Gygax & Greyhawk Session #21 - Of Trogs and Guards

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Solcha (Elf Fighter 3 / Magic User 2)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 3/ Thief 2)
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 3 / Fighter 2)

Balthus (Human Fighter 2) and his War Dog 

Date/Time

Wealsun 25 mid afternoon to Wealsun 25 late afternoon 

Leaving Ranzel to temporarily keep an eye on their captive, the party moves on in their search for Explictica Defilus. Their path leads them inexorably to the east, to the area they suspect houses the rest of the human guards. Sneaking in as best they can, they burst in on one group of guards and kill them all. This raises a hue and cry from a second group, who are likewise slaughtered. And a third quartet was roused from sleep only when multiple batterings are required to open the moisture swollen door to their room. These four are slain, and all the bodies locked into a single room to hide them from easy discovery. As they are doing so, the party is surprised by a giant weasel, attracted by the sounds of slaying, whom Skeef charms and speaks into friendship. The beast knows nothing of the naga, but tells the party a group of troglodyte's dwell near its lair to the south west. Surmising where there are trogs, there may be Explicitica, the party has the weasel lead them that way. 

To reach the other end of the dungeon, the party traverses a water filled cavern, using a few doors as rafts. They are lucky to avoid the smiling jaws of the three crocodiles that call the water home. After a short detour to the weasel's watery cave, their new furry friend leads them to the troglodytes. Before moving further, everyone in the party seals their nostrils with candle wax in hopes of avoiding the creatures stench. Bursting in through a door, the party surprises and slays the two trogs behind it before they can raise an alarm. They then lure in the rest and slaughter them in pairs, with little hurt to the party except for Balthus' war dog and the weasel. 

Looting the bodies, they press on and find stairs going down. Which they go down. These lead to a labyrinth of mud filled passages which takes much time and mapping but nothing else to show as yet ...

GAINS

20gp

20ep

57sp

180cp

KILLS/VICTORIES

12 guards

8 troglodyte

LOSSES

none

Gygax & Greyhawk Session #20 - Foray to the Fens

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 3)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 3 / Magic User 2)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 3/ Thief 2)
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 3 / Fighter 2)

Balthus (Human Fighter 2) and his War Dog 

Date/Time

Wealsun 16 night - Wealsun 25 mid afternoon 

The party hides the bodies in the old Inn, and then head off to the reeves house. There they rouse him from bed, and are surprised to meet their erstwhile companion Balthus as well. While discussing what to do, there is a knock at the door. It is the Constable, Grover Ruskadal, with two goons and the cleric Abramo. They spin a tale in which the party unjustly attacked them and kidnapped Misha, and demand they be found and brought to trial before the village council of grandfathers. Zakarias gets them to leave, but now insists the party has to as well, as he is legally bound to summon the council and bring them the trial if he can 'catch' them. The party takes the hint, heading out the back window and into the night, dragging the charmed Misha with them. 

Given the less than useful status of Ranzel the Blind and Slocha the Slow, the party discusses what to do next. Lay low until the heat is off and Socha recovered? Head back to Oxton to regroup and heal? Split the party? As they debate, Whiskers the weasel emerges from the trees and tugs at Skeef's cloak, trying to get them to follow him. Intrigued, the party does, and Whiskers leads them back his his master's grove. There, Ramne greets them and offers assistance and information. It seems their fight in the streets has convinced the secretive hermit that they can be trusted. He removes Ranzel's blindness, and agrees to let Solcha recover in the hidden safety of the grove, while the rest of the party hides out in abandoned farms and buildings around the outskirts of town. Ramne also provides a scroll of dispel magic, suggesting it may be useful when they go after the naga Explictica Defilus in her lair.

Speaking of which, they drop the charm  from Misha, and then Ramne dispels the charm the cleric is under from the naga. Misha is horrified of what she has been part of, and provides the party with directions to the dungeon in the Troll Fens where the cult leader can be found. She can tell them little of the dungeon itself however, having been there just once when first initiated into the cult, and she had been blindfolded most of that time. She does confirm there is little else in Orlane or the Temple of Berei tied to the cult,  apart from a few troglodytes hiding in tunnels and the cultists the party is already aware of. She then takes her leave of the party, going off to mediate and pray for forgiveness for her actions. 

Once Solcha has recovered, the party convinces Ramne to cast invisibility on three of the team (Balthus, Sheef and Ranzel), and they then head off for the fens at first light. By mid afternoon, the trail they've been following fades away in front of a low rise surrounded by a mud dike holding back the water surrounding it. In the center is a pit with a set of muddy stairs; which Skeef slips on, crashing down into a chamber with four human guards. The rest of the party follows, the guards are quickly defeated, and all stealth and invisibility is gone. But it seems the general alarm is not raised, so the party starts to explore. They deal with a water filled room and a pair of giant frogs, who Skeef gets to lead them to a hidden treasure. Pushing deeper, they encounter a trio of of human henchmen of the naga. They kill two, and capture one, but are unsuccessful at extracting any useful information from their belligerent prisoner ... 

GAINS

87 gems [10gp each]

6 gems [25gp each]

Small Shield +1

Jade statue of Explictica Defilus [75gp]

Scroll of 2x Cure Light Wounds 

KILLS/VICTORIES

4 guards

2 assassins

LOSSES

none

Gygax & Greyhawk Session #19 - Murder in the Streets of Orlane!

