Gygax & Greyhawk Session # 62 - The Gravemoor

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 7/ Thief 6) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 6 / Fighter 6) 
Solcha (Elf Fighter 5 / Magic User 6) 
Chanee (Human Paladin 4)
[Baqua Irontoes (Halfling Fighter 4 / Thief 4)]

Date/Time

Coldeven 23 (morning) to Planting 12 (mid-morning) 

After weeks in Nevond Nevnend shopping, training and resting, the party is once more ready to head out on adventure. There is a general feeling that it was time for a change, to explore beyond the borders of Tenh and see more of Oerth. Skeef reminds them all of one entry in the tome "Of Fabolous Relics and Artifacts etc etc" which speak of Daoud’s Wondrous Lanthorn and Iggwilv’s lost treasures hidden in the Yatil Mountains to the West. Knowing some of the story of that Witch Queen of Perranland, his thief side longs to loot this famous lost treasure. And it look little to persuade his comrades, so on a rainy early spring day they party leaves Nevond Nevnend, traveling to the merchant city Redspan on the Artonsamay River, where they could find water passage south and west towards their destination. 

Their first few days of travel were uneventful, until they reached the rolling downs to the south of the town of Stroun. There, they came upon a scene of recent battle on the slopes below a castle and village. Figures could be seen gathering up bodies and detritus from the fighting, and a dozen mounted warriors at the village edge watched the party approach. They hail the party and ride towards them, giving sign they mean no harm. The leader identifies himself as  Caerwyller, Count Marshal to his liege-lord Count Oldvan of the Heithwald. The party learned from him that there had been an uprising again the Count led by a rebel Lord Darloch; what they see on the field is the fallen of the final battle. Having also learned something of the party, Caerwyller asked that they accompany him to see the Count, as he may have need of the party's service. 

The Count Marshal leads the party up the slope to the castle, passing the peasants and men-at-arms gather bodies and debris  from the battle field. Goro pauses occasionally to offer solace and gather info. He learns this Lord Darlock was a bit of a hot head, know to be a good man to stand in line of battle with you but prone to tempers and vengeance. He seems to have started this uprising because the Count had arrested Darloch's wife Maura on accusation of witchcraft and burned her at the stake. When they reach the castle, Count Oldvan confirms this story and the party gets no sense that he is being insincere. The Count further tells them that Darloch survived and fled the battle; scouts tracked him to the depths of the Gravemoor, a flooded fen of ancient Flann barrow mounds. His men are both tired and fearful of crossing Beory by hunting down Darloch amid tombs under the goddesses protection. Knowing the party's special 'skills', the Count asks that they hunt down the fugitive and bring him justice, either dead or alive. After some discussion, the party agrees, with Goro's orcish ears perking up at the mention of Darloch's powerful heirloom two-handed sword. 

Count Oldvan provides a scout, Tayv, to lead them into the Gravemoor. They reach it late in the day; an unnaturally chill and misty bog with occasional broken barrows sinking into the muck. Their scout leads them into the mist, weaving from one dry patch of land to another. They camp for the night on a dry-ish hillock; strange lights appear in the twilight mists, but the party wisely ignores them. They continue their journey the next day, fighting off a wandering band of zombies before coming to the edge of a thick obscuring mist. Tayv points to the hill that rises in the distance above it, saying this is as far as he tracked Darloch. Their scout then retreats and leaves the party to their own devices. 

