Beneath Two Suns...The LONG Road to Freedom

Hey, hey, hey - our party of brave adventurers are back and ready to combat evil…or some semblance of it in any case...

Reminders all around!  Everyone has names!

- Kriskain, a human cleric (Heather)
- Lileth Whisperwind, a half-elf hexblade (Emily)
- Shinta, a human sorcerer (Daniel)
- Dante, an elven ranger (Elliot)
- Abuther, a half-elf barbarian (Spencer)

At the last, the group was on the cusp of an important moment: do they stay or do they go?  In the end, the answer was Yes – we go! And thus, their fates were sealed.  Essentially, they had just agreed to join the slave revolt, the first action of which was to take the Princess Nadima prisoner.  Ballsy, really, taking your new owner captive.

Here, DM asks each player for his/her backstory, or How They Got Into This Mess In The First Place.  Each character is encouraged to share as much or as little as they would like…whatever they feel the rest of the party would likely know.

Kriskain the human cleric begins.  She has only been a slave a few months, and was a victim of “wrong place, wrong time” syndrome.  She got caught up in what the present government refers to as a “slave sweep”.  The party knows not much about her, except that she has decent healing skills.

Lileth, the elven Hexblade, divulges that she’s a traveler, a gypsy with an exceptional ability to make friends.  She’s in the clink due to being caught by officials in a scheme to get money out of her new ‘friends’.

Shinta, the sorcerer, is a reclusive, moody sort.  Rumors abound that he was responsible for the utter annihilation of an entire village, although, it’s rather hard to believe. He’s so young.  He just doesn’t seem the type.

Dante, the elf Ranger, claims to be from a faraway Elven kingdom, where he made the mistake years ago of ridiculing a rich and snobby elf…who then promptly sold him into slavery.  He’s been around the longest – five years.  He’s also the Grandpa of the group at 136 years.

Abuther is the aberration of the party.  He’s probably the only half-elf barbarian within a million mile radius of this place, and he’s quite angry.  Captured by the rulers of the House of Demodo (?), he was sold to Estercari to work off his anger in the quarries.  It hasn’t worked.  He’s still pissed about something.

With that out of the way, the DM then informs the group that they are in the princess’s private chambers, and hey, what do they wish to do next?  The other slaves, the ones who did the killing just seconds ago, are already shuttling the princess off in the direction of the exit.  Kriskain takes a few hurried seconds to search Nadima’s vanity, and finds 200 gp.  She snatches that up, along with a small leather pouch for carrying.  Lileth searches the dresser area and finds a necklace.  Shinta searches under the bed and sees nada save a few rogue dust bunnies. Dante is watching the door and instructs the party on the direction the other slaves are headed.  The group now travel down the hallway, hell-bent on rejoining the revolt parade.  Shinta finds a door to investigate while the others continue on.  The sorcerer opens onto a bedroom-type room, and thusly, he helps himself to fancy new clothes, a dagger with a jeweled hilt, some gold rings, and a small vial that contains a brown liquid.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party emerges into the kitchen area (Kriskain and Abuther take note of the fact that the group of slaves they’ve joined are comprised of not only worker slaves like themselves, but house slaves as well).  Two cook-looking women cower in a corner as the party moves through.  The cleric seizes a still-hot fireplace poker on her way through and is saddened to see there is no tilt-skillet or meat slicer in the place. 

OOG: The players fill their plates with vegetables, chips, hummus, guacamole, and lentil chili.  The cleric apologizes the slight bite of the lentils…it appears another hour more would be better to cook them completely through.

Back in the Estercari kitchen, though, Abuther and Dante conduct their own search for food.  The DM informs the elf Ranger that, “Grapes.  You see some nice grapes.” Abuther is a carnivore and goes for the ham.  This prompts the excellent question: What do slaves eat? To which “Bread, water, and undercooked lentils” is the response.  After the chuckling subsides, some other amusing things happen.

Lileth asks the frightened women if they’re part of the revolt, to which they answer no, and Lileth responds with “Fine, then I won’t kill you.”

Dante approaches the worktable area, where he sees knives.  He wishes to grab a handful, but the problem is: How to carry a bunch of knives whilst carrying a bunch of grapes?  Answer: the little elf shoves the entire bunch into his mouth. Done.

An excellent Spot check by the hexblade allows her to pick up the most kickass-looking knife in the bunch.  She stuffs it into her sock.   Her. Sock.

In the mean time, the sorcerer has finished his Searching and looks to return to the group.

The DM has the group do a Listen check and that’s when they hear (and then SEE) the crazed, angry chef making his way towards them.  This does not faze the sorcerer, hexblade, nor cleric…after all, they understand better than anybody it’s not cool to muck about in someone else’s kitchen.  But still, he’s coming at them with knives…with intention to hurt or maim or fabricate or something.  Dante gets the hell out of there, Abuther charges (and pushes the two girl players out of the way), Lileth attempts to hold up her longsword blade to the chef’s throat in an effort to stop him in his tracks.  He Dodges it (she is 4’11” after all) and continues on the warpath…that is, until the Chaotic Neutral and mentally unstable Abuther steps in, slashes, and completely destroys the hapless chef.  There is a brief, very brief, discussion that ensues immediately afterwards:

Kriskain: Why kill him? Why?

Abuther: I’m angry.

K: Why not just incapacitate the guy?  Now, there’s a dead body.  We’ve just committed murder!

A: They were after us anyway.

Kriskain the cleric looks to put the body somewhere, for Gods’ sake.  Lileth suggests the oven.  Shinta the sorceres bursts in at the moment, only to see shrieking cooks.

“Ladies,” he croons, “Quench thy loins and cease the orgasms.” They stop, but do not appear to understand what exactly he wants from them.  But, at least they’ve stopped screaming, so that’s good.

In the end, Kriskain pulls the dead corpse back through the kitchen and down a flight of stairs.  Then, she casts Create Water to wash the blood away.  Although she may be chaotic, she still harbors a decent respect for life, death, and the last rites.

The party then moves out of the Kitchen of Death into more hallways, with more doors.  You know what that means for Shinta: more door-jiggling and more Searching.  Dante turns out to be the wild card here as he deviates, and takes a quick right to open up the first door he comes to…where he enters a room full of guards.  He’s able to discern quickly that he’s way outnumbered…so, what does the Ranger do?  Chuck a knife into the room (due to a low attack roll by the Ranger, nothing happens) and depart it quickly.  He scampers back down the hallway and runs into the cleric.  He warns her of the danger and continues running.  The cleric casts Obscuring Mist in the guard corridor and follows Dante. 

Lileth and Abuther, however, have remained with the other slaves.  They round the corner into a room of sorts where two slaves are in the midst of a swordfight with a manor guard.  Lileth leaps atop a nearby desk and shouts, “Stand down, you’re outnumbered.”  There’s no response from the guard, and the DM explains that the guard is distracted…what with being engaged in battle with two freedom-loving slaves and all.  Abuther is a man of few words, and simply charges into the fray.

It is suddenly noticed that a pink dice has appeared in the middle of all the other dice markers, along with the exclamation of, “Oh, hey, it’s the princess!”  Also noteworthy here: the body count in the House of Estercari is rising, and so the DM begins to draw red colored pencils splotches on the paper map to indicate corpses.

OOG: Abuther’s player has disappeared to the bathroom and there is discussion about whether that ham was contaminated and the strength of Abuther’s “iron gut”.

