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Prologue: Shadows of the Past Turn 8: A Frosty Welcome
With Telemachos incapacitated and no immediate danger facing the party, Danton, Mauser, and Nanoc discussed what to do next. “Mauser,”
asked Danton, “is Telemachos's condition such that we must
administer the healing potion to him, to save him from death? Or
would it be possible to rest and to call upon your god, Boccob, to
give him succor and healing, thereby allowing us to save the potion?”
“Hmm...that
sure is a pickle there, Danton,” agreed Nanoc. “I hates
ta say it, but if'n we retreat we is probably gonna be facin' three
or four times as many goblins as we did this here time. All o' them a
throwin' them damn javelins too! I think maybe we should see what
that blue potion does. Why Justin done told me 'bout some potions
that just heal ya up full right when ya drink 'em. If'n we do hole up here, then we is gonna have's ta put that there torch out. Maybe we kin light that cooking pit. We just don't have 'nough light to sit here an’ burn 'em for hours. I do like the idea of gathering them things that done hurt my foot. If'n we do hole up, then I think we should do it at that last wall over there. But I say we oughta try the potion first!” Mauser scowled and shook his head. “If we had stopped and allowed me to pray yesterday afternoon when I suggested it, we would not be in this situation. I am no wizard and do not need to spend hours studying a spellbook to gain my powers, but I do need to take a little time to pray at a regular time during the day to acquire spells.” “Boccob does not require that I worship him or exalt him in all things, but I do have to go through the formalities if I wish to be able to cast the spells he provides,” continued the cleric. “While I suspect that the healing potion, for that is indeed what I believe it to be, will restore Telemachos to full health, that would leave us with only mundane healing. Should we encounter larger numbers of foes thereafter, we will be sorely hurt if any of us take serious injury.” Alternating stares with Nanoc and Danton, Mauser drove home the point: “I am a cleric and my skills as a healer are what make me indispensable to this endeavor. I believe my greater wisdom and intellect will also be of value as well, but to you I am primarily a healer. I say we wait here until I can regain my powers. If not, then I will continue to swing my mace in an effort to keep our enemies occupied while Nanoc kills them in turn. I do not see a need to rush anywhere because with so much time passed, the Hucreles are either dead or captive. They most certainly did not clean out this vile place of many of its denizens so I can't imagine a better end for them.” When Mauser fell silent, Danton held up his hands in a placating gesture: “You
have made your point, and I cannot bicker with it. We shall wait for
Mauser to meditate to Boccob so that he can heal us as we travel
further into this dungeon. To go forward with no healing at all is to
tempt Providence too cavalierly.” “Ah, I’m mostly just ready to cut to th’ chase,” said Nanoc. “All this talk is makin’ my head spin. Unless Meepo here has some healing in his little sack or back at his lair that might help out ol’ Tel here…” the half-orc asked rhetorically while glancing at the kobold hovering silently nearby. Meepo shook his head vigorously. “…didn’t think so,” muttered Nanoc. “Anyway, then I say we get those foot hurters and sets up in the hall way down there by them doors ta the south. Then we lights the cookin' pit there and put out our torch. From the wall we can see all three new doors, so we will know if'n they comes through one. But I'll be honest with ya, if that there potion heals up Tel, I'm for a movin' on. At least let's see what's behind that there key door. Ya know the longer we wait, the longer ‘fore we rescue them kids.” “I
agree that we should conclude our discussion of philosophy and
metaphysics when we are all gathered over a bottle of appropriate
vintage in a more civilized locale,” said Danton. “'Tis
irrelevant to me whether your spells, good Mauser, come from prayer,
transcendental medition, or the whispers of bugs that have crept from
Nanoc's filthy bedroll. What is relevant is that we must have them.
