second last to go is Lantosh and he stumbles and falls and is frozen solid by the trap. Lakima drags the unlucky adventurer out of the cloud of frost. Domago checks over Lantosh but shakes his head. He cannot hear a heartbeat.

The Frost Trap

Looking around the adventurers see another wall of stalagmites blocking the entrance to a cave leading west. But in this area, they see white stone flagstones laid over the cave floor. On the perimeter of the flagstones are four life-sized statues of wizards and sages on pedestals. The adventurers spend several minutes trying to figure out the meaning of the area and the statues without success. Pushing, pulling them, lifting flagstones, nothing works. Lakima casts Detect Magic and sees that one statue radiates strong magic. The statue depicts a sage with his arms outstretched, palms pointed upward. They try placing objects in the hands but nothing happens. Then Lakima directs Otun to pick up Lantosh’s body and rest it in the embrace of the statue. Nothing happens for a moment and then the statue begins to glow. As the glow fades they see Lantosh is breathing again. Injured but alive. Lantosh tells them that he felt an intense cold when the trap was triggered and then nothing.

With the group at full strength again (plus 1 ogre) they examine the next obstacle. In the cave beyond the next barrier of stalagmites they see the corpse of an ogre lying face up on the cave floor. Its body is riddled with puncture wounds. Overhead they see the ceiling is covered with short metal spikes. As Lakima draws near he sees an area of magic outlined on the floor of the cave. His detect magic spell is still working. Around the edges of the magically glowing area, he can just make out a narrow path. Lakima carefully steps around the magical area and marks the path with chalk. The rest of the adventurers follow. Another more sparse wall of stalagmites stands before them. On the other side, they can see a cave extending a short distance. On the far wall of the cave is a set of steps leading up to a passageway. This passage and the steps are lined with stone blocks on the floor, walls, and ceiling. Lakima can see the glow of another magical trap on the rough floor of the cave. He leads everyone around the trap and into the passage.

The passage travels a short distance and then enters a large stone-walled chamber. Pillars hold up the ceiling (though one has fallen). Before them is the awesome sight of the lair of an ancient dragon. Mounds of gold and silver coins are scattered on the floor. Resting on the bed of silver and gold are the bones of a large dragon 25 feet in length. The adventurers approach cautiously with Carric in the lead. As Carric nears the dragon bones a cold breeze enters the chamber and the ghost of a dragon rises up out of the bones. The apparition forms and looks gravely down at them. In common the dragon says, “What news of the world do you bring me?”

Lakima steps forward to speak with the dragon and immediately opens by telling it of the threat to Edgerton and the demands of the dragon Synastarax. The ghostly dragon tells them he has never heard of Edgerton and he is sorry for the town’s misfortune. But the dragon tells them that when he tried to create the Tome of Artifice he failed. He created a Tome of Logic which slowly stole his wisdom and drove him insane. He only regained his sanity after death which came at the jaws of his son Lethnearinos. He does suggest a possible solution. In the chamber beyond lies a false tome created by Lethnearinos using his notes. A fake tome of Artifice. He is willing to part with it. This book contains his notes from a hundred years before he attempted to create the Tome of Artifice. At best it should take Synastarax 100 years to get to the point where he can create anything dangerous. But he warns them not to continue into the next chamber where the Tome of Logic rests protected by a Bronze Dragon guardian. The adventurers agree to the bargain and proceed via a secret door already located by Carric. In the chamber, they find an impressive book on a stone lectern that is radiating magic. The book has no title on its cover or spine but when Lakima opens it he sees the title, “Tome of Artifice”. He flips through it briefly and is impressed by hundreds of pages of notes on the construction of artifacts.

The dragon again asks Lakima to tell him of news from the outer world. He has lain here for hundreds of years without visitors. Lakima sits down and spends a half-hour conversing with the ghost of the silver dragon. He learns that its true name is Yahfyonaron. When they prepare to leave Carric asks how they will get past the frost trap again without dying. The ghost shows them the lever to turn off the traps but it needs to be reset after they leave to protect the Tome of Logic from being discovered. Carric suggests using Uton to reset the trap but Lakima does not want to sacrifice the ogre. As they prepare to leave the ghost asks that they deliver a message of forgiveness to his offspring Lethnearinos. Lakima realizes who Lethnearinos is and he says he has a solution to resetting the trap.

