Dynamic Dungeon

 My players' second session in the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief. When they first arrived at the Steading (Upper Level), there was a massive battle in the Baquet Hall. The second session had a follow-up battle in the Marshalling chamber in the first room of the Dungeon level. The original module text from 1979 provides guidance on how to make the dungeon dynamic. It is a sprawling complex, and the giants and their allies are not just going to wait in the chambers to be attacked. As someone who usually runs small dungeons that do not even have wandering monster tables, I appreciated this advice. I did not follow it strictly. I had my own ideas for how things would develop. I am running this game online using Roll20. It meant I did have to ask the players to pause a few times while I busily moved about monster tokens off the immediate map area. On this level, we had ogres, bugbears, an ongoing orc slave revolt, and the survivors from the above level. Most of those survivors turned out to be female giants.

Session 170: In the Dungeon of the Hill Giants

Lakima (human magic user), Eathwund (human fighter), Aldus (human cavalier), Ambro Feyvine (elven thief), Domago (human cleric NPC), Ian of Darkhollow (human cavalier NPC), Aelshara (half-elven magic user/fighter), Luna (charmed Human Fighter NPC).

The members of the Company of the Black Dragon have stormed the Hill Giant Steading of Chief Nosnra at the bequest of Duke Robert of Valnwall. After a melee with dozens of giants, the Company is victorious, but Chief Nosnra escapes to the dungeon beneath the Steading.

“He went that way,” Ambro pointed down the hall into the darkness. She floated along, using her Ring of Flying to levitate well above the floor.

“I see a giant before a pair of doors head,” Ambro whispered. Unfortunately, no one in the Company heard her as the veil of silence on Eathwund stopped all sound from entering the area around him.

The Company followed the hallway until all could clearly see the large Hill Giant standing before the doors. The doors were open behind him, and a half-dozen ogres could be seen holding clubs at the ready. Lakima immediately conjured an ice storm in the building directly over the hill giant and the ogres. The storm was brief, but it pelted the monsters with shards of ice. When the storm ended, only the hill giant was still standing. Aldus, Eathwund, and Ian ran forward to confront the giant, but he backed into the chamber shouting and whistling – apparently trying to summon help. The fighters were soon on the giant. A moment later, four dire wolves bounded into the chamber and joined the fight on the side of the hill giant. Lakima cast fear, and two of the dire wolves turned their tails and fled. The remaining wolves and the giant were soon killed by the fighters.

Ambro began searching about the chamber, which looked to be a bunkhouse for hill giants. She found nothing. Lakima waved Eathwund down the hall so he could speak to the other adventurers in the party.

“There is nothing here. Let’s try that door over there,” Lakima pointed.

Ambro checked and opened the door. The chamber was dimly lit by a pair of smoky torches, and a pair of gravely injured orcs lay on filthy skins and furs on the floor.

“Just orcs, and they look helpless,” Lakima dismissed them.

“Does anyone speak orcish,” Lakima asked.

Aelshara admitted that she could speak orcish. She entered and went over to one of the orcs, who was awake but immobilized by what appeared to be a broken leg. After a quick conversation with the orc, she returned.

“It says that the stair to the dungeon is over there,” Aelshara pointed back toward the kitchens, “He thinks that if the hill giants retreated, they would go down into the dungeon.”

The company followed Aelshara as she led them to a small chamber near the kitchen. In a room partially used for storage, they found a stone stair descending into the earth. A flickering torchlight could be seen below at the bottom of the stair.

“I will just scout below and return,” Ambro whispered. She slipped into the darkness and vanished silently down the steps. Soon, she returned looking a little excited and flushed.

“There is an army of giants, ogres, and bugbears in a room down there,” she said excitedly, “And they look like they are ready for us!”

Lakima waved Eathwund to the back of the group while he, Aldus, Luna, and Ian descended the stairs first. As soon as Lakima was out of the influence of the silence spell, he cleared his throat and shouted.

“We don’t want a fight. But we will kill all of you if you resist. Just like we killed all of the giants in the Great Hall. We just want Chief Nosnra!”

There was a rise in the murmuring of voices below in giantish and goblin. After a pause, a halting giant voice shouted back.

“No chief here! You go, or we stomp you puny humans and smelly elves!”

In answer, Lakima cast a fireball spell from his Staff of Power. The ball of fire exploded below and briefly lit up the dungeon. They dozens of giants, ogres, and bugbears illuminated in the glow. Some of the bugbears and ogres immediately went up in flames and collapsed to the floor.

Lakima waved at the fighters in the group, and Aldus, Ian, Eathwund, and Domago raced down the stairs. They were immediately in melee with the giants and their allies. Aldus blew the Silver Horn of Valhalla, and four berserk fighters appeared to fight for him. Thrust into the fight, Aldus and Eathwund found themselves fighting mainly bugbears. Most of the ogres lay dead at their feet, killed by the fireball. Five female hill giants fought against them but used their fists as they had no weapons. One hunch-backed, one-eyed hill giant with a great axe stayed well back of the fight, yelling directions at the bugbears. As Eathwund downed several bugbears, the giant nodded at him and pushed an ogre to one side to challenge Eathwund. Eathwund struck the giant with a powerful blow, and it stumbled back.

“You fight like giant,” the hill giant spoke in poor common speech in surprise.

Aelshara and Ian made it to one side of the fight, with Ian protecting Aelshara and the latter trying to avoid the thickest part of the melee. Then Aelshara spotted a troop of bugbears backed by two hill giants running into the chamber from the south. She tried shouting a warning but realized the other could not hear her. She cast a mirror image, conjuring up four illusions of her form. She cast a web spell, holding four of the bugbears fast. Then the bugbears were upon here. Thankfully, the two giants moved to attack Aldus and Eathwund. But the bugbears attacked Aelshara and, by bad luck or skill, hit her instead of the illusionary doubles several times. She felt her strength waning and looked about for help.

Dungeon Melee

Meanwhile, Lakima cast a cloudkill spell and sent it into the bugbears. A pair succumbed, but most ran out of the cloud coughing. He cast another fireball, killing more bugbears at the back of the melee. Eathwund killed the hunch-back hill giant and found another hill giant taking its place in the melee. Ian tried but failed to fight his way toward Aelshara. All but one of the berserkers fell. Aldus killed the bugbears around him. Seeing Luna protecting Lakima and that Lakima had also summoned his armored protector, Aldus looked about and saw Domago headed toward four images of Aelshara. Aldus made his way through the melee as well to help.

Domago arrived and cast several healing spells on Aelshara, allowing her to regain strength. Then Aldus arrived and signaled her to move back. Lakima cast an elemental guardian, which shocked several of the bugbears. Eathwund killed a pair of hill giants. Looking about, Eathwund saw that the giants were all dead and the bugbears were in disarray. A few tried to run, but Ambro then appeared, flew over the melee, and stabbed the fleeing bugbears from behind. Finally, the last of the monsters fell dead to the floor. A pair of doors leading into the chamber slammed shut, heralding that more monsters were nearby, but they were not willing to enter the fight.

With the fight over, Eathwund moved to the southern passage and set up a watch. Now that Eathwund had moved away, sound returned, and the company was again able to communicate.

“Ambro, check the door,” Lakima said pointing at an open door. He looked about and saw Ambro was climbing over the dead giants a sack in one hand and a bunch of jewelry in the other.

“Put the treasure in my bag of holding,” Lakima said. Ambro looked over and nodded while quietly slipping some of the jewelry into her pockets.

Examining a nearby chamber, they found nothing of interest. Just giant-sized furniture and weapons. The party decided to head down one of the open passages from the chamber. Here, they found a cistern filled with cold, clean water. But it was a dead end. They returned to the chamber and headed north. Here, they found a locked chamber. Ambro was unable to open the lock, but Luna used one of her Knock spells. Inside were large caskets and tuns filled with strong wine. Heading down another hallway, they followed the sound of metal banging on stone. Ambro spotted a stone giant expanding a chamber. The group decided not to attack the giant, so they moved on to find a sleeping chamber. Here, Ambro went to work to check several large chests. On the third, she opened, she found a dozen sacks filled with gold coins. Lakima came over, and Ambro began lifting the heavy sacks out of the chest and dropping them in the bag of holding. After a few sacks, the bag of holding refused to take more.

“I believe it is full,” Lakima said in surprise. He then opened the pouch of holding. It was just able to hold the remaining bags of gold before it was also full.

The party returned to the main hall, where the battle had occurred. Two closed doors from the hallway and the passage to the south remained. Lakima pointed south, as Eathwund was standing nearby, and no one could hear anyone speak.

The group headed south with Ambro, who was a few paces in the lead. Ambro held up her hand in warning and indicated an ambush ahead. Lakima signaled Eathwund to the back and then stepped forward outside the range of the silence spell.

“Step aside or be killed!”

A hail of crossbow bolts greeted his words.

“Bugbears! They have prepared an ambush!” Ambro shouted.

Lakima stepped to the cover of the side passage and waved Aldus, Eathwund, and Ian forward to attack. The passage ended in a T-crossing by another passage. Bugbears armed with maces and crossbows waited on either side of the intersection. Eathwund headed left with Luna, and Aldus and Ian headed right. The fight against the bugbears was over quickly, and all were killed.

The group headed west and then entered a passageway headed north. Up ahead, they saw a chamber with barred cells around its perimeter. A half-dozen bugbear guards and one injured hill giantess waited ready for them. Eathwund, Aldus, and Ian rushed to attack. The Hill Giantess desperately swung upon one of the prison cells, apparently trying to gain help. Her shouts were silenced by the spell upon Eathwund. A dozen orcs emerged from the cell. Weaponless, they tossed themselves upon the giantess and fought with fists and teeth. The giant fell to the floor and was killed quickly. The orcs then launched upon the two remaining bugbears (the other bugbears having been killed by Eathwund and Aldus).

The melee ended. More and more orcs streamed out of the prison cells and confronted the party. The adventurers soon found themselves outnumbered 10 to 1. Lakima assessed the situation and waved Aelshara forward. Then he slapped Eathwund on the shoulder and pointed out of the chamber. Once the zone of silence was gone from the chamber, they could all hear the snorting and heavy breathing of the orcs surrounding them.

“Tell them we are not their enemies!” Lakima said to Aelshara.

Aelshara took a deep breath and began speaking in orcish, at first quietly but building in volume and confidence. The orcs shouted back at her, several talking over each other. The conversation went on for what seemed an overly long time.