Just then, a slave falls at the hands of the Estercari guard.  Lileth strikes back for four points of damage and Abuther scores the actual kill.   The Hexblade searches the body and takes the belt/scabbard from the dead body while the barbarian strips the guard of his breastplate armor.  As Dante and Kriskain are making their way to where this sweet action is going on…a guard steps out and begins running ahead of them.  It seems like a very lucky thing he doesn’t see the rogue slaves just behind him – but then, the elf ranger chucks a knife into the guard’s back just as they all arrive near Dead Guard Body #1.  And funny funny funny, Dante the Ranger rolls a natural 20.  The knife lodges firmly in his back, allowing Abuther to get in a quick hit before Lileth finishes the doomed guard off. She Searches this new dead body and comes up with 50 gp.  Abuther finishes zipping up his breastplate armor outfit and picks up the last piece of ham.

Kriskain, still wary from the barbarian’s earlier shenanigans, continues running on past the fresh dead body. Shinta finds some more doors, which open into a library-type space as well as a workspace of sorts, and a dagger, 50 gp, and official-looking papers all find their way into the sorcerer’s manpurse.  AND WITH THAT….

The escaped slaves are NOW outside…FINALLY!

Kriskain expresses her desire to locate an associate of hers – by the name of Avery.  Also, she has business dealings at the Peanut Pub.  The DM informs her she will find both to the north of where she is now, but that it is some ways off.  It would appear Kriskain’s trip to either of those people/places will be delayed for now, because it is noted that the group of princess-toting slaves are crossing a bridge as if they know where the next stop is.  So…the group follows.

And soon, an official-looking, blue-tuniced man accosts them.  He introduces himself as Botok (here on out known as Botox) and he asks the players to serve as a rearguard.  He says if they do this, he can get them to a place where their slave brands can be removed.  The group deliberates for all of a nanosecond before, yes, please.  They are herded in travel gondolas and the trip is a few minutes in before the interrogation begins:

Who do you work for? The House of Campbell.  How’s your soup? Yes, we have good soup.  Are you for freedom or tyranny? Freedom, of course. What are your intentions with the princess? No answer.  Kriskain is rather dissatisfied with the course of questioning, and discussion between the party members ensues: Should we be arguing with people who are helping us escape? Nothing wrong with a little info gathering.

Eventually, Kriskain gives up the Inquisition.  Shinta however has a free moment and he opts to riffle through his satchel and examine the official documents he lifted earlier.  He sees official Estercari seals, and a name – Sidones (The current Codifex of Zenicce).  The potion also turns out to be a Cure Moderate Wounds potion, thanks to a decent Spellcheck on the sorcerer’s part.

A Knowledge: Local check on the part of the cleric tells her they are moving east, towards the seat of the Zenicce government, a collection of nobles referred to as the Great Assembly.  Island after island pass by uneventfully when all of a sudden, the second gondola in the convoy overturns without warning.  Several of the powder-blue garbed guards leap into the water to rescue the princess.  Our adventurers, back in the fourth and last gondola, watch.  Within seconds, bodies begin to float back to the surface and the water around them becomes stained crimson.  And if our characters were alive today, they’d all be wondering the same thing: Dafuq is that?  An excellent Spot check by Dante provides the only real answer = black humanoid figures, with daggers, under the water.

Kriskain casts Waterwalk on herself and begins to do the Jesus thing to where she last saw Princess Nadima.  Lileth suggests pulling the gondola over to the shore to avoid being overturned as well.  Kriskain then casts Sanctuary to protect herself from any attack from below and rolls decent Concentration checks to maintain both spells in the process.  She sees no sign of Nadima and clambers up the nearest shorebank.

Botox has no idea what the underwater assassins are, and rather emotionlessly he suggests they continue on to the House of Campbell.  (He’s not named after the wrinkle-resistant bacteria for nothing, folks).  Lileth wonders if it’s absolutely necessary to see this Campbell guy, to which Botox responds with ‘Yes, only he can authorize your brands be removed.”  Also, one random slave on the gondola pipes up that he knows Campbell and can vouch for our safety.  And so we continue along on our course.  Abuther is experiencing a little tummy bubble-action, and it’s surmised in several minds that the ham was probably rancid.

An imperial-looking guy wearing some BA burgundy-colored chain mail appears to be supervising a field of guards in the midst of training drills or similar.

“I am Baron Campbell,” he says, noticing their approach. “My men tell me you have had many adventurers today.”  And then…some big news. He intends to hire the party for a job.  To retrieve a woman who is “of some importance to me”.  She has “disappeared recently.”  Campbell needs us to track down this missing woman in a swamp-type location.  He offers 1,000 gold pieces each, removal of slave brands, and use of any available equipment.  It sounds too good to be true.  Upon further questioning about details regarding the woman, the thieves who seized her, or the location of the swamp, Campbell either doesn’t know or doesn’t wish to divulge what he knows.  This reluctance prompts Shinta to ask for 7,500 gp.  Baron reiterates his original offer of 5,000 and reminds them that he is also providing them with equipment, shelter, food, weapons, etc.  Touché.

Freedom has made Kriskain rather inquisitive, and she asks Campbell what ideals he stands for.  And he responds that he does not like the House of Estercari…he feels he should be the Codifex, that he would be fair and equitable.  In regards to what he will do with the princess, he responds with She will be my prisoner.  She’s been abducted.  If she’s important to others, then she’s important to me.

And from there, the conversation dwindles down to a close.  The party knows they’ve got a job offer on the table.  Decent pay, free equipment, a safe night of rest.  However, Campbell did not seem exactly forthcoming about certain details, and he might not be trustworthy.  But, options seem scarce and in the end, the party decides to take Campbell up on his job offer.  And now, one question remains:

WHERE THE HELL IS THE SWAMP?!

Okay, well, two questions:

IS THE MISSING WOMAN PRINCESS NADIMA?

Beneath Two Suns...Again

Things are exciting for our Greyhawk adventurers...so much so that the DM misses playing the game herself.  Thankfully, her husband (G'leric) volunteers to run game for awhile...and with it being a sort-of-crazy time of year, he opts to run an old campaign...Beneath Two Suns. Remember the horrible, self-involved Princess Nadima from about four years ago?  Yeah, well, she's back!

The first gaming session for the new DM was supposed to be rather uneventful.  Players were rolling characters and establishing initial storylines, and this is what your scribe has for you so far...

- A human cleric, played by Heather, known only right now as #4791.
- A half-elf Hexblade, played by Emily, also unnamed at this time.
- Shinta, a human sorcerer (Daniel).
- Dante, an elven Ranger (Elliot)
- Abuther, a half-elf Barbarian (Spencer)

However, you know how these things go.  The players rolled up their characters rather quickly...and the DM made the snap decision to...let...the...game...begin.

A little city background: The DM informs the party about the planet on which they live - Kregan. Due to the presence of two suns, Kregan is on a 32-hour day. The mingling of the solar lights provide a soft, colorful hue upon the inhabitants of Kregan, but do not be fooled.  This is an environment that thrives on tyranny and oppression.  Our campaign takes place particularly in the city of Zenicce, and there is no sharper, more severe example of this cruel subjugation.  For twenty out of the thirty-two hours of the day, scores of slaves are herded into marble quarries, where they work hard and long under the watchful eye of malicious overseers called rappa.  The rappa look like man-vultures and wield weapons of pain, all to keep these shackled slaves in line.  As if these nasty creatures weren't enough, the slaves are also guarded by four-foot-tall, six-armed hairy little men called oaks.  However, manpower for the toilsome quarry work comes in all forms, and there are just as many rappa and oaks slaves as they are humans.