If the afternoon is the trick, than so be it. All the more reason,
then, to sit tight and barricade ourselves, since only a few hours
need pass ... and not an entire day. “Very well,” said Mauser, I shall administer half the potion to Telemachos, and if Nanoc wishes to rush door number one, I am willing to watch his back.” “All right,” agreed Danton. “Although I am loathe to provoke further combat in our present circumstances, frankly, if there are unfriendlies behind the door, it seems highly unlikely that we could camp out for long without ealing with them anyhow. Methinks they're not going to simply sit by conveniently and play cards or knucklebones, waiting for us to strike. So, then, regarding the door, whatever you two decide, I shall accept and aid as best I can.” With the key decisions made and the long discussion ended, Mauser immediately administered one half of the vial of blue liquid to Telemachos. Almost immediately, the cleric’s judgment as to the liquid’s nature was proven correct. While Telemachos remained either unconscious or sleeping, the terrible wound from the spear closed up visibly within less than a minute of Mauser’s delivery of the potion (Telemachos gains 4 hit points and reaches +2 HP). With Telemachos’ situation much improved, the trio of conscious adventurers left their resting friend under the watch of Meepo and approached the door on the western wall. Having already carefully searched the door for traps and found nothing, Danton placed the metal key taken from the goblins in the lock and then nodded silently at Mauser and Nanoc. When both were ready, Danton turned the metal lock in the door. The mechanism produced an immediate, loud ‘click’ as it activated. Smiling a toothy grin, Nanoc hefted his axe in one hand and pushed the door open with the other. With Danton and Mauser at his back, Nanoc, his axe now held firmly in both hands, stepped through the doorway. Between the light provided by Danton’s torch and his own keen vision, the half-orc saw a rectangular chamber thirty feet deep and twenty feet wide beyond the doorway. The purpose of the chamber was immediately obvious to Nanoc and both of his associates: the long, low room was clearly a makeshift dungeon. While there were no cells, squalor reigned in the room and three small, horned humanoids, obviously kobolds, were roughly tied with crude ropes to a large spike near the entrance. Farther back, a battered-looking gnome languished inside a rusted iron cage, which was small even for his frame. Several sets of corroded manacles were connected to the walls, which remained empty except for the occasional crumbling skeleton. “I don’t suppose that any of you speak Common, or even elven, dwarvish or orc?” asked Danton as he pushed his way around Nanoc and lifted his torch higher for a better view. “I do!” said the gnome excitedly from the back of the chamber. “You wouldn’t happen to be here on some sort of rescue mission would you? If so, I’d certainly appreciate it if someone could get me out of this filthy cage!” “It’s yer lucky day, pal!” said Nanoc. “We are here on a rescue mission! We weren’t lookin’ fer you, but we’ll sure let ya out! I’m Nanoc, by the way, and I’m pleased ta meet ya!” “Er, just a moment, Nanoc,” said Danton, placing his arm in front of the exuberant half-orc. Perhaps I could see about letting out the good gnome with my tools—it might take a little longer than your brute strength, but is probably much safer for our friend here. And perhaps he could use the time to tell us who he is and how he came to be here?” “Sure,” said the gnome as Danton approached his cage, handed his torch to Mauser, and began setting out his tools. “My name is Erky Timbers, and I’m from a small village on the edge of the Gnarley Forest. Year past, I was on my way to seek my fortune in Verbobonc City, and I took the Old Road shortcut up from the south. It was my bad luck that the goblin bandits caught me, and I’ve been here ever since. My curing spells have kept me relatively healthy—otherwise I’m sure I’d be long dead from starvation and abuse at the hands of the goblins.”