“I think I convinced most of them not to attack. I told them that they were free to go and that we killed all of the giants in the Steading above,” Aelshara said.

“Good!” Lakima said, “Good, now ask them if they have seen Nosnra, or any frost giants.”

The party members began to ease back down the hallway in a defensive position. Aelshara began talking to the orcs again. This time, one orc took the lead, seemingly electing himself as the leader.

“They say that they have never seen a frost giant. There are two fire giant smiths who work for Nosnra nearby. They gave me directions,” Aelshara said.

“Right. Let’s get out of here.” Lakima said with conviction.

More and more orcs entered the chamber, freed from nearby prison cells.

The company proceeded as Aelshara directed, taking a passage to the south in silence. Suddenly, they all heard Domago curse as he twisted an ankle.

“The silence spell has finally ended!” Lakima said with relief.

A few moments later, the mirror images of Aelshara and Lakima disappeared.

“The orcs also said that they were imprisoned for leading a revolt against the giants. The giants are very cruel masters to them. They also hated the bugbears who sided with the giants. They say that some of their brothers escaped into natural caves to the east,” Aelshara told the company.

Aelshara pointed down a side passage. She indicated that the smithy was located in that direction, according to the orcs. They could all hear the ring of metal on metal in the distance.

“Sounds like the fire giants are at work,” Lakima said.

Ambro slipped into darkness and moved closer to the sound. A chamber in the distance was brightly illuminated with the glow of fires in a forge. She could see a single fire giant working at a table. The sound of metal on metal continued, so there was more than one giant. Then, she saw a pair of tiny dwarves carrying ingots enter the area. The dwarves barely stood as tall as the fire giant’s boot. Ambro slipped back to the rest of the group.

“I saw one red-skinned giant much bigger than the hill giants we have been fighting,” Ambro began. He was not the one making the noise, so there was likely another. And I saw a pair of dwarves helping them.”

“Likely enslaved,” Aelshara said.

“Right. So, the plan is…” Lakima began as Eathwund dashed off with his sword swinging over his head. He was immediately followed by Ian and Aldus.

The fighters raced into the forge chamber, catching the fire giant by surprise. They saw a huge table set at a giant height, a pair of Fire Giants, and six or seven dwarven slaves wearing rags. The fight was on. Eathwund began pummeling one fire giant while Aldus attacked another. Ian bore the brunt of several attacks from a fire giant armed with a sword. His mind flashed back to another ill-fated encounter with a fire giant as he was struck repeatedly. Suddenly, one of the dwarves released a blood-curdling war cry and grabbed hold of one fire giant’s boot. The fire giant stumbled and toppled over with an enormous crash landing on Eathwund. Eathwund barely held hold of his shield and sword as he struggled under the enormous mass, trying to roll out from under the giant. The giant struggled to his feet. Ambro stabs the giant in the back. Aldus and Ian brought the second giant low. Once the first giant stood up, Eathwund leaped to his feet and drove his sword deep into the giant’s belly. The enormous giant fell again, but this time, it did not get up.

Domago took his staff of healing and used it on Ian several times to heal the young squire. Lakima stood regarding the group with his hands on his hips.

“We needed a prisoner we could question,” Lakima said.

The dwarf, whose antics had almost gotten Eathwund crushed, walked over to him and introduced himself.

“I am Orin Deepdelver. Well met. These fine lads are Thron, Grondar, Brogar, Gromli, Kargan, and Thorek. They are master smiths. They have been covering for me for the past year since I was captured. I know nothing of smithing, but I am a mighty warrior.”

Eathwund grunted in reply, and Orin looked a little offended.

“I am ready to join you in your fight against the hill giant,” Orin continued, “For an equal share of the treasure, of course.”

“We have already killed all of the giants; we need no help,” Lakima said, “You are welcome to accompany us for protection until you can make your way to the exit.”

Lakima then turned to his companions and suggested they try talking to the orcs again about the location of Nosnra. Orin looked on with a peeved expression. As the party left the chamber, Orin brought up the rear, leading the bedraggled dwarven smiths. In his right hand, he clutched a giant-sized hammer, the handle crudely cut down to fit his small stature.

“I’ll crush the skull of any giant I meet,” Orin boasted proudly.

“Just lead your friends to the exit and stay out of our way,” Lakima called back to Orin.

The adventurers headed back toward where they had met the orc slaves. They enter a corridor now full of orcs. The company closed ranks and presented a stern front. Aelshara spotted the orc leader she had spoken to before and began conversing with him again in orcish. Eathwund and Aldus stood on guard. Aldus could make out the orcs, removing a barrier of rocks at the end of the corridor. Orcs were from both sides of the barrier. He surmised it was the entrance to the caves where the orc slaves fled.

“He does not know where the chief is,” Aelshara started,” but he does know that when the chief comes down to this level, he often disappears for a time and then reappears in the marshaling hall. He thinks there is a secret chamber somewhere nearby.”

“Where is the marshalling hall,” Lakima asked.

“It’s the hall where we met and fought the giants when we first entered the dungeon.”

“Right. Let’s check out this hall once more,” Lakima said.

The Hill Giant Steading

This week, the players in my Swords & Wizardry campaign got into the Against the Giants trilogy. Last week was the introduction, the hook. This week, they stormed the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief. I am running the 2nd printing (Green Cover) version I bought in 1982.

The changes to make it work as a Swords & Wizardry adventure were minimal. I used the S&W rules for the monsters, but they are almost identical to those in the module. Some treasure and magic had to be changed slightly.

I have never GM'd the adventure before, but I have played through it once. My experience as a player was massive combat in the Banquet hall, in which the two powerful magic users in our group confined the giants behind Walls of Force and tossed fireballs into the area until the giants were all obliterated. In this session, there was also a huge melee, with the magic users doing the most damage. In this case, everyone was able to get involved. That was not the case when I played through the adventure. My cleric sat on the sidelines, waiting for something to do.

As written, I have noticed an issue with the adventure. My players are of appropriate level and have potent spells that could allow them to bypass the next adventure and go straight to the Fire Giants. Spells like Contact Higher Plane, Speak with Dead, Charm Monster, or Commune could reveal that they can bypass the Hill Giants and Frost Giants because the secret of what is going on is in the Fire Giant's lair.

Session 169: Storming the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief

Lakima (human magic user), Eathwund (human fighter), Aldus (human cavalier), Ambro Feyvine (elven thief), Domago (human cleric NPC), Ian of Darkhollow (human cavalier NPC), Aelshara (half-elven magic user/fighter), Luna (charmed Human Fighter NPC).

The Company of the Black Dragon has returned to their homes in Edgerton. They recently stopped the siege of the town of Caster’s Ford by Hill Giants. Duke Robert has requested that they bring the fight to the Hill Giants. To that end, they await the arrival of a scout who knows where the Hill Giants reside.

Aelshara Half-Elven arrives at the Manor of the Black Dragon in early Novem. She immediately advises the Company on the location of a Hill Giant stronghold in the Northern Hills.

“It is the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief Nosnra,” Aelshara explains while showing the Company the location on the map.

“Chief Nosnra is smart for a Hill Giant, but his organizing the Hill Giant tribes shows a level of skill and an amount of gold beyond what he is capable.”

“One of the other Giant races must be behind this crusade against Valnwall,” Lakima says.

“We set out on the Cloudstealer tomorrow,” Lakima says, “We should take the entire company.”

“I will accompany you to the Steading and show you a safe location to scout it,” Aelshara promises.

The next day, the company left on the Cloudstealer for the Northern Hills. On the map, Aelshara showed that the Hill Giant Steading was well north of the Hills in the foothills of the Valen Peaks. She shows the Company a clear valley to land the flying ship.

“From here, it is a mile or so to the Steading,” Aelshara says.

“Once we get close, we will have to be careful. The Hill Giants have guards outside the Steading and patrol with wolves.”

The Company follows Aelshara to the north. From a high ridge, she points down at a small valley. The Hill Giant Steading is enormous and covers almost half the valley. All trees in the area have been chopped down. Smoke can be seen rising from chimney holes in the roof of the Steading. Strangely, the Valley is quiet. There are no animals or birds about. They do not see any Giants on watch around the Steading.

“I don’t like it,” Aelshara says, “They have always had Giants on watch before.”

“Do you hear that?” Ambro says.

“It sounds like singing?”

As the company members fall silent and listen, they realize that the sound of singing and laughter echos up from inside the Steading.

“Perhaps we have caught them in the middle of a banquet?” Lakima says.

“Let’s go.”

The Company moved forward until they were within sixty feet of the Steading. The enormity of the building became apparent. The outer walls were 30 feet high and made from enormous timbers. Near the entrance gate doors, a pair of human-sized wagons lay empty.

Lakima signaled for Ambro to scout the doors. She moved up and pressed an ear to the 12-foot-tall, six-foot-wide double doors. Then, Ambro returned to the group.

“I can hear snoring. It sounds almost comical. It is very loud.”

“Domago, do you have a silence spell ready?” Lakima whispered

Domago nodded.

“Be ready; as soon as we attack, cast it on one of the fighters.”

Eathwund went over to the double doors and carefully lifted a latch. The doors were weighty but Eathwund opened one easily. Inside, an entrance hall with a flagstone floor was lit by flickering torches. A wide staircase ascended to the watchtower. The sound of merriment was louder now that the door was open. Eathwund surveyed the scene, and then his eyes fell upon a pair of 12-foot-tall Hill Giants, who were seemingly asleep beside an open keg of ale. One Giant slumped on the floor while the other leaned back on a stool.

With a signal, Eathwund and Aldus rushed into the chamber, swords at the ready, and attacked the unsuspecting giants. One giant fell off of his stool as Aldus slashed him in the stomach with his sword. Domago made a quick prayer, and silence fell throughout the entire scene. The giants awoke and desperately tried to yell for help, but no noise escaped their lips. Aldus and Eathwund soon killed both of them.

The group waited warily, but the attack had gone off silently. Lakima found he had to motion Ambro thirty feet away from Eathwund to confer with her. Lakima directed her to check two double doors on the north side of the entrance hall.

Ambro moved up and listened at the door. She could hear the sounds of many voices on the other side. The doors were crudely made from pine trees, and she was able to peer through a crack between them. In the distance, she could see dozens of Hill Giants, ogres, and even a giant among giants—a blue-skinned giant over 25 feet tall.

Ambro moved back to join Lakima and told him what she saw.

“The blue-skinned one is a Cloud Giant,” Lakima said, “We have fought them before.”

