Nomen Infernale II: Clan of the Demon Bear Report

General Summary

La Compagnia continued their pitched battle with the bearmen of Lakham Tabab in the low lighting of but one moon. Abet begged someone to light a torch telling them that the bearmen could see in the dark, but La Compagnia could not. He loosed an arrow which struck home in the first bearman down the hill. Riven tracked the shot with her keen eyes and refined the trajectory slightly with her even keener mind. She fired off two arrows in rapid succession, wounding and killing the first bearman. It collapsed gurgling in front Alex, threatening to draw attention to the hidden Oameni's position. The archer who had fired the first shot took aim at Asbjørn, but missed. The second bearman arrived swinging his scimitar at Kegho as does a bearman spearman. The scimitar landed, but the spearman missed. Kegho slashed back with Skullcleaver and hit. Alex attempted to slip behind the bearman with the scimitar to attack the spearbearman but a twig in the darkness betrayed him and he was slashed by the scimitar, he pressed his attack on the spearbearman but the element of surprise had been lost.

Asbjørn surmounted the ridge to flank the archer. He turned and shot at Asbjørn but missed. Theo calls forth the Hammer of Ator to pummel the spear-wielder.

Abet continued to exhort someone to light torch as he fired at the scimitar-weilding bearman. Alex finally slipped behind the spearbearman who was focused on Abet and Kegho. Alex planted his feet and stabbed upwards piercing the spearman's taint and lower internal organs, killing him.

Having missed Asbjørn, the archer attempted to flee, but the barbarian finished it off with two swift attacks before leaping off the ridge and back into the melee below.

The hammer of Ator continued pummeling the scimitar wielding bearman, but it managed to strike Kegho again. Abet and Riven missed having pulled their shots at the close-quarters combat. Teleptyon loosed a bolt of Ar. Riven shot the bearman in the head before Asbørn was able to fully rejoin the fight.

Abet strode to Kegho and the felled bearman and rummaged in their organs. He held up blue tinged pluck to Teleptyon and discoursed on the hills having poisoned the bearmen. They quickly looted the bearmen and headed back toward what the hoped was the mine entrance. They passed through the bearmen camp and began following the rock walls. After Abet discovered the entrance, Alex was prevailed upon to scout ahead. He lit his hooded lantern and began toddling down the hallway. Theo, still rattled by the battle below cast a great light down the hallway where Alex was attempting to slink unnoticed. The first offshoot from the main path was at the shadowed edge of the holy light and Alex hooded his lantern and listened at the edge of the new path. He heard the squeaking of what sounded like a lot of normal sized bats. He motioned to Abet and Riven who had been following close behind, but Abet was not well versed in the Abrian Oameni dialect of international hand signs and he was sorely baffled

As they rounded the corner they saw the white powder Zahur's grandfather had spoken of and a room full of very small bats. Abet lit a torch and Teleptyon described it as a quality wine flavoring. The room had the strong ammonia scent of guano and the detritus of mining operations from a generation before. The bats became disturbed by the party's intrusion and scattered causing quite a commotion. After deciding the room was full of trash, the party moved deeper into the main passageway. Alex saw Petroglyphs of sacrifice and self-mutilation.

Alex's anthropological interests were normally impeded by socioeconomic factors, but this time they were thwarted by the sound of bearmen moving out of one of the side tunnels to attack. Alex turned from the naïve art of the bearmen and loaded a bullet in his sling hoping to draw first blood while Teleptyon smoked them out with Eknoi fire. His hopes were dashed as a shamaness of the tribe entered the breach calling on the gods of her tribe to bind the enemies who had stumbled into their caverns so ill prepared. Ethereal chains materialized, snaking themselves around Abet and throbbing a deep cinnabar glow. Alex was so close that he too became ensnared by them. A bearman archer shoots at Riven who is struck. Kegho retaliates with a shot of his own. As Riven prepared to fire her own shot there was more clamor from the north and more bugbears spilled down the main tunnel attempting to capture Riven. Asbjørn and Theo grabbed Abet and Alex respectively and began dragging them back to a more defensible position.

The shamaness shook her staff and uttered a guttural cry and Riven swooned and collapsed to the floor in a deep slumber.