“Curing spells?” interrupted Mauser with a meaningful glance at Danton. “You are a cleric of some sort?” “I’m really a jack-of-all-trades,” replied Erky, “but Ehlonna does grant me a few healing spells and I’ve used them to stay alive in here.” “You seen anybody else around here ‘sides goblins and kobolds?” asked Nanoc. “We’re lookin’ fer some lost kids—they prob’ly would’ve been through here ‘bout a month ago. They was a brother an’ sister an’ they had some paladin guy with ‘em.” Erky’s eyes lit up at Nanoc’s words and he turned to look at the half-orc. “Yes! I have seen those you seek! The goblins caught the three of them over a month ago, and they were captives here with me for a little while. They said their names were Talgen, Sharwyn and Sir Braford.” “So what happened to them?” prodded Mauser. “We followed their trail this far, but lost track of it after an encounter with the goblins outside this prison.” Erky’s expression darkened. “I don’t know for sure. But the goblins only kept them here with me for about a week. Then they were removed. Apparently Belak wanted them, and that’s the last I ever saw or heard of them.” “The Frog Man!” hissed Danton at the mention of the name Belak. “His name always comes up when the darkest villainy is mentioned! Know you any more of the miscreant and his deeds?” Erky looked back and forth between the party members in an almost conspiratorial manner. “I’ve heard the goblins talk about something called the ‘Twilight Grove’ down below. I never let on to them that I understand their language, so they tended to speak pretty freely around me. From what I’ve heard, there is an evil druid called Belak on the lower level who tends an enchanted garden and harvests the enchanted fruit of something the goblins call the ‘Dark Tree’, but only in the most terrified of whispers. Apparently the magic fruit grows from the Dark Tree itself.” “What’s the deal with the fruit?” asked Nanoc. “We’ve heard ‘bout it before, but I never did quite get that bit.” Erky continued to whisper: “The midsummer fruit restores spirit and vigor to those who eat it; the pale midwinter fruit steals the same. Belak allows the goblins to sell the fruit on the surface, but I don’t know why.” “Have you seen or heard anything about some strange twig or stick creatures?” asked Mauser. “We heard about them from the kobolds, and then we encountered a few yesterday.” “I have not seen such creatures,” said Erky, “but I have heard the goblins talk of the ‘Twig Blights’ that live in the level below with Belak and the Dark Tree.”
By this time, Danton’s initial efforts to open Erky’s cage had failed (open locks: 2+5=7; fail), and he had resigned himself to taking a slower, more methodical approach to picking the lock. While he worked, Nanoc retrieved Meepo to talk to the three imprisoned kobolds while Mauser went outside to stand guard over Telemachos. By the time that Meepo had finished his discussion with the other kobolds in their own language, which no one else present (including Erky) understood, Danton had managed to get the lock open on the cage (open locks “take twenty”: 20+5=25; success). While Erky stepped out of the cramped cage and flexed and stretched long-confined muscles, Meepo reported on what he had learned form the other kobolds: “Foul goblins capture these kobolds same time they capture Calcryx, our dragon! Kobolds not knowing where Calcryx is, and say just want to get out! When Meepo telly we killing all goblins between here and kobold holds, they say want go now!” “Well, if that’s all they know, then they can go,” said Danton. “Nanoc, do your thing.” Nanoc freed each of the three kobolds in turn by lifting up the chain that held him and snapping it in two. While the links had held the kobolds firmly in place, they had clearly not been intended to withstand the strength of an adult half-orc. Once the kobolds were freed, all three chattered briefly with Meepo and then made their way out into the main chamber and out of sight—back the way from which the party had come. The rest of the group also moved back into the main chamber to resume its vigil over Telemachos. Once out in the chamber, Erky quickly scrounged a reasonably well fitting suit of goblin leather armor and recovered one of the short swords of the fallen creatures. After thus equipping himself as best he could under the circumstances, the gnome rejoined the group and gave a meaningful look to the sleeping Telemachos. “If you will permit me, I’d like to help your friend,” said Erky. “It’s the least I can do for those who freed me. Indeed, if you don’t mind, I’d like to stick with your group until you depart the citadel. I really don’t relish the idea of trying to make my way all the way back through the ruins by myself.” Danton and Mauser exchanged glances, but before either could say anything, Nanoc blurted out: “That’d be great Erky! Tel could sure use yer help, an’ we’d love ta have ya on board!” “My thanks once again,” said the gnome, kneeling and performing a quick incantation over Telemachos’ body. Although the fighter continued to sleep, his skin tone looked better and his various injuries appeared much improved (Telemachos gains 6 more hit points). Having done all they could for Telemachos for the time being, the party members turned to the matter of securing the area for a period of extended rest. While Mauser and Erky kept watch over Telemachos, Nanoc, Meepo and Danton returned to the area where the goblins had their first line of defense and collected both the caltrops and the bells that the humanoids had used. Once these were recovered, they returned to the larger chamber, distributed the caltrops around the