Lair of the White Worm

This session was the big finish episode. The final fight against the big bad of the campaign. Now that the players' characters are in the 9-11 level range it gets a lot more difficult to set up challenging adventures. It is also a lot less fun for the gamemaster. So I decided that the showdown with the White Worm should be the campaign's end. The combat went well and felt like a suitable end. But the session was not fun for me as a game master. One player objected strongly to his character being temporarily stunned and logged off playing until his character recovered. This left me with an empty feeling like I had not handled it correctly and really made me want to take a break from running a game.

Session 121: In the Lair of the White Worm

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alrix (couatl sorcerer), Aldus (human cavalier), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC), Domago (human cleric NPC), Dusig (dwarf fighter NPC).

The Company of the Black Dragon has entered a Pillar of Ice in the Glacial Rift of the Frost Giants looking for the Lair of the White Worm. The White White is an otherworldly creature who threatens to freeze the world.

After the battle with four mages of the Twelve, the company searches through some of the nearby bed chambers. Fenris finds two locked chests. They find a treasure and a spellbook. They then find a stair leading down even further. On this lower level, the temperature drops below freezing. A wide corridor leads to a 4-way intersection. Lakima casts detect magic and spots a circular barrier of magic blocking further advance. He is not sure exactly what it does but it looks like mind magic. As the group stops to ponder this obstacle, Lakima suggests to Eathwund that he might have to go on to fight the White Worm alone. He can use his ethereal armor to get past the barrier. Ahead they can see a chamber with a dark pit.

As they are discussing this a male voice calls out mocking the plans they are making. He tells them that they cannot get past the barrier without a password. Lakima asks for the password and is rebuffed. The man then makes the Company an offer, if they leave the Glacial Rift and leave the “weapon” behind. the White Worm will agree to put its plans on hold until each member of the company is dead and buried. As proof of its sincerity, the man tells them that the White Worm has already recalled the war band of Frost Giants who were headed for the town of the Gnomes (clearly Winterhaven).

Lakima rejects the offer and threatens the man. The man then offers to fight a duel – mage against mage.  Lakima also rejects that offer. Alrix peers around the corner trying to see who is speaking but he is unable to see anyone. Dusig then says that he will try to break through the barrier claiming that dwarves have a resistance to magic. He rushes forward and breaks the barrier. He grimaces, and there is a flash of blue light but he makes it and continues down the corridor toward the pit. Lakima is next to try. He runs through the barrier and feels stunning magic being triggered but he manages to resist it. As he crosses the intersection of the halls, he sees a lightning bolt headed toward him. Lakima instantly brings up the Rod of Absorption and absorbs the spell. He looks to his right and sees the mage appear who cast the spell. Lakima casts feeblemind at the mage and sees the spell take effect. Lakima then joins Dusig on the other side.

Eathwund turns ethereal and moves through the walls. Passing by the chamber on the right he sees a cauldron full of dark liquid and a humanoid creature with sharp teeth and long claws. He makes it and joins Lakima and Dusig telling them what he saw. Lakima casts a powerful fireball into the chamber where Eathwund saw the creature and where the mage stands enchanted by the feeblemind.

Alrix is next to try dealing with the barrier, he swings his magical battle ax at the magic runes carved into the floor. But the spell is triggered anyway and he is stunned by the enchantment. Aldus then tries to leap through the barrier and he is also stunned. Fenris calls out for help on the other side.

“Stay there and protect Alrix and Aldus!” Lakima says. “We will go on without you.”

As he says this something invisible passes through the barrier causing a small flash. Fenris briefly sees an emaciated humanoid figure. A moment later, a gash caused by claws appears on Aldus’ chest. Fenris stabs at the area in front of Aldus and feels his sword strike something but he sees nothing is there. A moment later Aldus is hit again and Fenris calls out for help. Lakima, Eathwund, and Dusig shout out for him to fight, as they cannot help. Alrix is slashed by the invisible creature next but this time Fenris is ready and strikes it with his sword. He feels the creature fall to the floor.

“To heck with Aldus!” Fenris calls out for the rest of the company and he runs through the barrier only to be stunned. A short while later, Aldus comes to and tries the barrier again but is stunned again. Those members of the company who have made it to the chamber with the black pit decide to check the pit while they wait for their comrades to catch up to them. The chamber has a 20-foot in diameter opening full of darkness. Domago tries shining continual light into the darkness but it does not penetrate. Dusig drops a shard of ice and a few seconds later they hear it shatter.

