Post by ihavetilfive on Apr 22, 2010 1:01:23 GMT -6
Sometimes an element enters the game without a lot of forethought on the part of the DM. The party managed to kill a gelatinous cube, and I rolled for the treasure it contained in the back of the Monster Manual. I used the gem value chart in the DMG, and one of the gems shot up to 5,000 gp in value! I decided to call it a black sapphire. What was cool about this was this find changed the whole direction of the campaign, and it was one of those things where player commentary and expectations gave me ideas to move the game in directions I hadn't planned on. This is the continuation of my "In Search of the Unknown" campaign.
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Session #10
The gelatinous cube follows Tig to the end of the corridor, where it continually backs the party up. The cube is unable to force the party into its grasp while it takes damage from everyone. The cube shortly dissolves into a pool of runny ooze and the body it was digesting crumples to the floor. Going back to the room at the center of the spiral corridor, they find some coins and gems. The gems are a garnet, an aquamarine, and a very nice black sapphire. The party decides to fall back to the outside of the complex, possibly to camp or to head to the village.
While walking down the initial hallway, Tig hears footsteps and a conversation in orcish. Unable to tell if the voices came from the west or east corridors at the northern end of the hallway, the party goes east to find them. Finding nothing, the party follows the southern turn and observes a four-way intersection. One alcove looks interesting, and Tig finds a secret door. Undoing the latch and opening the door, he finds, along with Bones, that the door opens into the second alcove in the first hallway.
At the top of the stairs, two orcs appear and demand to know what they are doing. Tig tries to delay them, while Delva and Silas wait for the orcs to appear. The orcs, already agitated, don't humor Tig's stalling and let loose two spears at the dwarf. One hits him for some damage, and both he and the gnome fall back to the safety behind the secret door. The orcs are heard mentioning that "They found the secret doors" in orcish, and one is dispatched to "get the others." Deciding to leave before a mass of orcs can attack, the party re-enters the secret door and find the last orc watching them leave. "Ah, so there's four of them," he says, and runs down a corridor.
Leaving Quasqueton, the party sets up camp at the mouth of the cave. Deciding to wait to see if the orcs pursue them, the party decides its next move. A few hours pass, and they hear what seems to be a woman's scream from somewhere within. Delva asks Bones to cast his last spell on him but to stay behind at the fire. Sensing a band of some sort of protection about him, Delva and Tig head into the complex again, along with Silas. After the magic mouths again sound, the party waits for them to fall silent, as they always do, and hears the sound of rushed footfalls and frantic mumbling. Deciding to sneak behind the northwest corner north of the kitchen entrance, the party sees a person with ragged clothing run down the hall, headed out of the caverns. Delva decides to follow, thinking it could be Bethesda.
Exiting Quasqueton, Delva sees Bones sitting by the fire. "Did you see Bethesda come by here?" "Who's that?" asked the gnome. "You didn't see anyone come by here?" the elf asked. "Oh sure. Serenus just ran by here, screaming like a girl. I'm sure he'll run out of breath soon." The gnome replied, disinterested. Delva, not about to waste more time on cowardly hirelings, heads back into the cave. Passing the alcoves, the magic mouths again go off. Tig and Delva send Silas back to retrieve Serenus while they investigate the scream.
Hearing footsteps somewhere in the northwest, Tig and Delva decide to perform a pincher-move…or something…you'd have to ask them. Delva headed into the kitchen while Tig waited at the intersection of the corridors. Knowing the kitchen is shaped like an "L," Delva went to the other end of the kitchen to see if he could find anything else beyond the other door. Upon opening, Delva found himself looking at two somewhat surprised troglodytes, one of which seemed to mutter something in very broken common. Closing the door, Delva rushed back to other door.
Tig, hearing footsteps, strange voices, and activity in the kitchen, was unsure whether the opening door held friend or foe. Raising his axe above his head, Tig readied for the worse. As Delva emerged, Tig's reflexes and battle experience kept his swing in check, and no intra-party violence occurred tonight. While unsure of heading up the corridor which the troglodytes seemed to leave, the two heard another groan, decidedly female. It seemed nearby, and the female voice asked if they were going to help or not. Deciding to walk up the corridor, the two came to an intersection, noted each path, and not fifty feet from them stood a shaken woman. She said that Francine was taken by something horrible, and she might be dead.
