The Knights of the Spoon

Bryan, Oin and Tanara are in Kelvin. Their friends departed with a horse herder called Stefan several weeks ago and various pieces of news have filtered back to them through the ‘jungle telegraph’.

It seems that on their way to Stefan’s homestead Sukiskyn the boat they were travelling on was attacked by strange bandits – they all had shackle scars on their wrists and some had shackle tattoos. The local gossips whisper of a much feared slaving gang known as the Iron Ring. Rumour says that they operate out of the Black Eagle Barony but they’ve never been encountered this far into Karameikos.

Several of the homesteads in the area, including Sukiskyn, have been attacked and destroyed by goblin hordes. Very few homesteaders survived and no one is able to tell you if your friends survived the attack on Sukiskyn. You are desperate for news…

One morning you receive word from one of the town guard that your presence is requested by Captain Grygor. It seems he has some work for you…

We make our way back to Kendra’s house for a rest. There’s been a kerfuffle in the town – another letter has been daubed, this time on a wall in the cemetery. It’s the ‘I’ of Vesoriana.
Over dinner we discuss possible ways to destroy the Splatterman’s spell book. Mahan is sure it needs the application of holy water and some of the other interesting items we have found – tipped arrows etc. The next morning Nailen will visit Arlen. Our discussion is interrupted by footsteps at the door. We hear a scream from the hall and rush out. Halventromm is backing away from a rotting animated corpse – it is Halventromm’s brother.
Olsen attempts to splash holy water on it, while Rufus attempts to use the spirit speaker to communicate.
The holy water seems to have no effect and Rufus struggles to get any signal. Nailen stops faffing around, grabs a silver arrow and stabs the zombie with it. the arrow sinks into its chest and as Nailen withdraws it maggots and gunk drop out.. Bleurgh.
Nailen is hit by the zombie and faints again. As he drops the zombie slashes him across the stomach. Olsen and Mahan stop fannying about and kill it. The boys clean up the mess and head back into the dining room for dessert.
Rosy fingered dawn lights up the eastern skyline. Nailen heads to see Arlen, the others go to see the sheriff. As we leave the house we notice a house we saw yesterday is now a smouldering wreck. When we reach the main square there are dead bodies lying on the ground and the sheriff comes to talk to us. It seems the dead are rising…
Nailen nips off to see Arlen. Yet again he fails to memorise any spells. They discuss the plans to destroy the Splatterman’s spell book.
Olsen, Mahan and Rufus go to see the priests of Zalaton but don’t get much more info from them. They move on to the graveyard. It’s a right mess!
Sherrif Caellar comes to see us again at dusk and asks what can be done to protect the town. Nailen suggests taking the surviving villagers to the temple of Zalaton for protection. The night passes without incident…
Dawn breaks and Nailen pops back to the temple to learn Soul Sight and finally Helim is listening.
We leap frog up the road to the prison, singing ‘Pack Up Yer Troubles’. A montage plays as we make our way down to the cellar. We head down the corridor marked ‘Nevermore’. There’s a portcullis and a side door. Behind the side door is the winch mechanism, but it is warped beyond use. We also cannot lift the portcullis and feel a bit stuck.
We seek Vesoriana and Rufus talks to her. She cannot pinpoint the Splatterman and does not know much of the prison layout as this is ‘her first day’.
Mahan suggests that we molest the spellbook hoping it will draw the Splatterman to us.. We move to the initial cellar room and discuss how to proceed. Rufus wants to burn a single page. Rufus burns a page but nothing happens. Mahan pours on some holy water but nothing happens there either.
We consider the possibility of a secret passage from the torture chamber. Nailen again suffers at the hands of the iron maiden. We tip the iron maiden onto its front so that it cannot entrap him again, and we fail to find any secret doors…
We are stuck.

Mahan had killed the troll with the hammer.

We talk a load of guff and Nailen says we should get on with it.

Rufus is back to his old ways with first aid and inflicts further damage on Mahan.