Pushing through the mist, they come to the base of the hill. It is surrounded by a still black pool of water, some 40-60 yards across. The top of the hill is crowned by an old barrow. As they stand there discussing what to do, a sword wielding figure bursts out of the water and attacks. They see immediately this is Darloch, who lands (and takes) several mightily blows (and drains giant beaver Skeef's constitution) before diving back into the pool. Solcha follows, but Darloch has moves too fast and she can see no more than a foot through the dark murky water. After a futile search for a secret entrance at the base of the hill, they climb to the top (assisted by Skeef in the form of a giant eagle) and enter the tomb through a pair of broken stone slabs. The entrance chamber is lined in stone slabs with a dirt floor. Cobwebs hang thick from a vaulted ceiling, and the chamber is overlooked by carved gargoyle-like figures along the top of the walls. As Baqua and Skeef check out the door at the far end of the room, one of the figures flies down to attack and is quickly slain. The thieves certify the door as trap-free, and Gorro pushes it open ... 

GAINS

None

KILLS/VICTORIES

7 zombies

1 lion-goyle

LOSSES

none

Gygax & Greyhawk Session # 61 - Swords of Morandril Hath

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 6/ Thief 6) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 5 / Fighter 6) 
Solcha (Elf Fighter 5 / Magic User 5) with henchman Usborn (Gnome Fighter 2/Illusionist 2)
Chanee (Human Paladin 3)
[Baqua Irontoes (Halfling Fighter 3 / Thief 3)]

Date/Time

Readying 13 (mid morning) to Coldeven 23 (morning) 

The party returns to the fallen remains of the frost giant squire Hrorkir. There Goro casts speak with dead to ask the location of the Swords of Mornadril Hath. From beyond death the giant tells them the swords lay due east from where they stand. Skeef notes that this coincides with the wall carvings in the quaggoth lair, and suggests they return there to search for secret hiding places. He and Solcha did not find anything when they searched a few days before, but perhaps they missed it. Making their way past the frozen and now half eaten remains of their first battle in these ice caverns, Goro immediately finds that the frost giant's axe in the carving is moveable. He pulls it forward and a section of the ice wall moves, opening into another cavern. 

The chamber beyond is small, crowded with staglititles hanging down. And at the end is a human warrior, two swords raised ready to strike, But they see at once he is both terribly battered with wounds, and is frozen in a solid block of ulta-clear ice. They had finally found the resting place of Morandril Hath and his magical swords, Tangarar “Flamebrand” and Amroteth “The Shard of Frost”. Solcha immediately gets to work, melting ice with the Jewel of Nessus and then, once freed, the 'Flamebrand'. It takes some time, but eventually she melts enough to retrieve both swords, as well as the jeweled winged helm and gold arm rings that adorn the body. But at this point there is a rumbling sound and the chamber starts to shake. Everyone makes a run for the door, but Usborn and Skeef don't quite make it and are buried under the collapsing ceiling. The party is able to recover Skeef before he suffocates, but poor Usborn is crushed beyond recovery. Knowing they could never get her to civilization fast enough to be raised, Solcha and Baqua gently wrap the gnome's remains in a wolf fur and burry her back in the ice. 

Although their quest was now complete, the party was in no shape to risk the dangers of the trek home through the mountains just yet, So they settle in to rest once more to allow the spellcasters to recharge. They are interrupted twice, first by a a pair of frost giant wraiths who bring to paladin down to unconsciousness before being slain by the combined force of the party. The second interruption was more benign an ice toad that was just curious and let the party be.  

Next morning, the party finally emerges from the caves, relying on Solcha's magic in place of the rope bridges the giant Hrorkir had destroyed days before, They discover their mules dead, mostly eaten  and everything half buried in snow. They recover one sledge to haul the paladin, taking turns to pull it in place of the mules, But they leave the food relying on Goro to create food and water so they can move as quickly as possible. Their journey back to Nevond Nevnend is less stormy and less eventful than the journey in, although they barely avoid a huge warband of orcs returns from raiding the plains of Tenh, captives and loot in tow. 

Back in Nevond Nevnend, they settle in for rest, recovery and training and to think of where they will head next on their adventures ... 