And why these hapless slaves need so much watching over is unclear...the layout of the city of Zenicce is water-based and maze-like at its best.  Inhabitants of the city travel through waterways and canals from one "island" to another.  This type of layout makes escape incredibly difficult for any motivated slave...but it does make their capture incredibly easy for the guards, who then subject the near-escapee to torture, to be witnessed by the other slaves.  There are no outer walls here in Zenicce, and no sense of central authority as each "island" is ruled by a family of importance.  "The Codifex" is the title given to the most prestigious family in the Great Assembly, and they in turn rule the entire city of Zenicce.  Of course, it is well-known that the gaining of the Codifex title is synonymous with cruel manipulation and treachery.  Slaves are branded with the letter of the ruling family who owns them, which makes their discovery and brutal return that much more sure and hopeless.

And of course, as it turns out, our ragtag party of players are part of a slave crew on a barge back into Zenicce.  They are exhausted not only by a long day in the quarry, but by the despair that has become a constant in their lives.  There is always talk of rising up against the oppressors, but most days it seems like a dream.  There are rumors that escape is possible if the guards are distracted, and vague stories circulate all the time about those brave few who have attempted it.

And now it appears the planets are about to align, because unbeknownst to our adventurers right now, their time for freedom and overthrow have come!

The barge carrying our players glides effortlessly through a curtain of lush green ivy.  An enormous, ornate letter 'E' is secured to one of the trunks of the tree as they pass through...the mark of the House of the Estercari.  Sidones, the head of the House, is also the Codifex for the city of Zenicce.  A noble-looking young woman with several guards await on the jetty, watching the barge as it comes closer to its port. 

The silence is suddenly shattered as cries of rappa and men alike rend the air, along with the clanging of weapons against each other.  The party turns and sees chaos has erupted on the barge behind them.  Rappa slaves have revolted against their overseers, and that barge soon scrapes by them and lurches to a halt onto the shore, at which point the rappa slaves overrun the noblewoman and her guards.  Everyone on our party's barge is thrown into panic as well as cries of, "Noble flesh!" ring out from the man-vulture slaves as they viciously grab at the Princess.  And at long last, the DM asks the ever-important question: what do you do?

There is some discussion, and the DM remembers that for next time, he ought to emphasize real-time group talk.  After all, time is important and the players can't always take ten minutes to hash it out with each other.  Not to mention backtrack and rescind decisions already made, etc.  Anyway...

The party agree to watch the fallout of the ensuing chaos...except the unpredictable half-elven barbarian, who decides to attack a guard, bringing to fruition the rumors about taking advantage of distracted guards.  The guard, who obviously didn't think his day would go like this, ends up Stunned, and takes a bit of barbarian-punch-to-the-face damage.

And with that, the onslaught begins.  Shinta the Sorcerer casts Scorching Ray on a guard who has come to his friend's rescue, #4791 casts Obscuring Mist to further add to the frantic chaos, and the Hexblade picks up a weapon from a fallen guard.  The players can see five feet in front of them, which is enough for Abuther the Barbarian to Bull Rush another guard and knock him into the water.  Decent Listen checks allow the players to hear a scream of "But I'm Princess Nadima!" over the rappa slave cackle.  Obviously, the princess is in danger, and the group is further motivated to find a way to remove the chains that bind them.

Enter a Charm Person spell by the Hexblade.  Her smooth, sweet talk soon convinces the guard to hand over the key and remove the chains (this particular interlude includes the DM's hilarious imitation of the acquiescing rappa guard...clackclackclack Yes, we're pals clackclackclack).  Meanwhile, the cleric has moved through the mist, and can now see the Princess struggling with her abductor-prisoner.  #4791 casts Confusion and the prisoner stops attempting to manhandle the woman.  All of a sudden, there are shouts of RUN! RUN! RUN! and the party now evacuates the barge, which has run up ashore.  All of the party now emerges from the mist and sees prisoners running willy-nilly.  The princess, who obviously isn't paying much attention to her surroundings, still struggles and screams frantically.  The adventurers rush to her.

Hexblade: Hey, we're here to help!  Are you alright?  (This is directed towards Princess Nadima, to no discernible calming effect).

Sorcerer: *slaps princess*

That works.  She stops fighting and shrieking against her Confused, yet bemused rappa guard.  And then she says...

"You may incline to me."

In Zenicce, the custom of "inclining" is ages-old, and usually reserved for snobby nobles to keep their inferiors in their place.  It is truly characteristic of Nadima, being a noblewoman, to haughtily tell others beneath her that they may incline to her...she means they may bow to her.  It's no surprise to the party that she does this, but considering they just saved her life...

The party now see guards coming to assist Nadima, and in a bit of quick-thinking, Hexblade Girl casts another Charm Person on the princess...and she and Nadima are now fast friends.  And Nadima prevents her guards from inflicting punishment on the party...in fact, they are declared heroes!  Nadima instructs her personal guards to purchase the heroic slaves (our party, mind) and "take care of them".  This seems like good news!

However, the group's newly thieved (or acquired?) weapons are stripped from them as they are escorted into a room that is locked the moment they enter.  The person who seems to be in charge refers to himself as Najini, and he brings clothes for the group to change into instead of their tattered quarry uniforms.  And, then...a bit of a shocker as another grimy-looking man appears with a brand of an ornate letter 'E'.  It would seem that "purchase these slaves and take care of them" is Nadima-speak for "buy them and mark them with the brand of Estercari".  The party is squirming and on the verge of resisting the brand when the grimy-looking man whispers to them, "I am Glowag.  Do not resist this.  The day will come."  In this moment of duress, the party forgets to do a Sense Motive check.  It's slightly unclear if he's friend or foe...but he seems encouraging.  So, the party glug the high-alcohol wine, grit their teeth, and suffer the branding process.  The cleric inquires about wound dressing and antiseptic.  The notes here have no record of the answer, and #4791 not only bristles at the whole lack-of-hygiene thing, but at the apparent show of domination/branding/ownership thing.  She has a hard time biting her tongue...which is perhaps what landed her in this slave mess in the first place.

Soon after, the locked door opens and the group is informed that the princess wishes to see them. Some of the party members muse on this.  It seems a big deal...perhaps she will apologize to them and order the brand somehow removed?

Ahhhh, no.  The DM launches into at least five minutes' worth of PHYSICAL description of Princess Nadima, who is seated upon a plush velvet cushion with muscle-y bodyguards all around her.  The party members stare for several minutes at the hugest of these protectors...Huge Giganto seems to be an appropriate moniker.

The princess asks, "Why did you rescue me?  Is it because I'm the most beautiful woman in the world?"  And the collective jaw of the whole party drops at this woman's a.) audacity b.) lack of gratitude and c.) self-conceit.

Before any member of the party can formulate a response that wouldn't get them killed, there is commotion in the princess's sitting room.  Armed slaves burst in and begin to attack the multitude of guards.  The group quietly decides to step to the side and let the two groups duke it out on their own.  Huge Giganto dies.  Soon, the victorious slaves shout to our spectating party, "Come! Join the revolt!"  There's about a split-second of hesitation before Hell yes, we'll join the revolt! Our brave players waste no time in grabbing Princess Nadima and some longswords.