Beulah told them there was a secret door right behind her, and she would open it. Pressing a plate on the wall, and sliding a latch, the woman opened the small door. The party entered a square room, apparently used for storing construction supplies. Inside laid an unconscious female. Examining the woman, they concluded she was alive, but barely. Two bite wounds on her arm seemed to indicate poison, and just then, a blur appeared from the ceiling and launched itself at Tig. Sidestepping just in time, Tig wheeled and saw a large spider scrambling to attack again. The party skewered the thing and turned its attention to tending to the fallen Francine. Deciding to bring her outside, where Serenus might be, they felt they had no choice but to withdraw, for now, from Quasqueton.
At the mouth of the cave, Serenus was indeed sitting by Bones and Silas. Serenus said he would be able to heal some damage to the woman, but healing her of the poison would require a cleric of a higher calling. Perhaps he could attempt it with the right herbs and supplies, he reasoned. Delva decided he would take Francine by horseback to Providence Ridge while the rest of the party camped outside for the night.
Despite never having been to the village, nor bothering to ask for directions, Delva managed to find the village without too much extra travel time. A watchman answered his query about finding a cleric or healer in town, and directed him to the village's Temple of Sigmar. A sleepy adolescent opened the door and tried to get Delva to come back on the morrow. Delva said it's a matter of life and death, and seemed to convince the youth. Minutes later, an aged woman answered the door, and seeing the nature of the visit, bade Delva to bring Francine in. While explaining the healing ritual, the prefect advised Delva of the donation cost. Not pleased with the direction of the conversation, Delva asked for the ritual to continue regardless. After a series of chants, smoke, and incense, the ritual was completed.
The prefect advised Delva that the woman would need some days to fully recover, and Delva asked about magic or silver weapons. After seeing the silver Hammer of Sigmar, Delva agreed to pay for the ritual and the hammer with the garnet. Asking of healing potions, the prefect advised that some would be available in a week's time. Delva left to find lodging at the Smile of Providence Inn.
The next day, Delva had no luck finding an agreeable price for the aquamarine with Lem the moneychanger. He decided to speak with the master of the tower on the edge of town, though, before returning back to the party. He spoke with Antarius, who appeared to have great and bountiful knowledge. He said he possessed a magic sword, the price of which would cost many of the gems Delva showed. Delva asked if he had paper for sale, and the sage offered him an entire, uncut sheet of vellum. Antarius' asking price was a future favor, to which the cavalier agreed. The elf headed back to the party without further incident.
Meanwhile, back at the foot of the cave, the party took turns keeping watch. On Beulah's watch, she heard howling in the distance, perhaps a mile away. She awoke Tig and he kept watch with her. The party slept through the night without any other occurrence. In the morning, Delva returned, handing out rations that he got in town. The party decided to head back in, trying to find Bethesda.
___________________________________
Session #10
The gelatinous cube follows Tig to the end of the corridor, where it continually backs the party up. The cube is unable to force the party into its grasp while it takes damage from everyone. The cube shortly dissolves into a pool of runny ooze and the body it was digesting crumples to the floor. Going back to the room at the center of the spiral corridor, they find some coins and gems. The gems are a garnet, an aquamarine, and a very nice black sapphire. The party decides to fall back to the outside of the complex, possibly to camp or to head to the village.
While walking down the initial hallway, Tig hears footsteps and a conversation in orcish. Unable to tell if the voices came from the west or east corridors at the northern end of the hallway, the party goes east to find them. Finding nothing, the party follows the southern turn and observes a four-way intersection. One alcove looks interesting, and Tig finds a secret door. Undoing the latch and opening the door, he finds, along with Bones, that the door opens into the second alcove in the first hallway.
At the top of the stairs, two orcs appear and demand to know what they are doing. Tig tries to delay them, while Delva and Silas wait for the orcs to appear. The orcs, already agitated, don't humor Tig's stalling and let loose two spears at the dwarf. One hits him for some damage, and both he and the gnome fall back to the safety behind the secret door. The orcs are heard mentioning that "They found the secret doors" in orcish, and one is dispatched to "get the others." Deciding to leave before a mass of orcs can attack, the party re-enters the secret door and find the last orc watching them leave. "Ah, so there's four of them," he says, and runs down a corridor.
Leaving Quasqueton, the party sets up camp at the mouth of the cave. Deciding to wait to see if the orcs pursue them, the party decides its next move. A few hours pass, and they hear what seems to be a woman's scream from somewhere within. Delva asks Bones to cast his last spell on him but to stay behind at the fire. Sensing a band of some sort of protection about him, Delva and Tig head into the complex again, along with Silas. After the magic mouths again sound, the party waits for them to fall silent, as they always do, and hears the sound of rushed footfalls and frantic mumbling. Deciding to sneak behind the northwest corner north of the kitchen entrance, the party sees a person with ragged clothing run down the hall, headed out of the caverns. Delva decides to follow, thinking it could be Bethesda.
