Cleaning Up the Dourstone Mess

General Summary

By Pagu  

Flamerule 23rd - Year of Rogue Dragons (After Dark)

After securing the surface complex around the mine Iluminus decides to explore the "closed" section of the mine for derro or cult activity... Searching the shafts we come across a platform connected to a great chain and a crank to lower and raise it... We get in and I put the biceps to work lowering it...     After a few minutes we lower into a very large cavern... Also in this large cavern are several flying gargoyles... Luckily the beasts see Ulfgar and assume he must be a Dourstone master and we are unmolested as we crank the platform to the ground...     Several side passageways lead from this grand chamber... Ulfgar maintains his ruse as a salty Dourstone and orders Big Red to and fro inspecting the area... Tinkerson comes across a chamber doubling as a cell with several disheveled and debased prisoners... They warn Nick about eyeless and tentacled monsters deeper within and cultists dragging people away across the cavern to rarely return and when they do they are crazed and broken...     As Big Red stats fumbling with the keys we got from above the gargoyles unravel the ruse and dive in and attack...   The flying creatures of evil elemental earth are difficult for our group to fight... The powerful yet graceful beasts are only in range to be struck for a moment before they wing away... Lacking a substantial ranged offense makes dealing with these flying beasts more difficult than need be... I put away the sword and put my athleticism to work tackling and grappling the gargoyles allowing Nick, Ulfgar, and Reed to more time to hack and bash... Eventually we finish off the monsters and shuttle the prisoners up and out of the mines... Ulfgar impressed upon the captives secrecy about the situation and spread some gold around the captives to seal the deal...       After catching our breath and preparing for more battle we head back down and deeper into the lower mines... Off the main cavern we find cohort of dwarven cultists relaxing in a ready room... Iluminus springs into action... Seizing the initiative, Big Red cast a shielding spell and charges the cultist in the center of the room... most of the guards and berserkers turn on him rain blows after blow... His armor, shield, defense, presence, and magic turn away strike after strike... Reed sprints around the scrum and into the rear delivering a furry of stunning blows on the yellow robed cultist leaving him on deaths door before the Hin's mobility allows him to deftly leave the melee... Several guards charge Ulfgar and I... He hacks low and I slice high... We trade blows and we fell our group of guardsmen... Meanwhile Nick finished off the cultist before he can use any mind bending tricks and keeps several guards and berserkers occupied... Reed, Ulfgar, and I fall on Big Red's scrum from behind and the dwarf are filled in order... After a quick looting we press on...       Just off this ready room we find a gargoyle rookery but we don't engage the beasts as we feel the terrain doesn't favor us and the beasts are low priority... Traveling another way we find a room with prisoners chained to walls... We enter to free them but we are exposed to an otherworldly noise, most of us can resist the frightening drone but the madness magic is overwhelming for Ulfgar and he runs from the room...     In the confusion several of the chained prisoners come out of the shackles and stagger to attack us... Not feeling they are in control of their minds I use the flat of mine blade, pommel strikes, and gauntlet blows to knock out the attackers... While dealing with the prisoners a monstrosity drops onto Reed... Like a large black devil ray this creature wraps up our Hin monk... We try to attack the beast, but it's madness creates several illusionary images of itself... Nick chops at the images and disrupts them... Down to the real monster we rain blow after blow on it unfortunately we realize damage from the attacks are transferred to our diminutive ally trapped in this cloaker's folds...     After taking a substantial amount of damage I am able to rip Reed, broken and battered, free from the beast's clutch... With Reed out of danger we finish off the beast... Badly beaten we gather up the remaining prisoners and head up the elevator and regain our fighting spirits after a short rest and head back down...     We press on past the cloaker's room... A worked corridor leads down into another chamber... At the head of the chamber is a giant carved throne, and seated within is a gilded King in Yellow... The ritual chamber hums with the mad devotions of a group of cultists... We see them, they see us!! I let loose a war cry to Tempus as I charge...