And that, friends, is the very exciting end of what was expected to be just a low-key gaming session.

The Greyhawk Expedition - Death and Dying

Many things happened to and for our adventurers during this gaming session, and indeed, the danger level is rising in the deeps of the dungeons of Castle Greyhawk.  To remind the one reader out there:

Brent: G'leric, a gnome wizard, and G'at the bat

Spencer: Urick, a human paladin, and his mount, Zeeb 

Emily: Ember the Executioner, a human fighter

Elliot: Lance Dallas, an elf druid, and his familiar, Lionel 

Dan: Fayt Vaanil, a elf rogue

Particular thanks to certain OOG folks for particularly clever parts of this game.  You know who you are.

Our valiant party awoke to a new day…in a dreary, lightless, dungeon room containing an upward-ascending elevator.  It was here the party decided to camp for the night after a rather tiring day of fighting, dying, and setting hill giants on fire.

After general inquiries to the paladin about his health after yesterday’s crushing near-death experience (How’s your back, Mr. Squishy?), discussion ensues about today’s course of action.  Reminders abound that two hill giants remain in the main temple room, and thus, G’at is sent out on reconnaissance. He reports back with information that yes, the two giants remain, along with random straw beds, a crevasse that spans the length of the entire room, and a headless statue that spans the width of said crevasse.  There is little enthusiasm for taking the giants on, especially when Lance’s Knowledge: Nature check reminds our players that hill giants are exceptionally skilled at stone-throwing.

Another day, perhaps. 

Eventually, the group decides to take the elevator upstairs to investigate a way out of the castle.  The beefy paladin is unable to find the Strength to turn the hand-crank (still weak from yesterday, maybe), yet the lady fighter jumps on and cranks away with no problem. As it turns out, the elevator lands near the secret door our party came through just after defeating the swordwraiths the day previous. 

No super-duper discoveries here, so the fighter and the rogue head back down to join the rest of the party.  In a moment of slight awkwardness, Fayt then reveals the location of another, secret elevator just beyond the room where the entire party had spent the night in.  The plan now?  Exploration down the new elevator (which DESCENDS…into madness? Probably.). 

Things gets hairy within minutes of the group’s descent to the first ‘vator landing.  There are more crates, boxes, bags in the corner of the small room, and most of the party goes to investigate them.  Fayt meanders about the room, and is promptly attacked by a FLESH GOLEM!  Frankenstein!  It’s ALIIIIIIIIIIVE!

The golem is getting down and dirty as its main goal to pin the rogue down with its huge claw hand whilst stabbing him repeatedly with its sword.  A Grapple check victory for the golem makes this whole scenario very real and scary for Fayt; fortunately, his party hears the ruckus and comes to his aid:

1.     Lance misfires two arrows.

2.     G’leric lands two Scorching Rays.

3.     Fayt takes massive claw-at-throat and swordblade damage.  He hurts. To the point of dead.

4.     Urick whiffs his longsword.

5.     Ember spectacularly separates the golem’s head from its body.

6.     The paladin shouts out “Medic!” upon seeing Fayt’s still form…and then realizes “Wait! I’m the Medic!”  Two healing spells and a Laying on of Hands brings the rogue back to life. 

The fighter checks the golem’s body for a brand or sign of creatorship, and the rogue weakly tells her, “he’s not Abercrombie & Fitch”.  Also, golem earwax is taken for later candle-making…although someone’s gonna have to take ranks in Craft: Earwax Candles.

It’s quiet time now for a nicely-recovering Fayt, and Lionel is assigned to keep watch over the rogue while the rest of the party skips out and runs really fast through the hill giant room to the eastern set of doors, which open into a corridor that contains two more sets of doors that oppose each other.  Cautious as always, the room Searches turn up the following:

1.     0 bad guys

2.     4 rooms, 4 sets of bunk beds, 4 treasure chests

3.     2 pouches containing 200 gp each (prompting the young, worldly paladin to exclaim, “Make it rain!” while doing the appropriate youthful hand gesture)

4.     1 plain-looking stained bag, which the gnome identifies as a Type I Bag of Holding.

5.     2 flasks inside leather pouches.  Both paladin and wizard recognize it as Holy Water.

6.     1 Tanglefoot bag (to Ember)

7.     2 Thunderstones (to Urick and G’leric)

Fayt, feeling much, much better, has departed from Lionel’s watch and comes across the other adventurers in the midst of their plunderings...but just minutes before that, he:

1.     Moves incredibly Silently passing through the hill giant room.

2.     Discovers huge nets cover the crevasse.

3.     Attempts to cross the crevasse by creeping across the headless statue.

4.     The rogue hears a voice in his head say, “Deal my vengeance, reap my rewards”…whilst feeling a burning curiosity to replace the statue’s head.

5.     The hill giants are oblivious to the rogue elf roaming about their domain.  Stupid hill giants.

Fayt rejoins the party, just as they make their way down the hall to the set of double doors.  Below the oddly smiling face of Zagig the Mage are nine metal figurines lined up, numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 from left to right.  Below the figures is a strange poem:

A race between the noble dames
is more than just mere games.
They start, of course, from one to nine
But where did they stand at the finishing line?

If this door you wish to pass,
Last is First and First is Last
Secondus and Septimus stumble back one pace
Octus cut in twixt, Quartus speeds up two in the race.
Quintus, obstinate, stands her ground
Tertius reverses, her name well set,
Leaving just one spot for Madame Sextet.

It doesn’t take the party’s smarter, more clever members long to figure out the correct order of the figurines, and the door into the room swings open easily.  Two suits or armor stand on both sides of a fireplace, and a wooden table is strewn with papers in the middle of the room.  Everyone, examining various elements of the room, manage to find themselves facing away from the door they all came through…and it’s poor G’leric that first feels the bite of a blade in his back on a Sneak Attack.  The gnome will spend the next three rounds paralyzed due to some kind of poison on the blade.

As the other players turn and hear the wizard’s gurgled cry for help, a slight, horned figure comes into view.  The creature, a tiefling, has become visible and now appears to be ready for battle.  Ember moves in and deals 10 points of damage, and at that moment the two suits of armor become animated and begin attacking the party as well.  Fayt sprints over to administer a Potion of Lesser Restoration to G’leric, and the gnome is no longer paralyzed.

So, it turns out “Derek” the Tiefling’s game is attacking quick before scurrying around to use the suits of armor in a flanking maneuver.  That, however, only lasts so long, and in a matter of minutes, the evildoer is fleeing for his life out the door.  Fayt gets in one last parting shot just as the tiefling is at the exit, and it’s enough to kill Derek.  Fayt licks the blade once he removes it from the tiefling’s body…ewww.  Must be a rogue thing.

The party continues to kill the suits of armor, and Fayt loots the tiefling’s body, handing over potential magical items to the wizard.  The party exits through the other door in the room…where a few steps down the way is a dead albino rat with a weird marking around its eye.  Ember chucks a pebble at it, to no avail.  Fayt picks it up and stuffs it his backpack…against the advice of the party, it should be said here.  Talk of dead rats and such reminds the paladin that he’s supposed to be collecting ears for the dwarves, and a tiefling’s ear surely has to count for something.

OOG, Emily is drinking a “Dead Guy” beer by Rogue.  Hahaha.