Exiting Quasqueton, Delva sees Bones sitting by the fire. "Did you see Bethesda come by here?" "Who's that?" asked the gnome. "You didn't see anyone come by here?" the elf asked. "Oh sure. Serenus just ran by here, screaming like a girl. I'm sure he'll run out of breath soon." The gnome replied, disinterested. Delva, not about to waste more time on cowardly hirelings, heads back into the cave. Passing the alcoves, the magic mouths again go off. Tig and Delva send Silas back to retrieve Serenus while they investigate the scream.
Hearing footsteps somewhere in the northwest, Tig and Delva decide to perform a pincher-move…or something…you'd have to ask them. Delva headed into the kitchen while Tig waited at the intersection of the corridors. Knowing the kitchen is shaped like an "L," Delva went to the other end of the kitchen to see if he could find anything else beyond the other door. Upon opening, Delva found himself looking at two somewhat surprised troglodytes, one of which seemed to mutter something in very broken common. Closing the door, Delva rushed back to other door.
Tig, hearing footsteps, strange voices, and activity in the kitchen, was unsure whether the opening door held friend or foe. Raising his axe above his head, Tig readied for the worse. As Delva emerged, Tig's reflexes and battle experience kept his swing in check, and no intra-party violence occurred tonight. While unsure of heading up the corridor which the troglodytes seemed to leave, the two heard another groan, decidedly female. It seemed nearby, and the female voice asked if they were going to help or not. Deciding to walk up the corridor, the two came to an intersection, noted each path, and not fifty feet from them stood a shaken woman. She said that Francine was taken by something horrible, and she might be dead.
Beulah told them there was a secret door right behind her, and she would open it. Pressing a plate on the wall, and sliding a latch, the woman opened the small door. The party entered a square room, apparently used for storing construction supplies. Inside laid an unconscious female. Examining the woman, they concluded she was alive, but barely. Two bite wounds on her arm seemed to indicate poison, and just then, a blur appeared from the ceiling and launched itself at Tig. Sidestepping just in time, Tig wheeled and saw a large spider scrambling to attack again. The party skewered the thing and turned its attention to tending to the fallen Francine. Deciding to bring her outside, where Serenus might be, they felt they had no choice but to withdraw, for now, from Quasqueton.
At the mouth of the cave, Serenus was indeed sitting by Bones and Silas. Serenus said he would be able to heal some damage to the woman, but healing her of the poison would require a cleric of a higher calling. Perhaps he could attempt it with the right herbs and supplies, he reasoned. Delva decided he would take Francine by horseback to Providence Ridge while the rest of the party camped outside for the night.
Despite never having been to the village, nor bothering to ask for directions, Delva managed to find the village without too much extra travel time. A watchman answered his query about finding a cleric or healer in town, and directed him to the village's Temple of Sigmar. A sleepy adolescent opened the door and tried to get Delva to come back on the morrow. Delva said it's a matter of life and death, and seemed to convince the youth. Minutes later, an aged woman answered the door, and seeing the nature of the visit, bade Delva to bring Francine in. While explaining the healing ritual, the prefect advised Delva of the donation cost. Not pleased with the direction of the conversation, Delva asked for the ritual to continue regardless. After a series of chants, smoke, and incense, the ritual was completed.
The prefect advised Delva that the woman would need some days to fully recover, and Delva asked about magic or silver weapons. After seeing the silver Hammer of Sigmar, Delva agreed to pay for the ritual and the hammer with the garnet. Asking of healing potions, the prefect advised that some would be available in a week's time. Delva left to find lodging at the Smile of Providence Inn.
The next day, Delva had no luck finding an agreeable price for the aquamarine with Lem the moneychanger. He decided to speak with the master of the tower on the edge of town, though, before returning back to the party. He spoke with Antarius, who appeared to have great and bountiful knowledge. He said he possessed a magic sword, the price of which would cost many of the gems Delva showed. Delva asked if he had paper for sale, and the sage offered him an entire, uncut sheet of vellum. Antarius' asking price was a future favor, to which the cavalier agreed. The elf headed back to the party without further incident.
Meanwhile, back at the foot of the cave, the party took turns keeping watch. On Beulah's watch, she heard howling in the distance, perhaps a mile away. She awoke Tig and he kept watch with her. The party slept through the night without any other occurrence. In the morning, Delva returned, handing out rations that he got in town. The party decided to head back in, trying to find Bethesda.