“We need this to be a stealthy mission if possible. We need to find out who put the Giants up to this war with us. Let’s move on and avoid this banquet hall.”

The group searched rooms to the west of the entrance hall finding empty bunkrooms and two armories full of giant-sized equipment. Then they came to a kitchen where Hill Giantess ordered about ogres and dozens of orc slaves. Again, it was decided to avoid a confrontation. They ended up back at the entrance hall.

“I guess we are going to have to take them on in the banquet hall,” Lakima said.

“I know the spell Ice Storm and Lightning Bolt,” Aelshara told him.

“And I have a Fireball and Lightning Bolt ready,” Lakima said.

“Aldus. You and Eathwund will hold the doors once we open them. Aelshara and I will hit them with spells. They should draw them to us. Aelshara, when the doors open, cast Ice Storm, and then when they advance, hit them with your Lightning bolt.”

Aelshara nodded.

“Any other spells?”

“Just magic missiles,” Aelshara said, “I will save them for last.”

“Aldus, try to explain the plan to Eathwund.”

“I’ll try,” Aldus said. He went over to Eathwund, who stood alone in a zone of silence. Aldus communicated with Eathwund with hand signals. Eathwund appeared to understand and moved to the doors to prepare to open them.

Lakima opened his mouth to give some last-minute instructions, but no sound came out as Eathwund stood a short distance away. He waved to Aelshara, and the two moved south, away from the doors and out of the radius of the silence spell.

“Ready?” Lakima asked. Aelshara nodded. Lakima waved a hand at Eathwund.

Eathwund swung open one door while Aldus struggled with the other. Eathwund moved over and swung the second door open. An eighty-foot hallway extended to a vast banquet chamber, the ceiling well over 30 feet above, allowing the Cloud Giant to move about freely. In the hall, two dozen Hill Giants and half as many ogres were enjoying a banquet. Food and drink were distributed about. In the hall's center was a massive firepit with an entire giant ox roasting on a spit. Behind the fire pit at a central table sat the Cloud Giant and a huge Hill Giant who could only be Chief Nosnra.

Aelshara cast her spell, and a snowball floated down the hallway to land in the center of the first table. An ice storm immediately erupted in the hall, pelting the Hill Giants at the table. Lakima followed it up with a fireball landing on the same table. There was stunned silence for a moment, followed by moans of pain. Then there were yells of anger, and the Giants got to their feet and started angrily running south toward the adventurers.

Aelshara cast her lightning bolt, blasting more of the giants. Ambro and Luna fired arrows at the Cloud Giant. Two arrows from Ambro struck the enraged Giant in the throat. Lakima then cast a fear spell. A number of the giants stopped and then fled in the other direction, including Chief Nosnra. Aldus blew the Silver Horn of Valhalla, and a half-dozen berserkers appeared, forming a line between the adventurers and the giants. The giants were led into the line of berserkers by a huge cave bear. The first giant began crashing into that line of berserkers, and the summoned berserkers began to fall. Soon, the cave bear led the giants upon Eathwund and Aldus, and the desperate melee began. Lakima cast confusion, causing six more giants to stand motionless, stunned. Then Lakima cast another fireball into the midst. All but one of the berserkers went down. One berserker managed to stand his ground against a Hill Giant. Aldus and Eathwund accounted for those giants that made it to the doors. Both took a lot of massive blows from the Hill Giants. Domago cast several healing spells on Aldus. Eathwund relied on his armor and his ring of regeneration. At the height of the fight, a Hill Giant came down the stairs from the watchtower. Aelshara hit him with magic missiles, and Lakima summoned a wraith to harry the giant. Luna and Ambro finished him off with arrows. Lakima cast a Wall of Iron to block the doors so no more giants could flank them.

The Giants attack

Gradually, the giants fell. There was a huge mound of dead giants, and the Chief’s pet cave bear lay dead on the floor. A few giants remaining fled, and a few others fought to the death. Eventually, it was all over.

“Eathwund, Aldus. Are you two all right?” Domago asked.

Both fighters appeared winded but okay. Domago cast one more healing spell on Aldus. Ambro busied herself, removing a gem-studded collar from the cave bear. Then Ambro removed jewelry from the corpses of ogres and giants. Eathwund advanced into the great hall and discovered three Stone Giants in the corner of the room. Two leveled huge clubs at him while the third cowered in the corner, a victim of Lakima’s Fear spell. Lakima and Luna came to join Eathwund, and Lakima tried communicating with the Stone Giants, but they did not understand.

“I speak giantish,” Ambro said as she removed a jeweled necklace from a charred corpse.

“Tell them we want to know who leads the giants,” Lakima said.

Ambro spoke with the Stone Giants and learned they were guests of Chief Nosnra. Their chiefs had sent them to hear the Hill Giants' call to attack the human lands, but they had not made any commitment. The Stone Giants claimed not to have any quarrel with humans, elves, or dwarves. They were uncertain who was backing the Hill Giants. They asked for permission to leave in peace.

“They want to go in peace,” Ambro said.

“Sure, tell them we plan to burn this place to the ground, so they had better not come back.”

Ambro translated the statement, and the Stone Giants took their leave of the Hall.

“Domago. Do you have the Speak with Dead spell prepared?” Lakima asked.

“Yes. Who do you wish to speak with,” Domago asked and looked about.

Lakima pointed at the huge body of the dead Cloud Giant.

Domago cast the spell, and the spirit of the Cloud Giant rose to the rafters, glaring down at the Company.

“Speak puny humans.”

Lakima told Domago what to ask.

“Who leads the Giants in this war on the human realm?”

“Chief Nosnra leads.”

“Who put Chief Nosnra up to this?”

“I do not know. I was invited to the banquet. Perhaps the Fire Giants.”

“Where is Chief Nosnra now?”

“I do not know.”

With that statement, the Cloud Giant vanished.

The Company headed out of the banquet hall and reencountered the kitchen. This time, the doors were wide open. They came face to face with a started female Hill Giant and a bunch of ogres. The giant made no move to attack. Lakima had Ambro threaten them and demand to know where the Chief had gone. The giant refused to answer and threatened them in return. The Company decided to move on.

Checking a door, they encountered a room with six ogres in it, and the fighters, Eathwund, Aldus, and Ian, attacked. Ambro put on her Ring of Flying and flew up and behind the ogres to stab them repeatedly from behind. The fight was soon over, with the ogres dead except for three, who surrendered.

“Where is Chief Nosnra,” Ambro asked in the giant tongue.

The ogres answered that he had fled to the dungeon, but they claimed they did not know how to enter.

“Will find the entrance ourselves,” Lakima said, taking out the Arrow of Direction. The arrow pointed north and down.

 

Enter the Giants

The players caught up to Bargle this past session and dealt with him early in the session. That made it time to introduce them to the Against the Giants trilogy of adventures. I am running the most familiar version, the 1981 second printing (Green Cover). It is not very different from the 1st printing, just all joined in one adventure. I have a later version with an entire sub-plot to get the players involved, but I decided to use my own. I was not sure what hook I would use, but I had prepared a town map under siege by giants.

Session 168: Giants on the move

Lakima (human magic user), Eathwund (human fighter), Aldus (human cavalier), Ambro Feyvine (elven thief), Domago (human cleric NPC), Ian of Darkhollow (human cavalier NPC), Luna (charmed Human Fighter NPC).

The key members of the Company of the Black Dragon have captured the mad magic user Krastos in a Forgotten Hold of the Dwarves deep in the mountains. Krastos tells them that he can lead them to where Barragan is hiding.

“Lead the way, and don’t try anything,” Lakima tells Krastos.

Krastos starts giggling, “Try! Why not try!”

“One wrong move, and I will slit your throat,” Ambros tells Krastos while pushing her dagger against his throat.

Krastos leads the party north and then east down Dwarven hallways. While giggling to himself and occasionally skipping. As they pass down one hallway, Krastos takes a leap forward, suspicious Ambro moves to catch up with him and triggers an old Dwarven trap. Large stones fall from the ceiling, followed by a rain of dirt and pebbles. Ambro just narrowly avoids being crushed. Laughing, Krastos tries to run away but is hindered by his hands tied behind his back. Ambro quickly catches him.

Ceiling Trap

“I should kill you right now!” Ambro shouts.

Krastos laughs, “Bargle is just up ahead. Follow me, and be more careful next time.”

“Keep a close eye on him,” Lakima shouts angrily.

At the end of the hallway the party stopped for a door and Ambro bent down to listen against, just then the door pulled open revealing four hobgoblins on the other side. Both groups were briefly surprised, and Ambro tried and failed to shut the door. Eathwund and Aldus joined Ambro at the door to fight off the hobgoblins. Lakima cast a Sleep spell and two of the hobgoblins fell to the ground asleep, the other two were quickly killed. Krastos continued leading the party through a chamber full of cages and then across an underground stream. This led to another hallway with statues of Dwarven Kings standing in alcoves. As the party reached the mid-way point, the statues animated and grabbed Ambros, Ian, and Krastos. Domago was able to free Ambros and Ian with a Dispel Evil spell, but they were forced to leave Krastos behind.

“We’ll come back for you if we find Barragan,” Lakima said.

“He’s just around the corner,” Krastos said.

Rounding the corner, the party entered a curving hallway leading to an oak door in the wall. Ambros opened this door, and the party saw a large chamber. Standing next to an ironman 12 feet tall, Barragan was immediately visible. Arcs of lightning flashed from a nearby infernal device.

“Who are you?” Barragan asked Ambros. Before Ambro could respond, Lakima stepped into view. “You are not going to run away this time, wizard”

“You again. What now. Have you come to accept my deal?”

“We have come to kill you,” Lakima said.

Ambros made her way into the room to stand not far from Barragan. Eathwund stood near Lakima while Luna stood to Lakima’s other side.

“Stay back, or I will release my iron servant,” Barragan yelled. He swung a gear on the back of the giant, and the iron man stood up from a table and confronted the party.

“Are you willing to take me on as an apprentice?” Ambros asked Barragan.

“Certainly, I can teach you magic,” Barragan said.

“Then we have a deal?” Ambros said.

“First kill Lakima to show your loyalty,” Barragan said.

“Of course,” Ambros said, pulling out a scroll and reading the enchantment. As she waved her hand, a wall of fire rose up, circling the rest of the part.

“Excellent!” Barragan said. Then commanded the Iron monster to enter the flames and kill the party. He stepped forward in excitement to watch. Unseen, Ambros drew her sword and stabbed Barragan in the back. The point of her blade exiting from his belly.

