The Mouth of Doom: Session 8
General Summary
“Go back to the hells with you.”
Report Date
28 Nov 2020
The sun had already traveled behind the Jaw in the Northern Racchis Range. It was getting colder and darker just inside the gatehouse of Castle Calaelen. The group of adventurers could only see just inside the courtyard. Jalen, the rogue, moved in and slipped by the arrow slits quickly. He discovered a fully intact tower with some sort of graffiti written across the boarded up door and a small pond that has naturally formed in the northeastern area. The rogue returns to the group with his quick scouting report and they move into the castle under the protection of the Ferric’s Fog Cloud. With Jalen’s knowledge that the eastern part of the courtyard yielded no exits, the Wrenjers and their allies moved to where they could see impressive double doors that they expected led to the inner keep.
As the group moves into the castle, they are bombarded by arrows from the elevated arrow slits. Ferric, the warforged, falls quickly taking two arrows straight to the chest. It seems like the creatures were doubling or tripling up in the small gaps in the stone. While some of the group stay attacking the enemies through the fortifications, Zetwuzadi moves to the tower and notices the Goblin on the door and yells to the creatures What's in the tower, should I let it out?”. Croaker, inspired by Meadbh, revives their fallen friend as Meadbh is peppered with arrows trying to protect the druid. They all moved closer to the double doors, making sure they hugged the stones and avoided the arrows.
Across the courtyard, at the southwestern tower, the double doors swung open and a handful of gnolls emerged wielding longbows. The adventures open fire on the new arrivals and the gnolls quickly retreat only to emerge with melee weapons. Ambrose, meanwhile, had been trying to unlock the inner keep’s doors for a little while and had been unsuccessful. With the gnolls entering the battlefield with melee weapons, the group moves up to face them. Ferric had laid an expertly placed fog cloud above the adventures, hindering the creatures attacking them from above. Zetwuzadi once again calls out in Goblin for a talk instead of fighting but she hears them calling for reinforcements. Once the gnolls were dispatched, all of their attention was focused on opening the troublesome doors. Jalen is able, on his second attempt, to unlock them. The rogue steps back, letting his frontline companions take lead in opening the door.
Both Ambrose and Meadbh had been standing at the door fiddling with the lock but neither of them investigated the door before Zetwuzadi pushed them open releasing a trap that narrowly missed the paladin. As the bolt whizzed past her head she noticed the opposite wall had a raised relief of the iconography of a noble house, a merchant lord. The shield was blazed with a unicorn rampant across it with golden scales. As the group moves into the inner foyer, the interior is completely dark. Croaker lights up Zetwuzadi’s shield and Jalen lights a torch that passes through a couple hands to be ultimately carried by Meadbh’s Mage Hand. Croaker can hear movement behind a couple of the doors and Zetwuzadi comes up with a clever plan of tying two doors together with a rope, Croaker catches on but is kind of loud in the process, alerting the occupants to their plan. Another battle breaks out, with creatures popping out of various doors and taking aim at the party.
The paladin tries again to reason with the creatures but their only response is “Death will not stop us.” It seemed that they were fighting much like the gnolls near the pumpkin with a bloodlust unnatural to them. The goblins attack with reckless abandon as the party readies for more fighting. It looks like the 5 of Zhira is going to end with more bloodshed.
