Gygax and Greyhawk Session #34 - Horses and Hell

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 5)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 5 / Magic User 4)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 5/ Thief 5) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 4 / Fighter 4)

Date/Time

Harvester 8 morning to Harvester 24 morning

The two flying creatures get closer, and the party can see they are actually gargoyles. The pair split to attack the two visible party members (Goro and Solcha) from each flank. After a brief fight, one is knocked from the sky and the other turns back towards the ruined castle tower. The party now resumes it's approach, with just Ranzel invisible now.  There is no sign of activity in the sky or on the ground. so they all make their way into the courtyard. Ranzel follows horse-tracks and leads the party into a set of ruined stables. There they see three of their horses; Skeef's is missing. They are also confronted by a rough looking fellow with a leveled crossbow. This fellow claims the horses by right of abandonment, quoting ancient Tenh law. When asked where Skeef's horse has gone, the man answer with a sly look that it has gone on to a new owner. While the encounter almost comes to blows, the party decides in the end to buy back their remaining three horses and leave peacefully. 

Leaving the ruins, the party decides to head west to the capital, Nevond Nevend, to sell off their treasure and rest and retrain. The city of golden baked brick sits atop two hills overlooking the Zumker River. One hill is topped by the palace of Duke Ehyeh, the other by a cluster of temples. While the rest of the party scatters about their business, Goro heads for the temple of Heironeous. The half-orc feels unfairly constrained in his service to The Invincible on account of his race, and wished to advance further in the hierarchy. Unfortunately, the blue and silver robbed priests could not help him, so the half-orc decided direct appeal to his god was the only way forward. Heading to a deserted hill outside the city, he sacrificed magic items to Heironeous  and used his call lightning to expose himself to the power of his god. And from the swirly smoke that was left behind, a grizzled old mercenary appeared. It was soon clear this was the god, and Goro made his pitch. 

Heironeous, impressed by the devotion of the half orc, heard his plea. But would require a service in return. He tasked Goro to travel to the first level of Hell, Avernus. Rumors were about that his brother Hextor, Champion of Evil and Scourge of Battle, had sent his herald Chamazi to the Nine Hells, to reforge alliances with the Dukes of Hell or for some other equally nefarious purpose. Heironeous wished only for Goro to confirm the heralds' return. To make the passage to the outer planes, the god directs his cleric to find the keystone for the gate in the Hellgate tavern in Oxton, and indictes it could be found in the ruins of Nol-Daer. Which, it turns out, is the same ruins from which they'd just recovered their horses. 

Goro retuned to the city, and successfully enlisted his companions to help with the quest. So the party headed east once more for the ruins of Nol-Daer ... 

GAINS

None

KILLS/VICTORIES

1 gargoyle

LOSSES

none   

Gygax and Greyhawk Session #33 - The Barbarian King

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 5)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 4 / Magic User 4)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 4/ Thief 4) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 4 / Fighter 4)

Date/Time

Harvester 6 evening to Harvester 8 morning

The party once more take up a bottleneck position to deal with the descending undead. When Goro's attempt to turn the skeletal hoard fails, they resort to a long session of smash and chop to fill the bottom of the stairs with bones. Then the Barbarian King himself emerges, and tries twice to use the scepter in his left hand to force party members to flee. But all hold firm, and the undead ruler charges in with the mighty two hand bronze sword. In a tightly fought combat, the party prevails and soon stand over the now dead again remains of the Barbarian King. Pausing for breath, they then loot the corpse of the begemmed iron crown, two handed sword, scepter and chainmail. From the tomb itself they loot a bronze cauldron of yellow gems and a quartet of potions. After fighting off one last band of zombies, they are ready to move on. 

Burdened now with treasure, the party decides it best to leave the rest of the caves and head back to the shrine. When they emerge from the grotto, they are pleasantly surprised to see that, even though it was late afternoon, the mists have not descended and the valley was bathed in late afternoon sun. They decide to check out the village on their way to see what had happened to the dour inhabitants. These they found all dead, looking as if they simplify had dropped on the spot. Under Goro's direction, the party gathers the bodies and strip the huts of wood to build a balefire for the fallen. They then return to the shrine at the valley entrance to rest for then night, then prepare themselves in the morning to finally leave the valley of the Barbarian King. 

