Adventure 3

Party Members:
Hammar – 2nd Level Cleric
Cloverdung – 2nd Level Ranger
Bone – 2nd Level Fighter
Othello – 2nd Level Thief
Gubikla – 2nd Level Magic User

Kavis, the dwarf figther, stayed at the Inn due to a drinking contest with a Hill Giant. Kavis won but did not awake for a full 30 hours.

The third burial mound found last time was going to need excavating, so our adventurers stopped by the local tool shop to buy equipment. Party members were stunned to find shovels, picks, and block & tackle for 3 to 4 GP, EACH. Regrettingly, they purchased a couple of each. Cloverdung looked around the street corners for day-laborers, but no luck since it was already late afternoon. So, equipment bought and loaded, the party heads out of town, back to the third mound.

Upon reaching the mound, you would have thought we as people were going to have to do the actual digging, instead of our characters in the game. No one wanted to dig. Cloverdung volunteered to be lookout from the top of the mound while someone else dug. Hammar was insisting on a beer break. SO, with a state-job-mentality-type-party, Othelo decides to start digging. After some dirt is moved out of the way, Othello and Bone try to find a way to remove the huge stone block found under the dirt.

Meanwhile, Cloverdung sees a wift of smoke coming from the northeast and so Hammar and Cloverdung decide to investigate. As Cloverdung is approaching the smoke and explaining to the dwarf how we should approach, he notices that Hammar is no where to be seen. Cloverdung turns to see Hammar about a mile back, weezing and looking for beer. Apparently, the smoke was of no interest to the dwarf. Cloverdung sees the smoke is coming from a farm house. Things look to be normal so he returns to the mound, showing Hammar the way back.

By this time, Othello and Bone have found a way to wedge the stone block out of the way. As they proceed to move the stone block, it breaks in two, and collapses into the cavern below.

Othello ties off a rope and the party fills into the dark room below. It is similar to the other mounds, except there is only one large altar in the middle of the room. The thief examines the altar and determines there are no traps. There is nothing on the altar. Hammar examines the stonework and determines it is solid rock. Upon further investiagtion, Othello finds two dust-covered rails on one end of the altar. Bone, Othello, and Gublika get on the opposite end of the altar and try to push it onto the rails. No luck. The thief cleans out the tracks around the rails and the ranger applies some grease. Again, Bone, Othello, and Gublika push on the altar. This time it gives way, reveiling a hole leading down. As Bone is about to fall, Gubikla catches him.

Othello drops a lit torch down the hole and determines it is an 80′ drop. Hammar casts light on a rock and throws it down the hole for additional lighting. The ranger and the cleric tie their two ropes together and fasten one end to the altar. The thief climbs down first, examining the walls along the way. Othello reaches the bottom and notices the red tile floor and four passages leading off in different directions. The other party members climb down the rope.

While everyone else is getting acustomed to the dungeon entrance, Othello heads off down one of the passageways. As he nears the end of one, his foot steps on a pressure plate, activating some spring loaded darts from the dead end. Othello takes damage as he is pinned with 5 darts. Bone, Cloverdung, and Gubikla hear the remaining darts flying towards them from the passageway. They all duck out of the way. The thief has found a trap in this dungeon. Cloverdung picks up the rock with light on it and puts it in his pocket for future use.

After removing the darts from his body, Othello goes to retrieve the springs used to launch the darts in hopes of reusing or selling them. Hammar lumbers down the passageway upon the request of the thief because it appears to be a dead end. Hammar does some analysis and notices that there is a cavity of some kind. Before investigating the cavity further, Othello decides to search the other passageways. The other three lead to dead ends as well. Fortunately, this time, the thief finds the pressure plates before setting them off.

So, the party agrees that the cavity should be examind further. Hammar looks at it again and remembers that dwarfs have built this type of secret door before. He pushes a plate and the wall swings back, revealing a spiral stairway going down. The party heads down and find themselves at the end of a corridor. Cloverdung takes the lighted rock out of his pocket and shoves it up his nose so that his hands are free to hold his sword and shield while still having enough light to see. With some effort, he completes that task. The party files down the hall, Cloverdung, Bone, Othello, Hammar, and Gubikla.

There is a corridor headed off to the right and a door just past that within the main corridor. Bone advances to the door to investigate. As he tries to open the door with the handle, it falls off in his hand because the wood is rotten. Bone knocks the door in and finds a room with lumps of wood-rotted piles that were either tables or beds. Everyone enters and searches the piles. Nothing, other that old dried blood, is found in the room. Hammar exclaims that this dungeon appears to have not been used by anyone for centuries. The party thanks the cleric for that statement and we move on.