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 3)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 3 / Magic User 2)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 3/ Thief 2)
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 3 / Fighter 2)

 

Date/Time

Wealsun 16 mid-day to Wealsun 16 night 

The party spent some time discussing how they should approach the evening's planned shenanigans, and decided to go to see Zakarias. There they told the reeve what they knew and suspected, and Solcha convinced her charmed friend to call out a handful of trustworthy militia to support the party this coming night in case things got out of hand.  Goro meanwhile sent the snake from his mace into the liveryman's house and told it to hide and wait for later events. 

When they later arrived back at the Golden Grain Inn, they were somewhat surprised to be met by the two clerics, the lovely Misha and the spastic Abramo. Misha proceeded to question the party closely about who they were, their links with the cult, and so on. Once done with the interrogations, she informed the party there was a change in plans for the night. She wanted to show them something in the ruins of the third inn in town, the Frothing Mug. Something that would really lay out what the cult is all about.  The party agreed, and the clerics then left them be. 

At nightfall, Ranzel met the militia in the trees overlooking the liveryman's house; the party suspected the cult might still try a kidnapping. The rest of them headed for the eastern edge of town, and there were soon met by a group from the temple: the two clerics, 5 ruffians and Derek of the the nasty scar.  They entered the battered building, and Derek led the party down into the cellar. First impression was of a swampy, sickening odor. And then all hell broke loose. Someone from upstairs tossed down a rock with silence cast on it, and and then Derek moved to attack the party. Skeef turned his dire wolf on their attacker, and the party retreated upstairs. They found the ruined inn empty, and swiftly moved out into then street. There they were engaged by the clerics and ruffians, who were in position a short ways down the road. Spells were slung and swords swung, and then the party was surprised from behind by Derek and a trio of troglodytes. This put them in a very tight spot; Skeef had to climb to the inn roof to save himself, and Solcha fell bleeding and unconscious.  

At around this time, Ranzel arrived on high-speed horseback and charged into the clerics, who were holding back from the melee. Even though the ranger ended up blinded for his efforts, this helped turn the tide. After a bit more fierce fighting, three troglodytes and three ruffians were dead, Derek had turned into gaseous form and drifted off, Abramo the cleric had fled on foot, and Misha was under a charm. And the militia finally arrived to take custody of the surviving ruffians.  So then then all proceeded towards the reeves house to turn over the prisoners and question Misha ...

GAINS

none

KILLS/VICTORIES

3 Troglodytes

3 Ruffians

Misha of Berei(?) [Captured]

LOSSES

Dire wolf 

Solcha (almost) 

Ranzel's Vision  

Gygax & Greyhawk Session #18 - You're Now Part of the Team

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 3)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 3 / Magic User 2)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 3/ Thief 2)
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 3 / Fighter 2)

 

Date/Time

Wealsun 15 evening to Wealsun 16 mid-day 

Instead of turning in for the night, the party plans a little more skullduggery. Skeef settles in to watch for the elves, hoping to figure out what they do on their nightly rounds. He does see them leave and head east through the trees and bushes; but even with Ranzel's help, the party is unable to track them past the edge of the mill stream.  They then decide to check out the now deserted general store, but after sneaking in, find nothing suspicious apart from a pair of loaded and ready crossbows hidden behind the counter and curtain. Another pass of detect evil around town also reveals the jewelers establishment, once 'hot', now shows no sign of evil intensions inside. 

Now heading back top their lodgings, they make a quick decision to check out the other 'evil' establishment, the Golden  Grain Inn. It seems deserted of custom, but a faint light glows in the window. So they barge in, surprising a cluster of four men standing at the bar, conferring by candlelight. One is obviously the barkeep, another a local farmer, while the other two are hard looking men in leather armor, and armed with swords. One of them, with a long scar running down the right side of his face, looks particularly vicious. Once over the surprise, the barkeep greets them and goes to get them drinks, into which Solcha notes he drops something. Suspecting poison, none of the party drinks except Skeef, who has a small sip and immediately feels a bit woozy and unsteady. Meanwhile, Ranzel slowly dumps his ale on the floor in provocation, then hurls the empty mug at one of the men at the bar. Then all hell breaks loose until Skeef is able to charm the barkeep and Goro holds the two men in armor, the farmer simply fleeing behind the bar. 

Skeef now convinces his newfound friend Bertrem the Barkeep that they are all members of the same cult. The party learns an evil cult is kidnapping townsfolk and bringing them to a dungeon in the Troll Fens where the person/creature they worship named Explictica Defilus dwells. There the folk are brought  before Explictica to be judged whether they've worthy of joining the cult, or become food for the dungeon dwellers. Those judged worthy are returned to the town, somewhat changed. The party convinces Bertrem to let them join the kidnapping the next night, that of the stableman and his family. This will be lead by the clerics of the Temple of not-Berei, who will talk their way into the home, followed by a sudden onrush from Derek (the scarred man) and his fellow heavies. The family will then be brought to the dungeon the next night after being held at the temple for the day. 

The party decides to relocate to the Golden Grain Inn, and are escorted to the Slumbering Serpent by Derek and Wylie (the other armed man) to get their things then back to a room at their new inn. The party, being suspicious, keeps watch all night. Solcha note sounds behind the back wall during her watch, and finds a secret door there, openable only from the other side. But nothing comes of it, and morning arrives without incident. 

After breakfasting, the party heads back into the streets. They approach the miller, but are rebuffed by the suspicious man. They make their way to the elves, and after establishing their bona fides, start to compare notes. Dorian and Llywillan have identified many of the same cult members as the party, spending their nights watching either the temple or the inn watching who comes and goes. While willing to share information, the elves are not willing to join the party in their activities, preferring to keep to themselves in case the party is caught. At least then there will still be someone looking into the cult. 

GAINS

none

KILLS/VICTORIES

none

LOSSES

none