Nailen spots a hidden door, behind which is a weapon rack, armour stands and a chest. The chest contains 4 healing potions, 10 magic crossbow bolts, a rope of climbing and a wand.

Despite the fine armour on offer there was no improvements for arms or legs, so we left it.

Feeling buffed, we continue…

Mahan raises a portcullis so that we can continue down this westerly corridor… It takes us to a north south corridor lined with cells. It’s a loop, and there’s a door on the west end of the south wall.

We prepare our bows and Rufus opens the door. A big room welcomes us. This looks like a torture chamber, filled with macabre implements…

There’s a skeleton, but it doesn’t react to Nailen’s sword. He then approaches the iron maiden. He cannot play with madness and ends up possessed. Eventually he recovers and discusses the hallucinations with the others.

They saw Nailen approaching the iron maiden and touching it, then losing all caution and opening it and rushing inside; the iron maiden closing behind him.  Following brief screams, the iron maiden then opened and his body fell out with ghostly chains were wrapping themselves around him.  Mahan and Rufus leapt to his aid (and Olsen).  First Rufus tried a spirit jar.  This appeared to remove some of the chains’ potency, while Mahan tried an obsidian arrow, that might be magical.  This had the double effect of weakening the chain further and weakening Nailen’s leg too. And finally Olsen remembered the Holy Water we’d been lugging around since Day 3 of this adventure and sprinkled that over Nailen.  The chains melted away and Nailen was free, with an arrow in his leg.

Nailen then flicks the lid off a basket at the end of the rack. Out scuttle two hands which attack. Nailen fumbles and then passes out from damage taken, some of which is dealt by Rufus with a crossbow bolt. Olsen and Mahan deal with the skeletal hands.

We return to town to recover.

With Olsen magically exhausted and asleep and Rufus just holding his intestines in, the party decides a tactical retreat is in order for some of Kendras’ Chicken soup.

Again judicious use of Rufus’ magic quotient means everyone will be back to fighting fit after a good night’s rest and a day of recuperation.

Tonight is 4 days since the last daubing. So Nailen and Mahan stake out the memorial – nothing happens. So with dawn’s fingers piercing the morning sky they retire to Kendra’s to get their sleep.

In early afternoon once all are awake, the party tour the town. Nailen seeks to relearn Soulsight at the temple, but needs more Alpha Course attendance – he’ll try again tomorrow.

The party call in on Sheriff Caellan to appraise him of their neighbourhood watch activities.  Whilst still suspicious of out-of-towners, he warms to us after we confide on what we have found at the prison. Mahan explain how he had killed the restless spirit of the Piper with his pipe – the scars on his fingers testimony to the bleeding and how he’d dispatched the ghost of the axe-weilding murder with his own axe.  The Sherrif concede that they were truly heroic (and Mahan the most heroic) and maybe there was truth in our tales as it fit with the legends he had been told as a boy and when he chose to be a law-man in this town.

He told us the troll was a blacksmith who killed his wife in a rage when he found she was having an affair b smashing her skull in. Caught in immediate remorse he tried to revive her by reassembling her shattered skull.  But one piece was missing.  So he went on a subsequent killing spree in an attempt to find matching piece.  After 20 victims he was caught and interned in the prison.

He didn’t know much about the Splatterman, but seemed to take in that the spell book and memorial daubing were the same modus operandi.  The Wise Woman would be the best to see in terms of magical knowledge. We agree that keeping Old Gibs locked up for the moment would be for his own good in case he became possessed again.

As for Father Charlatan, he was the wiliest of the characters and not known for violence.  The Sheriff speculated that maybe his spirit was already among us and may have possessed someone already.  The Father’s main motivator was money, so anyone taking money from us could be a suspect, or in fact maybe one of us.  All a bit unsettling.

He had no knowledge of The Whispering Way. We confided it had been mentioned in Kendra’s father’s journal; and that we had come as escort to Halvenstrom the Not-Appearing-in-this-module following a letter to him from his brother raising concerns and seeking his help.  The Sheriff said he wasn’t aware and that odd things had only happened once we’d arrived. We left it at that.

