| Session Date | April 5, 2024 |
| Start Date | 26 Reaping 1273 |
| End Date | 28 Reaping 1273 |
| Starting Location | Inn of the Welcoming Darkness |
| Ending Location | Encampment formally housing Hobgoblins |
| Player Characters | Helga, Hans, Burt, Mord, Sirius, ZZ, *Deaglan |
| Base XP Gained | Carry Over |
| Player Notes | ZZ's Notes |
Back in the Inn of the Welcoming Darkness and the Dark Market, the party commenced spreading rumors that the other adventuring party recently arrived were working for the Serpentine Lord and had just attacked the realm of the Troll Kings. Their attempts to gain some traction, likely because they fit in well with rumors they themselves have been hearing since they arrived. The other party, meanwhile, was not present, having gone off adventuring themselves. The only concern the party had was their own beat up condition, though that was hardly unusual for them. Over the next few days the party would hear further rumors that the Troll Kings had tripled their patrols and were hunkering down for a real fight. Hans also took the opportunity to mention secret doors in the Inn’s rooms, which sent the innkeeper, a Dark Folk named Ferrar, into an apoplexy of anger; he did not deny anything, though.
The party ended up spending two nights at the Inn to fully recover from their adventures. During this time they used detect magic to sweep the Dark Market for things to buy. They also picked up a few new rumors, including something about not leaving the path in the Moaning Caves (on the level below and apparently the route to the Serpentine Lord’s territory), while ZZ heard a rumor that the Serpentine Lord was actually a demigod of some sort! The party also took the opportunity to plant new rumors of their own creation.
Hans also took the opportunity to do some reconnaissance using clairvoyance and clairaudience spells. Focusing past the double doors leading out to the rostrum above the fighting pit they previously glimpsed, he found a great hall heading north into a vast chamber. The place bustled with activity and it appeared that this was a throne room with countless Bugbears, Ogres and other monsters present. Clairaudience further north revealed a debate or discussion in progress. A booming voice declared that further attacks were expected imminently and that all must remain watchful. Anyone caught shirking in any way would be executed with no chance for a trial by combat. Another voice suggested going on the offensive, but the original voice, probably one of the Troll Kings, said no, they would remain on the defensive for now as the Serpentine Lord had many tricks that made attacking dangerous. The voice then directed someone named Chalmers to “take this all down for the record.” It then directed someone named Calibruh to seek information using his god’s magic. One voice that was raised at times hissed with the cadences of one of the Serpentmen, and the context strongly implied this was one of the Troll King’s top advisors, perhaps the topmost.
As the party prepared to head out, the other adventuring group returned to the Inn, looking a bit rough but well pleased. The party tried to goad them a bit by asking if they’d heard of the war between Serpentine Lord and Troll Kings, but the merely shrugged it off saying it was not their concern. More goading and implications that the other adventurers were working for the Serpentine Lord had no effect on them, though they started to get a bit testy at all this. Meanwhile the party well noted their potential rivals. All were foreigners from the far west, speaking with strangely accented Common. Their leader was clearly a powerful warrior with the best possible gear. With him were a female wizard, a thief with the unusual weapon of a longsword, a cleric of Magnus (god of the underworld), a male magic-user who seemed a bit unstable, a female fighter, and a group of Ogres for muscle. All seemed capable and well equipped.
The party now returned to the level below and began to explore again. In one location a huge spider appeared out of thin air to attack, stinging Deaglan and poisoning him. The Phase Spider was quickly taken down and Mordecai was able to neutralize poison for Deaglan. They now entered a large hall filled with dozens of statues. Most were male and all seemed old with archaic but rich attire; none appeared to be a victim of petrification. When they approached one to examine more closely, a light shone down from nowhere and illuminated the statue, which began to speak. It said it was the Emperor Mordox and proceeded to spend about five minutes detailing the reign of the Lormyrrian Emperor Mordox. The other statues proved to be similar in nature, each representing an Emperor from that now fallen Empire.
Moving further east, the party explored through a large room with some makeshift firepits. They soon ran into a group of Trolls which Burt spoke with. They proved willing to parley. They were a patrol from the Troll Kings and were clearly concerned with the party’s presence. But their concerns were quickly redirected when the party began to explain that the other adventuring party was almost certainly who they needed to find as they worked for the Serpentine Lord. The Trolls got quite excited by this and asked for everything the party could tell them, which they did. They then told the party to stick to the south and stay clear of the north as they were “at war” now. They then rushed off to report what they’d learned (and before their small Troll brains lost it all).
They now came into a hall that began to spiral in squares inward. Not long after starting this, Deaglan noted that he tripped a tripwire, though there was no apparent result of this. They continued forward very cautiously, eventually finding and avoiding a second trip wire. ZZ’s ring detected treasure in the center of the area, Sirius could detect magic, and Burt could sense evil with his sword. Finally coming to a door, Deaglan failed to pick it, so Hans used a wand to create a passwall to enter rapidly. The interior 30x30 space was clearly occupied but no one was visible – except to Sirius and his robe, which spotted two Ogre Magi. Hans cast minor globe of invulnerability as one of the Ogres hit some of the party with a cone of cold. But the two Ogre Magi did not last long against the party and were soon cut down. However, a third one had somehow gotten behind the party and hit some of them with a second cone of cold. Sirius cast grease underneath it but it simply took to the air and flew away once it realized its two fellows were dead and it was about to follow them. The party then burned the two dead Ogre Magi and discovered a sizable treasure in their lair.
Further on, the party found a secret door which opened to a 10x10 space with six Hobgoblins in it. The party chose to parley with them. They did not work for anyone but themselves and could care less about a war between Serpents and Trolls. Rather, they were seeking a temple of torturers rumored to be on the level above, where they hoped to hire out their company. When disparaged for “hiding in the closet” they insisted they were “covering the flank.” Finally, the party simply gave them good directions to the stairs above and then on to the torturers of the first level. At least one of the Hobgoblins seemed to be genuinely thankful for the info, though the others were happy for the party to get lost. After leaving, Deaglan listened at the secret door. The Hobgoblins clearly did not want to fight the party as they would end up with a lot of their own being killed for no reason, and besides, “the coins would probably keep them busy for a while,” whatever that meant. One of them also reported that the Captain was aware of the party now and ordered them not to attack unless necessary.
The party discussed this for a hot minute and decided to wipe the Hobgoblins out. They burst back into the secret room and attacked under cover of a silence spell on a coin. Opposite them, a Hobgoblin opened another secret door and ran out into a very large chamber with many more Hobgoblins (there were over 50 of them total!). A squad of Hobgoblins tried to flank the party. However, their numbers were no match for a fireball from Burt and a lightning bolt from Hans. A locked chest contained a small but decent treasure (and had survived the blast). The party decided to leave the bodies where they lay and scrawled on the wall, “this is what happens to the forces of the Serpentine Lord.”
The party continued their explorations…