As the party, now lead by Bone, are walking down a side corridor, a section of the floor gives way. Bone falls into a pit that has iron spikes fixed to the floor. He takes some damage. Since the party has used all of their rope already, Cloverdung whips out his 10′ pole and unfolds it. Bone grabs the end and is retrieved from the pit. The gnomes notice that Cloverdung’s pole is big enough to sit three gnomes on it.

Bone wraps his wounds and the party moves on. Upon rounding a corner, some members notice something approaching from out of the dark. It is a brownish-yellow creature, with fluffy antenna, big floppy feet, and a double-tipped tail. Hammar and Bone realize that their armor looks like food to this creature because it is a rust monster. Cloverdung throws out some iron spikes, in hopes the creature will be happy with a snack. Othello fires his arm-crossbow and damages the monster. Gubikla fires a frost bolt that ricochets off the walls for a brief period, a miss. Bone steps back, not wanting to has his armor rusted away. Hammar casts sacred flame and engulfs the creature in fire. With fight still in him, the rust monster misses Hammar’s armor with its antenna but does bite him with its beak. Othello fires another bolt at the monster and kills it. That was a brief scare for our armored party members.

Bone finds a secret door that leads back to the room that had the rotten piles of wood. The party reprimands Othello for not being more thieftly and moves on. A room is found that has a pentagram etched on the floor with a vase standing in the middle of it. Scortched marks are noticed around the room and there is some writing on the floor. Cloverdung and Bone back away from the room. Othello tries to read the writing but no luck. Gubikla determines that this is some kind of summoning room, possibly for a fire elemental. Hammar freaks out, wets himself, and starts to back away, quickly. Othello and Gubikla finally decide to leave as well.

The party continues down another corridor to find a statue, in a niche. It is humanoid in design. There is a gem for each eye, a gold band on its arm, rotted armor, and an old rusted sword in its hand. Cloverdung pries one of the gems out of the left eye. Notices in time the trap behind the eye and avoids the dart that shoots out. Othello decides to get the other gem, and does, without being hit by the dart behind it. Bone decides to take the gold band from the arm. This band is decorated with snakes.

After walking a ways down the corridor, and trying to avoid the pee smell from the pants of the dwarf, the party enters a room with three doors. One door is embosed with a boar, one with a stag, and the last with a dragon. Of course, Cloverdung heads towards the door with the boar. Othello follows, and finds a pressure plate. The dwarf finds the ability to pee some more and marks the pressure plate for us all.

Othello searches the door and does not find any traps. The door is opened to reveal a room with large vase-type things. Each vase is about 6′ tall and 2′ wide. There are more than 10 total. Cloverdung stands guard at the doorway with his bow while Othello enters to investigate. The theif cannot find out much information from the containers because they are so tall and he is so short. Hammar decides to help the thief by holding him up to examine the top. Othello notices there is a gold wire, bound around the leather lid, keeping it sealed. Othello decides to poke the leather lid with his dagger. A green gas seeps out. Hammar drops Othello and runs out of the room.

As Othello is falling, because the cleric dropped him like a hot rock, he grabs for the container. He catches it and doesn’t fall, however, the container starts to fall back. The container falls into a nearby container, which in turns falls into another and so on. A classic domino effect causes all the containers to come crashing down. They all break open and things are inside. Everyone leaves the room, with the ranger and the fighter standing in the doorway. The things began to stand and are revealed to be skeletons. They appear to be a mixture of human and dwarvish skeletons. The thief starts with shooting some crossbolts, the mage fires his frost bolt, and Hammar uses sacred flame. Bone and Cloverdung await at the doorway for the skeletons to advance. As weapons flail and spells are cast, bones start flying all over the place. The ranger takes considerable damage but does not die. Gubikla and Bone do most of the damage to the creatures. Once all of the skeletons are dead the party decides to take a short rest to heal up and collect anything found in the room.

Once resting is completed, the ranger detects the sound of scurrying coming from the hallway outside the room. The party prepares for battle. The noise stops. The party waits. Suddenly, Cloverdung hears flapping sounds approaching but does not see anything. He and Hammar try to hit whatever it is coming that they cannot see. Cloverdung fires some arrows that fly across the hall and hit the wall. Hammar tries to sacred flame whatever is there but to no avail. Then, the nothing flapping sound turns into two impish looking creatures as they bite and claw at Cloverdung. Othello and Gubikla kill one of the imps, followed by Cloverdung and Bone killing the other.

The party decides to call it a night. go back to town and retrieve their dwarven fighter, Kavis, if they are to proceed further into this dungeon.