Anyway we bid him farewell and returned home for another night’s rest.

Following morning, fully rested, Nailen return to prayer class for Soul Sight but not holy enough.  We make our way to the prison once more.

We return to the oubliette, and inspect the area.  The cells are open but nothing presents itself – the locks aren’t forced.

We must decend.  A torch is thrown in; it falls for 30’ then splash in a small puddle, splutters and extinguishes, but not before skeletal remains and a skull are revealed.  We inspect the rope before descending, pulling it up.  It’s only 10’ long and burnt at the end. And the rest of it has seen better days – we elect to use a fresh rope.

Olsen belays down and finds the skeletal remains of 2 bodies, but nothing reacts.  Mahan joins him.  Following a bit of rudimentary CSI- Harrowstone, they deduce one body has been decapitated as the head is separate from the skeleton, and has blade marks on.  The other skelton is complete but curled up at the edge with broken legs or pelvis. The other end of the rope is also here, damp and rotting, but traces of burnt end are in evidence. Also there is a ring of keys, a broken crossbow, a finely-made but tarnished long sword, a smooth white stone and some coin – around 150gp.  Leaving the cross bow, Olsen and Mahan return to the top with the money, keys, stone and longsword.  The stone may require further investigation – is this the warden’s badge of office??? [Thinks: we never actually asked his wife want it looked like…]

With nothing else to view, we return to the Hall and inspect the well – which is a well with water 15’ down, with a moulding bucket alongside.  Resisting the temptation to find the Sword +30% to hit that is obviously down there, we moved on to [insert corridor name] running west.

The corridor extends and then 2 closed doors either side appear at the limits of our torch.  As we progress further a portcullis is revealed. Mahan, hefting the trollish hammer, opens the door to reveal a room not unlike the one with the flaming headless skeleton in; two cot beds, a table, chairs and a winch on the west wall. They enter and try the winch. After a hefty shove it starts to the move and noise from the corridor tells us the portcullis is rising.  We lower it and turn our attention to the other door.

Opening the door reveals a similar room with one bed and table with chairs either side.  On the table are the arranged pieces of 3 shattered skulls. On the floor is the decayed corpse of a red-haired troll. As we enter, the skull pieces rise up and form into skulls, which turn and scream. And then attack quickly flying at the party.

The party search their souls and metal and find themselves wanting, and flee. 

But not I, Mahan Ghostslayer!!!  I stand firm and strike at the skulls, I connect and shatter the first skull before me, the others bouncing off my armoured body. At this point the ghost of the trollish corpse rises, armed with a hammer and attacks also. 

The battle rages, hammers and skulls wheeling.  The skulls appear unable to strike me, but the ghostly hammer does, giving me an almighty headache – almost as though my skull was broken.  Through the fog I wielded the hammer and just before I felt I could go on no longer the ghost was defeated, and the skulls shortly thereafter, once the fog of headache cleared.

Once I caught my breath I realised my companions had not returned and set off to look for them…

In summary we need to get to Fedor Island. Following the woman’s vision, we are going to look for a tall bearded man, with revenge on his mind. He is near a building by the river with crossed sword over the doors of the building.

We cross over to that side of the town. Beggars are on the bridge. One with a dog on a string approaches us. “My friends, my friends, come have a word!”
We approach.
“I fear for Jacky”.
“Who is Jacky?”.
“Jacky is my dog. Will you please look after her. I couldn’t bear to think of her wandering the streets alone and masterless”.

Dubal, agrees to take the smelly mutt on. A tearful parting ensues, Chester sad to wave his loyal mutt cheerio. Vyaaren is moved to a hard stare at the foolishness of her companions. But she keeps quiet. They have to learn the hard way.

Now best friends with the beggar he is given twenty gold. He also knows where the cross swords building is. It was a tavern but it is shut now. We also ask him about a weaselly man called Vocoss? The beggar is unspecific and noncommittal in reply.

We continue across the bridge. We spy the tavern in a run down water front part of town. We put thoughts of property investment to the back of our collective mind. Dockers are scurrying around loading and unloading warehouses and ships in the area.