The adventurers and Uton leave and make their way to Nash’s camp. The young man shouts and runs to hide when he spots the ogre who is with them but they manage to convince him it is okay. They return to the ruins of Northrun. Lakima heads up to the cabin and calls out to the hermit. The hermit is surprised they have returned and tells them they are fools they do not know what danger they have unleashed. Then he polymorphs into the silver dragon Lethnearinos. Lakima tells the dragon that it is only the fake book they are carrying. He asks Lethnearinos to reset the traps in the dragon lair. Lethnearinos reveals that he set some of the traps and agrees. Lakima also tells him about the message from Yahfyonaron. Lethnearinos is surprised and tells him he is in his debt. Lakima immediately asks for a favor. He tells the dragon of the Well of Mana (which Lethnearinos seems to know nothing about) and asks him to protect it. Lethnearinos agrees on the condition that first, he must hear that the blue dragon Synastrax has left the area with the fake Tome of Artifice.

With the agreement struck, the adventurers set out again following the Crescent stream south.

I think we will just skip that

During last week's session of my Swords & Wizardry campaign, I had three short adventures written and waiting for the players. They were just coming out of a multiple session large dungeon and I felt they would likely appreciate being able to pick something short to do. They proceeded to skip 2 of the 3 I had written and I ended up scrambling a little to make up something on the fly. Luckily I had some ideas floating around in my head for the next adventure so I did not have to completely ad-lib.

I also took the opportunity to give the players some downtime. They are in the 4-7 level range now and have enough gold that they can afford to take their time picking up their next job. So I gave them several weeks in their home town to do research and buy equipment.

Session 35: Hill Giants & Dragons

Players: Lakima (Magic-user), Eathwund (Fighter), Alonso (Fighter), Carric (Elven Thief NPC), Domago (Human cleric NPC), Lantosh (Human Fighter NPC).

Upon leaving the Plundered Tomb just in time to avoid it collapsing, the heroes set out for Caster’s Ford through the snowy Valley of Heroes.

The sun has barely reached its peak as the heroes leave the tomb so they decide to get started immediately. Everyone is loaded down with a large sack of loot and this slows their progress as they march toward Caster's Ford. As the sun begins to set it starts to snow lightly. Up ahead around a bend in the stream they spot a campfire. Lakima asks Carric to scout ahead. The elf goes forward and comes back a few minutes later. He reports a fire surrounded by four statues (3 humans and one wolf). The adventurers decide to approach the statues carefully. The campfire is in a small hollow and they fan out around it. Footprints in the recently fallen snow show one set of tracks heading south into a dark forest and many tracks heading back and forth across a ford in the stream. A pair of the tracks seem to be laden down with something heavy. They note that the statues depict a mage, cleric, and fighter with expressions of fear or surprise. Assuming there must be a medusa or cockatrice nearby, the heroes decide to leave quickly and push on for a few more hours before camping.

Thus avoiding a pair of encounters I had set up. One encounter with the bandits they chased from the Plundered Tomb and one encounter with a Medusa in a series of caves. I figured they would do one or the other but they skipped both using logic. They were weighed down with a lot of loot.

They stop a few hours later and camp for the night in the cold. A campfire is built and they take turns on watch. Other than spotting a few curious animals everything is quiet through the night. They set out again the next day. At about midday, they pass the track that leads to the Well of Woe. Lakima suggests coming back to the well another time. Right now they are heavily laden with loot and need to make haste for the nearby town. That same loot slows their progress through the snow so that they decide to camp another night outdoors only 4-5 hours walk from Caster’s Ford.

Avoiding the second prepared adventure. Lakima had been talking about recharging his staff and wand at the Well of Woe they found back in session 30. I had a new group occupying the Mana Well temple. They might come back to this one some day.