Domago used his last dispel to bring down the wall of fire. Eathwund and Luna fought the iron clockwork monster. Barragan stumbled to his knees and then vanished from sight. Lakima cast detected invisibility, but it was immediately apparent that Barragan had teleported.

The iron man stumbled from a blow from Eathwund but continued to deal out huge punches with its iron fists until Ambro jammed her sword in its back between two gears. The Iron Man froze in place, immobilized.

“I was unsure what you were doing, Ambros. I apologize for doubting you,” Domago said.

“I, conversely, had no doubt,” Lakima said.

The party spent a few moments checking the chamber, finding a wand in a desk drawer. Lakima used a limited wish spell to summon an invisible stalker, whom he sent to recover Barragan.

“I hope he has not teleported far,” Lakima said while using the Arrow of Direction. The arrow pointed to the northwest. “This way.”

The party headed down another winding hallway and then turned northwest. They heard a loud, screeching roar, and the dungeon walls shook. They saw Barragan with his arms pinned to his sides floating down the hallway toward them.

“I see my servant has captured you,” Lakima said as the invisible stalker dropped Barragan at his feet and vanished.

“Curse you, my dragon will call you all!” Barragan shouted.

From the other end of the hallway, a doorway shook, and they saw the golden clockwork dragon trying to fit through an archway that was too small for it. Eathwund and Aldus rushed forward to defend the group. The dragon released a bolt of lightning that struck Eathwund and Aldus and then ricochetted down the hallway, striking Ambro and Barragan but missing everyone else. Barragan slumped to the floor, barely alive.

Eathwund and Aldus battled the clockwork dragon, and Lakima summoned an Earth elemental. Between the three of them, they pummeled the dragon until it leaked oil, sparking and groaning. The elemental finally slammed the dragon’s head against the floor until it was pounded flat.

“Is it made from gold plates?” Ambro shouted.

“No, it is just iron painted with gold paint,” Eathwund answered, his voice full of disappointment.

With Barragan securely bound and gagged, the party returned to collect Krastos. Lakima used a disintegrate spell to free him. Then, the party exited the dungeon to rejoin Thelgrim Dale, the dwarf who was waiting outside. Thelgrim guided the party back to Grimstone trading post, where the Cloudstealer awaited.

“Back home?” Eathwund asked as the Cloudstealer rose into the sky.

“No. We need to take these two to Duke Robert and collect the reward,” Lakima replied.

The company spent two days traveling by air across Valnwall until arriving in the City of Dolmvay. The ship set down in the garden around the palace. The group was taken immediately to see the duke. The two prisoners were handed over, and they collected the reward of 7,000 gold coins. Lakima asked for a private audience with the duke. In private, he pressed the case of Aldus being given the title of Earl. He expounded on Aldus’ noble family and just nature. The duke mentioned he did have something in mind. Once goodbyes were said, the Cloudstealer headed back to Edgerton, arriving the next day.

The next few weeks were pretty quiet. Eathwund decides to use the portal to the Bridgeway to travel to Peake’s Crossing. Here, he purchased the burned-down Inn in the center of town. He also hired workmen to build a new, grander inn. Ambro asked Lakima about creating more magic scrolls. Lakima explained the cost of materials and his valuable time. He suggested purchasing them instead. Lakima went and sold some of the magic items gained on the adventure at Clearwin’s Oddities with Ambro accompanying him. Clearwin had no magic scrolls to sell but recommended that Ambro go to the Apothecary and speak to Malyn.

“Malyn is an old acquaintance. I can introduce you,” Lakima said.

At the Apothecary, Ambro was introduced to the surprisingly young magic user who ran the shop. Malyn explained his prices for magic scrolls, and Ambro decided they were too expensive. Malyn complained to Lakima about not getting a commission on the flying ship built for the duke.

“After all, it was my design that gave you the elemental cage,” Malyn said.

“Fine,” Lakima said and reached into the pouch of holding to pull out a bag full of gold coins. Malyn opened the bag and nodded in agreement.

Having heard about a temple of death magic being connected to the Apothecary, Ambro told Lakima she planned to browse some more when he indicated he was heading back to the Manor. Once Lakima had left, Ambro questioned Malyn. Although, cautious at first, Malyn agreed to show Ambro the old Temple of the Dark Lady the shop was attached to. He pulled down the cloth hiding the statue of the Dark Lady.

“The Dark Lady,” Malyn said, “My patron, my task,” he said with irony.

Malyn explained that he once worshipped the Dark Lady, but he was captured by warriors of St. Cuthbert. They placed a geas on him to remain guardian of the temple. Then he pointed to the covered stairs to the crypts.

“Below lie the entombed corpses of hundreds of necromancers,” Malyn said. “Because of the fear of them, the church set me here as a custodian. My penance.”

“For hundreds of years, I have watched over them.”

“Hundreds of years? But you look to be sixteen,” Ambro said.

“I have my secrets,” Malyn simply said.

Having taken interest in Ambro Malyn produced a small wooden box and handed it to Ambro calling it a gift.

The days grew shorter as the fall began to draw into winter. Eathwund spent time in Peake’s Crossing, supervising the progress of his new venture. Ambro opened the box and found a marble statuette of Leira, the faceless god – an aspect of the Dark Lady. She worshipped the statuette in secret in a hidden chamber in her room in the Manor. Lakima worked on a new spell he wanted to research.

One day, August came to disturb Lakima while doing his research.

“Master, Glyn Palderus contacted us by crystal ball. He says that Caster’s Ford is under attack by an army of Giants!”

“Really?” Lakima said, disbelieving the threat.

The party gathered around the crystal ball while Palderus went to the top of his tower in Caster’s Ford and showed them the Giants advancing on the town. It was difficult to see much with all of the smoke in the air.

“We must go to their defense!” Domago said.

“Fine, let’s go deal with them,” Lakima said. He penned a letter and handed it to August.

“August, you take this directly to Duke Robert!”

August nodded and joined the others as they went to the School of Magic. The gate was taken from the school to the Bridgeway. August was sent to Dolmvay. The rest took the Bridgeway to the old stone bridge in Caster’s Ford. They stepped off the bridge and arrived in a chaotic scene. Townsfolk ran about the streets trying to get aboard the few boats tied up in the river. People were screaming that they were all going to die and that the city was doomed. The party made their way to the North Wall. As they neared the wall, they saw battered buildings and stone boulders in the street. An occasional boulder sailed over the wall, striking a building or striking a soldier standing on the parapet of the wall.

On the wall they looked down on an incredible scene. An army of giants were making siege to the town. As they took in the scene, they realized most of the army were actually ogres but there were a lot of hill giants and even some frost giants. Lakima cast a fireball into the attackers and then a lightning bolt. After the spells were expended six or seven dead giants lay on the field. The giants redirected their attacks to the west gate, away from the north wall.

“The East Gate! The East gate has fallen!”

A soldier ran toward the north wall, shouting the dire news. Lakima waved at the group, directing them to the east gate. The party made its way back across town to the East Gate. They arrived and saw Hill Giants through the gate, ransacking and smashing nearby buildings. Lakima summoned an Earth Elemental, which strode up to the Hill Giants, driving them before itself right out the gate. Horns began to sound from the Hills surrounding the town.

The Hill Giants attack

People began cheering.

“The Giants are defeated! They are fleeing.”

Townsfolk came out of their homes to cheer the party.

“The Company of the Black Dragon has returned to save the town!”

The party went through the broken gate and watched the Hill Giants retreat.

“They are dropping back in good order,” Aldus noted.

“They don’t look defeated,” Eathwund added.

“No. They are not. They will be back. Domago did you prepare a speak with dead prayer?” Lakima asked Domago.

“Yes.”

The party headed into the field of dead giants north of the town walls.

“That one,” Lakima pointed at a dead Frost Giant.

Domago prayed before the corpse, and a 15-foot-tall ghostly figure of a Frost Giant rose from the ground.

“Speak, puny humans. Ask your questions.”

“Why have you attacked this town?”

“We have decided to make the human lands our own. All of the small creatures will be our slaves.”

“Who leads?”

“The Frost Giants lead this war!”

“Who is your leader?”

“Jarl Grugnur!”

Then, the spirit vanished.

“I guess we need to talk to Duke Robert again,” Lakima said, “The Frost Giants were followers of the White Worm.”

“Who is this White Worm?” Ambro asked.

“Past tense. We killed it.” Lakima answered.

Lakima contacted the custodian of the Bridgeway, and the portal was opened for them. From the Bridgeway, they returned to Dolmvay. There was a meeting with Duke Robert. Lakima explained the attack. Duke Robert pressed for his High Wizard – a title Lakima had pursued from the duchy – to take the fight to the Hill Giants. He explained that the scout Aelshara knew the location of the Hill Giant Steading where the Hill Giants were gathering. Duke Robert advised that he would load soldiers on his flying ship and reinforce Caster’s Ford. He expected the Company of the Black Dragon to send a strong message to the Hill Giants. A message that made it clear that the Giants were not welcome in Valnwall.

The party returned to Edgerton to prepare for the expedition. That night, Ambro had a strange dream. She found herself lost in a foggy moor. In the distance, she saw a light and was drawn to it. Once she approached, she saw a woman figure in warrior’s gear. The figure had a face obscured by a bright light. Ambro bent down on one knee before the figure. The figure explained that it wished Ambro to be her instrument. A rival was attempting to overthrow Valnwall. This could not be allowed to happen. As Ambro looked up, the figure bent down toward her, and the light became unbearable. Then Ambro woke up. While it was still late, with hours before daylight, Ambro made her way across town to the Apothecary. The door was locked, but she had little trouble with the lock. Inside, all was dark and quiet.

“What are you doing there in the dark, thief?”  A voice called out. Ambro realized it was coming from a jade statuette of a dragon on the counter. She told the statue to get Malyn. The statue flew off and returned riding on Malyn’s shoulder. Ambro told Malyn about her dream, which seemed to excite Malyn.

“The lady makes herself known. But why does she contact you?”

“You must follow her direction and report back to me.”

Malyn then gave Ambro another gift, a scroll with a single spell.

Trail of Bargle

Last week, the players in my Swords & Wizardry campaign set out in search of their adversary, Barragan, the Wizard. Barragan made attacks directly against the player characters' friends and disrupted their plans, so I was hopeful the party would feel hell-bent on bringing him to justice, but he turned out to be more of a chore for them. Developing a nemesis for the party takes work.