Morkel and Maglor go off for a night of watching and scoping out the crossed swords.

Maglor comes back and relates…. They want to the corner by the building. They see a guard in the shadows. Morkel distracts him and Maglor picks the lock at the front. It is now open (or was when he left it).

As it is night the party don armour. Either because it’s chilly or we ‘feel’ that as it is night we can perhaps get away with it. Maglor spots nasty swarthy people hanging around the area. They look like they are ready to ambush us.

We wonder, do they know, they know that they are watching us?

The session kicked,ed off a little late. Talk covered ebooks, pdf’s, reading in bed, and abandoning children on beaches. Then pizza arrived.

Having overcome the bandits, we were taking their river boat to sell.

A mysterious figure on a horse is visible in the distance. It sees us and heads away from the river.

Scylla the captain of the Mudlark, our boat, taking us to Threshold. We can sell the river pirate boat there. Scylla makes for a mud bank he is aware of. He wanted to get further but the prize makes for a worthy delay.

In the morning we spot three people heading to Threshold on a flying carpet. Strange. Apparently there is a regular taxi service from Riflian to Threshold.

We reach Threshold. Riverboats, everywhere. The townguard approach on a river skiff. They pull up. Pleasantries and ropes are exchanged. The Sergeant guardsman, a dim witted fellow who cant see that a mace is really a holy symbol of Helim, checks all weapons until we leave. Being law abiding chaps we comply. More comradarly amongst us agree to see him in the Hook and Hatchet later.

The priests head for the temple of Helim. They chat amiably with Creken a lay priest. They try to out do each other in the sincerity of our belief. He agrees to try and give them an introduction to the Patriach. He tells them about the important procession for the Patriach tomorrow

Back at the Hatchet and Hook the guards are drinking away. They tell us about Kalim the lady with the flying carpet, based near the Town hall. We discuss with the guard our search for the dukes daughter. He departs.

Maglor spots a weasally man in the corner of the bar, raising his jar of ale his cuff slips revealing a scarred wrist of manacle marks. On eye contact he departs. Our exit is blocked by four guards.

He is nowhere to be found. The innkeeper says that his name is Vogor and he has been seen around but is not a regular. The team head for bed.

We wake in the morning to a sturdy breakfast of bacon and eggs. We head to the Patriachs parade. The people are joll happy on this merry day. The Patriach makes the jazz hands blessing sign of the sun diety Helim.

We spot our enemies in the crowd. James Bond carnival style they disappear into the crowd.

The Adventure Continues. Session date 21st Feb 2011.

The brave adventurers continue their exploration of the goblin liar. They come to a room with coarse bedding. A split skull banner hangs menacingly in the room. A hollow log corridor leads away. Maglor scouts ahead. He notices a small trap door halfway along the corridor. Maglor pokes at it and he can see another part of river. Vyaareb fears that this is some sort of goblin toilet. The party shudders. The log opens to another room.

The room is tidier. There is wooden furniture in there. Another log at the base of the room. Ferrets appear, the bare teeth. Maglor throws food at them, the sniff and eat it. Less threatening than they were before. There is no treasure to speak of.

We move to the next room. Two Hobgoblins with vacant looks block the way and start to advance upon us. Stephen tries to turn them. He fails to do so that proves that they are not undead. They are still advancing. Maglor sneaks off to one side (we guess as he is still invisible, he might have buggered off altogether for all we know).

Combat is joined and Vyaaren, despite landing a couple of hefty, if not mighty blows, is paralysed in return for her efforts. The party despatch the creatures but Jubal is also paralysed. The party are able to move the two statues with them. The room is well appointed, cushions, tables, bed and comfy seat. The rooms get nicer and nicer. There are clothes and a chest. It is empty of anything interesting. Orcish undies, you get the picture. Maglor finds a small door, he opens it carefully but triggers a trap which drops a massive petrified branch onto the room. The unpetrified people take a heavy blow. This is enough to cause us to retreat from the area.

