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