Sessions 33-34 Recap & Experience Points Awards

As the last breath faded from the aged and steam-burned husk of the treefolk ranger who’d guided them here, the Wildcats surveyed the balance of the wooded butte.  They found first another strange depression in the stonework beside the tower base—a reddish-colored one to compliment the blue they’d earlier come upon, then another of faded yellow.  The panels continued to confound the company until the gnome Schlemeel swam into the broken tower section, and found an enlightening verse painted conspicuously on a wall:

Blue for the Quilderran high in their trees,
Red for the men whom Jith Wan leads
Green for the dwarves under Mount Decayne
Yellow for the smalls on the marshy plain  

A kublamic debut to the rap game it was not.  Nonetheless, its clues were easily subsumed.  The company’s only elf, the mage Greyndalf, stood at the blue panel while the human ranger Unagi moved to the red and the group’s closest approximate to a marsh hobbit—the gnome Schlemeel—dispatched to the yellow.  

That this was the correct answer became apparent soon enough, as a rumble and a crack emanated from deep within the mountain and drew the smallest parcel of sod within—only to push the four stone corners of some strange, ancient building above.  A fourth panel shone prominently upon one sheer face—this one in green, and without hesitation the stout dwarven fingers of the warrior Jowdain pressed upon it to reveal a solitary sunken archway.  The Wildcats descended into the dark.

The stone path led some eighty paces into the earth, terminating in a small round room with iron walls and an old captain’s wheel affixed.  Without hesitation the wheel was turned, and with a mild metal groan the small room pulled down and away from the entry corridor.  Turning the wheel further, the room swiveled further down, sweeping in a wide arc around what soon revealed as the top of an enormous subterranean screw.

Several minutes into the descent, the groaning and churning metal finally awakened the flock of oversized wombats that clung to divots and depressions in the dark.  They swarmed and attacked, but their ferocity was promptly tamed by the soothing words of the Cygnivalian cleric Gambol—and further down the company proceeded.

As the Wildcats approached the bottom of the mechanism, a ghastly voice rang out from above.  “Defilers!” was the word, in a shrill, anguished pitch.   The white apparition of an armored figure with a pocked, grisly, and rage-filled face flashed before the company—and was gone.  With that the company spun the captain’s wheel back starboard to reverse their descent—but the attempt broke the mechanism and failed.  There was no way out but down.

Several moments later, the rotating room finally came to rest at the bottom of its column, and the Wildcats spilled out into a broad chamber with three pathways leading out.  Runes of Decayne origin clearly marked the destination of one tunnel as “Dwarven Realms” and another as “Temple Complex.”  The third bore no such signage, but led past a duo of life-size warrior statues.

The Wildcats opted for the third path.  But some ways up they detected the approaching steps of Tranxi—vicious underdark creatures they’d last encountered deep in the Vault of Konykos.  Seeing much risk and little to gain from continuing on this path, the company turned back, and headed for the path marked “Temple Complex.”

At some distance a seemingly alien form of brick cut across the corridor, diverting the company into true labyrinth.  Around the first corner the Wildcats came face-to-face with strange, ogre-like stone creatures that fiercely attacked the company with their fearsome studded clubs.  Around a second, thick automatons sculpted from bone and arcane forces lurched violently at the company.  Around a third, distant alarm bells were answered by an impossibly loud howl of laughter.  It came . . from  . . behind above.

Adventure Notes:

• Wombats.  Individually, these mundane bats posed little threat (AC 12, ~ 10 HP and doing 4-9 damage on a successful strike) despite their large size (3’ wingspan).  But as the strength of the flock is the bat, the strength of the bat is the flock.  These bats came seemingly from nowhere and attacked as a coordinated unit, with several bats simultaneously engaging each party member.  Luckily Gambol had the right spell…this time.

• Darvaloths.  Old children’s tales told of men so cruel that their hearts beat literally of stone—and before long their skins and minds and the very blood of their veins and the sustenance of their table too comprised of rock.  This can only be the type of being you faced.  Their stone skins made them stout (AC 14, ~ 20 HP) but slow (Speed 20), and they fought with stone hammers and clubs.

Experience Points & Inspiration

The company defeated 30 Wombats, and five Darvaloths in the preceding sessions.  The company also solved the colored panel puzzle and reached the tunnels under the Eastern Mount.  And undoubtedly, of course, some of the company’s exploits have been lost to the ages.  Each character is awarded (a totally non-arbitrary) 2,500 XP because reasons.

The adventure gods are just glad to get a session recap out and are looking forward to seeing the campaign resume.  Inspiration?  I mean did you see all that XP?

Final Session 33-34 totals:

Jowdain acquitted himself well in battle, garnering 2,500 XP.

Gambol pleased his deity and is rewarded with 2,500 XP.

Greyndalf remained a cunning and resourceful (and mostly naked) adversary, earning 2,500 XP.

Schlemeel still don’t give a f*k, but he picked up 2,500 XP.

Onog played it cold as ice, and acquired 2,500 XP.

Unagi looked fresh as ever and gained 2,500 XP.