Gygax & Greyhawk Session #5 - Nearing the End

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 1)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 1 / Magic User 1)
Skeff Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 1 / Thief 1) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 1 / Fighter 1)

Balthus (Human Fighter 1)  

Date/Time

Planting 3 - sunrise to Planting 4 - midday 

The party delves deeper, passing a branch to their right (which they later learn leads to the other entrance). They reach a point where light can be seen ahead, and a side passage leads to an old but recently repaired door. The light is daylight, as the tunnel opens onto a tailings heap overlooking the grass, forest and lake of the middle valley. To the left a stairway spirals up from below, leading to another recently repaired door. The party climbs to the door, Ranzel noting orc tracks and other tracks of dogs or wolves. They hear nothing at the door, and return inside the mine to the second door. They throw this open, revealing 4 orcs and the remains of an old dwarven forge. Combat ensues and orcs die. Skeff picks the lock on an old dwarven chest, and the party recovers bottles of wine, brandy, and a clerical scroll. 

Finding nothing else of interest, they party retraces their steps, taking the second branch back into the lower valley. To do so they must pass through a bat-filled cave, which they traverse with no problem thanks to Skeff's skill with critters.  They loop around the upper end of the side-valley they are in and follow the valley wall down to where they see the river cascading over the cliff and into the swamp at the base of the mountain. It getting late, they camp for the night before proceeding to an opening in the valley wall spied the evening before. Another dwarven cut passage, this one more permanent than the mines. It leads to a pair of smashed statues flanking an arched doorway, which itself leads to a spiral staircase and a similar statue-flanked arch several hundred feet below. Another passage leads out into the swamp at the base of the mountain, and a small guardroom is noted to the left. It is filled with starving rats who are placated with scraps of food and Skeff's sweat-talk so the party can search the area. They find little of interest, but the rats get restless and attack. They kill a few, then Skeff calms them again and the party moves on. 

The swamp is a morass of pools, scrubby weeds and quicksand. A hard path leads into the mess. It comes to a fork next to a pool. As the party turns towards  the left, a giant frog leaps out of the pool and attacks. It is soon dead and the party moves on. Coming to another branch, they go left again. But find themselves headed back towards the upper valley. So they about face and head back the other way ... 

GAINS

32gp

1pp

Gold Whetstone [25gp] 

Cleric Scroll - 3/Neutralize Poison [300xp] 

KILLS/VICTORIES

4 Orcs

5 Rats

1 Giant Frog

LOSSES

none