RC Jalpiar - Blasingdell

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After Knorr returned to the Inn, having obtained a raven familiar, the party was met in the dining room by Ulfgar Ungart, the dwarven historian. Ulfgar asked if he could accompany the party to Blasingdell, he was interested in finding out more about the location. They agreed to bring him along and the group set off toward the mountains. Ulfgar, having knowledge of the area, suggested that they set out east toward the river, skirting just north of the swamp. They would then follow the second branch of the river into the mountains. By his calculations, Blasingdell was near the head of that branch.

Olanth led the group through the wilderness, following Ulfgar’s suggested path. As they were approaching the second branch of the river, Verna and Nyora noticed that they were being shadowed by a creature traveling in the swamp. Knorr instructed his raven familiar, Spot, to fly overhead and see what the creature was. After a short while they discovered that the creature was a werewolf. When they decided to pursue the beast into the swamp, it disappeared so they continued toward Blasingdell.

The party arrived at the base of the mountains just as it was getting too dark to continue. Nyora noticed a cave about halfway up the mountain side and a path leading to it. They would check this out in the morning. During Verna’s watch, she noticed a group of humanoids entering the cave but since they were too far away to tell what they were and posed no threat, she decided it could wait until morning. In the morning, the party set out up the path. As they approached the cave, Verna noticed two humanoids standing guard, their backs were to them. Knorr sent Spot to fly by and return with information, the guards were Orcs and there were two more hidden.

Naffin hid in the shadows and moved toward the cave entrance while the rest of the party simply walked up the path. The two hidden guards noticed the party first, shouting “Intruders, attack”. Verna let off with a quick arrow and silenced the shouting guard while Nyora did the same with one of the others. The two remaining Orcs, being cowardly, ran toward the cave entrance. They would not make it there as Olanth would pulverize one while Ulfgar sunk a throwing axe in the others back. Knorr quickly shouted in Orc, “Oh, never mind! It was just a bear!” The party then waited, but they heard nothing from within the cave.

Each party member receives 100 experience

[This message has been edited by Baldak Oakfist (edited April 29, 2002).]

 

Once she was certain that no more orcs would arrive to defend their cave, Nyora decided to search the orc bodies, beginning with the one she disposed of.

 

The orc Nyora searched was carrying a greataxe, two javelins, and had a pouch with 14 sp.

 

Nyora proceeds to check the rest of the orcs.

 

A brief search of the remaining Orc bodies produced three more greataxes, 6 more javelins, and three pouches containing a total of 27 sp, 6 gp, and a gem.

 

"Oooh, javelins." Knorr asked the elf if he could grab couple of those since he had thrown (or chopped up in a crypt trap) the ones he took from the goblins.

Knorr then speculated about whether or not he could make little saddlebags for Spot like the ones that Skeldas was wearing.

 

Nyora handed the javelins to Knorr and thought to herself "Hmmm... I know of 2 sacs small enough to fit a bird."

 

Following the slaughter at the entrance to the ancient Dwarven Stronghold, the party decided to investigate the interior further, a stairway led into the mountainside. With Verna checking for traps along the way, the party descended the 40 feet of stairs which ended in a set of large double doors. With no visible handle, Olanth pushed on the doors. Having exerted very little force, Olanth pushed the doors open without a sound. In the large room that they now faced, they could clearly see another set of stairs leading further into the mountain. Nyora noticed two secret doors, one in each of the two northern corners. Having heard nothing beyond either of the two secret doors, the party decided to enter the western one first. A narrow passage led north, and Verna, hiding in the shadows, investigated. Olanth headed into the passage also, and the rest of the party followed. After moving north for about 40 feet, the passage opened up into a guard chamber, voices could be heard. Verna snuck into the chamber and observed as four Orcs discussed their leader, a large brute named Ulfe. The party charged into the chamber and made quick work of the Orc guards. A quick search yielded a total of 40 gp, 24 sp, 4 heavy flails, 4 long bows, 51 arrows, and one +2 arrow (Nyora discovered and identified it).