The corridor continues on, before coming to a stop at a wooden door.  It is unlocked, and upon entering, G’leric (in the lead, which seems unusual, but whatever) sees a half-naked woman atop a bed, in tattered clothing, and she cries out for help from the party.  G’leric wonders briefly about her race, as he really is partial to bedding gnomes.  There’s not time for contemplation though as the huge orc at the table in the room stands and shouts, “Intruders!” Then, he draws out his sword and it, like, starts on fire.  G’leric is rough and ready and rushes further in the room…only to disappear from the other players’ view.  It’s a Pit Trap!  Not only does the gnome take fall damage, but also spike damage (at the bottom of the pit as well).  Fayt, ever the quick-thinker, Disables the Device and, chucks some jerky down to G’leric in the pit.

Ember fails a Will save and spends a turn extremely confused by the woman, who claims that she’s the victim in this whole scenario.  She’s just lucky the woman doesn’t try to make out with her.
And oh yeah, G’leric has not been idle.  He casts Summon Monster, and before long, a giant praying mantis materializes out of nowhere.  Party time.  Before long, though:

1.     Urick is rendered unconscious by the flaming-sword-wielding orc blackguard, who’s obviously fighting to the death.

2.     The woman suddenly sprouts FREAKING WINGS out of her back and flees the room.  Had the paladin been more aware, he could have probably told his friends she was a succubus.

3.     The orc dies.

4.     Ember searches the Orc and finds two Serious Wounds potions and an odd-stick looking thingy (which G’leric identifies a Wand of Cure Light Wounds).

5.     The praying mantis airlifts G’leric out of the pit.

6.     Fayt takes the +1 flaming longsword.  It appears to have Corrupt Weapon cast on it, and that means neither Ember nor Urick can handle the weapon in its current state.

7.     Ember searches the table and finds a very interesting report from one Atolamyr to one “The General”…including information about “more troops”.  There is particular sense of unease as the report mentions recent plundering raids being thwarted by “random adventurers”

8.     The party realizes the report is referring to them.

9.     Fayt suggests tampering with the report to create false information.

10. G’leric suggests just putting “I SEE YOU” on the letter.

11. Neither suggestion is taken.  Ember pockets the letter and the party barricades the door.

It’s nighty-night time for the party as they feel mighty wiped out.  After all, two of the group died today…and that’s enough to exhaust anyone.

While everyone’s resting, Fayt looks through the papers he swiped from the tiefling’s desk.  As it turns out, the tiefling was the resident Quartermaster and the papers contain lists of supplies, goods, and other such mundane details.  Nothing juicy at all…

Upon awakening, the group decides to forge on and push through the room’s other entrance on the north wall.  This large space is filled with shelves and is obviously a main storage space.  Able Carter Coaching Company-marked barrels, crates, boxes fill just about every available space.  There’s a chest there as well, and Fayt (naturally) wants to open it and keep every good thing that might be inside…and the good-aligned fighter and paladin have issues issues with that (after all, they have been hired to return these goods).  G’leric sides with the rogue on this issue, and a fierce battle of Rock Paper Scissors then ensues to determine the winner.

G’leric wins, and mercenary behavior wins the day.  The small chest is plundered and a bottle of brandy is added to the rogue’s inventory.

Beyond another door on the far wall of the storage space is a corridor that contains two cell-like rooms.  One is empty and one holds a young man, wearing a heavy cloak.  He sits, staring off vapidly into space while a skeleton holds a bucket near his head.  The young man does not respond when spoken to, nor does the skeleton move to attack when the rogue picks the cell lock and enters...and when the druid readies his bow, still the skeleton does nothing.  The wizard discerns that it is the cloak that somehow has a hold over the man (a robe of powerlessness, actually).  The robe delivers a -10 to Strength and Intelligence, which explains the young man’s comatose-like state. A Heal check by the paladin is useless, as the magic of the robe is more powerful than any of the party members.  Thus, the young man will need to be taken somewhere for further healing.  Ember attempts to identify the man, to no avail, and she finally resorts to searching through his things…finding holy symbols, scale mail, a light mace, and a signet ring, which Lance the druid determines in the symbol of the Temple of Boccob in Greyhawk.

There are no further exits and now seems like a good time as any to return to Greyhawk, to a.) return goods and b.) return the catatonic cleric to his temple.  Much discussion ensues about how to cart everything upstairs, and eventually, G’leric’s Bag of Holding comes into play, as do the chariots from the War Wagon room.  The young cleric is taken to his appropriate temple, and the priests there are extremely glad to see him again.  But hey, some other quick highlights:

1.     Lance the druid straps the emaciated cleric onto his back…and away he goes!

2.     Urick the Lawful Good feels the dwarven doorwardens should be given something…everyone else disagrees, and finally, the dwarves are immensely satisfied with the necklace of orc ears plus the one tiefling ear.

3.     Dwarves give the party permission to come and go as they please.

4.     Urick is reunited with Zeeb.

5.     Thalivar at the Able Carter Coaching Company is simply thrilled at the return of all the goods and awards the party 1,120 gold pieces, each. Jackpot.

6.     The clerics at the Boccobite temple say the young man had been missing for three weeks and the main cleric, “Roger” informs the party they will be in contact soon.

Back then at the Drunken Dog Inn, the party rests and plans on meeting for mimosas and brunch the next morning.   And before that happens, “wish lists” are made by the players, now that they have coin in their purse and dreams in their heads.  The DM promises to research these wish lists and report back on the likelihood of them, soon.  The rogue, in particular, is looking to unload some expensive loot and regain some his basic wealth back.

As they enjoy their Eggs Benedict the next day, a messenger from the Boccobite temple enters and asks that the party come to the temple as soon as they are finished…the young man they rescued yesterday is feeling better and would like to speak with them.

1.     The young man, introducing himself as Altamaic, expresses his immense appreciation as being rescued.  He asks that the party recount their adventures for him, which Ember then does.

2.     Altamaic then informs the party of a secret door that leads to a secret elevator (which the party already knows about).  He goes on to tell of being abducted outside the gates of Greyhawk and questioned on levels far below the surface of the Castle Greyhawk’s ruins by a man referred to as “The General”.

3.     He lasts remembers a soft robe and a bony-faced man feeding him a few times a day.

4.     He reiterates his appreciation and gifts the entire party with a metal token…that players can trade in at any time for a 5^th level or lower spell to be cast upon them (a permanent spell).  Huzzah, Boccob!

The good feeling continues outside the temple as the party departs…suddenly all players feel very strong and capable…as if they’ve just leveled up!

Sidebar - The Last Time The Druid Visited Greyhawk

(The young man playing the character of the druid turned 11 years old on Sunday last, and for one of his birthday presents, the DM played out an encounter written just for him.  However, the DM will not take credit for the scenario below...all kudos go to Simon!)


Thirty-some years ago...

Strolling casually down The Processional one fine morning in the fair city of Greyhawk, Lance Dallas, a young elven druid, enjoys the mid-morning sunshine and gentle breeze coming off the river.  He enjoys much less, however, the grimy neglect of the city itself; not to mention the ever-present murmur of people all around him.  He's looking for nothing in particular when he Spots a young, well-dressed woman looking about her frantically, as if she appears to be searching for something...

or someone.