However, when they try to recover their horses, the animals did not respond to the summons. Ranzel finds tracks that suggest the horses did remain in the area until a few days ago, when human tracks appear which lead the horses away to the south-west.  The party follows these tracks most of the day, and near nightfall they come within sight of a ruined keep on an outlying foothill of the Griff Mountains. The tracks seems to lead up the the ruins, so Solcha casts invisibility on Skeef, and the druid/thief creeps up to reconnoiter. The fortress is comprised of a square keep and two large round towers. The walls were mostly intact, though tumbled down in a couple of locations. Skeef slinks into the courtyard, and notes two different types of flying creatures overhead; a hawk or bird, and something larger and humanoid flying higher above. He also notes a procession of humanoid forms coming down a wide set of stairs, probably from inside the keep itself. 

Skeef doesn't stick around, and returns to report what he saw to his companions. They decide to find a sheltered spot to rest for the night, and would then  decide what to do in the morning. Their sleep is interrupted by a pack of wolves, whom they avoid by climbing a tree and Skeef placates with his druid-ly ways. In the morning Solcha casts invisibility on Ranzel, and with the two invisible scouts a hundred yards ahead, they party climbs up towards the ruins. They'd made it about 400 yards from the keep when two humanoid flying forms appeared in the sky above, and starts to fly towards the party ...

GAINS

Chainmail +2

Bronze two handed sword +2

Scepter of Command

4 potions of ...

Iron Crown of the Barbarian King [10000gp]

30 yellow gems [3000gp]

KILLS/VICTORIES

22 skeletons

5 zombies

The Barbarian King

LOSSES

none  

Gygax and Greyhawk Session #32 - Deeper Delving

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 5)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 4 / Magic User 4)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 4/ Thief 4) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 4 / Fighter 4)

Date/Time

Harvester 3 evening to Harvester 6 mid-day

After Goro's attempt to turn the approaching undead fails, the party sets themselves up to either side of the narrow passage in the wall and set about cutting down zombies. Quite successfully, and there is soon a pile of twice-dead bodies on the floor of the sunken room. That done, they turn now to search among the horrific frescos for secret doors. They find no secret doors, but do uncover four more areas of poor stonework under the plaster. Pushing their luck, they uncover two of them and start removing stonework. The first they enter leads into a tomb decorated with frescos of dark twisted forest and humans being strangled by tree monsters. Along the walls slump eight bodies, wrapped in winding sheet, and with long dark vines or roots growing out of them. At the end is a round depression filled with more clay jars, these much smaller than the norm. Before entering, the party lights one of the bodies on fire with oil, which activates it and three others. These attack, trying to strangle with their vines, but again thanks to clever tactical use of the narrow opening, these vine-zombies are slain. But the party suffers more injury themselves, so they decide it best to retreat, rest and recover.  

Making their way out of the tomb, they find night has fallen and the mist is thick about them. And rather than risk what may lurk within, they decide to camp in the entrance grotto for the night. But even here their sleep is interrupted by phantom warriors, so they retreat further back into the tomb. The rest of the night passes without interruption, and once the mist rises, the party heads back to the shrine at the valley entrance and settle in there for a few days. They are surprised find they do not heal as in the past, though everyone's life force is slowing returning.  

Now recovered, they head back to the tomb and the chamber of the plants. Entering the chamber fully, they find the ceramic jars all contain liquid; 5 a sweet, golden liquid, 3 a thick green syrup, 5 an acrid red liquid, and two (wrapped in birch bark), a pungent orange liquid. This disturbance of grave goods activates the last four vine-zombies, who are dispatched like the rest. 

Exploring the next chamber, the party finds a tomb of similar design/dimensions to the last. It's frescos depict animals and man-animal hybrids torturing faceless humans, and the room itself is stuffed full of mummified animal corpses. The air is heavy with spice and grave, and torches flicker with a strange green light. At the far end is a covered well, sealed with stucco and painted with a cat's eye. Ranzel pries off the lid, and the room explodes in a ball of fire. Once the smoke clears, examination of the well reveals it leads to another chamber full of wrapped bodies, both human and animal. Solcha uses her wand of magic detection which indicates an item of significant value in the lower chamber. A search uncovers a magical ring, which Skeef puts on. He suddenly feels a little feverish, but it seems to pass. 