GAINS

Sword+1, Flame Tongue (Tangarar “Flamebrand”)

Sword +3, Frost Brand (Amroteth “The Shard of Frost”)

Golden bracers/arm bands (10x 150gp)

Golden winged helmet with green gems (5000gp)

KILLS/VICTORIES

2 frost giant wraiths  

LOSSES

Usborn 

Chanee (temporarily) 

Gygax & Greyhawk Session # 60 - But Wait, Another Epic Battle ...

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 6/ Thief 6) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 5 / Fighter 6) 
Solcha (Elf Fighter 5 / Magic User 5) with henchman Usborn (Gnome Fighter 2/Illusionist 2)
Chanee (Human Paladin 3)
[Baqua Irontoes (Halfling Fighter 3 / Thief 3)]

Date/Time

Readying 13 (early morning) to Readying 13 (mid morning) 

Recovering from their fight with the frost giant, first thoughts turn to rest and new spells. So the party retraces steps to their hidey-hole. Only to find it has been taken over by quaggoth and the door is barred against them. But instead of unleashing unholy fury upon the furries, they instead head towards Hrorkir's room which they deem to be a safe and defensible place to rest. The rest passes without a major interruption, apart from Baqua vanquishing another ooze (and not losing her axe to it!). 

Now rested, the party heads down the sloping twisting passage beyond Hrorkir's bedchamber.  It eventually leads to a large cavern, surprisingly filled with steam and mist. As they cross it they move across a boundary from ice to stone. And then the mist parts, revealing a huge slug awaiting them. They mash the mollusk and search the chamber behind it, finding a hot spring and trails of crystalized slime. In another side chamber they find a large bronze cauldron simmering over another  hot spring. It is filled with water, bones and skin of some furred creature. There is also a pile of the same offal off to one side, obviously previously boiled and stripped of anything useful. A shelf holds a selection of salves, unguents and oils, inclining two Skeef notes are labeled as "smash" and "slippery". 

With still no clue as to the location of Morandril Hath and his swords, the party retraces their steps to where lay the fallen Hrorkir. In a chamber beyond they find another wall carving, similar in style to one one observed at the isolated end of the quaggoth lair. These particular carvings depict two human figures talking to a big front giant; all three labeled with the names Mokron, Polistera and Ragvaldr the Frost King. The picture is then obscured by melt,  then shows battle between Flann tribes and the giants (with Mokron now as the only human on the giant side). The battle scene ends with the single combat between the Frost King and Morandril Hath in which both or slain. The final panel depicts the fallen combatants being carried into the caves under the glacier. Ragvaldr is carried to the left and placed upon his throne, and Mornadril to the right and is last seen standing in a heroic fighting pose. 

Chanee now starts to remind everyone about the clear ice sheet and the emergency hammer. The paladin really wants to break  the 'glass' and see what lies  lurking in the raging snow storm beyond. The party consents, thinking Mornadril Hath's resting place may lie beyond. The ice sheet cracks below the hammer, and then suddenly bursts out in a spray of shards. And into the tunnel steps a tall humanoid of frost and ice. It turns on the party who are shocked to find it punches with  a devastating blow. And regenerates. And is immune to normal attacks. After trying a few tricks, the party decides running is their only option. They make it to the waterfall, hoping to trick and push the creature into the raging foam. But although it pursues them, it does not pass beyond it's side of the bridge. The party fires arrows and magic at it, which forces the creature to retreat. Skeef uses heat metal to torment and degrade the creature, and eventually the party sallies forth to find it destroyed. The remnants are scraped and melted off the icy floor and flung into the river.

The party returns to the dead end corridor where the creature emerged. And now find nothing but a blank icy wall; there is no entrance to wherever it had come from. Goro uses his locate object to try pinpointing the swords Tangarar “Flamebrand” and Amroteth “The Shard of Frost”. But he has no luck; they are nowhere within range of his spell ...

GAINS

oil of impact

oil of slipperiness 

KILLS/VICTORIES

1 Ice Ooze

Giant Slug

Ice Para-elemental 

LOSSES

none