We pick up Babusha. She is relieved to be out of there. She has been there for a while, and was captured with a young girl. Yes, she has seen Stephan the hostage we are searching for. Goblins in iron collar appeared a few days ago and took Stephan the hostage to Zitarka, to see Old Skinny Leg. The girl was taken too and the old woman left as she was too slow and scrawny. According to the woman, the goblins are led by Vlak. They are looking for an Old Map. This is what she could garner whilst listening to the people being interrogated by the goblins.

With the woman in tow and the party wounded they head back for Suskiskin. It will take us two days to get there. The horse traders are a day away. We clear the petrified forest and find a suitable place to camp. At the camp we are joined by two more refugees, Egor and Dzulietta. Stephen heals the wounded people around the campfire with his staff.

We set off again to the west for the horse traders. The trek passes without incident. As does the following days trek to Suskiskin. Much damage has been repaired in our week away. Gregor is here as well. We relate tales of our battles.

They are unable to shed light on where Zitarka is. However Stellio’s mother suggests that we speak to the Horseman. Who is the horseman we ask? He takes the form of either a centaur or a black horse….

He is contacted on the moor by standing on one leg in the moonlight. And whistling. We remember leaving him on pleasant terms. Although as he runs with the horses he has no love of horse traders who enslave his people.

The Parting

We camped over night. Mountain lion cutlets for breakfast. Met up with the elves again. Camped in the forest. Encountered refugees from Segenyev, who had been raided by goblins. They are led by Gregôr.

We share provisions with the Segenyeves and they part to the west.

The Petrified Forest

It is raining once again. We continue South undaunted. We start to recognise some of the land marks Vissaryon, the gnomish mine owner, highlighted. We enter begin to enter the valley.
Plants give way to stone. A petrified forest, caught in full bloom. There is a trial to follow. It has been well

Our thief, Maglor, enthusiastically volunteers to scout ahead. The idea is all his own. No really.
He heads off noting that the path heads slightly down and there are paths leading off

We are attacked by bats who are not turned back by the parties decisions on the stone foliage provided by deciduous woodland, providing enough cover to prevent bats from getting to us.

The party react with arrows and slings at the incoming bats. Vyaaren missed with a sling, wounded by Stephens cruel comments that Helim does not approve of ignoble slings and shot.

Maglor brings one down. The bats bite and Jubal smotes one to death. One sinks his gnashers into Stephen. Helim has let his judgement on the sling issue be known!

Vyaaren is hit, a mere scratch. Vy misses three times in a row. But the fourth blow is true. Felling it with some other minor characters.

The Warband

The bats are a regular feature. Will we run into a bat tamer?

No time for speculation as a warband of goblins and wolves are almost upon us. We split and hide! They do not see or smell us. They have passed. There are ten goblins and three wolves.

Morkel casts sleep upon them as they pass us. All the goblins sleep, the wolves are still awake though. Battle is entered with the wolves. We charge the befuddled goblins. Jubal almost slays one with his blow.

Vyaaren avoids combat. She moves darkly amongst the goblins, bringing Helim’s salvation to them with her mace. A wolf savages her before it’s attention is taken by more immediately threatening party members.

The party chop and grind there way through the wolves. They learn to respect their ferocious bites. They loot the bodies for 35 gold.

Maglor scouts ahead. He reports seeing a dark thickly black river, parted by a bridge and on the other side of it is a large petrified tree with a large entrance. Perhaps some sort of goblin-dark-scary-stone-forest HQ-type-place think the party.

He wants to scout it us, under the cover of an invisibility spell cast by Morkel.
A dramatic bridge log crossing moment occurs when he trips on a small stone sending it splashing into the water. Grunting noises from the tree base reach him but no people appear.

In the tree chamber there are two goblins and more beyond. He decides to come back to the party.

The party, after some deliberation, rush the tree and Morkel expends another sleep spell. There are twelve goblins there and two wolves. Only four goblins fall asleep this time.

