I will start with a formal introduction to the characters, since my first session report only gave you descriptions:
Adventuring Party
Lakatosh: Male Human Bard
Thorn Dayereth: Male Shifter Warlock
Bodoka Vespana: Female Human Fighter
Cildain Delvehammer: Male Dwarven Shaman
Torrin Steelfist: Male Dwarven Warden
Narrash: Male Shifter Avenger
NPCs
Lanea: Human Woman from Treemore, helped keep party alive during capture
Tafedis: Mysterious Magical Man, met in this episode
Begrommond: Demon Cambion (main antagonist so far)
Part I: Rescuing the Captives?
When we left off, the party had returned to the clean room to convince Lanea and the other two young men to accompany them out of the fortress and back from whence they were taken. Lanea was unmoved by their arguments and refused to leave the room, convinces that the two young men were clearly in shock and helpless, unable to make the journey. Lanea implored the group to return to Treemore and speak to the Elders about what they had seen and experienced.
Lakatosh and Thorn started to have horrible stomach cramps and then both vomited up a frothy, opaque blue substance. They were immediately overtaken with severe stomach cramps and fatigue. Lanea had seen this type of illness before and called it the ‘stomach demons’, and asked them what they had eaten or drank in the fortress. This caused them to remember the temptation filled blue pool from which they were compelled to drink deeply. Lanea said that the illness, at worst, would last up to 5 days, but that most healthy adults stop vomiting after the second day. After a few minutes, the severe cramps subsided and the party decided to go on.
On the way back to the cavern exit, the bard, Lakatosh, tried to convince the party that it would be un-valorous to leave without exploring the room from which they heard the evil laughter. His influence and argument was wavering and unconvincing, but then he mentioned the diary entries he and Bodoka, the female fighter, had read in the clean room. The diary apparently outlined, from a girl’s point of view, a ‘demon breeding’ effort whereby young human women, presumably kidnapped ones, were forced to endure breeding bouts with demonic individuals in an effort to impregnate them. This infused the rest of the party with anger and all agreed to enter the room and confront the evil, laughing one.
Part II: Fighting the Demon
As the group entered the room, they were rushed by a small green skinned goblin in shiny black armor. Two other green skinned creatures were in the back of the room preparing to fling javelins at the party. Next to them were two very large beetles with glowing red carapaces and fiery eyes. A lengthy battle ensued. Torrin and Narrash fought valiantly, facing goblin warriors and fire beetles with courage.
Meanwhile Thorn moved around seamlessly and committed a few well-placed strikes. Lakatosh fired from afar and Bodoka ran into battle. With the help of Cildain’s rage drake, the party dispatched the two beetles and one of the goblins, after which a booming laugh filled the room.
In a burst of fire, a demonic looking, tall, red-skinned humanoid appeared and laughed heartily at the struggling party. The creature had large, shiny black horns protruding from his temples and a long pointed tail with small spikes at the end. Dark wings structures were visibly folded behind his back. This demon was obviously the one who taunted the party with laughter before, and they immediately knew he was dangerous.
The demon rushed into battle with glee, gravely wounding Bodoka and forcing engagement with the rest of the party. The party quickly dispatched the last of the goblins and focused on the demon. It was a struggle, but they were beginning to overcome the demon when he fled in just the way he had arrived – a burst of fire. The party heard his laughter as he retreated.
After a short rest, the party set about exploring the room. It was filled with several large, knee high cauldrons of fire. They had obviously been use for smelting metal and weapon-smithing. There was a pedestal by the door on top of which was a bowl containing fresh blood. A familiar glowing blue ring was on the floor in one corner, similar to the summoning circles in the previous casting room explored by the party. There was an empty table and a chair made of human bones, and a large stone throne against one wall. In the corner where the demon had appeared, the floor tiles were scorched and, upon inspection, were seen to have writing on them. The writing was in common script, but the language was abyssal (the language of demons and devils). The party was unable to read it, apart from recognizing the name Begrommond, which was also mentioned copiously in the diary.
Upon inspection of the throne, the party found a hatch located underneath and all worked together to push the humongous throne aside. Careful inspection proved the hatch to be locked but un-trapped, so Thorn picked the lock and the party opened the hatch. When they crawled down into the small cellar, they discovered several cases of Fasthorian* ale, Fasthorian wine, and a chest. The bard immediately opened a bottle of ale and drank it; he reported feeling better when he was done. One of the party mentions that Fasthorian wine is the type most often served in the temples of Sefft**.