Proceeding around the round chamber, they uncover the last two loose stone walls. The first opens into a crude chamber of jumbled human bones, obviously the final resting place of lesser men and slaves. The fourth opening leads into a narrow staircase, leading down. The walls shows more scenes of brutal conquest, pillage, blood sacrifice and orgies. It leads into a chamber filled with grave goods left for use in the afterlife; food, tools, household items. Beyond is a larger chamber with a beaten earth floor, unlike the others in this tomb  which so far have been of fitted stone. At the end of the chamber is a pair of stone doors sealed with red ochre clay. Goro and Ranzel break the seal and pry open the doors, which lead to a short staircase going up and a pair of wooden doors. The doors are decorated with a faded painting of what can only be the Barbarian King; a muscular bearded man wearing an iron crown, and holding a scepter and a sword. After the thief checks for traps, Goro and Ranzel pull open these doors as well. From the inside comes the sound of something stirring and a rattling of bones. As the party retreats down the stairs to a better tactical position, they hear a hollow, dead voice echo from the chamber: "WHO DARES DISTURB MY REST; PREPARE NOW TO MAKE YOUR ETERNAL REST WITHIN THESE WALLS"...   

GAINS

Ring of Protection +1

5 jars of sweet, golden liquid

3 jars of thick green syrup

5 jars of an acrid red liquid

2 jars (wrapped in birch bark) of a pungent orange liquid

KILLS/VICTORIES

14 Zombies

8 Vine Zombies

LOSSES

none 

Gygax and Greyhawk Session #31 - Lootable Tombs

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 5)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 4 / Magic User 4)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 4/ Thief 4) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 4 / Fighter 4)

Date/Time

Harvester 3 mid-day to Harvester 3 evening

The party decides to leave the bear statues for now, and search more of the cave complex for clues. After examining a bat-filled shaft, they opt to not temp fate at an intersection guarded by a trio of bear statues. But looking at their map, they see a possible way around and loop back in that direction. They find more passages branching off, and another burial chamber with offerings on the floor and blackened bodies in the alcoves. These they bypass and find at the other end of the cave a chamber of fitted stone, the first seem thus far. Inside is an open sarcophagus with a wrapped body, and with a bronze cauldron of gold dust at the foot. Taking care to not actually disturb anything just yet, the party sets up a rope and grapple so they can go out in the hallway and pull the body up from a distance. 

This works fine, except it summons black shadows form the corpses in the cave, and shortly after the wrapped and mummified corpse they'd disturbed also arrived. A furious fight is begun, with the shadows draining strength to go along with the already drained life force from which most suffer. Though a close run thing, in the end the party is victorious. They loot the burial chamber of it's grave goods and the cauldron of gold dust, and liberate a magical ring and cloak along with some gems and jewelry from the mummy. 

Two of the gems were in the mummy's eyes, which made the party think of the eyeless statue they'd recently left. So they head back in that direction, and Solcha bravely places the gems in the barbarian statues eyes. And the wall it is on immediately slides open, revealing a narrow 4' wide and high crawlspace. This leads into a corridor of more regular dimensions, and after bypassing a pit trap there, they come to another tomb. A body, dressed in armor of shinning bronze and with a bronze axe and shield, lay on a bier at the end of the room.  This they haul to the floor using the rope and grappling hook trick, and are pleased to see that it does not animate and attack them. Closer examination reveals that much of the accouterments are a sham. The armor and axe are just soft copper, and the clothing and furs cheap pastiche. The shield and gold jewelry are at least real. 

Searching behind the brier for a secret door, the party finds instead a poorly constructed wall covered in plaster. They are able to disassemble the stones easily, and pass through into a circular chamber. Murals cover the walls, showing scenes of the worm, the eagle, the wolf and the bear. All are unpleasant to see, focused on gore and death and blood. The centre of the room is a sunken floor with alcoves along the walls. In these the party finds more grave offerings. They also find the goods match with the animal totem of the opposite wall: ash and dirt for the worm, crushed rodents for the eagle, lamb skulls for the wolf, and human bone for the bear. 

Deciding the time had come to retreat, rest and heal, the party prepares to leave. But Skeef, keeping watch at the entrance, calls a warning. A large group of zombies are approaching ....

GAINS

3 gems (350gp each)

630gp gold dust

300gp worth of grave goods

Jewelry (300gp) 

Cloak +1

Ring of Fire Resistance

Shield +1  

KILLS/VICTORIES

3 Shadows

1 Mummy 

LOSSES

none 

Gygax & Greyhawk Session #30 - The Wight Stuff

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 5)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 4 / Magic User 4)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 4/ Thief 4) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 4 / Fighter 4)

Date/Time

Harvester 2 mid-day to Harvester 3 mid-afternoon 

By-passing the statue and the tablets, the party turns left and passes a side chamber, its entrance draped in heavy dusty cobwebs. These are burned away to reveal a room full of ochre clay jars, along with other cobwebbed alcoves along the walls. The jars are largely empty (once filed with liquids and grave offerings), but in the alcoves are bodies. When Solcha disturbs one, all four rise to life. In the ensuing fight, the party takes a battering and are shocked to find their life force being drained away when hit. They retreat to the cave entrance where a trap of magic and fire are set, and the undead are destroyed. But by now Ranzel is barely able to walk due to weakness, so the party retreats all the way back to the chapel at the valley entrance to rest and recover. 