After an uneventful night, they set out again, cold and a little hungry. Just before noon, they spot the road that leads into the town. But to their surprise, several merchant carts are stopped on the road, and merchants, guards, and common folk are standing around talking. Eathwund and Lakima approach a nearby caravan guard. The man tells them that three giants are laying siege to the town. They are set up on a nearby hill that allows them to hurl boulders at the town walls and onto the road into town. Several wagons had to be abandoned outside the town and one merchant was killed. When Lakima asks what the town guards are doing about it, the man tells them that a sortie of town guards left the town a few hours ago, headed up the hill, and then came running down in fright a short time later.

Lakima confers with the rest of the adventurers and they decide that it will be up to them to deal with the giants. Lakima lets the merchants know that they will be taking care of the problem. He manages to convince them to let the group have the cart of the dead merchant. One of the merchant guards asks to join them. He tells them his name is Alonso. The adventurers welcome him figuring the more the better.

Unable to avoid my third short adventure as the way into the Town is blocked by the giants. They could have headed south or run to the town but they would have come under attack. This also allowed me to introduce a new player character named Alonso to the group.

The Hill Giants are situated on a hill with a gentle slope facing the town and a steep cliff 40 feet high on the other side. Trees cover the back of the hill. The giants have set up giant wooden caltrops to deter horses from approaching on the gentle slope. Lakima and Carric look over the situation and decide they will climb up and hope to surprise the giants from behind. Carric manages to climb up the cliff face with ease and he lets down a rope to the others. He also makes several hand gestures that no one is able to decipher. The rest of the hero's climb up one at a time. Pausing only when a giant comes toward them and stops before a small tent that barely reaches his waist. The giant converses with someone in the tent and then moves back to the front to hurl more boulders at the town.

Lakima tells Carric to check the tent. Meanwhile, Lakima, Eathwund, and Alonso circle to the right through the trees while Domago and Lantosh circle to the left. Carric sneaks up to the tent and cuts a small slit in the back with his dagger. He peers inside and signals a single finger. Lakima waves him inside the tent. Carric slices an opening in the back of the tent and slips inside. Meanwhile, everyone else runs forward hoping to catch the giants by surprise. Lakima breaks the silence by yelling at Eathwund to get down as he casts Lightning Bolt. The Lightning bolt lances across the hillside striking all three of the giants. The giants roar in pain and are knocked down. They struggle to their feet, their skin blackened and cracked open from the assault.

Domago and Lantosh surround a single giant, the runt of the trio, and start to attack. Alonso runs up to the middle giant and Eathwund goes after the giant nearest him and Lakima. The giant fighting Alonso breaks away and staggers to the tent tearing it open yelling something they do not understand. Inside they now see Carric struggling with a human cleric wearing dark robes and holding a staff. The cleric breaks free from Carric and chants a loud prayer freezing Carric with Hold Person. He then tosses something from a leather bag, raises his arm, and shouts. The heroes see sixteen skeletons erupt from beneath the nearby snow. Domago attempts to turn the skeletons and half of them run away.

Carric was a PC until the last session. I usually like to retire player characters rather than retain them as NPCs. But there was no logical place to do it. Carric will slowly work his way off screen.

The battles continue, Alonso tracking down the Hill giant that got away from him. Three skeletons advance on Lakima and strike him twice with their rusty swords. Lakima yells at Eathwund for help just as Eathwund kills the giant he is facing. Lakima casts shield and that protects him from the skeletons long enough for help to arrive. Alonso kills the second giant a short time later. Further down the hill Lantosh and Domago are struggling with a giant and four skeletons. The cleric takes advantage of the confusion to run away to the north. Eathwund turns about and runs over to help Lakima, dispatching 4 skeletons on the way. Alonso runs over to help Domago who is laboring after being hit several times. As Eathwund arrives on the scene they all manage to kill the last hill giant and destroy the remaining skeletons. Carric eventually becomes free of the curse and runs off after the cleric who cursed him.