The party seize the initiative and rush to attack. With a sparkle Stephen casts, hold person, his latest shiny spell on the goblins and three are gripped in fear by the all mighty Helim’s rapture.

The party close on the remaining wolves and fight it down. More gold and then another wolf appears, it is duly despatched.

The tree seems to be opening out to a small building complex. They come to another room with a couple of goblins releasing wolves in there. The party reach them with the range of their bows.

Whilst useful for scouting and hearing things Maglor has been noticeable by his absence from combat. Morbidly attached to this invisibility?

The next room on this blitzkrieg is the chieftains. A central column surrounded by goblins. We pile in, in our normal somewhat chaotic tactical approach. As it only seems to be a goblin vice-president rather than a full king Maglor remains stealthed. His cowardly blades remained sheathed. But under weight of attack forces this leader to his knees seeking our mercy. Ha!

In a cell by the room is an old woman.

The leader, in charge of the prison, says that Vlak has taken the prisoners. King Kloss is the King of the wolf riders. Vlak is not here at the moment though.

The woman is released. She says she is from Chercus. She is very scared. She wants to wait here until we finish looking around.

The party continues to explore. The next chamber is Kloss’s bedchamber. A smelly affair of disjointed bedding. The next door has an individual in who draws our eye. He wears a white wolf skin tabard. He orders his adds forward. Duly these are engaged. They are dealt with and the party now low on healing potions pick up more wounds.

The leader comes in but he is despatched with a wave of arrows and cleaves from Jubal and Vyaaren.

The party loot his cache. Stephen picks up a very nice shield, Vyaaren glares angrily at him. He is bejewelled and bedecked. Vyaaren remains true to the noble spirit of the free light.

Maglor remains invisible.