While the good heal as usual, life force is slow to return. But the party opts to charge back into the fray right away and return to the caves. They loot some treasure from an alcove overlooked by the form of a bearded man painted on the stucco, and explore a half-finished chamber where a charnel pit of bone and broken pottery fills the center. Beyond this chamber they find one with a quiet pool of water, in the bottom of which they find a green slime. This they scoop up into a canopic jar so they can search the pool. But alas to no avail, as nothing is found. A groups of zombies shuffle from the darkness to block the chamber entrance, but do not enter the room. A combination of the power of Heironeous and steel eliminate the threat, and the party moves on. 

They backtrack and continue past the bearded image into a large, low ceilinged chamber. It, like the first they encountered, is lined with bodies in alcoves, and with clay jars (this time grey rather than ochre) scattered across the floor. Disturbing one releases a choking cloud of spores and dust, but at least the body does not animate. To be sure, the party burns all the bodies, filling the chamber with smoke. They also fight another zombie patrol, which is dispatched like the first.

At the far end of the chamber is another exit, flanked by bowing, obeisant human figures painted on the rough stucco walls. On the opposite wall of the small chamber beyond are three statues; two rampant bears flanking a bearded man in robes, under which is concealed a great sword. Mindful of the spirit bear's warning, they approach cautiously.  Goro casts a silence spell as the riddle suggests sound may be a factor. Skeef approaches to check for traps, and notes the bears have eyes of yellow topaz, whereas the bearded man exhibits empty sockets. The thief tries to pry out one of the gem eyes, and is rewarded with a blast of flame and spray of acid from the two bear statues. And no gem. The angry Skeef then tries to stoneshape the statue mouths shut, but the magic of their creator is stronger than his ... 

GAINS

240gp of various grave goods and coin

KILLS/VICTORIES

4 Wight

2 Zombies

LOSSES

A lot of CON 

Gygax & Greyhawk Session #29 - Way of the Wolf

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 5)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 4 / Magic User 4)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 4/ Thief 4) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 4 / Fighter 4)

Date/Time

Goodmonth 24 mid-day to Harvester 2 mid-day 

The party returns to the shrine and their recovering druid. They decide it would be best to relocate to the rock-hewn chapel at the entrance of the valley, and settle down there for a few days as Skeef recovers. Apart from the usual lifting and descending of the daily mist, the only unusual event occurs one afternoon late in their vigil. They observe what seems to be the whole population of the village head west into the woods of the as yet unexplored wolf shrine. These folks then return back to the village before the mist falls that afternoon. It being more than a mile across the valley, the party can't tell if everyone returned, but there are suspicions that a sacrifice has been made.  

Skeef recovers, and the party makes tracks to the western wood. And they do indeed find another round stone, this marked with the sign of the wolf. And there is indeed a sacrifice. Hanging from the circle of trees around the boulder are bodies swaying in nooses. Most are long dead and skeletal, but one is fresh. Or at least what little flesh remains is fresh.  Solcha volunteers to confront this spirit and offers a sacrifice in the form of a brace of rabbits provided by Ranzel. The wolf spirit awakes with a howl that shakes the woods, but he is not hungry so the elf must take the challenge. Standing on the boulder, Solcha is assailed by spirit wolves who try to knock her off. When she fights backs, the wolves redouble their efforts and the elf is forced to keep climbing up onto the boulder thanks to a pre-planned spider climb. But in the end she passes the test, and the spirit of the wolf offers advice to the elf; one must stand fast and fearless in the shield wall to gain a warriors reward.  The spirit also offers a clue to the resting place of the Barbarian King: 

When the falling waters show the way, 

will you see the house of my lord. 

Leaving the ghoulish clearing, the party returns to the pit of the worm. Goro is intent of getting a reward or clue from that spirit, but even after returning the treasure to the casket there is no response. It is also noted that the sign of the worm that was inscribed on the half buried boulder is still missing. Skeef uses stone shape to drill a hole through the boulder to locate any enclosed treasure, but finds nothing. 