Shortly after he sees her, she spots him and practically sprints over, an enormous smile of relief on her face.  "Thank gods I've found you," she cries desperately.  "You've got to come with me, I really need your help," she pleads.  And while Lance is obviously uncomfortable with the young woman pulling on his arm, he can hardly resist her pleas for help.  With a weak, "Uh...okay?", he allows himself to be herded to a large building, where a banner that reads "Greyhawk Canine Society - Competition TODAY!" hangs above the entrance.

However, that's not the only thing to catch Lance's attention.  The entrance is blocked by a multitude of shaggily-dressed protesters who are carrying placards that say "Four Legs Good" and "Canine Power" and "Down with Dog Exploiters".  As they get closer, Lance's decent Spot check allows him to see that a significant number of the protesters are half-gnolls...grotesque, hyena-looking humanoids.  They shout taunts as the young woman rushes Lance inside, where complete chaos greets the druid.  People are rushing to and fro, and the sound of barking dogs and frazzled owners overwhelm Lance immediately.

The druid quickly realizes he has been plucked off the street to act as the judge for this disorganized pell-mell circus of a competition.  And why?  Did his fine Elven features give him away?  His stained natural hide armor? His crude, natural weapons?  His forest-green garb?  Any and all of those, probably, he mused.  That day would come (not soon enough, in Lance's honest opinion) when he'd get his Large animal companion (he wanted a lion so desperately), and there'd be NO doubt in people's mind that he was indeed a druid.

At any rate, the young woman steers Lance to an empty chair at a table, where a mug of ale and a sandwich await.  Soon after, a pompous-looking slick approaches to shake his hand vigorously.

"Donnywood.  Frank Donnywood.  Show coordinator!  So so so glad to have you here.  We were in a bit of a spot, what with our last judge...but, ah well, never mind that..." the man says.  Lance discerns a little suspicion and unease in the man's voice, but decides against saying anything, much less asking about that last judge.

"Your job is quite simple.  Our six contestants will enter the arena here with their canine, you will examine it, and assign it a score.  The highest score wins, of course."  Here, Frank Donnywood's grin gets a little too big and false-looking.  "This is all a very good-natured, civilized event, you see, and therefore, it's important we demonstrate goodwill and compassionate towards our contestants.  So, no killing, maiming, jinxing, etc. of the participants!"  And with that, he rushes off, clapping his hands together and shouting, "Ten minutes to showtime, people!"

Lance remains at the table, a little agape and taken aback at this sudden turn of the morning's events.  Three people then accost him at his judge's seat in very rapid succession:

1. A pigtailed, wide-eyed little girl named Melissa shyly tells Lance that her mother is very ill and that she hopes to win the competition with her puppy "Colin" because then, she can buy medicine and heal her mom.  Lance smiles uneasily upon the child, who really is just too saccharin to be true, especially after she places a brownie on the table next to his mug of ale, and simpers at Lance before edging away.

2. A well-dressed, extremely self-satisfied man approach the table and introduces himself as Lord Andrew Utgart.  He informs Lance that judging this contest should be very very easy since his dog, Pippin Marmalade Hogswaggle the Ninth won last year, and therefore, is the prime standout to take the crown home again this year.  A few comments about upstanding bloodlines later, he drops a small leather pouch onto the table, and Lance does a well enough Listen check to know he's hearing the sound of coin hit the table.

3.  Shortly after, a pleasant-looking, but dumpily dressed older woman rushes up, glaring in the direction of Lord Andrew.  She hisses that Lord Andrew is a scoundrel, a snob, and an all-around "very terrible" man.  Then, she brightens up and introduces herself as Ducky D'Wynter.  And although she says she's distant nobility, even Lance takes in her shabby appearance with a skeptical eye.  At any rate, she's not so much about winning as she's about keeping Lord Andrew from doing so.  She also drops a little jingly next to Lord Andrew's leather pouch.

Lance may not be the tallest fir in the forest, but even he knows exactly what's going on here.  Bribery!

When the contestants enter, Lance asks them to "Walk", "Shake" and "Speak"...meanwhile rolling a d20 + 8 (Knowledge: Nature) for their "score".  And honest to gods, the following judging highlights presented below are taken word for word from the 16-year-old paladin scribe's notes.

1. Wuffles, Lord Vertunarare...?
2. Weirdo teenager McBaggins with stupid kobold dog
3. Weirdo homeless wizard dude with weirdo zombie dog...Dr. Dreadlocks
4. Lord Andrew McDufus with Pip Pip (who appears to be suffering from a broken leg that is being covered up by a painkiller)
5. Ducky the Wucky with her cute puppy, Pokey Pee, suxs at commands, pees on Lance and sniffs his crotch.
6. Melissa (scribe added words 'drug dealer' in parenthesis here) and "Colin", who has red eyes, flames out of mouth (WTF like dragon!), is actually Hellhound (Lance's Knowledge: Arcana), SCARY

It's the roll of the dice and addition of the scores that finally render The Weirdo Zombie Dog the winner.  Things seem like they're about to get crazy, what with an overemotional, near-suicidal Lord Andrew and vindictive Hellhound on the loose...when the front doors of the hall burst open and the half-gnoll protesters enter the arena, hoisting their placards high into the sky and demanding the contest be shut down IMMEDIATELY.

Lance, however, could not give two flips about this new, potentially dangerous development.  He's Searching out the crowd for the little pig-tailed girl, Melissa. He seems bent on learning more about her.  Of course, in the throng of teeming people, he doesn't roll high enough to see her, although he spots the Hellhound cornering a protester off to one side.  He runs outside, perhaps with the idea that he'll see her leaving the premises, but that proves fruitless as well.  He's about to head down the street and return to his lodgings when he bumps into Tilly, who sports a black eye and cut across one cheek.  Lance is rather surprised to see her smiling madly, as if she's just had the time of her life.  She tells Lance he did a marvelous job and that the event itself went relatively well, all things considered.  She gives him a quick peck on the cheek (the scribe includes the sidenote of "LOL") and shoves a nice, hefty leather pouch into his hand...payment, she says, for his services today.

Upon inspecting his goods, Lance finds the following:

1. In the pouch from Lord Andrew is 80 copper coins that had been painted gold

2.  Ducky D'Wynter's pouch contains 3 gold pieces, 60 silver pieces, and one pretty blue-green gem that appears to be a basic piece of seaglass.

3. 25 gold pieces are the contents of the third pouch, the one from Tilly.

Lance inspects the brownie and detects some malevolence about it...but whether it's a poison of some sort or just a burnt bottom, he is unable to tell.  The scribe, however, takes some creative liberties with the baked good and proclaims it to be a "pot brownie mixed with ashes of the little girl's ancestors".

And that is perhaps why Lance has not set foot back in the Free City of Greyhawk in many, many years.

The Greyhawk Expedition - The Dungeon Awaits

The DM/scribe spent last week out West visiting relatives, and so yesterday and today was all slapdash, hurly-burly preparation for this afternoon's session.  Our new additions were willing to play again...and oh, was the honeymoon about to be over.
 
Lest you forget...

Brent: G'leric, a gnome wizard, and G'at the bat
Spencer: Urick, a human paladin, and his mount, Zeeb 
Emily: Ember the Executioner, a human fighter
Elliot: Lance Dallas, an elf druid, and his familiar, Lionel 

Dan: Fayt Vaanil, a elf rogue

At the session last, the party had reconvened in the trees to decide upon the next course of action after the dwarven guardhouse escape, and there was much talk of double-crossing the Wartower Wardens so as to avoid the one-quarter fee.  Fayt then does a little Diplomatic handiwork in which Stillguar finally agrees to charge the PCs nothing if they can clear the dungeon levels of any orcs.  Oh...those famous contract agreements...usually the beginning of the end...or something like that.