The heroes completed their rest. Heading north east from the site of their last slaughter at the Red Blades camp, they encountered no monsters in the forest. The foul weather so foul that even wandering monsters, wandered not. They could not find tracks that the red blades had made, when vacating their cavern. So following their next lead from the female goblin captive, the brave clan headed for the Vipers cave dwelling. Towards mid afternoon the party found a dell to spend the night in. The soil was well drained so had not filled with water. The party gave thanks to Helim. Assaulting a goblin stronghold at dusk not being an attractive option. Stephen organised watches, something about wanting to use his healing staff at midnight or the like. The others found it strange that a priest of the night was so attracted to the witching hour. A flapping noise is heard, from above. Giant bats strike! Stephen shouts to wake the rest of us. Jubal, grabs a log in a primitive fashion. He waves it fiercely at the bats. A bat bites Stephen. He curses! Vyaaren doubts his godliness. Vyaaren is bitten too. God is twice cursed this evening. She hits back. Maglor slices his target in two. Then he moves to Vyaaren’s target and greedily fells that too. Jubal makes contact tuning his foe. Doing just enough to finish it off. The party returns to peaceful slumber. Todays weather is heavy cloud, light rain, cool and windy. After a light breakfast the team head in their now familiar north-easterly direction. After an hour of trekking Maglor spots a faint but definite pathway. Small footprints tally with our expectation of goblin sized footprints. The party sneak, on horseback, whilst being alert and carefully following the tracks. Weapons drawn but not in an duly risky manner. Bases. Covered. We come to a scarp (a rockface apparently). The path leads round it. We notice the scarp is smooth and almost hill like. It is steep and clearly important. We think we see cavelets. Stephen guesses it is limescale protrusions over a chalk base. Either that or Kobolds have been digging. The beasts of burden are tethered. We creep up the hill. Maglor is sent ahead to scout out. On the other side of the hill, is the other side of the hill! Disappointment at the DM’s imaginations, decreases when he spots a larger cave entrance. We could not see but there is a door. We heroically spend several minutes examining this door for clues. It’s lock, it’s wood type. We noticed disturbed earth by the side. A totem perhaps removed? “Have these bastards fucked off too?”, queries Stephen in the manner that only a vicar can. The party start to hack at the door. It takes ten minutes. Vyaaren does her nails. She wonders whether the party will still get a bonus for surprise on the initiative roll. The barricaded door gives way. The totem lies broken on the floor. We light torches. Complicated directions are discussed with members of the party who show most interest in this kind of thing. Well done Jubal. He scratches markings, like a map onto parchment. The party come to a door. They open it. It is empty. 20 x 20. It is completely bare. Slat chair, bed, weapon rack with no weapons. they exit and head off. Couple of turns and another door. S. D. P. Standard Door Procedure. Listen , Check for traps, 2 people at the door. 20 mins to explain. Only rubbish in there. The tunnel ahead is blocked. A barricade halts out ingress. A knife flies out at us. It clatters emptily to the floor. We hear a goblin argument then silence. Another dagger flies out. Sadly we don’t speak goblin. Our pidgin Hobgoblin makes little impression. A knife cuts Morkel. Jubal’s molotov falls short and lights our side of the barricade. We back pedal to search for hidden doors. The DM hints that they have only just holed themselves in and so we sharply about turn to the barricade again. The fire subsides as the team chat and procrastinate. Jubal misses, but Vyaaren is made of sterner stuff felling the first of the seven goblins. A dagger bites at her, and Jubal takes one in the side. Stephen and Morkel joins them at the top. The bitchy goblins fail to push their advantage. Stephen fells one and Vyaaren adds to her tally this day. Oh yes and Morkel slays one. The remaining goblins depart at Top Speed! But not before the party smite them down with holy mace, fleet arrow and Jubal tackles one with something he darkly calls ‘rugby’. Vyaaren is healed with a spark of pure blessed lighted from Stephen’s staff. The party begin to interrogate their capture. He seems to whimper a lot. Giving one word answers through waves of fear. The party are a little alarmed at Morkal’s advanced interrogation techniques. He seems all together too comfortable and familiar with it. The rest of the party carry on scouting out the rooms. Vyaaren thinks his mummy and daddy might have argued when he was younger. __ They come across a chamber. Goblin priests, more goblins. Knives hurled at us and then a snake having been whirled round his head, is flung towards us. We shut the door. Hoping to see a snake with lots of daggers in it attached to the door. With no other rooms, the party ready their sleep spell. Morkal opens the door, the heroes burst in. Morkal casts sleep on the goblins and many fall to the floor. The leader hurls another snake at Maglor. It bites down on him. Vyaaren complains about the unfairness of the chiefs rapid actions. The goblins and the party fight. The goblin chief hurls another snake. Vyaaren complains more. Maglor hits the snake. Morkel hits it too. Vyaaren thinks twice about hitting with the mace whilt wrapped round Maglor’s neck, but luckily Morkel’s blow slays it. Stephen fells a goblin. The chief goblin runs away. Not before Jubal lands a hefty blow on him, doing for him. A final snake remains. Vyaaren deals it a passing blow and Stephen misses it. Clearly a fast moving critter. But Maglor is the faster. Some of us are busy discussing goblin breeding possibilities with the two captives male and female goblins and others are fighting for our lives. They find 23 gold and a sparely belt with gold and gems. A measly toll. Wooden snakes, contain three gems, pearl necklace, and a small box with a small key hole. Maglor detects no traps. Vyaaren finds the key on the leader. Three magical glowing potions and fifty platinum pieces are contained within. Small sips from the phials make us feel, stronger, like commanding the birds and squirrels of the woods, and the last give us sight of distant lands. One passage leads off. We avoid a pit trap and the passage opens out to the wilderness. Maglor finds a small piece map at the bottom of the casket. It’s a map leading us to the final goblin layer. More next time!

Nursing our wounds and bleeding eardrums, and carrying the unconscious Nailen, we return to Kendra’s, who puts Nailen to bed and tucks him up.  But not before Rufus judiciously shares out his power of healing such that a good nights rest and a day off will do the rest for all of us..

