Gygax & Greyhawk Session #9 - The Mighty Fishmen

 DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

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

Jenny the Mule 

Date/Time

Planting 15 - midday to Planting 18 - morning

... Listening at the door, Skeff hears an indistinct voice in the next room. Opening the door, the party faces a man in wizardly robes and holding an elaborate staff. But they quickly suspected "The Mighty Amdor" is more sham than shaman. He is friendly and helpful though, explaining he is part of Dark Odo's crew who was 'left' here in this part of the dungeon. She and the rest of her henchmen (mostly thugs but with at least one cleric) are deeper in the complex of room. He also tells them about The Lichway, the long passage where the Salander buried their dead. Devoid of further use, Amdor is told to leave the dungeon and head for the nearby village of Vestvale. Which he does. 

Moving on to the double doors at the end of the rune hall, the party enters a hexagonal room where once more the strange whistling sound is heard and continues to be heard throughout their exploration. To the right is a bridge, with rails of human bone and posts topped with wax-encased skulls. It crosses flowing waters and also leads deeper into the dungeon. To the left is the tall statue of a vampiric figure, mouth open wide and fangs barred, pouring water from a jug into a floor gate. As the base of the statue is an inscription, the language of which changes to the readers native tongue:

Bathe, Salander, and restful

Ease your cares;

Til the Singer stills his song

Then rise to claim your wares 

Skeff searches and finds a silver key under the statue's hinged tongue. Then while searching the flowing stream under the bridge, the party is attacked by 4 ichthyoid humanoid creatures that scramble up out of the water. In a  drawn-out, bloody fight, Spot the Wardog is killed, as are two of the creatures. The remaining two flee back to the stream. 

The party wonders if they should cross the bridge, as they suspect it leads to The Lichway, a name that fills them with fear of legions of the undead. So Ranzel, still under the effects of a potion of speed, offers to run down the corridor beyond the bridge to get a rough idea of what is there, while hopefully being too fast to be caught by anything hostile. The ranger is successful in his sprint down a long wide corridor flanked with stone slabs, noting branch passages at the 1/3 and 2/3 points, as well as a more complex intersection at the halfway point.  At that halfway point he also observes a low platform on which stands a 15' tall skeleton, while at the far end of the passage is a low platform with a silver cage holding a creature that looks somewhat like a gorilla made of coral. But no undead are seen. 

However, the party decides to retrace steps and try another door they'd bypassed. This leads into a large chamber, filled with water to the level of the entrance. Another set of doors is seen on the opposite wall, and on the north wall there are signs that another door has been bricked over. The party surmises this is the other side of the door they saw on the dock when they first ended the dungeon. Careful search and rat abuse revealed the water is shallow around the edge, but in the centre is a deep pit filled with human skeletal remains. From the top of the pit they recover one skeleton with treasure; a weird bone and serpent mace, strange holy symbol (?) and a bag of gold. 

With wounds aplenty and healing spells few, the party decides to retreat to Vestvale to rest, recover and refit. There they find Amdor the Mighty, whom they decide to this time take back with them. They spend a few nights at the Black Stag Inn until fully hale and hearty again, and then prepare the head back to the tomb of the Salander ... 

GAINS

Snake Mace +1 

Weird holy symbol (?) 

364gp

10ep

2pp

KILLS/VICTORIES

2 Kuo-Toa

LOSSES

Spot the Wardog 

Gygax & Greyhawk Session #8 - Goblins and Gold

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

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

Balthus (Human Fighter 1) and his wardog Slasher

Date/Time

Planting 11 - morning to Planting 15 - midday

Staying each night in a village along the way, the party's four day journey across the high plains and into the mountains is uneventful. The directions they have ben given lead them to a path and through a pass in the mountains, and eventually to a dark cave entrance. Footprints show others have been here before them. The short passage leads into a huge cavern filled with an underground lake or sea. A bridge over a river leads to a series of docks and watchtowers. A set of double doors, carved with flames bordered in skeletal forms, lies to the south but a permanently barred with iron beans, chains and locks. After looting a sunken barge and fighting a giant lamprey, the party moves through the only apparently operable doors, leading east. Three old and desiccated bodies lie inside the entrance of a room filled with rune inscribed floor tiles. When disturbed the bodies rise to life and attack, but are rapidly dispatched. 

