Session 28 Report

General Summary

Upon entering the minotaur cave, each member of the party felt a passing dizziness come over them. They brushed it off and prepared to continue farther within, eyeing the branching passageways before them. Littered just inside the entrance were discarded weapons and armor, plus various torn backpacks and sacks. Among the armor was a chain shirt in worn, but useable condition. Mogi Delvin put it on, happy to have a replacement for his ruined armor. As they navigated the cave passages, they noted how similar one looked from another. They wound about for a short time and came to a larger area where there were several sturges clinging upside down to the walls. The sturges flew towards them to attack, hungry for blood. Despite their number, the bloodsucking creatures were defeated easily enough. However, one of them managed to stick Selia Roselyn Maxwell with its proboscis and drain some of her blood. As a result, she felt weakened and dizzy from the blood loss. After the sturges, Haymin’s Heroes continued deeper into the cave system. Again, the passages all looked the same. After some exploration, they ended up back in the sturges’ cave. They felt disoriented. Titta Morco thought she was leading the party farther within, and not doubling back. About that time Selia realized there must be some sort of enchantment in effect and managed to shake it off. Sinjin Fairchild did as well. Between the two of them, they helped guide the party deeper within the cave system. Several times they witnessed the disorientation of the rest of the party as they navigated the passages and someone would often try to turn back unexpectedly while they believed they were continuing forward, or turn left when they meant to turn right. The next large cavern area they came to was inhabited by three giant fire beetles, each the size of a large dog. The battle with the fire beetles was short and easy. Afterwards, the party pried the glowing red glands off from near the creatures’ eyes to use as light sources. While most of the party did this, Selia and Sinjin stood near an intersection watching down one of the paths as they planned where to go next. Then suddenly, a minotaur charged them from a different corridor. The minotaur was a massive beast almost as tall as the ogre. It lowered its head and gored Sinjin, smashing him against the cave wall. Sinjin dropped unconscious, his body battered and bloodied, and near death. Titta rushed forward to attack the minotaur, skillfully striking it with her scimitars. Then Selia attempted to back off and cast a spell, but she underestimated the minotaur’s long reach and it struck her with its greataxe, knocking her unconscious before she could complete the incantation. Pyzar Zim rushed passed the fallen Sinjin and attacked the minotaur, standing between it and Selia. Then Ladigo Farthon moved to Sinjin and healed him with the Healer’s Amulet, bringing him back to consciousness. Auren Sylynn rushed past them and began feeding Selia a potion of Cure Light Wounds while Mogi cast a Ray of Enfeeblement which struck the minotaur and visibly weakened the creature. Sinjin stood up and attacked the minotaur, striking it with a powerful punch just under its jaw. The creature was reeling, but not out. As it fought back, the minotaur seemed to struggle with the weight of its greataxe and its attacks became clumsy, and easier to avoid. Then Titta finished it off. Auren finished giving Selia the potion and she regained consciousness. Then from a passage behind him, two more fire beetles rushed and attacked Auren. Selia cast Grease under the beetles and they fell to the ground unable to keep their balance. Auren struck one, finishing it off and fell back. Then Pyzar moved in and finished the other one. While this was taking place, Titta ventured down a branching corridor that looked like it might connect from behind the fire beetles. However, due to her disorientation, she continued farther into the passage, walking in erratic directions and getting lost. Selia went after her and led her back by the hand. By now Pyzar and Auren seemed to shake off the disorientation effect and helped negotiate the twisting passages. After some searching, the party came to a large cavern area with a massive pallet bed. On one log wall were numerous bones and skulls laid out in a mazelike pattern. Auren searched this wall and discovered a large stone slab that could be moved out of the way. It took most of the party to coordinate moving the stone, but they eventually managed. Beyond it was a large nook with two chests, a trunk, and a greatsword and chain shirt. Auren was careful with the chests and discovered one poison needle trap which he disabled before opening them. They found a mixture of treasure, including some enchanted items. They divided the items where they thought they would be best used and decided to continue exploring the cave to better understand its layout. When they were done, they settled on resting here for the night. Between this cave and the owlbear cave several spells had been used and some of the party were carrying some minor wounds. Plus Selia was still feeling the effects of her blood loss. After a few hours, the rest of the party had overcome the disorientation effect of the caves, something, they had discovered, caused by a powerful magic that permeated the entire cave. Having the rest of the day to wait, they started searching the outer walls of the entire cave system. In the northeast corner, near the nests of the first fire beetles, they discovered a secret door. They opened it and found a worked stone passage that ended in another hidden door. This one they would leave until the next day. They quietly exited the secret passage and rested in the minotaur’s lair while they alternated watches focused on the main entrance and the cave with the secret passage. First thing the next morning, May 3, 498 AV, they reentered the secret passage. Selia was feeling a little better, but still somewhat weakened from the loss of blood. Despite that, she had no significant visible wounds and the rest of the party was at full health. When they opened the secret door at the end of the hall, they found it led into the bedroom of the gnoll chieftain. He was lying in bed with his mate. They were caught by surprise and the party made short work of them, killing them before they even had the chance to rise. A search of the room revealed a chest hidden high up on a ledge. They brought it down and opened it, having found a set of keys in the gnoll chieftain’s possessions near the bed. Inside they discovered some coins, a pair of healing potions, and a beautiful alabaster unicorn weight approximately thirty pounds. Among the chieftain’s possessions, they also found a magical cloak. From there, they found a storage room around the corner and took the treasure they found in a pair of chests inside; the chieftain’s keys opened these as well. The rest of this room contained various weapons and armor which Titta took note of for a possible return later with a wagon or cart. Haymin’s Heroes explored more of the gnoll cave, taking advantage of the fact that they were coming from within and would not be expected to come from that direction. When they found a guard room, the gnolls sitting lazily around a table within were surprised to see them and not their chieftain coming from the northern passage. There was a large gong on the far well and one of the gnolls moved to strike it and sound the alarm, but he was cut off as the party rushed inside. These gnolls fell quickly and Auren suggested they take down the gong so it could not be used. They did so and laid it down on the ground off in one corner of the room. The next room they came to was the kitchen, and again they caught the gnolls eating there by surprise and killed them quickly. After some more exploration, they came to a stairwell leading down. At the bottom of the stairs was another room where some gnolls were sitting and conversing at a table. These too were not prepared for the adventurers and scrambled to get to their feet and draw their weapons. Haymin’s Heroes sprang into action once more.

Campaign

The Heart of Embril

Protagonists