two unopened northern doors, rigged both with bells, and lit the goblin cookfire. They then retreated back south of the crenellated half-wall, extinguished Danton’s torch, and settled in for an extended period of rest. Although they had expected a goblin changing of the guard at some point, none had come by the time that Mauser prayed to Boccob in the late afternoon and gained new spells. At that point he healed the remaining injuries that both Nanoc (Cure Light Wounds: +4 HP) and Telemachos (Cure Light Wounds: +4 HP) had suffered, and wakened the sleeping Furyondian. Telemachos was briefly disoriented, but otherwise seemed unaffected by his near brush with death. With Telemachos brought up to speed and introduced to Erky, Nanoc pressed for the group to get moving once again, emphasizing that with so much time having passed since the running fight with the goblins, a relief garrison force must be coming soon. By the time that the group was ready to move the half-orc had extinguished the fire, and gathered up all of the caltrops for future use. With the main goblin chamber so filled with tracks and detritus that it was impossible to discern which way the three missing humans might have been taken, Danton simply nodded towards the door on the northern wall at random. With Danton’s silent decision, Nanoc opened the door. Beyond lay a narrow corridor that ran east to west. It was only ten feet wide, but extended nearly thirty feet to the west. The hallway was empty and non-descript, save for two additional doors, one on the far west wall and another in the center of the northern wall. Danton and Nanoc moved quietly into the corridor, followed by Mauser, Telemachos, Erky and Meepo. The first three were absolutely silent, but Telemachos, evidently still weak from his recent injuries, bumped into the wall with a metallic clatter (move silently: Danton: 17, Nanoc: 19, Mauser: 17: Telemachos: -3). As Danton cringed and shot Telemachos a foul look, the door on the northern wall of the hallway burst open. An ugly goblinoid face looked out, and then squealed and ducked back inside. With surprise obviously lost, Nanoc hefted his axe and sprinted towards the doorway. “More notches for my axe!” called out the half-orc as he charged into the chamber from whence the goblin had come. “Here we go again,” muttered Danton with a sigh as he and the others followed in the barbarian’s wake. “May fortune favor the foolish, as Danton Verbrugge seems fated to follow in his wake!” [Initiative: goblins: 5, Danton: 13, Nanoc: 24, Mauser: 21, Telemachos: 11, Erky: 18] The room into which Nanoc had charged was slightly less than twenty feet square, and it had stone walls and floor like most of the other chambers the party had explored in the Sunless Citadel. However, this chamber also had a pronounced stench of garbage, rotted carrion, and half-eaten bits of strange animals, and the assorted refuse that produced these foul smells suggested many years of use of the chamber by unsanitary tenants—no doubt goblins. Tattered hides formed six unstable hammocks at the far end of the room, and a much-used fire pit sat at its center. Around the fire pit lay battered cooking equipment mixed indiscriminately with broken and worn weapons and bits of armor. Standing in front of the fire pit in a rough line were six goblins, all wearing crudely fashioned leather armor. Interestingly, while all six goblins wore short swords at their waists, they did not draw the edged weapons. Instead, each hefted a solid looking cudgel or sap. “Evidently they were planning to beat us into submission like they did our new gnome friend,” mused Mauser to no one in particular as he watched Nanoc (attack: 15+7=22; hit; 13 damage) eviscerate the first of the goblins. “Not a wise choice on their part, as Nanoc will no doubt demonstrate.” As Mauser swung ineffectively at one of the goblins that came after him (attack: 10+1=11; miss), he noted that the newly-freed and equipped Erky Timbers was no slouch in a fight. Within a matter of seconds after the start of the fight, Erky had already cut down one of the goblins with his ‘borrowed’ short sword. On the other side of the chamber, three more goblins rushed at Danton and Telemachos. While Danton had his hands full simply using his rapier to keep a particularly large goblin from pounding on him with his sap (attack: 14; miss), Telemachos beheaded the first goblin that came at him with a single scythe-like swing of his blade (attack: 15+6=21; hit; 11 damage), and then continued the blade’s motion, nearly striking a second goblin (‘cleave’ feat gives Telemachos a free second attack on a second foe after he drops one opponent: 5+6=11; miss). With three goblins down, the party members now had numerical superiority and began to double-up on the humanoids, enabling the group to flank its opponents. Nanoc’s devastating axe struck down a second goblin (attack: 8+9=15; hit;’ 8 damage), while the last two goblins managed to hold off Mauser (attack: 11+3=12; miss), Danton (attack: 10+2=12; miss), Telemachos (attack: 6+8=14; miss), and Erky. However, with the goblins now thoroughly surrounded and in mortal fear of the implacable Nanoc, the fight quickly ended. Nanoc struck down one more (attack: 19+9=28; hit; 15 damage), while Telemachos ran through the last (attack: 16+8=24; hit; 11 damage). “Well, that was bracing as always,” muttered Danton. “Now that we have once again announced our presence to the entire citadel, let us perform a quick search and move on, shall we?” While Nanoc cut the coin purses that each of the six goblins wore, the remaining party members sifted through the detritus that lined the floor of the