The adventure was adapted from the 5th Edition adventure "The Forgotten Hold" written by Benjamin Palmer of Adventure Awaits Studios.

Session 167: The Forgotten Hold

Lakima (human magic user), Eathwund (human fighter), Aldus (human cavalier), Ambro Feyvine (elven thief), Domago (human cleric NPC), Ian of Darkhollow (human cavalier NPC), Luna (charmed Human Fighter NPC).

The Members of the Company of the Black Dragon are in a deep dungeon beneath Mudstick Hill. This was the lair of the evil magic user Barragan, the infamous one. Barragan fled using magic once he lost control of a gate to the elemental plane of fire.

“Let’s check a few more doors and then leave. The fire elementals are no longer a threat,” Lakima says.

“We need to find some treasure,” Aldus adds.

With Ambro leading the way, the group searched a chamber full of skeletons. Half of the skeletons animated and attacked, but Domago turned most of them, and Aldus and Eathwund made short work of the rest.

“Should we check these prison cells,” Ambro asked.

“We should leave. We accomplished what we set out to do,” Lakima said.

“Not much treasure to show for it,” Aldus added.

They heard knocking at one cell door and a voice calling out to be rescued. The voice claimed to not remember their name when asked. Lakima and Ambro suggested they move on, but Aldus kicked in the door. Behind the door was a mummy.

“See, this is what happens,” Lakima sighed.

Domago forced the Mummy back into its coffin, but Aldus and Eathwund attacked anyway, destroying it. The coffin turned out to be depressingly empty.

“No more cells!” Lakima said.

The group made their way back up through the dungeon's levels. When they reached the exit and the corpse of the owlbear they had killed, Ambro had a question.

“Do we have time for me to skin this owlbear?”

“Do you know how to?” Lakima scoffed.

Ambro set to work and, in her mind, did a pretty good job of skinning the dead owlbear. The skin was fairly intact.

“Can we go now?” Lakima said.

The group left the dungeon and mounted their horses. It was early evening, so they decided to stay at the Wheatsheaf Tavern in Winchem for the night. Ambro paid the Innkeeper’s wife to wash the owlbear skin.

The next day, the company rode on to Dolmvay. Ambro asked around for a tailor and got many suggestions.

“Can we stop at a tailor?”

“We need to make haste to the Duke’s Palace,” Lakima said.

Outside the stone walls of the Duke’s Palace, the guards looked nervously at the eight adventurers on horseback riding up to the gate.

“No one enters, move on.”

“We are the Company of the Black Dragon, and we have urgent news for Duke Robert!” Lakima responded.

The guards made the adventurers wait while one went up to check with the seneschal. Word came back to let them in.

Duke Robert and his advisors met the company in a sitting room. The spymaster, Nathen Melius, received the documents and read them over. He wordlessly handed them to Duke Robert with a nod. Duke Robert read the same papers and then gave them to Mikael, the Wolf Lord.

“Thank you, Lakima,” Duke Robert said, “This is grave information indeed.”

“Rest assured that we will act upon this information.”

The rest of the meeting was made up of idle chatter. Soon, Duke Robert’s seneschal suggested that the meeting was over.

“Well, okay, we will be heading back to Edgerton,” Lakima said.

“Wait, could one of you recommend a good tailor?” Ambro piped up. Several of the men paused, their mouths hanging open, and then Lady Elena, the Royal Scribe, spoke.

“Surely. I will write you a recommendation for an excellent tailor.”

Lady Elena wrote a note and handed it to Ambro while the rest of the adventurers headed out of the palace. Once out of the Palace, Ambro insisted on going directly to the tailor, Hellerin’s Clothiers, on Spark Street.

At the clothier, Ambro handed over the owlbear skin and negotiated a price of 240 gold coins to make it into a cloak.

Once their business was done, the group headed to the King’s Bridge. Lakima instructed everyone to wait while he teleported to the Bridgeway. A short while later, he returned and told them to walk through the portal to the Bridgeway. Thankfully, no residents of Dolmvay came along for the ride. From Dolmvay, they took the Bridgeway to the bridge across the river in Edgerton. The horses were brought to the local stable, and the company headed to the Manor House.

The next day, Domago and Aldus discussed the issue of the magic user who had escaped to Lakima.

“Don’t worry, I plan to bring Bargle to us,” Lakima said.

Trusting in Lakima, the rest of the company went about their business: Eathwund spent time at the Sign of the Purple Bugbear, Domago headed to the Church of St. Aleena, and Aldus returned to his wife. Ambro Feyvine cashed in some of the treasure she purloined at a local jeweler. She also spent some time at the Library of Antiquity researching local lore and gods.

Lakima worked on his own unique project. Using a summoning spell and a limited wish, he created an invisible stalker and commanded it to find Bargle and return him to Lakima at the Manor House.

After a week, Lakima checked the Arrow of Direction and found it was spinning aimlessly when he asked for the location of the invisible stalker. It appeared that the stalker had been destroyed or banished.

Lakima announced the news over dinner one night.

“It looks like we need to track down the magic user ourselves. Who will join me on the Cloudstealer tomorrow?”

Eathwund, Aldus, Ambro, Domago, Ian, and August agreed to join the expedition. As usual, Luna did not acknowledge the question.

The following day, the Company headed out on the Cloudstealer. The arrow of direction pointed out along the same direction as the wilderness road, so the ship followed the Dolm River to the village of Larm. In Larm, they spoke with Haldo Bramwise and Durgam, the scout at the Borderland Tavern. Durgam told them of sightings of the iron dragon around the village of Grimstone in the mountains. The Cloudstealer set out for Grimstone the next day. In Grimstone, the dwarves suggest that the iron dragon terrorizing Wilderness Road could be coming from an old Dwarven ruin in the mountains. Thelgrim Dale offered to guide them to the ruins.

“I’ll not be entering those haunted halls,” Thelgrim told them. I’ll wait outside. Those dwarves who enter the Forgotten Hold never see the light of day again.”

Thelgrim expressed nervousness about going aboard the Cloudstealer and flying over the mountains, but Lakima told him not to worry.

“We don’t want to get attacked by that iron dragon in the air. We will hike to this ruin.”

The Forgotten Hold

It took two days to reach the dwarven ruin. A single stone door in the mountainside flanked by two twenty-foot-tall statues of forgotten Dwarven kings.

“This is as far as I go. I’ll wait here for you for three days,” Thelgrim said.

The company approached the door, and Ambro examined it. Finding it safe, she moved back and let Eathwund open the door. A short hall led to a tall, pillared hall with walls carved with dwarven icons. They heard the clanking sound of many suits of armor marching toward them and were attacked by six animated suits of iron armor.

In the melee, Eathwund fought with deadly furry. All six of the animated armors were smashed by him. But while fighting the animated armor, a war band of Hobgoblins also attacked the group. While Eathwund dealt with the armor suits, Ambro, Aldus, and Lakima dealt with the hobgoblins. After a long fight, the hobgoblins were dead, and the suits lay in piles of antique armor. One hobgoblin almost ran away, but Aldus and Ambro tracked him down and killed him.

“We need to stop and rest,” Domago said, “Look at our comrades.”

Aldus, Ian, Ambro, and Domago were all badly injured. Domago took the time to pray over the wounded, healing most of their wounds.

The group headed deeper into the dungeon, Ambro disarmed a booby-trapped chest, and the group surprised another group of hobgoblins, killing all of them.

Finally, they found a dwarven library and in the back a hunched figure of a wizard wearing blue robes, and a blue cap.

“Who are you,” Lakima demanded.

The magic-user turned to find himself surrounded by a group of adventurers.

“I am a powerful wizard, so you had better begone from my sight.”

“Well, you aren’t Barragan,” Lakima stated.

“Phooey, Barragan, the self-important one. I am my own mage. I take commands from no one!”

The mage is questioned but is reluctant to provide much information. When Lakima turns insistent, the mage becomes invisible and tries to flee. However, Lakima casts detect invisibility and can direct Ambro and Aldus to where the wizard is. They grab the invisible mage and prevent him from escaping.

The mage strikes Aldus once with a staff of striking before being disarmed. This has the effect of negating the invisibility spell. The mage eventually tells them his name is Krastos, and he is the builder of the iron dragon. He rambles on and giggles incessantly.

“This guy is an idiot,” Aldus says to Lakima.

“Possibly. Or he acts the idiot.” Lakima replies.

“If you want to continue living, you will take us to the mage, whatever his name is,” Lakima says.

“Call him Bargle. He hates that name. It was his name as an apprentice,” Krastos says.

Ambro pulled her dagger and held it to Krastos’ neck.

“Last chance.”

“Okay, okay. Calm down. I will take you to meet the mighty infamous one himself.”

Missed Opportunity

This past week, the players in my Swords & Wizardry Campaign tracked down one of the boss bad guys. Now that all of the characters are over the tenth level (one is 14th level), we have been discussing wrapping up the campaign. I use the Chronicles of Amherth setting with the Guidebook to the Duchy of Valnwall and the City of Dolmvay sourcebooks (Small Niche Games). An in-joke of this setting is the dread wizard Barugal. Modeled after Bargle of D&D Basic fame. The wizard's name in my version is Barragan, but he uses Barugal as an alias. Bargle was the name his abusive mentor gave him in his youth.

One of the players lost a duel against a Death Knight (session 147) and made it known that he wished for a rematch. This seemed like the perfect place to drop it in. It would be a surprise but not out of place for the Death Knight to be working for a new master. Unfortunately, my plans were upset when the player in question had to miss the session (for good reason). I thought about pulling the encounter, but the players got on top quickly, and I just went ahead. I should have adlibbed some other encounter, but what is done is done.

A new player also joined the group. I warned the player about the characters' level and the fact that the campaign was winding down.

Session 166: The Ruin of Mudstick Hill

Lakima (human magic user), Eathwund (human fighter), Aldus (human cavalier), Ambro Feyvine (elven thief), Domago (human cleric NPC), Ian of Darkhollow (human cavalier NPC), August (human magic-user NPC), Luna (charmed Human Fighter NPC).

The Black Dragon company is at their Manor in Edgerton. One day in the early fall, they receive a visitor. An elven explorer and trap-finding expert named Ambro Feyvine.

“Sirs, an elven woman is waiting in the main hall,” Huntley says to the adventurers gathered in the dining room.

“Go see what she wants,” Lakima says, waving at Aldus and Domago.

The elven woman of indistinguishable age introduces herself and gives Domago a letter of introduction.