In the chest, the party found: 1 potion of healing, a large red leather bag filled with gold pieces, a large blue leather bag filled with silver pieces and containing a jade pendant and a medium sized black pearl. A golden amulet with a red star etched into the middle. And a shiny metal, brass colored headband. [jade pendant and black pearl non-magical, golden amulet is amulet of protection, headband is circlet of authority]
Part III: The Black Swamp and a wrong turn
After securing their treasure, the party chose to leave the fortress immediately. As they were entering the black swamp, they noticed that their food had spoiled. For an arduous day, the party fought hunger and thirst to find their way out of the swamp, to no avail. At nightfall the party settled on dry ground and set up camp. During the third watch, Thorn heard noises in the water and woke everyone up. The group was set upon by two swimming chokers, creatures much like the black tree chokers, but less dangerous once detected. The battle was quick and the party got away unscathed. The rest of the night was uneventful.
The next day was another hard traveling day. Hungry and thirsty, the group traveled until near dusk when they noticed that they kept passing the same tree and concluded that they had been going in circles for hours. Someone noticed that one tree-stump looked to have a make-shift door built into it. As the others stood around inspecting the door, a weary, frustrated, and impatient Cildain wrenched open the door and walked down the tunnel.
The rest of the party followed and were greeted with the most pleasant odor they had smelled in days. As they moved down the dry, warm tunnel, they called out in various languages, but received no response in return. As they neared the light at the end of the tunnel, they came face to face with a goat, followed by a small voice calling out “Todd, Todd, where are you going?” and a little man walked up behind the goat.
The man was a short humanoid with bright white hair, a long pointy nose, and piercing green eyes. He wore shiny green robes with yellow braids woven into the seams. After staring at the party for a few minutes, he muttered “Well, don’t just stand there, come in, come in! I have stew cooking,” and then quickly turned around and went off down the tunnel in the other direction.
The party followed him and ate the stew served to them (which he eventually told them contained newts, salamanders, swamp frogs, and snails). The stew tasted fantastic to the famished party. The man introduced himself as Tafedis and among the many wondrous things he told the party, were these tidbits:
1. He knows the powerful mage that lives at Hovel Arcana***, who is, in fact, his brother
2. He can tell them how to get out of the swamp very quickly
3. He noticed the swamp forming around his house years ago, but it was so gradual that he didn’t think much of it
4. He can heal up the party and they will be as good as new, and he gives the bard some liniment to put on his chafing groin area
5. He is very old
6. He senses another Bane-War coming, and he remembers the last one
7. The goat’s name is Todd, and is also very old
8. He built his house out of one giant tree
9. He tells the players to seek Selipsy, a friend of his, in Treemore, for information that they need
He claimed to know nothing of the fortress in the swamp or of the creatures inhabiting it. He also skirted questions about magic and demons. He led them down to his workshop, a huge cavern a few meters down the hall (horizontally and vertically) in which floated a large airship (zeppelin). The ship was floating a few feet off the ground and Tafedis assured them that it worked, but, alas, that he had no way to get it out of the cavern, in which he had constructed it himself.
Tafedis took a liking to the party and started to give them gifts, to which he referred as some “old items that I just have laying around.” He gives an old, beat up harp (with broken strings) to Lakatosh, a small rusty dagger with a hole where a gem used to be to Thorn, an old mouldy, holey suit of leather armor to Cildain, and then he turns to Narrash. He attempts to give the skeptical shifter an old, dirty, rusty axe, but Narrash is unwilling to take it. Lakatosh takes the axe instead. The man shrugs and then goes back up to the kitchen area to find a map to give to the party so that they can get out of the swamp. [these items end up being a harp of deeper slumber, a pact blade, delver’s leather armor, and a vicious axe, all of which look knew when used once]
After a cryptic warning about the book that Lakatosh took from the summoning room, Tafedis gives them a map and tells them that he is tired and must turn in for the night. The party leaves and notices, when they step out of his hovel, that even though they were only there for an hour or so, it is now about 6am (12 hours seemed to have passed!!) and they feel refreshed. Using Tafedis’ map, the party travels safely to Treemore and gets ready to meet with the Elders.
Thus ends episode II of our story!
** Sefft is an evil deity
~DM Samuel
Note: This DnD 4e session was played on 6/19/2009. This story has also been posted on the RPG Geek website as a session report. Stay tuned in two days for episode 3 of the Ruboryn Campaign!