room. However, other than the coinage gathered by Nanoc (150 silver and 18 gold), there was nothing of value in the chamber. No one had any interest in the putrid jerky, rotting wine, and other worthless bits of goblin clutter that were strewn about. With the room having been thoroughly searched, Danton and Nanoc led the group back into the hallway, and the Velunese commenced the search that had been aborted by the sudden appearance of the goblins (search: 3+6=9). Finding nothing of note, Danton motioned for Nanoc to advance to the doorway on the western wall. However, as the half-orc moved to cross the last fifteen feet before the closed door, he felt the floor shifting beneath his feet and heard the sounds of metal grinding on stone. Having had a similar and distinctly unpleasant experience only the previous day, Nanoc leapt forward just as the floor disappeared out from under him (reflex save: 18+4=22; success). As the pit trap clanged open with an echoing boom, Nanoc landed on both feet on its far side, in a narrow band of stone floor between the pit and the doorway. Turning his huge body around carefully, he shook his head at Danton. “Geez, Danton! This is twice in two days! You really gotta get yer eyes checked or sumthin! Either that or you need ta start goin’ first! You sick the day they taught ‘traps’ in that fancy Velunese school of yers or what?” Biting back a frustrated retort, Danton examined the pit and the trap that had opened up over it. The now open space filled most of the corridor, save for a foot wide safe area on the southern side of the hallway. When Danton shone his torch down into the pit, he could see that it was ten feet deep, its bottom was covered with a thick layer of detritus, and its design was virtually identical to the three such traps that the party had previously encountered. “I fear that with so many days having passed since your last bath, Nanoc,” said Danton, “that my fine senses were distracted by my misfortune at being downwind—but I shall endeavor to do weather such hardships and do better in the future.” Moving slowly and with the utmost care, the remaining party members inched along the narrow catwalk around the trap and up to the wooden door. Once there, Danton looked and listened for any surprises (search: 4+6=10, listen: 15+3=18), but he neither saw nor heard anything unusual. Trying the door and finding it locked, the Velunese motioned for the others to back off enough to give him room to set out his tools. Unfortunately, Danton’s efforts to open the lock quickly proved fruitless (open locks: 9+5=14; fail). Taking a deep breath and pausing for a gulp of water from his canteen, he set to work again (“take ten”: 10+5=15; fail). Cursing under his breath and trying to ignore the way that Nanoc took amusement at his travails and joked with Meepo about the situation, Danton tried every tool in his inventory until he found something that finally worked (“take twenty”: 20+5=25; success). As the lock clicked, Danton looked up at Nanoc and hissed: “As I have always said, my friend, patience is a virtue that carries its own rewards.” The Velunese then bowed towards the door with a flourish and added: “after you.” Immediately serious once again, Nanoc carefully pushed open the door with his free hand. Beyond was an unusually shaped chamber with square corners to the south, but a rounded wall to the north. The chamber ran roughly twenty feet from east to west and twenty-five north to south. Between his darkvision and the backlighting provided by Danton’s torch, Nanoc could see that the room appeared to be some sort of trophy chamber. Mounted and stuffed animal heads adorned the walls. The mounting was sloppy, and the assortment of heads included cattle, rats, and other not particularly impressive specimens. However, a few more grisly trophies shared the wall with the animals, including a couple of kobold visages. Much to Nanoc’s relief, there were no human heads mounted. However, smashed and broken cabinets and small tables littered the periphery of the room, mute victims of some sort of rampage. A rusted iron spike stood askew in the center of the room, trailing a broken chain. Thin patches of ice coated sections of the walls, floor and debris. Only one other (closed) door was evident in the chamber, at the western end of the southern wall. From between Nanoc’s tree-stump like legs, the voice of Meepo could be heard: “Looky! Ice! That mean Calcryx near! Where he be? There! Looky! Under table!” With the kobold pointing and Danton holding up his torch to provide more light, the party members closest to the door could indeed see what must be the wyrmling resting under one of the few tables in the room that remained upright. The tiny dragon had white scales, and was just under two feet in length from head to tail. “Cool,” said Nanoc, stepping into the room. “Let’s get ‘im, claim our reward, and then get on with finding those kids.” “Wait!” hissed Meepo. “Calcryx have temper—will fight. But we no can hurty. Need knock Calcryx out and haul back to Meepo chamber. No cutting Calcryx with nasty blades!” “Well, with blades out and harsh language unlikely to do the job,” mused Danton, “perhaps we should go back and collect the goblins’ clubs. They are crude, but likely to serve us well here.” With Nanoc remaining in the doorway to keep an eye on the wyrmling, the remaining party members backtracked around the still open trap door and collected the saps that the fallen goblins had wielded. When the group had gathered once more just outside the door and had distributed the blunt weapons, Nanoc whispered to the others. “Okay, everybody follow my lead. I’ve got a plan.”
