Session 7 – Wherein the Healer proves that she has a not so gentle touch...

This session was... interesting, and on reflection I have one major regret. However, more on that in a moment.

When we last met, the party was just about to charge through a double door, beyond which they believed were bandits that needed righteous smackdown.

So, they threw open the doors and... got confused.

The room beyond the doors was a theatre, complete with tiered seating, stairs down the sides and a stage at the far end. On the stage was a play in mid-scene. A number of bodies were lying amid pools of blood, and a pair at centre stage were enacting a bloody execution. One had his head on a block and the other was raising a headsmans axe.

As the party scrambled to prevent the execution, they were set upon by zombies hidden in the aisles. A melee ensued in which zombies proved to be tough customers, one dropping Narmak (one of the hirelings) and then dropping Bomani himself the next round before being dispatched by a thrown spear!

After the fight was over, Quill hurriedly examined the wounded. Narmak was in shock and had suffered a severe back injury whilst Bomani had, unfortunately, suffered grievous genital damage. Oh dear.

The actors on the stage had disappeared during the fight, and Paige discovered an area backstage which appeared to be safe. They made the decision to use this room as a safe spot, and leaving Bomani, Narmak and 2 of the other hirelings here the others opted to continue exploring.

Whereupon they discovered a large chamber that was completely overgrown with strange molds and fungus. Believing that the room was potentially dangerous, Yannick proved braver than most and ventured carefully across the room and Paige followed even more carefully. Quill went back and told Bomani what they’d found. Between them, Paige and Yannick discovered a number of skeletal remains beneath a stand of giant mushrooms, and a haul of silver coins (and 3 gems), which they duly looted.

Then things went horribly awry. The rest of the party turned up and started to walk across to Paige and Yannick, kicking up a cloud of spores. Unfortunately, this included poisonous spores from the myriad of species in the room, and 4 (I think) of the characters (all hirelings as luck would have it) breathed in the deadly air. 3 of these failed their Saving Throw and began to choke to death.

Here’s where I feel I made a mistake.

I had the affected hirelings choke to death within a few minutes, and although it led to an extremely surprising event, I feel it could have been handled much better if they’d had a long lingering death, where it wasn’t at first clear what had happened. Everyone had breathed in spores, so it would have produced more tension if everyone was coughing those that had been poisoned had started to show more symptoms. Hey ho. Lessons for the future I guess.

As it was, Bomani and his hirelings escaped the chamber as quickly as they could (but not quick enough to save Narmak from a horrible suffocating death a few minutes later).

Quill meanwhile, realising that nothing could be done to save her men (A natural 20 on a healing check), opted to spare them from the suffering she knew was sure to come and under the guise of trying to help them, got them down on their hands and knees to vomit out the poison. Then she stabbed them in the back of the neck as quick as you like, slaying them both, instantly. (This took me by total surprise and was absolutely hilarious.. Remember kids, clerics are good guys!)

The third of these hirelings (the 3 spearmen the party had recruited in the village some sessions before) completely freaked out and attempt to kill Quill, who eventually disarmed and calmed him down.

Unfortunately we ran out of time to explore what happens next so we’ll have to wait until the future for repercussions. Suffice to say I’ll be making some rolls on the Hireling Loyalty tables...

Paige 5

Adventure and exploration is great, don't get me wrong - I wouldn't swap any of what we've seen here for any part of what I had back in Thembria, even back in the tunnels when we were outnumbered and on the back foot when Narmak went down clutching her neck. This whole thing, searching an underground lair for hidden treasure, is everything I wanted. It's awful, though, when all of what I wanted to find ends up with other people being killed. But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

The village was deserted. It's funny how the ruined buildings looked more like ruins without the chatter that we found when we arrived here last time. I tracked the villagers to the caves at the back of the town square, where we found some bodies of two villagers and one bandit. The village headman had been killed as well. No sign of the other bandits, who seemed to have withdrawn when they met much resistance. 

Most of the others were hidden inside the caves, and gradually made their way out after I called for them. There's no way that I'd head into those caves with a dozen nervy people inside - I don't much fancy an accidental death on the end of a woodsman's axe - but in their place I think I'd have taken a while to believe that the bandits had gone, just as they did. 

They were predictably terrified. Unlike us, they didn't sign up for this. While my friends made themselves useful or recovered from their injuries I looked after the kids,  who understood even less than their parents about how all of this happened to them. All I could think of was how clever we felt when we persuaded the three spearmen to come with us rather than stay at the village. I'm not convinced they'd have fought them off, but better that they died than any of these farmers. 

Anyway. Enough. We stayed overnight and Bomani tried to get them into some sort of shape for next time, then made our way back to the tunnels. I don't know about the rest of them, but I want to add another notch on my bow. I want to do to each one of these murderers what they did to the villagers. I want them to feel utter terror and realise that they can't defend against us, knowing that they won't live to see another dawn. Big words, I know, when really it'll be Bomani, Quill and Yannick who lead us in. Still, if I find one alive, I'll be quietly putting daddy's lessons to use.

Session 6 - The after effects of a bandit attack.

It’s been a couple of weeks and we’ve had 2 sessions since, one a fortnight ago and one last night.

Here’s the lowdown on what happened.

The party started the session gazing down at the smoking village and quickly reached the conclusion that it was the bandits they’d previously fought in the dungeon. Advancing cautiously and expecting attack they made it to the village unimpeded and saw that several of the newly repaired buildings had been put to the torch.

They also found the severed head of Drimbur, the village headsman (pardon the pun) stuck on a spear in the centre of the village.

Paige did some tracking, whilst someone (I forget who) noticed some movement further up in the hills to the East. Paige discovered that around half the villagers had fled North, towards some caves, pursued by bandits.

A little further North they came across 3 bodies – one of the bandits had been slain, and axe in his chest, and two of the stout men of the village had been killed. At this point the bandit tracks turn around and head back in the general direction of the dungeon.

What happens next is that the villagers reappear (from the caves, and from the hills) and explain to the party what happened (the bandits attacked them, most people fled, the two dead villagers giving the others more time to get away). One thing of import was that a couple of the bandits were wearing the same military uniforms as the 3 caravan guards that the party has acquired. The group now believes that it was an inside job!

Over the next day or so the adventurers rest and heal, and help the villagers bury their dead and clear up the mess whilst keeping watch for another bandit assault.

The only other thing of note is that Yannick, whilst ‘on watch’ saw a very large shape flying high and distant in the North West, a shape that caused him to feel an unspeakable dread. He neglected to mention this to anyone... 

One rested, the group headed back to the dungeon where they found the mules and cart had gone. Stepping warily into the darkness once more they went left instead of ahead and followed a corridor to a set of double doors, beyond which they heard indistinct voices.

Assuming it was bandits, they prepared to charge through the door and lay waste to their foes. 

And that’s where the session ended.

What happened this session was borne out of a discussion with a friend of mine about what the bandits would do next. Broadly speaking I’m happy with the turn of events (though poor Drimbur) and the ‘random encounter’ was something of an interesting development. I decided to use it to build a little tension for the future rather than it being closer...