Session 9: 21/07/2024
General Summary
26th early morning in until late afternoon in the year 333 AI
Phandalin
The morning greets our friends. Liberty and Numot find themselves in the manor and ask Mirna for some breakfast. This is readily arranged and as they wake up they register the absence of Resnalore. Upon questioning Mirna it seems she has seen no sign. Not overly worried they correctly deduce she must have ran of with her faithful love-stricken partner to set about some mischief. They set out to find her and decide how to proceed next with their task of finding Wave Echo Cave, Gundren's brother and finally learn who and what is behind all these strange and evil happenings around Phandalin.
It is a mother resigned to her fate that greets them at the inn. Pip and Resnalore have set out with their swords. Thanks to Trilena they soon hear the sound of swords and exertion. Party complete they return to the inn. Gundren in the meantime has started an early dwarven breakfast. Ale. Together with the dwarf plans are forged. Instead of storming the cave with great force (that the party and town don't have), they are going to scout ahead to see what lies ahead. Would the danger be too great they will return and find what help they can from the village or surrounding regions.
After informing Sildar of their departure, and asking him to send help should they not return by the next day's eve, the party sets off to the cave. It is an easy journey since the dwarf knows the way. Soon they find traces that the dwarves were being tracked. The hope of finding Gundren's brothers safe and sound diminishes. Reaching the cave entrance it is Numot that scouts ahead into the tunnel. Finding no imminent danger in the first cavern he returns. Lighted by a moonlit longsword the party then follows suit.
The real investigation begins now, and a first horror is found. The dwarven shape that Numot had spotted, is indeed a dwarf. Alas! It is a dwarf with three javelins in it's belly. It is thus that Gundren's middle brother is found... Swallowing most emotions, Gundren shows the dwarven stubborness and says to continue their exploration. Even the boots that Thandren was wearing interest him little. He donates them to the party without so much as a second thought. For people who know him well, his bushy eyebrows would tell them how much he truly is hurting.
His pain becomes visible once the party takes on a swarm of stirges. Swinging his axe wildly many of his frenzied attacks don't even hit. The poor dwarf is clearly taking the loss of his brother with a heavy heart. The cave begins to show its first dangers. Two tunnels leading away from the cavern offer separate dangers, one as mentioned is easily cleared. The exploration keeps going left, an old trick to find your way in unkown mazes. Stealthily and with care the party continues. Luckily, for around one of the corners a new unknown danger lurks, but is unable to use the advantage of surprise.
An Ochre Jelly had hoped to catch one of the party members unaware. Unfortunately he fails and now faces a ready party... As soon as Gundren realises what is in front of them he warns the party that this beast is immune to slashing damage! No matter, the beast is no match for a prepared party. Soon the party can continue their investigation and exploration. So it is they reach a second cavern. Filled with a pool and a little stream flowing North East. Thanks to her newly developed detect magic skill Liberty soons finds something in the water. The skeletal remains of a wizard. Clutching a wand of magic missiles. Useful to say the least!
So far the party has not encountered anything more than 'wild' beasts in the caves, but now a door is in front of them, behind which they hear voices speaking Goblin! Closer inspection warns them of about five separate enemies ahead. They decide to take the straight forward route and send in Gundren in a head one surprise attack. It proves effective! Altough slightly outnumbered, their quick ambush and great teamwork makes sure they soon have the upper hand. The Bugbears were expecting no attack and are heavily underprepared. Try as they might they soon lie dead on the floor. What to do now? In an effort to confuse possible future patrols they dump the bodies in the pool. Listening through the opposite door they hear shuffling sounds. Aphrodite's nose warns them of the smell of decay... They go back the way they came and reach another double door...
This door provides a keyhole. Liberty peeks through and her sharp eyes manage to spy a lot inside. A statue of Dumathoin, the dead god of mining sits at the end of what seems a large hall. Pillars line the walls, on the right between two another tunnel is visble. On the left, there stands a table in front of which two bugbears seem to protect a drow holding an ornate staff, with a spider on top. Is this the Black Spider they have been hearing about? Given that there are four giant spiders in the hall, it is not a bad guess...
Figuring they have found the source of evil, but unsure what else lies in wait, the party first continues to scout the rest of the cave. Thus they reach another enormous cavern... It is here we leave our party for now...
Report Date
24 Jul 2024
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Related Characters
Comments