| Session Date | March 13, 2021 |
| Start Date | |
| End Date | |
| Starting Location | |
| Ending Location | |
| Player Characters | |
| Base XP Gained | 7045 |
| Player Notes | ZZ's Notes |
Iban poisoned; Lord Solen and his concubine escaped; the forces of the Giant King holding the Keep above and moving into the dungeon, the party had a number of concerns to deal with. The most immediate was to ensure Iban did not die when the slow poison spell elapsed. Not wishing to leave the dungeon and attempt to return, the party decided to rest in the secret passage immediately adjacent to the room Solen had recently fled from (and which also contained an empty coffin). While resting, the party burned a candle of invocation to give the clerics additional spells. After eight hours of rest and study, Mordecai proceeded to heal Iban of the poison, while he and ZZ cast many a healing spell, enhanced by the candle. However, Mordecai seemed to have annoyed his god (or soon would do so), as his healing spells were rather pitiful.
Having established the annoyance of his god, the cleric then proceeded to cast a commune spell. He was able to ask ten questions, thanks to the power of the candle. Does Lord Solen have the gem with him? (no) Is it on a level above the level above where they now were? (no) Is it on the level above us? (no) Is it on a level below us? (no) Is it to the west? (no) Is it south? (yes) Is it behind an undiscovered secret door? (no) Is it more than 150' away (no) Is it more than 70 feet away? (yes) Is it guarded? (no)
Armed with this knowledge, Iban cast invisibility 10' radius on the party, which proceeded to the south, passing quickly and without looking into the various cells of this lower dungeon. They ran into a pair of wights at one point, though both ZZ and Mordecai managed to turn one each (it was a close call for a moment). They found a large, well-stocked and clealry8 much used laboratory not far away. There was a bowl of many gems; rather than try to figure out if one was the item sought, Knar used his wand to detect magic. None of them were magic but a skull on a shelf did radiate as such. Knar checked it and found there was a gem inside the skull. They had apparently found what they sought (verified later with an identify spell).
Pleased, the party now had to escape the dungeon and the encroaching Giant King's army. They came back up into the yellow mold room, where they used burning oil and a flame breath potion (Knar's) to burn a path across the room. The fire and smoke, however, attracted a small force of bugbears and ogres from nearby. Fortunately, the two clerics had resumed invisibility thanks to spell and potion; the humanoids ran by the party and never detected them. They then made their way back into the waterfall cave (where the dead ogres and ettins remained untouched) and thence outside once more. Several hours overland travel and they were back in Durnton once more.
There was much activity in the small village. The locals had erected a strong barrier of wood across the stone bridge connecting the two halves of the village. Meanwhile, many of the locals were set to flee, fearing imminent attack (most would simply melt into the wilderness, they said, as the herders and hunters here knew the lands very well indeed). Checking with the mercenary company, the party ordered them to help with defenses for a few days, and then march to Manston to rejoin the party. This seemed good to them; they'd had a few more desertions, but the new captain, Waylim, felt that those remaining were solid and he expected no further losses. They also took the time to negotiate long-term pay, settling on 100 silver pieces per week, with an undefined "bonus" promised for when they reached Manston. Waylim asked what to do if attacked and the party ordered him to use his best judgement, with retreat being perfectly acceptable. The spare horses taken from the patrols were turned over to the mercenaries.
They also spoke with the local cleric of the goddess Nora. He said that the militia was ready to melt away if threatened by an overly powerful force, though most wished to fight (they'd probably been heartened by the previous battle and their zero losses). Lastly, Merrin and her Rangers promised to continue scouting in order to provide plenty of warning of impending attack.
These arrangements made, the party departed from Durnton and took the road to Bristol. There they let the locals know of the fate of Castle Solen and that the enemy was poised for possible attack. A force of militia was dispatched from here to a bridge across the Durn Flow to the southeast. Also, the folk of the town dispatched riders to warn Durnbridge of these happenings (even though Bristol is a good deal larger and has a bigger militia than Durnton, it was not all that impressive!). The party departed thereafter and reached Manston in early evening without further incident.
They immediately made their way to the town hall to turn over the gem of seeing. Perhaps not surprisingly, peering through the gem, Knar (?) noted that one of the officials was actually a doppelganger. Thunderfist slew it rather handily! With the gem in the hands of actual town leaders, the party gave a report of events to the southwest. Mayor Crinsdale was most pleased to hear that Solen's forces had defected (sort of) and would be coming in a few days; he would let Lord Alcibard know. The party did insist that the company be kept intact and not spread around, and the lord agreed. The party then handed off 6 weeks of additional pay for them (not sure who that went to but I'll assume it gets to the mercs).
Returning to their residence, the party was pleased to note that Bel had been resurrected and Amadin was looking much better, as well. Reunited, the full party made a call at the Elven enclave, finally gaining admittance with their "lesser" password. The area beyond the glassy wall was like stepping into a pleasant woodland, and even the sounds of the town seemed to vanish. They were brought into the presence of Andurie, an elf of indeterminate age. He seemed rather grave but not unfriendly. The party asked about Voromakil, the elf they'd rescued the year before. He had, indeed, passed through this place on his way back to the Elf Kingdom and had mentioned his deliverance by the party (albeit a very different one than the one now!). The party wished to travel back to the Dwarf Kingdom, they told him, as they had important information to pass along and were no longer able to rely on Cadwaladyr to teleport them to and fro. Andurie told them that this would be permissible and that he would offer the use of a boat to transport them for the first part of the journey. Pleased, the party would return the net morning and depart Manston.
Back at their residence, the party spoke with the dwarves. The rank and file six were clearly not thrilled by the idea of returning home, apparently having too much fun (and status) here. The party told them they could remain behind to mind the house, much to their pleasure. Floi, on the other hand, was quite happy to accompany the party, he said. He would, therefore, accompany them back to his home...