Before anyone else could ask what the plan might be, Nanoc screamed, “Get him!” and charged into the room like a runaway oxcart, knocking aside all that stood in his way. [Initiative: Calcryx: 3, Nanoc: 15, Danton: 8, Mauser: 15, Telemachos: 9, Erky: 8, Meepo: 20] Left with little choice, the remaining party members moved through the cluttered and wrecked room in Nanoc’s wake, seeking to form a ring around the diminutive white dragon and prevent him from escaping out the door or disappearing into the wreckage in any of the corners. Uncharacteristically, Meepo was among the first to charge into the fray, swinging his goblin club with wild abandon. As Nanoc threw the table that sheltered the dragon out of the way with a crash, the others also closed on the dragon, all seeking to bash it with their clubs (Nanoc: 15+6=21; hit; 7 subdual damage, Mauser: 14+1=15; hit; 4 subdual damage, Telemachos: 3+5=8; miss; Danton: 17; hit; 4 subdual damage). Although Calcryx took several hard hits, the tiny dragon proved surprisingly resilient. As blows continued to rain down on him, he stretched his neck towards Nanoc, Meepo, and Telemachos, who formed one side of the ring of club wielders around him, and breathed out a long cone of freezing air and ice. All three of the dragon’s targets were caught off guard (Nanoc reflex save: 6+4=10; fail; Telemachos reflex save: 9; fail) and struck by the icy blast (5 damage each to Nanoc and Telemachos). While the party’s two warriors were strong enough to weather the wave of ice and cold, Meepo crumbled under the onslaught and collapsed, blue and unmoving, onto his back. “Yikes! It truly is a wyrm!” shouted Danton. “Drop it before it can breathe again!” With everyone who remained standing anxious to avoid another blast of the dragon’s breath, the party members pressed their bludgeoning attacks. While Mauser missed and nearly hit his own foot with his mace (attack:4+1=5; miss), Nanoc hit Calcryx dead center (attack: 19+6=25; hit; 10 subdual damage) and then Telemachos clocked the tiny dragon on the head (attack: 9+5=14; hit; 6 subdual damage). This second wave of abuse was evidently more than Calcryx could absorb, and the tiny reptile collapsed to the ground unconscious. While Nanoc and Telemachos stood over the incapacitated dragon admiring their handiwork, Mauser turned to examine Meepo, while Danton only shook his head. “’Get him’? ‘Get him?’ That was your whole plan?” Nanoc shrugged. “It worked, didn’t it? And now our party has bagged its first dragon. I can’t wait to tell Justin ‘bout this one!” Danton looked down at the tiny two-foot long reptile and rolled his eyes. “Yes, truly an epic battle with a dragon for the bards to set to music and for the historians to record for posterity.” “Oh, come on, Danton!” said Nanoc happily. “Don’t be so sarcastic—evry’body has to start somewhere, and don’t you worry—I’m sure we’ll be baggin’ lots bigger dragons in no time! If ya want, I’ll let you have the first shot at th’ next one!” While the pair continued to banter back and forth as to whether the group’s defeat of Calcryx was worthy fare for would-be heroes and adventurers, Mauser examined the flash-frozen Meepo. The kobold was clearly in a bad way, and only a quick application of one of Mauser’s lesser healing spells (Light spell converted to cure lesser wounds) was enough to stabilize the now dark blue kobold long enough for the party to decide what to do with him. “Once again, it would seem we are at a crossroads,” said the cleric, interrupting the Nanoc-Danton dragon-fighting debate. “We have captured the dragon, but its keeper is down for the count. Shall we quit goblin territory and return them both to Yusdrayl, or do we continue forward with Meepo frozen and the dragon