The Hill giants are checked for loot. They are found to have nothing of any worth except a short sword that appeared to be a pocket knife for the largest giant. In the ruins of the tent, Alonso finds a pack left behind. Inside are some gold and silver coins and three valuable gems. Lantosh points out the find to Lakima but the mage tells Alonso to keep it. His reward for helping them. The heroes are joined by Alonso and they head into town using the abandoned cart to drag their loot from previous adventures. Lakima starts up a conversation with Alonso and invites the fighter to join the Company of the Black Dragon. Alonso agrees to join for now. As they approach the docks near the central square they see that the ship that brought them to Caster’s Ford has left - the agreed date it was to leave passed a few days earlier. Lakima checks with a boat that is currently unloading cargo and finds that they are heading back to Edgerton. Once a fee is agreed upon the captain of the boat tells them they leave in an hour. The adventurers take the remaining time to exchange the platinum into gems and Alonso checks out a nearby armory but decides to wait until they get to Edgerton to buy new gear.

Exchanging gold to gems is always a little tricky in an OSR game where gold rewards are common and plentiful. I had the locals take a sizeable cut to allow the players to exchange their gold and platinum. I award experience on what is recovered - not on what is spent.

The boat ride to Edgerton takes almost 2 days and is uneventful. The adventurers take the time to get acquainted with Alonso. Once in Edgerton they immediately head for the Chapter House. Nothing has changed. Huntley, their manservant, tells them there were no issues while they were away for a week. Carric wanders off to check in with his contacts. Lakima heads over to Cromly’s Smithy and picks up the necklace he commissioned. He presents it to Alayna who seems to appreciate the uniqueness of it. Alonso goes and commissions some plate mail armor. He asks Eathwund about where he can buy healing potions and Eathwund tells him about Alayna’s shop that is located out back of the Chapter House. Alonso heads over and meets Alayna and Lakima. He purchases a few healing potions.

Lakima goes over to confer with Malyn the mage at the Apothecary. He tells Malyn about the Mana Well and Zia/Medamellara. Malyn is incredulous that this could have escaped his keen eye but was found by Lakima. He seems quite put off by it. Lakima asks if there is some group that could protect the mana well. Malyn mentions the Church of the Dark Lady - but there is a catch. He misplaced his bodyguard Humbert that the Church provided him. He needs to get him back. Malyn attempts to talk Lakima into entering the Mazestone but is rebuffed. He does agree to contact the Church of the Dark Lady. He tells Lakima that he cannot provide him with any 4th level spells. Lakima will need to learn them himself.

Here Lakima turned down another adventure. This Mazestone adventure has been available since session 28 but Lakima is not interested. There is not enough of a reward, and being placed into an extradimensional maze does not appeal to him. Eathwund was also offered the job by Malyn at one point. Malyn has been the party's go-to sage and wizard shop but Lakima is now getting to the level where Malyn can no longer be of help.

That evening they had a party at The Dancing Dragon. Lakima gives the innkeeper 200 gold and tells him to give free drinks to every person who toasts Dag Icefoot, their recently fallen comrade. Lantosh nervously asks how often they do this when Lakima tells everyone that it is a tradition. As they leave the tavern, a drunk Lakima thinks he sees Dag amongst the revelers raising a tankard to him. 

Since new jobs that appeal to the group are available right now - and since they are well set financially, they decide to take some downtime. Lakima studies and researches new spells and the Library of Antiquity, Alonso also spends time at the Library researching monsters and legends, Eathwund studies the Manual of Exercise. Lantosh spends time honing his skills with the polearm and Domago heads over to help out and the Church of St. Aleena. Carric drops in every few days and tells Lakima and Eathwund that the opportunity in Edgerton is perfect right now to set up a gang to control all of the gangs in the town. He tells them he will be spending less time in the Company.

There is not a lot written in the Swords & Wizardry rulebook about researching spells. So I assumed it would cost Lakima about what it would cost to buy a spell to research it.

Everything is peaceful and quiet until they are awakened one morning by the sounds of bells ringing and shouting outside their door. Looking out they see people running away from Market Square. The adventurers put on their gear and head over to the square. Here they see an enormous, old, Blue Dragon perched in the center of the square. Town guards arrive and set up a cordon around it. The dragon ignores the guards and casually crushes a few of the market stalls in the square. Lakima steps forward and addresses the dragon. The dragon asks Lakima if he represents the town. When Lakima explains his position the dragon spots the black dragon tabards and asks pointedly if they honor the dragon Aulicus. Lakima tells the dragon that they take their name from the founders of the group who killed a black dragon. The dragon asks him if they think they are dragon killers. As Lakima formulates a reply the dragon informs him that; “You will do!”