"Thought you could use an expert in the group. I heard about poor Jon Wallis. I have been working with Ambro on scouting jobs for the Earl. I think you will find her quite skilled.

Signed Aelshara"

“Lakima, it seems Aelshara recommended her,” Domago says, handing the letter to Lakima.

Lakima tosses the letter aside and glances at Ambro, “You any good?”

“Sure am, but I warn you I have a habit of picking up missing items,” Ambro says, “but I return them eventually. I just need to keep in practice.”

“I would keep your hands out of my pockets,” Lakima warns, “Sometimes I put extra-dimensional spaces in them.”

“Is that all?” Domago asks Lakima. Lakima shrugs, “Sure, why not? You trust Aelshara.”

Ambro is introduced to the rest of the company and Alayna, Lakima’s wife.

“Ohh, whose dog?” Ambro exclaims, looking at a large, jet-black dog with intelligent eyes.

“This is Onyx, my protector,” Alayna says.

“Well, we have some work to do,” Lakima says, “Dear, I am afraid we will be gone for the rest of the day and maybe part of tomorrow. I need to pop over and visit Ezmeralden.” Alayna took this message in stride.

Lakima gathers the company together and brings his apprentice, August. He explains that it is about time they did something about Barragan.

“Whose Barragan?” Ambro asks.

“A Wizard, giving the rest of us a bad name,” Lakima says.

The company sets out across town and enters the School of Magic. A magical portal in one of the classrooms takes them to the Bridgeway in the King’s Wood. Here, they meet the custodian Ezmeraldan. He sets the magical Bridgeway for a bridge in the capital city of Dolmvay.

“What is this place,” Ambro asks Lakima.

“It is old magic. The magic of this bridge can be linked to bridges all over this world and even to some other worlds.”

“Today, we just need to get to Dolmvay.”

The adventurers head back outside, showing Ambro how to use the bridge.

“You just walk across the bridge from one end to the other, and when you step off, poof, you are there,” Eathwund tells Ambro.

The adventurers arrive at a busy bridge crossing the Dolm River in the heart of Dolmvay. A few locals hurriedly sprint away from the group, but others take their sudden arrival in stride. They speak to a local man, who directs them to a nearby stable, and Lakima buys seven horses. Lakima takes a glass ball out of his bag of holding and summons a magical horse for himself.

The eight adventurers ride north of Dolmvay into the Hillside farms. At a small inn in the village of Winchem, they learn about the location of a nearby tower ruin on Mudstick Hill. The local character also warns them that an owlbear has made its home near the ruins. It is a short distance away, and the group arrives just after noon. They set the horses to roam the hillside and explore the ruins.

Ruins on Mudstick Hill

“Hey, Domago, what’s with her?” Ambro asks Domago pointing at Luna. Luna always stands within five feet of Lakima in a protective pose. She wears a closed helmet on her head. Domago explains that Luna was a slaver guard they captured a few months ago. Lakima placed a charm person enchantment on her.

“It is likely more than she deserves,” Domago says but reddens slightly, “She would have been hung if we turned her in. This way, she can atone for her evil acts.”

“She sure is a strange one,” Ambro adds.

Searching the ruins on the hill, they locate a stair blocked by stone and dirt. They also note several depressions on the hill that might be over open chambers below them. Eathwund starts to move some of the stones blocking the stairs, picking up enormous boulders with ease. Ambro offers to check for traps, and she warns that there are tracks and spider webs about the stones.

“I think spiders are coming and going through these rocks,” Ambro shudders, “I hate spiders.”

Eathwund calls everyone's attention to bear tracks he finds in the ruins. He follows them to a low cave mouth about twenty feet from the ruins.

“Smells like a bear and something else,” Eathwund says, “It might be the owlbear.”

“Fighters take the lead,” Lakima says.

Aldus and Eathwund duck under the low-hanging entrance into the cave. Soon, they see stone walls and a stone floor ahead. The cave mouth leads into dungeons under the ruins. Bones lie scattered about the floor. Suddenly, there is a roar and a crash of metal. Up ahead, they see a chamber blocked by an iron portcullis. An owlbear crashes against the bars, anxious to get out and attack them. Then, there is a grinding noise, and the portcullis rises, letting the Owlbear out to attack. It rumbles forward and attacks Aldus and Eathwund.

There is a short battle between the owlbear and the fighters Eathwund, Aldus, and Ian. The three fighters soon kill the owlbear.

“Are you sure it is dead?” Ambro asks. Then she pokes the owlbear a few times with her sword. The corpse twitches once, but then it stops moving.

 “We must have triggered the gate open,” Lakima says, looking at Ambro. She looks but does not find anything that looks like a trigger.

“The wizard was probably watching us approach and opened it,” Ambro says.

“Okay, let's proceed cautiously.”

The group heads through the dungeon with Ambro, checking doors for traps and sounds. They find many signs of recent occupants, including burning torches on the walls and a room full of supplies. They also find chambers that have not been cleared of debris. Here, they are attacked by giant spiders from a large nest. The spiders are killed without anyone being poisoned. The fight attracts the attention of a ghost in the ruins. A ghost of a man dressed like a villager tries to strangle Eathwund, but the fighter manages to destroy it. The adventurers return to where they came and find a wizard’s work area. Ambro decides to keep a hooded, blue robe she found in a trunk of men’s clothes. Lakima collects incriminating scrolls showing communication between Barragan (signing as “B”) and Earl Uther of Calwell.

The door from this room opens into a circular chamber in the center of the dungeon ruins. A set of stone steps lead down to lower levels. Human skeletons wearing tattered remnants of chain mail armor, holding rusty spears and shields, line the room's wall.

“Domago, be ready!” Lakima says, then points for Eathwund to enter the room. When Eathwund steps into the chamber, a dozen skeletons animate and attack. Domago begins brandishing his holy symbol, and most skeletons are instantly destroyed. Their bones turn to dust, and their weapons fall onto the stone flagstones. Eathwund makes quick work of the remaining skeletons.

“That wasn’t very hard?” Eathwund asks.

“Skeletons are a cheap and easy alarm system for a magic user,” Lakima says.

“I am just going to take a few bones,” Ambro says.

“Why?” Domago says.

Ambro smiles at Domago and puts a femur in her bag.

Ambro asks the group to wait while she returns to the mage’s study and relocks the door. Eathwund enters the chamber to see what she is doing.

“Just in case someone wants to sneak up behind us,” Ambro says, “Help me with this trunk.”

Eathwund nods, picks up a large trunk easily, and drops it in front of the locked door.

With their backs secure, the group descends the stairs to the next level, arriving in a creepy chamber. Strange devices lie on tables in the chamber. Piles of candles lie on the floor; a skeleton lies on a closed coffin. Domago makes his way toward two eight-foot-tall statues of a skeleton covered in robes covered in cobwebs.

Domago turns to the group, “This is a statue of the forbidden god of death. I hesitate to say his name.” 

“Just tell us,” Lakima says.

“It’s Azrael, the god of death, murder, and dark magic. Only necromancers worship him.”

“Well, they look ancient. This mage we seek might not be a necromancer,” Lakima states.

The chamber is circular, and when the adventurers follow it around, they come across a summoning circle 20 feet in diameter. Green flames leap from four candles along the edge of the circle. The air is hazy in the center of the circle but appears empty. A considerable bookshelf covers the wall, piled high with books and scrolls.

“Stand back,” Lakima says, ”I am going to dispel it.”

Lakima casts the dispelling magic, and the four candles are instantly snuffed out with a snap. A whirlwind of smoke forms in the circle's center, a crazed-looking face and mouth form, and screeching sounds build.

“Air Elemental!” Lakima shouts.

“It looks angry!” Eathwund shouts.

The air elemental swings at Eathwund, who holds it at bay. While Eathwund struggles with the maddened air elemental while the rest of them attack. Soon after, they are victorious, and the elemental vanishes.

“More tricks by this magic user. I believe he must be nearby,” Lakima says.

The door from the chamber is locked, so Ambro goes to work. In a moment, she picks the lock and swings the door open. Inside, they see a small chamber with a bed, desk, pool of steaming green liquid, and a mage in red robes standing before a pair of double doors.

“Stand back! Or I open this door and release a fearsome beast!” the mage yells.

“So what? We have defeated all of your other beasts,” Lakima scoffs.

“Stand back, I tell you, “ the mage cries out, seeing Aldus and Eathwund slowly enter the room.

“Kill him,” Lakima yells.

“No, wait!” Ambro shouts.

Without hesitation, Eathwund and Aldus rush forward. Eathwund strikes the man in the shoulder and waist with his sword. The mage cries out with a whimper, vainly trying to protect himself with his outstretched hands. Aldus then stabs the man in the chest with his sword. The mage falls to the floor in a crumpled heap.

“He wanted to surrender!” Ambro yells and slaps Aldus ineffectively on his shoulder.

“He is an evil mage who has done countless harm to the people of Valnwall and, more importantly, was giving mages a bad name,” Lakima says quietly.

“Grrr!” Ambro says, fuming, “Are we even sure this is the mage we wanted?”

Lakima shrugs. Then, ponders this momentarily, ”Domago, could you speak with the dead?”

Domago nods and prays to St. Aleena. A ghostly shadow of the mage rises out of the corpse.

“Are you Barragan the mage?” Domago asks.

“I am his apprentice, Riven,” it says.

“Where is your master?”

“My master waits for you below. He is preparing for you. He left me to stall you and to die in vain.”

“Below where?”

“He waits in the summoning chamber.”

The ghost then offers a final comment unbidden, raises a hand, and points directly at Aldus.

“One waits for you, Aldus below. Your doom awaits!” Then, the ghostly form vanishes.

“Well, what do you think of that,” Aldus says.

“He was just an apprentice. We could have talked to him,” Ambro retorts to Aldus and smacks him again.

“He did not choose his master wisely,” Lakima notes. He turns to check the desk and picks up a letter. The letter is a note to someone named Kratos telling them to send out the Iron Dragon to harass more travelers on the wilderness road. Barragan writes that he needs to distract a group of adventurers who might know his location. He writes that he will join Kratos soon.

While Lakima is busy with the letters on the desk, Eathwund and Ambro check out the strange, steaming pool of green liquid. Ambro sticks a finger in the liquid before anyone can stop her. She finds it is hot but not boiling. She pauses and then licks the liquid off her finger.

“Taste like water,” she says.

“Maybe it's his laundry,” Eathwund says.