“It is only a 30-foot drop,” Dusig says.

Climbing ropes are prepared and thrown into the pit. Dusig is the first to descend. He calls up that he is in a cavern with several tunnels. Eventually, Alrix, Aldus, and Fenris all recover and manage to pass through the magic barrier. One by one everyone climbs down into the chamber.

The ropes lead down to a cavern of ice. It is unclear if they are in tunnels through ice or if these are stone tunnels covered with ice. Dusig suggests that these tunnels are caved through the ice. The statue of a vaguely human form towers in one corner. It radiates extreme cold and everyone gives it room as they walk around it. Fenris takes the lead and suddenly stops still. He then comes running back.

“It's there ahead. It is enormous, horrifying, I felt my blood freeze!” he says.

Everyone moves forward slowly. In a large cavern of ice, they see an enormous pale grey worm easily 100 feet long, lying curled about itself. As they behold it for the first time everyone with the exception of Eathwund feels terror grip their heart. But they shake it off. Eathwund feels anger and excitement coming from his sword Wormbane. He feels a rush of energy and runs ahead of everyone else into the chamber. He spots the danger at the last moment and slides to a halt. A whirling barrier of sharp blades lies between him and the worm. Clearly a magical barrier.

“It’s a blade barrier!” Domago shouts out. “It will be deadly, stay back from it!”

Eathwund quickly turns ethereal and steps through the barrier. Returning to the material plane he strikes at the worm with Wormbane. He can feel the excitement and triumph of the sword as it cuts into the worm. Thick, black, blood pours out.

What happens next is the stuff of legend told in many different ways by various bards in taverns across Valnwall in the years to come. Eathwund fights against the worm which focuses its attacks on him. He narrowly misses being swallowed whole but then is crushed beneath the worm’s body. Domago blows the Silver Horn of Valhalla summoning berserkers to fight the worm inside the barrier. Alrix attacks with his Sword of Dancing. Dusig hurls his throwing axes at the worm. Lakima, summons a mighty Earth Elemental which pushes through the barrier and attacks. Aldus stands angrily unable to attack the worm with the barrier in the way. Seeing this, Lakima hands Fenris a potion that he gives it to Aldus. Aldus throws his sword and his shield through the barrier and drinks a potion of gaseous form. He emerges on the other side of the barrier naked and takes up his sword and his shield to attack. As he does, he sees Eathwund fall. Rushing to Eathwund, Aldus tries to wield Wormbane but the sword will only function for the chosen champion of the frost giant jarl. It becomes clear that Eathwund and wormbane must be the ones to strike the final blow. Gathering his courage, Domago leaps through the blade barrier and is hacked into by flying blades. He makes it through alive and grimly uses his staff of healing on Eathwund. The champion gets to his feet and delivers the killing blow deep into the worm. Black blood pours out of the wound and the worm falls down unmoving. Eathwund feels triumph and gratitude pouring from wormbane. He looks down and sees the sword dissolve away in his hands.

The black blood continues to pour from the worm’s corpse and soon begins to rise dangerously. Lakima calls for everyone to run for the exit. Domago takes the lead. Dusig shouts and points at a pile of treasure lying tossed like junk in a small alcove. Lakima casts a Wall of Iron which holds back the deluge of blood.

The adventurers hurry and begin grabbing swords, shields, scrolls, and gold and putting them in the bag of holding. After a minute Domago, who continued ahead, shouts a warning that the black blood is flooding into the tunnels from another exit from the cavern.

“Quickly!” Lakima yells.

Everyone grabs the last few items from the pile of treasure and the entire company runs from the cavern with the ropes. They climb up through the darkness and raise through the ice pillar. On the second level, they find the way forward blocked by an Ice Devil but Lakima uses his pendant of demon summoning and a Charm Monster spell to charm it. He then sends the Ice devil on ahead of them. This proves important as it is the ice devil that runs directly into an ancient White Dragon they encounter in the glacial rift. Lakima raises a Wall of Ice to protect the party while ice devil fights the Dragon. Domago also summons berserkers with the Horn. After a brief fight, the berserkers are all dispatched but the ice devil triumphs. They head out of the rift and into the breaking morning light. Alrix heads up to get the skyship and sets it back down to pick up the company. Soon they are all aboard the skyship and are headed south again.