The dragon delivers an ultimatum. They have one week to return to this square with a book that can be found in the lair of a long-dead dragon that is in the Shroudlands. When Alonso asks some questions the dragon replies that the book is the Tome of Artifice and he describes it. Lakima asks for two weeks and the dragon bristles and smashes another stall. Lakima then agrees to the terms -but the dragon pauses and agrees to two weeks. He tells Lakima they have a pact with Synstarax. The dragon launches itself into the air and blasts a nearby tower with lightning to further intimidate everyone. It flies off.

This is the AEG D20 adventure Legacy of Madness. Or at least the plot from it. I was thinking of adapting it anyway. It was what I was able to adlib to give the session a proper close.

The square slowly starts to return to normal. The Town Guard captain Colten Brightmoor confers with the heroes. Alonso suggests they prepare for the dragon’s return. Colten says they will bring more ballista to cover the square and turn the ones currently facing out from the city to face the square. When Alonso suggests an evacuation of the town Colten is visibly disturbed. It is winter and the people have no place to go. He does not want to start a panic. He tells them that the Story is that the dragon was driven off and will not return. He impresses on the adventurers that he expects them to stick to this story. He does agree to look into clearing the square before the dragon returns.

Lakima goes over to the Apothecary and meets with Malyn again. The wizard tells Lakima what he knows about the dragon lair in the Shroudlands. It is supposed to be the lair of the so-called Mad Dragon. The Lair is in what is now a wilderness area but there was a village near it at one time. The mad dragon was a silver dragon who would help and protect humans who lived in a nearby valley. But he went mad several hundred years ago. He was working on the Tome of Artifice at the time with the aid of a human wizard friend.

Meeting the Blue Dragon

Escape from the Plundered Tomb

Over the Holidays we played another session in my Swords & Wizardry campaign. The players managed to continue at their breakneck pace through my retelling of the classic module I3: Pharoah. Once they escaped and I told them what adventure they had gone through they indicated they had no knowledge of it. So I guess I did not need to make so many changes. But a lot of the changes were made just to suit the module to my own likes. The conversions needed for playing it with Swords & Wizardry rules were really minor.

One of the players did not make the game. Given the Holidays I was wondering if it was holiday-related but a few days later he let us know he was dropping out. Carric the elf will now be an NPC party member and fade into being a local NPC non-party member in the coming sessions. On the plus side, we picked up a new player for the next session.

Session 34: Tests and Escape

Players: Lakima (Magic-user), Eathwund (Fighter), Carric (Elven Thief absent), Domago (Human cleric NPC), Lantosh (Human Fighter NPC), Dag Icefoot (Dwarf Fighter NPC).

After flying up through the Dome of Flight to the next level the adventurers are confronted with a pair of doors leading each with the same ominous message written on them.

Lakima directs Carric to check the door on the left and open it. The door proves to be untrapped and opens easily. The chamber beyond is a vast hallway, sloping up in the distance. At first, it is dark, but torches light one by one as they enter lighting the entire chamber. A waterfall cascades down the length of the room with a stair up the middle. The stair is broken by four landings. At the end of the hall is an enormous bronze fist 10 feet across resting on a huge wrist-like forearm.

Carric is the first to advance up the stairs. As he steps on the first landing, two armed men made of clay appear magically. Carric rushes back down the steps as Eathwund runs forward to defend him. Lantosh and Dag also come up the stairs. One of the clay men swings a sword at Carric and misses. Eathwund slashes at one and his sword passes right through the shoulder. Both the arm and the body turn to sand and fall to the platform in a heap. Eathwund just has time to express his surprise when both piles of sand form into two clay men. Dag slashes at the other clay man and the same thing happens. There are now four clay men facing them on the platform. Before they can warn him, Lantosh plunges his polearm into the chest of one of the clay men. The clay man becomes impaled on the end of the polearm.