Ambro moves, walks over to the double doors, and peers through the gap. She sees a chamber beyond strewn with dozens of human skeletons. She then checks the doors, finds them locked, and goes to work. Ambro quickly unlocks both doors, and Eathwund swings them open as Ambro steps behind him. In the chamber, they see dozens and dozens of human bones and skeletons. The bones are strewn all over the stone floor. They see stone steps leading down that are filled in with debris. An iron cage and an iron grill on the floor are also visible.

“Careful, Domago, get up here,” Lakima says.

Eathwund steps into the chamber, and human bones crack under his feet. There is a rustling sound, and a dozen skeletons pull themselves erect from the floor. The skeletons grab rusty swords from the floor and step toward Eathwund.

“Begone, creatures of evil!” Domago shouts. Six skeletons immediately collapse in a heap—the rest rush toward Eathwund. Aldus steps up on Eathwund’s right, and the two warriors smash and hack their way through the skeletons and into the chamber. The fight is soon over, and Eathwund steps toward the stone steps.

“They look completely blocked,” Eathwund says.

“Let me see,” Lakima says and steps into the chamber, heading toward Eathwund. On his second step into the chamber, he vanishes.

“Ahhh!” August shouts, raising his voice for the first time this day.

“Lakima is gone. I think it is a teleport trap!” August shouts, “I must join him.” August tries to step forward, but Ambro grabs the apprentice by the arm and holds him back. Luna ignores all this and quickly steps onto where Lakima was last seen. Luna vanishes as well.

“A teleport trap. Let’s follow them,” August says, struggling with Ambro.

“Stop squirming,” Ambro says, “you’re not going anywhere.”

Ambro turns to Eathwund, Aldus, and Ian, “We don’t know where this trap leads. We should not follow it.”

“I have to go!” August shouts, “Unhand me!”

“Fine, but think before you do…” Ambro says and lets go of August. She finishes with a curse as August leaps onto the spot on the floor and vanishes.

“Dummy,” Ambro says quietly, then shrugs, steps onto the trap, and vanishes.

Eathwund searches about the chamber, gets down on his hands and knees, and looks in the iron-blocked pit. He finds nothing, but there is another level below them.

“Aldus, Ian, give me a hand here.”

Eathwund starts moving enormous stones that block the steps, passing stones to Ian and Aldus, who struggle to carry them to one side to drop them. Takes Eathwund no more than a quarter of a watch to clear the stairs. Domago casts a light spell on his mace to make seeing things more manageable.

Meanwhile, deep in the dungeon, Lakima, Luna, August, and Ambro find themselves in what must be a prison cell. The chamber has been unused for centuries. Spider webs hang from the ceiling. Dust and debris cover the floor. In the center of one wall is an iron-bound wood door with a single keyhole and no latch.

Lakima, who has made himself comfortable on a stone bench, gestures to Ambro.

“Decided to join us, I see,” he says. We need a hand with the door.”

Ambro tries to open the door but finds breaking the lock inside the prison cell impossible. She informs Lakima that they are trapped.

“Luna, open the door,” Lakima says.

Luna nods to Lakima and approaches the door. A gem on the forehead of her helmet flashes, and the door lock responds with a loud click. The door groans as it swings open.

Beyond the door is a vast circular chamber with stone walls. The adventurers stand on a broad platform circling a sandy-floored fighting pit 10 feet below. As they exit onto the platform, torches burst into light. A dark figure on the far side of the chamber calls out.

“Welcome. I have been waiting patiently for you.”

An armored knight steps out of the shadows. He holds a gleaming long sword in one hand. Icy mist pours from the figure and the sword and falls to the floor. Red glowing eyes regard them from beneath a horned helmet.

“We meet again. My new patron bids you welcome. I am here to kill you.”

“Do I know you,” Lakima says slowly, looking to stall any encounter.

“We have met before. One of your numbers, a young knight named Aldus, challenged me and lost. Do you remember me now?”

“The Deathknight, and it looks like his new master is the mage we seek. This guy is trouble,” Lakima says in hushed tones to his companions. Luna immediately stepped forward to stand between Lakima and the knight. The knight started walking, disappearing into the shadows. Only Ambro, with her elven eyes, could track his movement.

“He is circling the pit and coming toward us!” Ambro said.

Lakima cast a spell summoning a fire elemental. A major elemental appeared and struggled against Lakima’s mental commands. Once he had it under control, he directed it toward the Deathknight. The Deathknight summoned spikes of ice that grew rapidly out of the floor and briefly held the elemental in place.

Meanwhile upstairs.

Once the stairs were cleared, Eathwund headed down, followed by Domago, Aldus, and Ian. They arrived in the stone chamber where a lot of debris lay. Three doors left the chamber. Two were blocked with piles of carefully stacked stones. Eathwund pointed toward the unblocked door, and the group headed that way. Thankfully, the door was not locked. This new chamber had a small table covered with debris and some wood chairs. A circular staircase headed down.

“There is flickering light below!” Eathwund told the others, pointing at the stairs. The four quickly headed down as the light grew brighter. Stepping into the chamber, Domago’s light flooded the area. Not far away, they see Ambro, Luna, August, and Lakima facing a tall, black-armoured figure with icy mist pouring from his body. A fire elemental broke free from icy bonds and moved toward the Deathknight.

“Finally, our companions have arrived!” Lakima shouts at the Deathknight.

Turning slowly, the Deathknight regarded the new intruders.

“Aldus, looking for another duel?”

“Yes, I am ready to fight you,” Aldus shouted, pushing his way forward.

“Not here. In the pit like a proper match,” the Deathknight pointed at the pit and headed for one of the stairs down.

“I need to fight him alone,” Aldus said to Eathwund. Eathwund simply nodded. Domago approached Aldus, “May St. Aleena guide your sword.” He then touched Aldus on the arm. Aldus felt a surge of divine power. He then followed the Deathknight down into the pit.

The Deathknight regarded Aldus, ”You are not yet my match. It is a pity. I am so tired of this undeath.”

“Then why don’t you give up?” Lakima shouted.

“That would not be proper,” the Deathknight said, “I have lived two thousand years, and I always keep my word. It might be what got me in this state, but that is all I have left. I must fight as my new patron requests. Then he will aid me in killing Demogorgon.”

Aldus stepped closer to the knight, judging his opponent's speed. Then, the knight made a gesture with his hand. Six-foot-long spikes of ice erupted from the ground, impaling Aldus. The Deathknight moved forward to deliver a killing blow. From above, Lakima concentrated on controlling the fire elemental, directing it to melt the ice. Just as the Deathknight approached Aldus, the ice melted, and Aldus was free. He quickly parried the Deathknight’s thrust, feeling the deep cold emanating from the knight, sapping his strength. Aldus turned and swung his sword at the Deathknight, striking a blow absorbed by its armor. The Deathknight then swung his sword, striking Aldus in the side. Blood sprayed from Aldus out over the sand.

The Final Duel

“Don’t die, or I will kill you!” Ambro shouted and then readied her bow, “We should help him!”

“It’s his fight,” Lakima said.

“Oops!” Ambro said and loosed an arrow, expertly striking the Deathknight in an open space in his chest armor.

The Deathknight tore out the arrow and tossed it aside. Aldus struck quickly with his sword, and the Deathknight staggered.

“I’m winning! Leave it to me!” Aldus shouted.

“You do put up a good fight. The best anyone has given me in centuries, but you are not winning,” the Deathknight said and struck Aldus again. Aldus felt the cold gnawing at his soul. His limbs began to feel limp. Sparks floated in front of his eyes.

“Not yet,” Aldus said, stabbing at the DeathKnight, catching a momentary opening. The Deathknight stumbled, and Aldus leaped to the attack, striking twice quickly, the last strike across the open, bony neck of the undead knight. The Deathknight fell to its knees, its head bowed. Aldus stepped cautiously forward, leery of getting within the undead creatures’ reach. The undead knight looked up at Aldus as its glowing red eyes faded.

“Thank you. Finally, I am released.”

“Quick, Aldus, ask it where the mage is!” Lakima shouted.

Aldus turned to the Deathknight and asked. The Deathknight made a final gesture, “Search behind the statue of death.” Aldus looked up and saw a cobwebbed-covered statue on the landing above. He turned back to the Deathknight and saw the empty armor fall to the sandy floor.

“It’s done. I killed it. It is gone.”

Aldus reached out for the undead Knights longsword but found it still hellishly cold. He quickly dropped it. Domago joined him on the sandy floor and began praying to St. Aleena to direct some healing to Aldus. Eathwund walked up to Aldus, patted him on the shoulder, and nodded. Tired of concentrating on controlling the fire elemental, Lakima dismissed it back to the plane of fire.

“Now, where?” Lakima asked, “You should have kept it alive long enough to answer some questions, Aldus.”

Aldus pointed at the statue, “It said to look behind the statue.” Lakima removed the Wand of secret door detection from the bag of holding and used it to check the wall behind the statue. The outline of a hidden door appeared. Ambro then found the trigger and opened it.

“Fighters first!” Ambro said, waving toward the dark opening.

Eathwund and Aldus took the lead, followed by Ian and Domago. The rest came behind. The stairs led down to a pair of doors. The group opened the doors and beheld another large circular chamber. A vast flaming pit dominated the center of the room and lit everything in a red light. Enormous statues of the god Azrael stood by the walls, and statues of four enormous skulls sat on either side of a staircase down into the chamber. A single man stood across the chamber on the other side of the pit. A bald man with a white beard. He was wearing black mage’s robes. He stood beside a small stone altar, manipulating a small flame atop it.

“I am Barragan!”

“I am Lakima,” Lakima shouted back at the mage. He gestured for his companions to spread out, realizing the mage might strike with a fireball spell.

“I have heard of Lakima. I have heard that you are very ambitious. Other mages say that Lakima is upsetting the proper order. That mages should not congregate in schools. That mages should know their place.”

“Mages should rule,” Lakima answered.

“I see we agree, you and I. I plan to replace the Duke of Valnwall with someone more agreeable to our views. There is a place for you in this new order. Once I have installed a new Duke, I could see you as an Earl.”

“The thought had already crossed my mind,” Lakima said.

“Are we agreed? We work together.”

“Lakima?” Aldus questioned.

“Lakima does not speak for all of us. You must pay for your evil deeds,” Domago shouted angrily.

“Lakima?” Aldus asked again.

“Here is my answer,” Lakima said and spoke a single word. A beam of purple light shot from his finger and struck the stone altar near the rival mage. The altar ceased to exist, and the flame on it went out.

“No! You fool! I won’t be able to close the portal!” Barragan shouted.