Three doors lead out of the rune-inscribed chamber. Through the one to the south, the party surprises a group of goblins and a hobgoblin torturing a stirge.  These too are dispatched with ease and their coins looted (as well as a valuable gem hidden in a straw-filled mattress). Leaving through another door, the party proceeds down a winding passage before it ends at a set of double doors. They backtrack to see what lies behind another door they passed along the way; beyond it is a ruined torture chamber and a single hobgoblin rooting around. They corner and question him, learning only that other humans may be found in the tomb complex alongside the goblins and hobgoblins.  He tries to buy his life, but Goro the crusader will not take the deal and the hobgoblin is killed. 

Retracing their steps to the rune-room, the party goes to the northern door. The room on the other side, is faintly lit by torchlight. And they startle three men preparing to burst through a door in the eastern wall. These three turn on the party, and after a short combat all three (plus an archer hidden in the shadows) are dead. Looting the bodies of gold and arrows, the party now turns to the eastern door to see what lies beyond ...

GAINS

Onate Golden Goblet [200gp]

Silver Armband [50gp]

Flash of Strong Fishy Liquor [25gp] 

Gem [1000gp]

475gp

40sp

15cp

KILLS/VICTORIES

1 Giant Lamprey

2 Zombies

1 Ghoul

4 Goblins

2 Hobgoblins

Veneman, Luge, Argun, Pipluk 

LOSSES

none 

Gygax & Greyhawk Session #7 - On To New Adventures

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 5 - midday to Planting 11 - morning

Before making any decision between exploring the isle or moving on to other things, Skeff charms a blackbird to gain aerial reconnaissance . The bird reports no human structure on the isle except some stones and a long narrow thing separating one side of the island from the other. A large serpent lay on one side of the long thing, and the only human was on the other side. The shinning light they party observed from the mountain came from a cliff at the end of the island, beyond the serpent area. The party is still uncertain whether they should alight on the island, citing a combination of low spells and multiple wounds, as well as reluctance to interfere with the scaredness of the island to the Kharan tribe if there was no clear reason to do so. Leaving the second question unresolved, the party retreats back to the gnoll cave to rest for the night and address the first. 

Next day, they head back to the lake and make steps to cross the shallows. They get halfway and are challenged by a wild man in robes of strange material, yelling at them and swinging a staff over his head. He forbids them entry. Questioned, he explains the tribe worships Mok' Slyk, the Serpent who consumes souls of the dead. The island is sacred to him, and the valley on Hardway Mountain is the path cut by Mok' Slyk as he descended from space to the primordial Oerth.  Goro notes this being is some sort of ur-deity, ancient and long forgotten by the world. After several more attempts to talk their way past Arn, the party decides to leave and not provoke a confrontation. Instead, now that they know roughly where they are in Tenh, they head west towards the crossroads town of Oxton. After a short but frightening encounter with a troll one night, and a pleasant one the next day with a group of pilgrims of Beory going to worship at some sacred burial mounds to the north, they arrive safe and sound in town after a few days travel. 

They check and reject a few inns (Dancer and the Dark Mage, The Troll's Hand, The Hellgate) before settling in for a few days at the Ox & Lyre. In addition to resting and refitting, the party looks for rumors of further adventure. They learn of three possibilities:

• Hygar the Ox-Driver is heading east to the Troll Fens and the borders with the Theocracy of the Pale. Duck Ehyah II is there again this campaigning season, upgrading defenses against both the trolls and the Faithful Bands of the Pale across the Yol River. He looking for company and protection along the way. 
• Jakael Foss, recently arrived from Nevond Nevend, passes word that the Duke has put out a call for armed bands to clear old bandit holds and orc lairs along Rockegg Pass above Calbut. It seems the Duke wishes to deal with the raiders from the Hold of Stonefist in the next campaigning season, and wants to clear out any minor annoyances along the way first. See Marshal Iaba of the Tenha Host in Nevond Nevend  for more details. 
• While discussing their encounter with the pilgrims with  a local man (Gyar Uldan), they are reminded of the reverence the Flann of Tenh have for their dead. It would be unwise to disturb barrows and graves in the Duchy. On the other hand, non-Flann burials are free for the plundering. Gyar tells them of one such place just a few days away in the Griff Mountains. A local near-do-good by then name of Black Odo headed off to the tomb just as the snow cleared from the uplands. She and her henchman have not been seen since. Another group followed after her just a few days ago.

The party decides to stay local and (hopefully) loot-rich, and get directions from Gyar to the tomb, beginning  their journey back east the next day. 