The party returns to the chapel to rest another night, then head north into the valley after the daily lifting of the mist. They stop first at the eagle shrine where Skeef tries once more to take the test. But the spirit becomes angry when the druid ties himself down with a rope, and the eagle arises in anger and drives the party off. They figure good riddance, and opt to follow the river up a steep valley. They pass a low plateau with standing stones covered in carved writing, unlike that on the burial mound steles. It is an ancient druidic script that Solcha and Goro are able to decipher and they learn to cast call lighting. 

Continuing on, they come to the headwall of the valley. A waterfall drops 60-70' over this cliff, atop which are perched two pillars, one to either side of the stream. A narrow, steep and slippery path climbs up to the right. Ranzel tries to scramble up but slips and falls. A second more careful attempt with rope is successful. The pillars turn out to be statues, faceless and formless having lost their coating of plaster/stucco. A mournful wail is heard that slowly fades away. Connecting this location to the wolf's prophesy, the party looks around and sees a dark cover on the talus slope above them. They climb up and find a small grotto with a tunnel leading deeper into the mountain. They follow this until it splits into a Y-passage. Here they see the flaking remains of barbarian frescos on the wall, and the figure of a huge bear standing at the intersection, it's maw and claws painted as is covered in blood ... 

GAINS

none

KILLS/VICTORIES

none

LOSSES

Skeef's Pride 

Gygax & Greyhawk Session #28 - Two More Tests

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Balthus (Human Fighter 3) and his War Dog 
Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 5)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 4 / Magic User 4)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 4/ Thief 4) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 4 / Fighter 4)

Date/Time

Goodmonth 23 late afternoon to Goodmonth 24 mid-day

The party carefully lift Skeef's battered body up the hillside, and are disappointed to find all his potions were destroyed in the fall, in addition to the hole in his skull. Bundling up the half elf, they carry him back to the ruined shrine of Allitur just under the brow of the mountain and above the village. There they all sleep safely for the night, and next day wait for the fog to thin a bit before venturing forth again. They make Skeef comfortable and, trusting in the protection of the god, head back into the valley, intent on investigating the other three sacred sites of the barbarian totem gods.  

They head to the place of the worm, finding a gaping, muddy pit at the center of a wide ring of burial mounds. The pit is surrounded by skulls on poles, and at the bottom is a large round boulder half submerged in the mud, alongside a rotting wooden casket. Before entering the pit, the party examines the surrounding burial mounds for clues. Solcha cast comprehend languages and finds the stones on top of the mounds are epitaphs to those buried beneath. Those marked with a wolf symbol tell tales of great barbarian warriors and the deeds they'd performed in battle; one marked with a worm tells a shorter story of a child who died young.  While exploring the barbarian resting place, the party is attacked by another band of phantom warriors, the last pair of whom disappear as the mist finally burns off for the day. 

Back to the pit, Goro is lowered into it's depths. He breaks open the casket and scoops out the electrum and gems he finds therein. This provokes something, and a sinister slithering voice whispers in the clerics head. Goro casts protection from evil just as a mass of strange misty worms writhe out of the mud to attack him and his companions on the edge of the pit. Goro is protected from the summoned creatures, but the others take a battering and Balthus' war dog is killed. They defeat about half of the things, at which point the rest disappear, only to be replaced by a repulsive and sickly looking round thing, supported on strong rubbery stalks and appendages, that rises out of the mud to take their place. It tries to get out of the pit and attack the non-protected party, but a series of mighty blows slays it and it disappears from their sight. 

After one last search of the pit, the party heads east to another sacred bolder they'd seen from the mountainside. This boulder is covered in moss and surrounded by small offerings. Ranzel boldly approaches and makes a small offering, and is rewarded with a minor sense of something stirring. He repeats this several times, and after offering food, is rewarded with a sense of something awakening.  A booming voice challenges him, and the ranger asks to take the totem spirts trial. At which point the spirit of a massive cave bear appears, and challenges Ranzel to a wrestling match. The two wrestle, and though hugged and crushed for a moment, the ranger survives the trial, even breaking free of the spirits grip at one point. The spirit of the bear rewards the ranger by breaking open the stone and giving him the torc of bear power hidden within. It also leaves the party with a riddle before heading back to it's sleep:

When you the mountain-depths see, will you see the house of my Lord. 

But if in his house my form you see, beware; 

for one alone is harmless, 

but more may kill you with but a sigh.

GAINS

470ep

4 opals (300gp each)

Torc of Bear Power 

KILLS/VICTORIES

3 Phantom Warriors

12 Worms of the Bonesucker

Spirit of the Bonesucker Worm 

LOSSES

Balthus' War Dog