unconscious—at least for the time being?” ______________________________________________________________ Notes for turn 9: As is no doubt obvious from the late arrival of this turn, my travels are playing havoc with my turn-writing plans this month and will continue to do so until early June. However, I think I will be able to get out another turn the week after next, so I’d like you all to have me your postings no later than Sunday, May 21. Also, as you’ll note when you examine the character listings below, all four of your characters have now earned enough XP to reach second level. Please go ahead and use the Player’s Handbook to raise them to second level. When you have done so, I’d like you to send me two things: an updated character sheet as well as a listing of the specific changes you have made. If you have any questions or need any assistance, please let me know. This turn you’ll also see something else that I’ve decided to add to the regular end-of-turn status report: a table tallying the foes defeated by the various characters (PCs and NPCs). I thought it might be interesting and amusing for you guys to see such a running tally. A couple of points to clarify how I’ll keep the stats: “foes defeated” includes foes killed, but it also includes more than that. Any foe defeated in any way will be included in the stats. Thus the numbers below include the skeletons turned by Mauser, the Twig Blights dropped in a trap by Danton, and the goblin killed by Mauser’s summoned rat. Basically, if your character is responsible for the defeat or death of a hostile creature, that death/defeat is scored for your character, no matter how it occurred. In some fights, multiple characters may contribute to the defeat of a single creature, but for the sake of simplicity, I will credit the ‘score’ to the character that contributes the final blow or spell. Thus Telemachos got the credit for Calcryx this turn even though Nanoc actually dealt out more subdual damage to the wyrmling. Hopefully this sort of thing will balance out over time. After all, Nanoc dropped Guthash (the “mama rat”) after Telemachos had softened her up quite a bit. Items gained this turn: 150 silver, 18 gold, 16 pounds worth of caltrops, 1 goblin sap (club) for each party member Undivided Loot previously gained: 323 silver, 89 gold, 3 gems Items used/lost this turn: ½ of healing potion FOES DEFEATED:
Current Status of the Party: Nanoc AC: 17 Equipment: great axe, 2 short bows, short sword, studded leather armor (2 sets), 46 arrows, 2 quivers, backpack, waterskin, 11 days trail rations, bedroll, 2 sacks, 2 flint & steel, bearskin, tent, 50’ rope, 16 pounds of caltrops, 1 sap Gold: 2 Mauser AC: 18 Spells Available: 0
Level (3): LightX2 Equipment: quarterstaff, heavy mace, light crossbow, scalemail, 40 crossbow bolts, small wooden shield, backpack, pouch belt, 50’ silk rope, 5 torches, waterskin, flint & steel, 2 holy water flasks, peasant outfit, bedroll, entertainer’s outfit, cleric’s vestment, healer’s kit, 9 days rations, four jade dragon figurines, ½ potion of cure light wounds, 1 sap Gold: 0 Danton AC: 15 (16 vs. one opponent) Equipment: rapier, 6 daggers, light crossbow, studded leather armor, quiver with 13 bolts, bedroll, backpack, flint & steel, thieves picks, waterskin, 13 days trail rations, hooded lantern, 2 flasks of oil, notebook, pen, ink, 2 torches, gold ring engraved with the name Karakas, 1 sap Gold: 9 Telemachos AC: 16 Equipment: Longsword, short sword, 2 daggers, long bow, quiver and 40 arrows, scalemail, large wooden shield, backpack, large sack, flint and steel, 14 days rations, waterskin, bedroll, tent, 1 sap Gold: 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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