Lakima shouts at Lantosh to dump the clay man into the torrent of the waterfall which he does. The construct is washed away into a tunnel of water. Seeing how it is done Lantosh impales two more clay men and dumps them into the water. Eathwund even manages to impale one on the point of his sword and shove it over the edge into the water. The first landing is now cleared.

Carric now comes up and rejoins the others on the first landing. He moves up cautiously checking for traps. Lakima tells everyone this might be a test of the elements - earth for the clay men, water for the waterfall. The next test might be fire or air. As Carric steps on the second landing, a wall of fire rushes up from the floor and extends across the platform from floor to ceiling completely blocking the hallway. Carric and Lantosh who are closest to the flames stagger back from the tremendous heat. Lakima tries throwing the contents of a full waterskin on the fire but it apparently does nothing. They all step back and confer on the steps. The only suggestion they have is dunking their blankets in water and racing through the flames. Dag loudly states that he is not going first.

Lakima decides he will go first since it is his idea and he sees no other alternative. He leaps through the flames and is badly burned. Next comes Eathwund and then Dag and Lantosh. Carric holds back on the other side. Lakima sees a man standing beside the bronze fist about 30 feet away. The man is dressed in a priest's robes. He hears the man speak in his head telling him to give up and telling him that he is High Priest Nadron who has lived here and defeated tomb robbers for two thousand years. Instead of surrendering, Lakima threatens Nadron and the voice in his head laughs telling him that he keeps his life elsewhere and he cannot be harmed. Lakima moves up to the penultimate landing. A duplicate Lakima appears magically and silently attacks its original version. Eathwund and Lantosh fire arrows at the duplicate and Lakima uses his staff to destroy the duplicate.  Lakima then races up to the last platform holding the fist and runs around the fist looking to see if Nadron is an illusion. The fist animates and tries to crush him but Lakima makes it to a pair of doors and into the chamber beyond. Here he sees a crashing fall of water ten-feet in diameter and an altar before it. Arched hallways lead off in either direction. Nadron casts a slow spell that affects Lantosh and Eathwund.

The Gauntlet and Nadron

Eathwund and Dag advance up to the second last platform and their doubles appear. Lantosh moves to just off the platform and helps Dag kill his duplicate. The priest Nadron casts another spell, this time a fireball that knocks Dag and Lantosh unconscious. Domago and Eathwund are still standing and they use the magic healing oranges to recover Lantosh and Dag. Lakima tries casting a magic missile, using darts, and directing Eathwund to fire arrows at the priest. But nothing seems to affect him. Nadron casts another spell covering Lantosh, Eathwund, Dag, and the two duplicates in a sticky web immobilizing them. Lakima returns the favour and casts web from his wand at the priest. It works and Nadron is held by the web against the wall of the great hall. In his head, Lakima hears Nadron cursing and threatening him. Dag works his way loose and comes up the stairs readying his sword to kill Nadron but the fist animates and a single finger flicks Dag back down the stair in a crumpled heap. Lakima checks a nearby chamber and sees two men who look identical - chained to the walls. The men call out for help and accuse each other of being a doppelganger. Lakima leaves them where they are.

The fight slows as Nadron is held by a web spell that Lakima replenishes whenever the priest starts to get his hands free. Lantosh, Eathwund, and their two duplicates try to work themselves free. Lakima tries putting his hands on the altar before the waterfall but he is knocked down by a lightning bolt shooting out of the waterfall. Domago is joined by Carric on the platform. The wall of fire continues to burn behind them. They use arrows and slings stones to destroy Eathwund and Lantosh’s duplicates. Once Eathwund is free of the webs he runs past the giant fist which misses him and to the safety of the chamber beyond with Lakima. Lakima casts a Lightning Bolt at the bronze fist badly damaging it. Eathwund and Carric fire arrow at the fist until it finally collapses in a heap. Lantosh moves to the highest platform and Lakima directs him to bind the priest's mouth and drag him into the next chamber. Carric and Domago step on the platform one at a time and everyone works together to destroy their duplicates. Unfortunately, Domago finds that Dag was killed by the strike from the giant fist. There is nothing he can do for the unfortunate dwarf.