GAINS

none

KILLS/VICTORIES

1 Troll

LOSSES

none 

Gygax & Greyhawk Session #6 - Off the Mountain

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 4 - midday to Planting 5 - midday 

The party takes the bypassed branch and soon come to another intersection with 5 paths radiating from it. A crude abatis of brush blocks the two furthest paths, and a pair of frog-like humanoids guard it. There is also a crude wooden cage containing a giant lizard.  The party tries parley, but no one speaks bullywug and the dim creatures understand nothing else. Sign language and gesture leads to misunderstanding, and a battle begins. The bullywugs release the lizard from the cage, but it turns on them before running off into the swamp. Soon the pair of foes are dead and their heads placed on poles to scare any others. Footprints in the mud suggest two types of bullywugs are around, one larger or heavier than the others. 

Taking the path leading towards the plains, the party in ambushed by bullywugs who are dispatched as per the previous attack. The trail eventually leads to a thick entangled wood where the river reforms, and beyond which lies the plain.  It appear difficult to pass through, so the party opts to head for the nearby ridgeline where a path can be seen. After climbing nearly to the top, they note a cave and hear shouting in crude orcish. Five orcs emerge into the sunlight and reluctantly attack; three are killed and two surrender. Questioned by the party they reveal that a massive gnoll lives in the cave and had kept them in thrall. Releasing their captives, the party tries a bold approach with the cave, but Goro ends up with three arrows in his chest. They then opt to descend off the ridge for the night, and return fully rested the next morning to deal with the gnoll. Which they do quite easily this time, and recover a bit of treasure in return. 

The party descends onto the gently rolling plain, finally leaving the mountainside behind. They follow the river towards the sparkling lake and island, looking for signs of civilization along the way. The reach the edge of the lake and note riders coming from the east, leading a bound man on foot. They stop at the edge of the lake nearest the island and call out. After some time they receive a reply or sign, and ford across to the island. They return after a while, and release the man on foot, directing him towards the mountains before riding off.  The party waits for the man to get closer and then waylays him. They learn his name is Ritik of the Kharon tribe, and he is a horse-thief. He was brought here by his tribe to be judged by their shaman Arn Flowmane on the sacred Isle of the Serpent. He opted not to fight the Serpent as his punishment and redemption, but rather elected to try his fate on Hardway Mountain to search for the great "Eye of the Serpent" that legend says is found there. If successful, his shame will be erased and his crimes forgiven. The party gives him a few helpful items and advice before sending him on his way ...

GAINS

12gp

Crude Gold Jewelry  [50gp]

Electrum headband [25gp]

Golden earing with malachite gem  [50gp]

Tourmaline Hat Pin [250gp] 

KILLS/VICTORIES

5 Bullywugs

3 Orcs

1 Gnoll

LOSSES

none

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

Gygax & Greyhawk Session #4 - Skeletons in the Closet

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 3 - mid afternoon

At the barrow, Ranzel searches for tracks, finding nothing but more rabbit prints in the mud. A tunnel is found that lends into the barrow; lined with great slabs of stone. A smaller tunnel (1' square) squeezes between the stones and into the dirt of the barrow. The druids racoon is sent to investigate, and returns to say there is nothing but man-objects inside. Following the main tunnel, the party reaches a stone slab which Solcha determine is actually a door. When touched, it release a flash of flame, but is afterwards easy to swing open on its hinge. Inside is a large stone sarcophagus with the lid removed, two small ceramic jars and a scattering of other broken jars. The jars contain mostly charred bone and ash;  cremation remains. The sarcophagus is empty, but the bottom is false. When lifted out of the way, a vertical shaft through the damp earth is uncovered. And an unseen presence rise up to meet them, pelting the party with shards of broken ceramic. Goro flees in terror, the the rest of the party wisely follows their cleric rather than face the undead without him. 

After some time, Goro regains his courage and all return to the barrow. They face and defeat the invisible terror, then drop down the shaft to investigate. Only a single human skull, sitting atop a magnificent ruby, is found. Up in the main chamber, Solcha searches the end facing the rest of the barrow, and finds one slab is a secret door. It too flashes with flame when touched, but is then opened into a very narrow tunnel dug in the dirt. It leads to a small circular chamber with a large stone, atop which sits a large chunk of amber. Hanging from the ceiling are skeletons, hung by leather cords nailed to their breastbones. When they show no sign of animation, the party removes them all and smashes their skulls, then dropping the rest into the pit in the first barrow chamber. They carefully recover the amber, then crawl back out the tunnel. Only to be met by the skeletons that have climbed out of the pit. Goro calls on the favor of Heironeous, and the undead flee back into the pit. The party then traps them below by replacing the stone slab before leaving the barrow. 

Back in daylight, they opt to backtrack up and across the valley, to where the needleman had told them orcs inhabited an old mine. They find two mine entrances, but also the skeletal remains of a great mammoth. The cage is covered in webs, which the party burns, revealing a human skeleton trapped under the beast. Balthus crawls inside the rib cage to investigate, and two large spiders descend upon him from above. In a short fight, both are killed. The party loots the skeleton, and then respectfully burry the remains in the soft turf.  