A large fire elemental rose from the pit and swiped at Barragan. Many more minor fire elementals flew out of the pit and raced about the chamber, setting fire to anything that would burn.

“You deal with what you have wrought?” Barrathan shouted and then vanished.

Eathwund and Aldus ran into the chamber and began smiting fire elementals. Ambro scrambled up on top of one of the stone skulls and began firing arrows. Ian and Domago joined the fighters in the melee.

“Domago, use dispel evil and close the portal!” Lakima shouted. Domago nodded and closed his eyes in prayer. He staggered and tried again.

“I cannot. The magic is too powerful!”

Lakima took out his pearl of power and concentrated on bringing the knowledge of dispel magic into his mind. He cast the spell, and the fires guttered low. The portal closed. There were still a half dozen fire elementals flying about the chamber.

“Can’t we go,” Ambro shouted as she fired arrows into an elemental.

“We did what we came to do. The wizard is gone.”

“The elementals would run wild in the countryside. We need to clean this up.” Lakima said.

It took a few minutes, but the fire elementals were eventually overpowered. The company was regrouped by the dark hole on the floor. Domago began tending to his comrades' wounds.

“Well, since we are here. Shall we check out what is behind these doors?” Lakima said.

Overland by Air

This session saw the company heading the long way home. I had three side treks written to entice the players into adventures on the trip, but they just would not bite on most of them. The direct attack on their ship by a flying ghost ship did not go as planned when the magic user used a control weather spell to destroy the ghost ship.

Session 165: The Long Way Home

Lakima (human magic user), Eathwund (human fighter), Aldus (human cavalier), Domago (human cleric NPC), Ian of Darkhollow (human cavalier NPC), Luna (charmed Human Fighter NPC).

The Company of the Black Dragon is in Irllendom, having just saved the Earldom from destruction at the hands of the Orcs of the Mountain King and the Witch of Black Marsh. They rest for a week to allow Ian, the squire, to recover from his near-death experience and prepare for the long way home.

Once Ian can travel—but is still unable to fight—he is carried aboard the Cloudstealer, and the other members of the company board the ship. Lakima consults with the crew and sets the course for the passes over the Kings of Old Mountains. The ship ascends into the clouds and heads south. Crossing the mountains is done without issue, though it gets frigid. Once on the other side in the lands of Lockeland they descend and stop the ship for the night.

The next day, wild griffons pursue the ship until they catch up. Lakima casts a charm monster spell on the lead griffon, and it lands on the ship. The griffon is clumsy on the deck of the ship stepping on barrels and seating, breaking some of the wood supports. It calms down once it is fed some raw meat. The second griffon circles the flying ship for an hour before tiring and landing on the ship and demanding to be fed. The griffon that is not under a charm flies off as night falls.

The next day, the crew struggles to work around the enormous, clumsy griffon that insists on sitting on the deck near Lakima, who works at the helm.

“I want to make it to Peake’s Crossing,” Lakima calls out to the crew. Cowan calls out a bearing to Lakima. Late in the afternoon, Dagmar, who is on watch, calls out black smoke on the horizon. It is soon apparent that buildings are on fire in Peake’s Crossing. Aldus and Eathwund head to the ship's bow and call out that several buildings are on fire in the main square. Lakima sets the ship down in the main square, and they see a crowd of locals forming a bucket line to the river. The fire is raging out of control despite the efforts of the locals. More buildings are threatened. Lakima, Eathwund, and Aldus descend rope ladders to the ground.

“Make way, Make way!” Lakima shouts at the crowd. The guards quickly help move back the crowd for the trio. The reputation of the adventurers has been made recently in Peake’s Crossing. Lakima summons a water elemental from the river and sends it into the fire, quickly extinguishing the blaze. The town guard manages to pull four survivors from the ruins of the buildings, one of whom is Valon of Edgerton, a former company comrade.

“Eathwund, Aldus!” Valon shouts, then coughs up smoke, “I found a dragon horde!”

Several people in the crowd start shouting angrily at Valon. They soon learn that a red dragon landed in the square and set fire to the Silver Stag Inn, where Valon was staying. Valon has been in town for a few days, bragging about finding the treasure horde of a red dragon. Soon, the crowd gets more aggressive and begins calling for Valon to be hanged. The town watch holds them back and arrests Valon for his protection.

“Guys, help!” Valon calls out.

“Wait, wait!” Lakima shouts. Lakima tells the guard captain that it would be best to put Valon in the stocks in an open area where the dragon can easily get hold of him. The guards, and especially Valon, are shocked by this statement. The guards are unwilling to condemn a man to death on the rumor that a dragon is after him. The guards confer and decide to order Valon to leave town before sunset.

“You had better round up all of the gold he spent from the dragon horde,” Lakima says, “A dragon can smell its gold.”

Warning posters are set up around town, and town callers are instructed to order everyone who has interacted with Valon to return the gold he gave them for services. Valon tries enticing Lakima and Aldus with the news that he just took a single bag from the dragon horde. He tells them that much more treasure awaits if they join him.

“It is not our concern,” Lakima says, dismissing Valon.

Returning to the ship, Domago asks if that is Valon he saw being pulled from the fire. Lakima tells him that it is. Valon has gotten into some local trouble, which is none of the Company’s concern. Domago does not ask any further questions. That evening, the company will stay at Peake’s Crossing. Lakima, Eathwund, and Aldus go to a local tavern for dinner. At the tavern, a gnome named Veric asks to sit and talk to them. Veric is from Winterhaven and has heard about the reputation of the Company.

“I am part of an adventuring company like you guys,” Veric says and points at two dwarves sitting at a nearby table. “We call ourselves the Three Dwarves.”

Lakima points out the obvious problem with that name, and Veric tells them he was adopted by the dwarves. Veric asks if they plan to go after the red dragon horde. He is disappointed when he learns they are hurrying to get home and have no plans to disturb the dragon. Veric ponders this and tells them that his group might take a crack at the dragon.

“You had better get a few more dwarves before going after a dragon,” Lakima says.

The next day, the company sets out again. Lakima tells the crew he wants to stop at Leadra’s Row. This is only a slight change from a direct course to Edgerton. They arrive in Leandra’s Row just after noon and set the ship down in a meadow near the Abbey of St. Leandra. A few curious villagers approach the marvelous flying ship, as do a few nuns of St. Leandra. Lakima asks to speak to the Mother Superior of the Abbey. Mother Millis remembers Lakima, Domago, and Eathwund and assures them that the fey creature they caught is still imprisoned in the caldron trap they created. Lakima asks the nuns to remain vigilant and tells them they cannot stay. The ship soon leaves Leandra’s Row.

The ship now makes a straight course for Edgerton. Across the horizon, they see storm clouds approaching from the east. Lakima begins looking for a good place to land to avoid the storm.

“Ship ahoy, approaching from the east!” Dagmar yells out from the crows nest.

All aboard the ship race to the rails and watch the approaching storm. They can just make out the shape of a flying ship on the storm's edge.

“Does it look familiar?” Lakima shouts out, assuming this might be the ship he created for the merchant's guild that was later pirated.

“Three masted!” Dagmar shouts.

Recalling that the merchant ship had a single mast, Lakima warns,” Get ready to repel boarders. This could be a pirate!”

The ship continues to head directly for the Cloudstealer. As they close the distance, they realize it is twice the size of their ship. The ship looks like a deep-water ship that has not been converted to fly. Seaweed and water pour off the ship, its sails are in tatters, and human skulls line the railings and bow. They see a crew of ghosts manning the ship while the ship appears sold, but it looks like it was dragged from the deep.

Eyeing the approaching storm almost upon the Cloudstealer, Lakima casts a control weather spell, summoning a tornado, and directs it at the ghost ship. The tornado grabs hold of the ship and drags it into the clouds. The high winds are too much for the old wreck, and it is torn apart, tossing debris down from the clouds. Lakima has the Cloudstealer head down for the safety of a landing. The Cloudstealer lands in a forest clearing as the rainstorm descends over them.

The charmed griffon tries pushing its way into the tent on the deck of the Cloudstealer, tearing the fabric. So Lakima climbs down to the ground, with the griffon following him. He erects a large tent on the ground and decides to spend the night. The griffon settles in beside him, and Luna and Aldus join him. Eathwund organizes the crew on the ship into watches.

That evening, the crew of the ghost ship attacked the camp. Twelve ghost pirates attack, and Domago drives off six of them with the strength of his faith. Aldus and Eathwund defend the campsite and the ship. Lakima casts magic missiles at the ghosts. One ghost flies to the ship's sails and hacks away at them. The griffon tries to drive it off but cannot affect the ghost with its claws or beak. When the pirate captain is badly injured and flees, the rest of the ghost crew joins him, and the griffon gives chase. Lakima tries to yell for the griffon to return, but it is quickly out of sight.

The following day, there was still no sign of the griffon. The Cloudstealer resumes its journey toward Edgerton. As they pass over a forest, a lookout yells out that a griffon is chasing them from astern. Lakima decides not to slow down. The griffon is left behind.

The Cloudstealer arrives over Edgerton in the early evening. Once the ship has docked, the exhausted company heads down into the Manor House. Alayna and Huntley are there waiting for them. They are relieved to learn that nothing important happened while they were away, so everyone sleeps after a meal.

The next day, Alayna gives Lakima a message from Duke Robert. The message arrived while they were away. The first of the flying ships has been constructed at a secret location. The Duke needs Lakima to come to his Hunting Lodge, where the ship was built, to enchant it to fly. Lakima sends a message back that he will come in a few days. 

A week later, the group flies to the Duke’s Hunting Lodge. The Duke shows the Company the flying ship he has constructed at a secret site near the Lodge. Lakima prepares the spells needed and gets to work. During the five days it takes Lakima to enchant the ship, fire elementals attack the ship-building site twice—first four minor elementals and then one major elemental. Eathwund and Aldus drive the elementals off with help from a water elemental conjured by August. The attack damages the ship, but Lakima does not lose concentration on the enchantment. When he is done, the ship lifts into the air. Lakima gifts the Duke with the Bowl of Commanding Water Elementals to protect the ship. In return, Duke Robert promises to give the Company a villa in Dolmvay.

Over the next few weeks, Lakima installs magic portals in the School of Magic in Edgerton linked to the Bridgeway and the Queens’ Library in the City of Glass (after asking the undead librarian Nikosi for permission). The group discusses the attacks on Duke Robert’s new flying ship. Duke Robert felt sure it was the work of the infamous wizard Bargle.