The other secret door, having no signs of being trapped, was opened revealing a similar passage. Verna moved down the passage to investigate while the others waited this time. She found another guard chamber, but this one was occupied by a single humanoid covered by a blanket and sleeping in a chair. After a brief discussion as to how to approach the situation, Naffin decided to enter the chamber. His attempt to remain silent failed and the creature awoke, threw the blanket off and reached for his great sword. Naffin was the first to reach him, landing a stunning blow that dazed the large humanoid long enough for the rest of the party to lend a hand in defeating the brute. The large humanoid sustained 8 blows, including one critical, hit Olanth with a blow of his own, and finally fell to one last arrow fired by Knorr. The amount of damage sustained by this creature caused some concern as to whether they should continue along their current course. Knorr was able to remember reading about an Orc-like creature fitting the description and pronounced it to be a Neo-Orog. The Neo-Orog had a great sword, full plate armor (fitting a large creature), and a pouch containing a gem which exhibited some magical properties.

The large chair in which the creature was napping was located directly in front of another secret door. The hallway beyond led east for 40 feet, turned south for another 30 feet and ended in what could only be described as the backside of a secret door. A simple pendulum trap guarded access from the other side and Olanth was able to easily remove the axe from the trap thus disarming it. The Axe seemed lighter than normal, and was marked with the Dwarven Runes KT, the mark of the Smith Kheldigan Tolm. Ulfgar kept the axe. Naffin opened the secret door, and the large barracks room beyond was occupied by 9 Orcs, including one very large one. Seeing the party, the large one yelled “Attack” in Orcish and the battle was on. The party quickly tore through the Orc ranks, killing all but three. At the sight of the quick demise of their comrades, the remaining three quickly surrendered. Each Orc held two javelins and a great axe.

[End of session]

The ensuing interrogation of the Orcs revealed that there were at least 10 more Orcs in the complex and at least one Ogre, Great Ulfe. Olanth tied up the prisoners, leaving them in the secret passage. The party then continued onward. Through the door to the barracks, they entered a hall that lead west then south. They came upon a chamber that had a large door on the eastern wall and the passage continued on southward. The Door appeared unusually large, was iron bound, and was jammed into place making it look like it was stuck. The door was also adorned with what looked like five human skulls spiked to it. The party decided to investigate further south. The hall leading south finally ended in a door, but there was a large cavern attached to the hall which led to the west. Investigating this cavern, the party found the main supply stores for the complex. Most of the goods seemed to have been stolen from human merchant caravans. Also in the cavern were a large table with chairs and a well.

Having satisfied their concerns about being ambushed, the party returned to the door at the end of the hallway. Olanth could hear the familiar sound and language of Orcs, although he could not understand it. The ensuing slaughter lasted a mere seconds, and the Orcs were dead. Nyora noticed a hidden compartment in the floor. Verna checked it out and found a poison gas trap which knocked her unconscious, Nyora was able to reviver her. Inside the secret compartment was a long strong box, 6 feet by 1 foot by 6 inches. The lock on the box proved to be difficult to open, even for an operator of Verna’s talents, but after 20 minutes of trying and one loosening bash by Olanth, she was finally able to open the lock. Inside, the found what looked to them like a Bastard Sword made of glass. Knorr remembered reading in the remnants of Tolm’s diary about a substance they found that was a clear metallic compound as strong as mithril, Knorr also detected magic radiating from the sword.

It was decided that the party would return to the Dwarven city of Sibor Alga, to further investigate this strange sword. As they emerged from the mountain, Nyora spotted a distant patrol approaching from the west. Verna investigated finding a large patrol of Orogs (20 in all) heading for the mountain. The party decided to avoid any confrontation with them, remembering their other encounter with only one Orog. After a night resting and the ensuing days travel, the party again reached the city of Sibor Alga.

Each party member received 800 experience (700 from the first session and 100 from the second).

 

Knorr looked carefully at Spot and hungrily at Skeldas. He looked askance at Naffin and a bit lustfully at Olanth. He looked wistfully at Nyora and looked like he smelled something bad when he looked at Verna.

He sighed, and the sighing was not musical.

"I miss my home. You can't really cook anything good on a campfire with nothing but one pot. And Spot has never seen the Purple Worm. I think we should go back to Samuel. Anyone agree?" When Knorr didn't get a response from anyone (except Olanth, who kept eyeing the goat), he continued. "Ah, well. Perhaps I'll just venture back that way on my own. I'll send Spot back to check on you from time to time."

With that Knorr, the cook, bard, and lately sorcerer, began to pack his things into Skeldas's saddlebags. He counted the money from the company's treasury and kept only enough to get him back home.

 

"Who's gonna cook for us now?" asked the annoyed halfling. As she watched her comrade journey in another direction, she mumbled under her breath, "And I was really looking forward to raven-pot-pie too."