Turning now to the mine, they enter the first decrepit tunnel. After about a half hour, they come to a bend in the tunnel, beyond which it has partly collapsed. In the open passage there is a strange, glistening stone. Which moves! Missile fire ensues, and whatever it was is soon no more. Moving past it's remains, the party delves deeper into the mine ... 

GAINS

Ivory Box [300gp]

3 Gold Earrings [3x5gp]

Silver Bangle [15gp]

Pendant [100gp]

Ruby [500gp]

Amber [500gp]

Belt Buckle [40gp]

Horse carving [200gp]

KILLS/VICTORIES

1 Poltergeist 

7 Skeletons

2 Large Spiders

1 Grey Ooze

LOSSES

none

Gygax & Greyhawk Session #3 - Creatures Great and Small

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) 

Date/Time

Planting 2 - sunrise to Planting 3 - sunrise

Leaving the haunted island behind, the party heads instead for a set of stairs carved out a gully on the eastern edge of the valley. These appear to lead to another short tower on the ridgeline above the valley. The stairs show their age, but are solidly built; seemingly for a people of shorter stature. They lead to a side tunnel, which itself leads onto a  flagstone courtyard perched on the side of the mountain and overlooking the plains, river and shinning island in the lake. A short tower sits to their left, and a line of crows peer down at them curiously from the upper works.  Skeff casts speak with animals to talk to the creatures.  The lead crow tells him nothing lives here but the crows, and they wish no one to enter the tower. Skeff convinces the birds to allow the party to enter and search the first floor, promising to not climb to the second where the crows nest. 

Beating down the door, the party enters a dust shrouded room; obviously no foot steps have fallen here in many years. The room itself contains little of interest, except a dwarf skeleton and a hidden alcove along one wall. Ranzel uses his septum  to move the wooden panel that hides the alcove, which opens a pit trap in the floor. In the alcove is a box with a tapestry (showing stylized view of the plain and river) and a silver mirror (likely a utilitarian signally device rather than a lady's jeweled treasure). In the pit is the skeleton of a dwarf. In addition to a small bag of gold, he has a set of curious lock picks of a style that Skeff does not recognize. Using the mirror, the party examines the top floor, finding it does indeed consist mainly of crows and nests. Including one crow much larger than the others. Checking the one other door in the room; they find it leads to stairs heading up. And honoring their deal with the crows, they choose to not take them, and instead leave the tower and descend the ridge via a second tunnel/stair/gully.  

This one leads to the pine forest on the other side of the weedy lake. Ranzel notes strange humanoid footprints on the path; foot shaped, but with strange protrusions.  Taking a path leading west towards the river, they encounter a gaunt humanoid figure bristling with pine needles. It attacks, firing needles at the party, who return the favor with missile weapons. After a few hits, the figure turns and runs. Skeff chases it, and finally runs it to ground in a small grove. The creature, in broken Common, asks only to be left alone and that the party not continue on towards the river. The party agrees, and instead heads south through the forest towards a wall the creature tells them about. 

The wall is an old fortification of dwarven construction, blocking the narrow passage between the valley wall and a rocky knoll. A narrow gate pieces the centre, a portcullis hanging above it. Ranzel and Skeff climb over the wall, while Goro and Solcha pass thorough the gate. The portcullis crashes down after Solcha passes, leaving Goro trapped on the north side. He is attacked by a strange, tentacled tree creature. The half-orc's compatriots rush to his aid, and all four are soon caught in the monsters tentacles. Goro, using his mighty strength, bodily heaves the thing against the wall, crushing it to death.  Searching nearby, they find a broken sword. The hilt is of carved ivory, and in it's hollow core is a potion of speed.   

Beyond the wall is an open grassland. The party heads south towards an old barrow Ranzel spotted from the top of the wall. As they approach it, a band of six rabbit like creatures (each with a single long horn on it's head) come around the mound. They watch the party approach, and then charge. In short order, the six are dead and headed for the evening stew pot. The hour growing late, the party retreats back in the direction of the wall and away from the barrow, setting up camp for the night. Night passes without incident, and in the light mist of the morning they head once more towards the barrow ... 

GAINS

Silver Mirror [25gp]

Tapestry [300gp]

Ivory sword hilt [125gp]

15gp

6 al-mi'raj horns [6x 5gp]

potion of speed

KILLS/VICTORIES

1 kampfult

6 al-mi'raj

LOSSES

none