The next day we ponder the 5 artefacts. Nailen attempts to divine them again; this time the flute has no power, the holy symbols give the weakest sensation, the axe and hammer next strongest and the spell book is the strongest.  We go to discuss the holy symbols with the holy man of Helim with a view as to how to destroy their power.  We suggest melting them down and turning them into an artefact of Helim to use against the evil spirits, but he is uncomfortable with the idea of blending consecrated metals of many sources into one artefact. He would be happy to take the Helim token, but the tangle of necklaces prove more difficult to separate and resistant to physical force than first looks.

So concluding that like the flute, the artefacts must be used against the owner to destroy both, we prepare to return to the prison the following day.  Reviewing the map and notes of the 5, (and we deduce now 4) bad dudes, we deduce there is nothing/little of interest on the upper floor and it’s to the Oubliette we must go; Mahan takes an interest in the Axe; time meet its maker.

Day 20 in this Helim-forsaken backwater (note: tonight it will be 4 days since the last letter writing)

We descend into the lower reaches of the prison, and return the hall where we battled the skeleton horde. Silence, punctuated by the sound of dripping water and the flicker of our torches, echoes off the blackened walls which seem to suck the light away.  We steal towards the opening marked ‘Oubliette’ and peer round the corner.  A black sooty passageway extends north beyond the reach of our light source.

We venture in, (Mahan and Olsen taking point, Mahan hefting the bloodied axe). On our left a door appears, and as we approach, the door suddenly opens and a flaming headless skeleton wielding an axe charges out.  <At this point Toby showed me the module picture and Nailen did a little poop in his trousers on my behalf – but stood firm>

It attacked, Olsen and Mahan attacked back, Olsen beautifully foxed it in its demented rage on attack and Mahan and Olsen took advantage. The axe bit deep and good into the skeletal form, shattering its rib cage. Mahan smiled – this was a powerful weapon. Olsen was able to take it’s next attack on his armour and dealt a telling blow. Maybe the loss of its ribcage had weakened it but the skeleton was failing to hit now and Mahan cleft it asunder with a mighty blow. Damn fine axe – almost as though it hits them twice!! The shattered bones fell to the floor, flames extinguished.

Buoyed by their victory the party explore the room; a small room with two cot beds on the far wall and a table and chairs.  On one wall a winch and a chain extends to the ceiling. They decide to leave alone and carry on up the corridor.

10 ft further on we see a raised portcullis in the corridor roof. The winch we deduce.

We carry on and reach a large 30’x30’ room with 3 cells on each wall. In the centre an 10’ square hole leads down (the oubliette?) On the far side a hinged iron grid lies – the hole is open.  A rope is tied to the grid and trails down into the darkness.  The party notice that the soot is only on the upper part of the walls; smoke damage rather than direct scorching. 

As they step into the room to inspect the cells a blood curdling screech announces a ghostly apparition appearing from the hole wielding another axe – this time it has a head and isn’t hanging about and attacks!!

With the Executioner’s Arms fresh in his mind Rufus quickly deploys a Helim SunStick and the chamber is filled with the brightness of a summer day. As the light fades, we can see the ghost pressed against the far wall. It shakes itself and press back for attack, skimming across the room.  As the party deploys for defence/attack, Nailen deploys a spirit jar – a flash as the jar opens and a blue mist is drawn from the ghost. It withers slightly, but only, shakes itself…. And attacks.

The battle was a whirl of Axe and Sword and Dagger and Sword. The ghostly axe seemed unimpeded by our armour and would cut neatly through our skin. But the bleeding would turn to smoke and float to join the ghostly maniac and strengthen him. Only those with magical repair were able to withstand the damage, but they were weakening with each hit. Rufus took near fatal blow to his stomach, but was able ot heal himself quickly. But Mahan’s mighty axe appeared to be getting the better of it’s former owner, and while Mahan’s was feeding the ghost, he was taking back in spades.

Olsen succumbed to magical draining; Rufus was holding his intestines in. And then with a final swinging Mahan caught the ghostly form and pow!!!! The apparition dispersed with a crackle and a flash; a whiff of sulphur and ozone hung in the air. The axe in Mahan’s hand felt heavy and clumsy, the bloodstains faded, the steely gleam faded… Bad Guy No2 was down!!!!