1. Urick, the paladin, chooses to leave his trusty mount behind for the dungeon crawl, and as everybody knows A Paladin without his mount is like a day without sunshine.  Right?  Hopefully, it's not a sign of bad things to come.

2. The dwarves ask the players to complete inventory cards for their records, and it occurs to some of the players now that these overbearing, do-nothing dwarves could take their rules and regulations and shove them where the the torch don't shine.

3. Grebold leads the crew around the back, where the Tower of War's ruins still present an impressive view in the gray morning. A 10-foot pit has been dug in front of the massive wooden doors (which are carved with designs of chariots, war hounds, etc).  The chasm is unjumpable, and Grebold offers the use of two two-foot-wide wooden planks that function as a bridge of sorts.

4. Upon pulling the planks back across the pit for safekeeping, Ember rolls a poor Strength check and drops one of the planks into the 30-foor deep pit below.  Fortunately, the sound is only wood on dirt, and not wood on water or wood on metal spikes or worse, wood on dangerous creature's teeth.  The plank is left to be dealt with later.

There is much discussion and many things to think about, because now the party has been charged with two tasks: to return stolen goods to the Able Carter Coaching Company and kill orcs.  Sounds like good times ahead.

But first, the huge wooden doors that prevent entry into the ruins.  G'leric notices right off that these doors are not, in fact, Pella doors.  Most of the characters try Strength checks and fail to open the doors, even when they team up together.  G'leric, the tiny fun-sized gnome, gets in on the fun, and strains an arm muscle in the process of trying.  Eventually, the group decides to use the primal strength of Lionel and have him pull the door open with G'leric's Amazingly Heavy Rope.  It works, but Lionel has to roll successful Strength and Balance checks to do so.  No problem for the massive feline.

Upon pulling the creaking doors open and entering the huge chamber, the group sees a two-level room, and some 60 feet away, is a wagon that has begun to roll towards them.  Atop it, a swordwraith rides along with two warhorse skeletons.  Another two swordwraiths on similar mounts begin to ride at them from the lower level.  And the paladin is as happy as a clam in June because - UNDEAD CREATURES!  A paladin lives for turning undead creatures.  However, this young paladin's greenness is evident as he fails his first two turn checks...perhaps he wasted all his energy on shouting cockily, "I got this!" when he figured out there was undead about.

It's apparent that the wagon's driver is intent on trampling the players, and players are intent on getting the hell out of the way and getting into battle positions. And, let the good times roll, shall we?

1. G'leric wastes no time in casting Summon Monster...and the party is totally unfazed as a giant freaking centipede suddenly poofs into the room.

2. In moves that would evoke envy in the Cowardly Lion, Lionel claws and bites at one warhorse skeleton...leaving it in a very wobbly condition.  Make no bones about it.

3. Urick finally gets Turning right, and one rider-horse combo is completely vaporized.

4. The wagon rolls to a stop and the driver attempts to back the wagon up in order to trample...this time, Lance the Druid is caught under the wheels and takes a fair bit of trample damage.

5. The huge centipede misses his Bite attack.

6. Lionel does some more massive bite/claw damage to a horse, and the shifty little gnome wizard edges in with his quarterstaff for a hit at the knees.  Shortly after, the warhorse perishes and G'leric lifts his arms up exultantly in what is to become his signature "kill" move...never mind that he didn't actually deal the kill blow.

7. Ember does what she does best and kills a couple of wraiths who are stupid enough to stand around.  Then, she looks around helplessly, looking for more victims so as not to waste her Great Cleave feat.

8. Urick puts the final wraith out of its misery, but not before Lionel fumbles a Bite check and injures his master, Lance.

A body Search turns up a number of longswords, which Urick stacks fastidiously up against the wall near the door.  Fayt appraises the wagon and the eight chariots on the upper level, and it turns out that these here whips would sell for 7,500 and 5,000 gps...respectively.  The rogue, however, is bothered by some little gem of information he feels he ought to remember when it comes to these chariots, but that is just not coming to him right now.  The druid asks for healing and then complains about how few hit points are restored to him by the paladin...talking about biting the hand that heals you, sheesh.

There are two ways to go from this room: out of a door on the west wall, and down the stairs near the upper level of the hall.  The party opts to investigate the door first, which leads outside to the stables.  Several living horses are tied up there, and Lance and Ember Search a pile of wood off to one side.   Blotches of orange and black peek out of the jagged planks and pieces, and it's obvious to the druid (by means of his Track feat) that these coaches met a terrible fate at the hands of pillaging orcs.

Back in the main hall, G'leric realizes the chariots and wagon have a special magic on them...and if they are removed from the ruins, swordwraiths will manifest nightly to hunt down the thieves.  Hm.  Something to think about, for sure...but not now...later.  Fayt suggests leaving the chariots with the dwarves to "get them back", as it were, until the rogue FINALLY remember that little tidbit of information from earlier - the dwarves know about the hunting swordwraiths too.  Dammit.

Everyone would have to be blind not to see the openly muddy bootprints that lead down the stairs.  Orc tracks, of course.  One flight down the footprints abruptly disappear into a wall instead of continuing down the stairs.  Poor Search checks all around turn up nothing, and only when a couple of the party members attempt the check again is a Secret Door revealed....

MORE STAIRS!  Like twelve flights!  Everyone Moves Silently, of course.  The stairs end abruptly onto a slightly-ajar stone door.  When the rogue pushes it open further and peeks around it, he sees a 10' by 10' chamber with nothing but a moldy pile of hay in one corner...and an ungodly smell of filthy, rotting flesh.  Fayt pokes at the haypile and uncovers bones.  Heal checks allows Ember to determine that they are in fact "bones".  A closer look reveals that they are human, elf, and dwarf bones...that they are at least 20 years old...and many of them have been scored by what looks like teeth marks.

Exiting the room leads to a hallway, and players can see four more doors down the length of it. The south end is cluttered with boxes, crates, and barrels of all sizes.  While several of the players mean to check out the contents of the boxes et al, Ember decides to veer off to examine an exit on the left..and good for her as she peeks into a kitchen and sees orcs moving back and forth, preparing a meal for others.  The fighter continues to Move Silently and the kitchen orcs neither see nor hear her.  Meanwhile, Fayt and Urick investigate the other rooms not blocked by boxes, turning up nothing but more moldy hay and bones.  G'leric and Lance are looking at the contents of the various crates, finding things like bags of flour, sugar, etc.  G'leric especially notices the boxes are devoid of dust, meaning they've only just been placed here recently.  Interesting.  Lance wonders if any of the items here are on the Able Carter Coaching Company's "Goods Missing" list...and the DM reminds the party they did not actually return to the ACCC and obtain the supply list from Thalivar.

Craaaap.

Anyway.


Fayt, returning from his room Search, sees an open barrel of ale and plants his face right in it...just in time for Ember's return from her little trip.  She informs the party of what she's seen in the kitchen, and the party acts accordingly.