With everyone gathered in the chamber beyond Lakima starts negotiating with Nadron whose voice is still in his head. They seem to come to an understanding after Lakima has Lantosh hold Nadron’s head and shoulders under the crashing waterfall. Nadron tells him the only exit from the tomb is above in the burial chamber of King Munera. There is one final test in that chamber - the King’s undead mummy. Nadron tells him he needs something called the Star Gem of Pelar to open the exit. Once his gag is removed Nadron immediately casts Lightning bolt at Lakima, hitting Eathwund and Domago with the blast. Lakima survives but Eathwund and Domago are knocked unconscious. Lakima tells Lantosh to behead the duplicitous priest. He does - but the head just rejoins the body as Nadron laughs and curses them in common. Lantosh chops the head of the body again and Lakima boots the head across the chamber. Nadron continues to berate Lakima telling him he can never pass the final test of the King because he is not worthy.

Lakima points at the altar and tells Domago to put his hands on it. Domago is reluctant but is convinced and presses his hands into hand-shaped depressions on the altar. The waterfall immediately stops and the room is silent. Even Nadron is quiet. Lakima then taunts Nadron. They take the headless body and toss it down the now dry waterfalls in the great hall below the fist. Nadron’s head is placed in a sack. With everyone tired and hurt the remaining five adventurers rest in the chamber. The last of the magic oranges are eaten. From a nearby chamber, they hear the words “help me” plaintively crying out but Lakima tells everyone it is a trap. Domago argues they should help the men but is eventually convinced to wait.

The heroes rest for several hours by the now-empty shaft that held a waterfall. Each man takes a watch while the others rest or try to sleep. During Eathwund’s watch, a flickering apparition of Wella Hobba appears. The apparition nods to Eathwund and walks over to observe the mean chained to the wall. The apparition speaks to Eathwund telling him, “Now that I see my murderer so helpless and lost I no longer feels the need for revenge upon him. He has suffered enough. Do what you will with him. I will trouble you no more.” With that, the apparition disappears.

Once everyone is rested and Lakima has recovered his spells they pack up their equipment and prepare to move on. Eathwund tells everyone that he is fairly certain that one of the men chained to the wall is the bandit and murderer Vychan. He tells them of the apparition's visit. Domago still argues that they should free the men and take them to Caster’s Ford for justice. Lakima argues against freeing them. It comes down to a vote with only Domago voting to free Vychan.

The group walks into the arched hallway opposite the one where the men are chained up. They discover Nadron’s library, workshop, and living area. Thousands of scrolls are found devoted to extending a man's life. Lakima deciphers scrolls detailing the creation of a unique version of the magic jar spell. He also finds scrolls of Fireball, fly, and confusion. Then he reads a cursed scroll and is paralyzed for 20 minutes while his friends search the area. They find some food and books that are recent acquisitions. Domago insists on taking some of the food and water and leaving it for the two men chained to the walls. He tells the men that someone will come to free them if the gods decide they are worthy.

Lakima casts levitate and drifts up the shaft. At the top he finds a short hallway blocked by a pair of bronze doors. A large, painted stone jar that is unstoppered rests above the shaft. Lakima drops a rope down to everyone else and they climb up. Lakima directs Lantosh to pick up the heavy stone jar. Lantosh is just barely strong enough to carry it into the hallway. He questions taking something so heavy but Lakima tells him he is sure it is a Decanter of Everlasting water - a powerful artifact. As they approach the doors Lantosh suggests he set the jar down and retrieve it once they have cleared any threats.

The bronze doors are held shut by a simple tasseled red rope. Carric checks and does not find any traps. Lakima suggests that Domago pull the rope aside since the guardians of the tomb seem to respect him. Domago does so and pushes the doors open. Beyond is a small chamber with four pillars holding up the ceiling. Across from the heroes is another pair of bronze doors. A full-sized wooden longboat rests on the floor along one wall. Lakima leads the adventurers directly to the far door. Domago again removes the rope but the door is held shut. Carric examines the door and cannot find a way to open it. In the center of one door is an indentation in the shape of a 3” in diameter gem. They search the chamber and note the faded painting of a longboat anchored to a cloud. This boat has a gem glowing on its prow. They check the real boat in the chamber and find an indentation in its prow but no gem. In the boat, they find 10 copper jars full of ancient platinum coins. Platinum is not a current currency but it is more valuable than gold.

Lakima pulls Nadron’s head out of the sack and removes his gag. Nadron tells him that the gem in the prow of the ship is the key. He appears surprised that it is missing. He insists to Lakima that he was the last to leave this chamber thousands of years ago and no tomb raider has ever gotten past the tests to reach this chamber. He also tells them that the tomb is magically protected from teleport and dimension door spells. Lakima accuses Nadron of lying but the priest is insistent that something has changed since he “tricked” King Munera. He does not elaborate on the comment. Lakima suggests they dump out all of the copper jars on the floor of the chamber looking for a gem. They do but do not find one. They try pressing other, smaller gems into the door but it does not work. Lakima suggests taking all of the valuable platinum piled on the floor. But it means dumping all of the less valuable treasure (copper, silver, gold coins, and even bottles of wine) they found in the tomb and in the previous adventure in the Temple of Medamellara.

Conversing with Nadron

Searching the chamber once more, Lakima touches the painting of the ship. The painting shimmers and becomes a window, or portal out into a night sky far above the clouds. A wooden longboat gently rocks in the wind about 30 feet away anchored to a cloud. The Star Gem of Pelar on its prow. Lakima uses the scroll they just found to cast Fly and then flies over to the ship. He carefully removes the gem and flies back into the chamber. Below he sees the tops of snow-covered peaks between breaks in the cloud cover. Taking the gem he gives it to Domago who places it in the doors. The doors swing open to King Munera’s real tomb. A large, stone sarcophagus rests on the floor of the chamber. On the wall opposite is a ten-foot-tall statue of Munera. A familiar rod in one hand and a large red gem in the palm of his other hand. Writing on the wall hints at a passage out of the tomb. Carric checks the wall and finds cracks in the stone indicating a passage but no way to open it.

Reluctantly they all look at the stone sarcophagus. Arranging themselves at the ready around the stone coffin, they slide the lid off. Inside is the mummy of the King covered in gold armor. It rears up, still managing to surprise them with its sudden movement. It swings at Eathwund and misses. Domago attempts to turn the undead creature but fails. All five adventurers hack away at the mummy and use missile weapons. It steps from the coffin and falls upon Domago striking him but is eventually destroyed as everyone attacks. They are briefly disappointed as they do not see a gem in the coffin. Then an apparition rises up from the body. They realize it is the spirit of King Munera as the appearance matches the statues found throughout the tomb. The spirit speaks to the heroes but they cannot understand it. Lakima pulls Nadron’s head from the sack in an attempt to communicate. The ghost immediately reaches out toward Nadron and blue flames shoot from its hands at the head-turning it to dust. The ghost seems to nod toward them in thanks. Then with a wave of its hand, a stone door opens revealing a passage to a magical portal of swirling blue mist. Lakima shouts, “Finally, the way out - let’s go!” He races into the passage toward the portal. Lantosh shouts, “What about the gold on the body!” Lakima tells him to leave everything - they do not have enough bags to carry it, just bring the full sacks of platinum coins. The ghost walks out of the chamber and takes the gem from the doors. It heads into the other chamber. Domago gets one last look of it gliding through the portal toward the ship in the clouds. They all run into the portal.

They arrive in the worship hall in the first room they entered in the Plundered Tomb days ago. The chamber is as they left it. The dead bandits are still lying on the floor. They take stock of their load and shoulder packs. The tomb rumbles ominously, and small stones shower down from the ceiling as they hurriedly march outside into the cold. As they watch from a distance, the mountain of rock above the tomb entrance begins to collapse. Huge clouds of dust and snow rise up obscuring their vision. When the rumbling stops, the dust clears. The entrance to the tomb is blocked with rubble. Domago looks at the ruin and states, “I guess the gods have passed their judgment”.  Up above they all see a star shooting across the sky. Carric says it looks like a boat sailing above the clouds headed west. A bright star on its prow.