The paladin pulls out his sword and the wizard pulls out his quarterstaff, resigned to doing his duty, and tells the party "he will take care of it."  Listen checks at the kitchen door reveals sounds of feasting and general merriment, and OOG, Spencer's pot of macaroni and cheese water boils over.  G'leric's exceptional Listen check puts the orc count between three and seven.  The kitchen at present is deserted and a fierce, but quiet, debate rages about how to fight the orcs.  The party enters, except for Lance, who decides to remain outside and morph into an animal - a lion.  Fayt sidles across the room for a slice of roast pork and another dip of ale (there is a hallway that leads to another room - the feasting sounds are definitely from here), and when Urick attempts the exact same thing, a loud roar of "INTRUDERS!" erupts from the adjacent dining area.  It would appear the bad guy's Spot checks outdid the paladin's Hide check.  And here we go...

1. G'leric finishes casting Summon Monster again, and a fiendish dire wolf appears suddenly in the hallway that leads to the feasthall.  Sweet.

2. A huge, hulking, smelly half-ogre captain and four orcs are hostile and have no intention of letting our party go peacefully amid the haste and noise.

3. Urick the Paladin shouts "For Heironeous!" as he enters the fray, and there is some confusion as to whether he meant: "Heinous" or "Uranus" or the fighter's suggestion, "Hermione!"

4. The dire wolf bites at one orc and kills it.

5. The half-ogre captain is practically foaming at the mouth as he hacks away at the fighter (and paladin), and it is realized that Ember and Urick are up against a raging barbarian.

6. "Bring it, ugly" is cried by the paladin in an attempt to divert the blows from the fighter.  If anything, it ticks off the half-ogre more and he slices viciously at the fighter, rendering her unconscious.  On the bright side, though, with the fighter on the floor, the barbarian gets no more concealment from her, which allow the rogue to open fire with his crossbow without penalty.  A noble sacrifice on the part of Ember.

7. Two massive lions (and little G'leric) enter the room to join the fight.  The wizard fires his crossbow and while the lion brothers attack.

8. Using his awesome Smite Evil, the paladin magnificently separates the half-ogre's head from his body and Lays Healing Hands on the fighter.  She is now conscious, but feeling pretty darned shaky.  Soon after, the paladin sets about the task of cutting off the orcs' right ears, as evidence for the dwarves upstairs.  Gross thing, though, he just stuffs them in his backpack, no gauze or Ziploc baggie or anything!

9. G'leric wanders over to the still-prone fighter with a cup of ale, saying, "You look like you could use a drink." Indeed.

10. Searching the bodies turns up some armor, weapons, and various potions (Lesser Restoration and Cure Mod Wounds).  Ember glugs a Cure potion, and begins to feel much better.

Fayt returns quickly to the last two rooms back in the hallway...the ones that had been blocked by stolen goods.  A Search of haypiles there turns up one old silver candelabra, worth 40 gp once it's cleaned up.  He pockets the goods and says nary a word to anyone.

Upon exiting the kitchen, there are two possible courses of action:

1. Begin to clear the wall of rubble to the players' right...which appears to be a caved-in passageway.  The PCs actually begin to do this, and spend two hours making little headway in the debris before stopping.

2. Follow the uncluttered hallway to the left, which turns a corner some 25 feet hence.

After #1 proves to be fruitless, the PCs move on to #2.  Fayt's Spidey Trap-Sense is tingling but an inadequate Search check turns up nothing.  Only when Fayt steps closer to the doors just around the corner and hears the ominous tell-tale 'click', does he realizes what's going on.  A slab of stone slides down to take the place of the exit and the wall on the far side (some 10 feet away) begins to slide towards them.  A Spellcraft check (a quick one, really) on the part of the wizard reveals that while the trap is mechanical, there is an element of magic that seals the doors in front of them once the trap is set off.

The rogue is under a slight amount of duress now as he must Disable the Device before he and his party are crushed between a heavy stone slab and heavy, magic-sealed, wooden doors.  Space is becoming very limited and claustrophobia is about to set in when Fayt manages to stop the device and open the doors in front of them.  Another corridor is in front of our group, and there is a small stream of stagnant water along the length of it.  At the western end, the corridor appears to abruptly come to a halt, and it is the rogue who finds a secret door there that leads into an elevator room.  The hand-cranked ascending elevator is in good working order, while the descending elevator shaft is choked with rubble and debris, making it useless.  Boxes, crates, and other packages litter this room, and upon opening them, the players find small goods: shields, daggers, light weapons, basic rations, etc.  Some of the boxes are branded with the letters 'ACCC' on their sides, and isn't that swell?


Moving back out of the elevator and into the water-filled corridor, the party moves east, towards another set of double wooden doors.  G'leric is the only one who rolls a decent Listen check, and he opts to sneak through the unlocked doors and peek his head around the corner to survey the scene.  A huge room, some 65-feet long, contains at least two orcs and one hill giant (that the gnome can see in his haste).  After a quick discussion about a plan of action, G'leric creeps back to the room and lobs a Fireball at the hill giant he can see.  The smell of singed giant hair and flesh soon fills the air, and while the giant is not dead by a long shot, he is incredibly ticked off.  He sends two orc henchman off in search of the party, which is exactly what our players wanted.  The party hustles back to the elevator room to await the orcs to burst in and meet their makers, as it were.  Except...

1. The paladin's Listen check tells him the orcs have taken the other route, instead of directly coming to them.  They are on the way back towards the kitchen area.  So, hastily, Urick exits the room in hot pursuit to lure the orcs back.  And, while the paladin is quick, orcs are quicker, and it is in the feasthall where Urick finally catches up.  He yells at them and takes off, and of course, without delay, the hunter becomes the hunted.

If you're reading this carefully, you'll understand why this is about to become a big problem for the paladin.

1. The Compacting Trap from earlier has reset...just in time to be re-set off by the paladin.
2. His Disable Device ranks are practically nonexistent.
3. He bangs furiously on the doors in the hopes his party will hear him.
4. Hermione is definitely on Urick's side - Fayt hears the noise and comes running.
5. At least a half-dozen failed Disable Device rolls on the part of the rogue enable him to hear the agonizing screams of Urick as he takes 34 points of squish damage.  He does finally get the door open and the paladin practically collapses into his arms.
6. A frenzied rush back to the elevator room allows all the players to move into position for attack, and they will all get one attack of opportunity since they'll be surprising the orcs.
7. The orcs meet their death at the hands of G'leric and his Scorching Rays.
8. In a scenario that makes one STH and say, "well, isn't that ironic?", suggestions of "lay hands on yourself" to the weakened paladin prove to be fruitless; Urick realizes he only gets to lay on hands ONCE a day.
9. Instead, he is given a Cure potion and feels marginally better.

The rogue volunteers to venture out and lure the other two orcs into the room, and when they finally arrive, our brave adventurers are simply on fire with their Attack rolls.  Ember and Fayt score Criticals while G'leric gets the kills with well-placed Magic Missiles.

The entire party moves back to the elevator room and several minutes pass while the group debates on the next course of action.  It's apparent the group could really do with some rest and hit point restoration, and that is exactly what happens next.  With someone stationed on watch, the group hunkers down in the elevator room for a bit of sleep.  Fayt the rogue elf takes first sleep, and when he's done with his four hours, Lance Dallas crashes out...and Fayt the Rogue decides to investigate a secret door the party found earlier in the searches, but were unable to open.

And that is how the sun goes down on the second full day of the Greyhawk adventures.  Two jobs, two hill giants, and one secret is what awaits our valiant party tomorrow!