Week 27 - Hell hath no fury like
OMG. I finally have a photo of the x-ray of The Leg. I am less than confident that it's all square and correct, even though the doc told me "oh, so long as it's more-or-less in line it will heal up". I ought to be in traction, IMO, getting the bits lined up properly. Anyway. If you have been wondering why I have been a bit of a sook, this is why.
So! Let's get back into it. Last week was a good session - nice to be back in the saddle, if tiring. Chris/Arn is having so much trouble with his back and scheduling conflicts with work that he has dropped out, although he's welcome to return and put n a cameo appearance any time. So the party Roster is now:
| Andrew | Flash | Changeling | Beguiler |
| Bevis | Frith | Human (half elf?) | Cleric |
| David | Jericho | Human | Rogue/Pyromancer |
| Morgan | Gauthakan | Goliath | Barbarian |
A traditional Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, Wizard party. Woo hoo! Let's see how they cope with A Gathering of Winds
As the party wraps up the final loose ends of their murder case, Frith comes barreling into the room. Dragon! Dragon! Bloody great black dragon, attacking Diamond Lake!
Frith had been in the Diamond Lake environs these past few weeks - getting away from the big smoke, checking up on his pet owlbear, his ranger mates, and their dope crop in the woods. A couple of days ago, a black dragon attacked the town, destroying several buildings with its bulk and its corrosive acid breath, and demanding to know where "the wizard" was.
Allustan, the wizard in question, had been excavating a collapsed passageway in The Whispering Cairn, near the entrance. By holding a few of the helpless townsfolk hostage, the dragon quickly uncovered this information, and the location of the Whispering Cairn, and flew off.
Frith, after discovering all this, decided that the best course of action would be to return to Sharn ASAP and retreive his companions.
The party infer (correctly, as it happens) that this dragon is the same one as was behind the machinations at the lizardman tribe near Blackwall Keep. Unfinished business! But first, they decide to go shopping. There's a lot of cash, and a lot to spend it on. Then off to Diamond Lake.
We just do base price for shopping - this is not a hardcore "realistic" campaign. The exception is that items from the Magic Item Compendium are 150%, and only minor and medium magic items are generally available.
Back at Diamond Lake, Allustan's house is flattened, and there is a trail of destruction from his house to the Emporium in the town square. The Diamond Lake dignataries (such as they are) ask the heroes who uncovered the plots of the Three Faces of Evil - not to mention the current victors of the Champion's Games - to deal with the situation.
The party head out to the Whispering Cairn. The area shows signs of activity - mining equipment, tents, mounds of earth. The area is ominously quiet, and the party do not spot Illthane the Black before she makes her first attack run. She blasts the party with her line of acid breath, lining up as many as possible, then turns to taunt the party:
"Dragotha take you all, but the mage is mine!"
The fight then ensues. Flash hits Illthane with his trusty Ray of Dizziness, and after that the outcome is pretty much inevitable. Able to make only one attack per round, she does considerable hurt to Gauthakan but eventually he hits her with a perfect shot, scattering the contents of her skull across the grass.
Gauthakan, of course, uses a Goliath Hammer with a *4 crit multiplier. Ouch!
Then it's on into the cairn, to determine what has become of Allustan.
Allustan's work is plain enough. A passage to the right which previously was blocked with rubble in which lived a den of wolves is now clear, and at its end is a strange portal. Jericho moves forward to check the portal for traps and is promptly attacked by something living inside the portal itself!
The party attack. In the process, Jericho tumbles past the portal's inhabitant to face another threat, which we shall get to presently. In the meantime, Frith recognises the for as undead, and turns it, forcing it to flee. The rest of the party follow though the portal.
The hall is filled with wisps of smoke, and one of the party members breathes one in. Immediately, claws of air materialise inside that character's body and begin to rip and tear. The party are in a bit of a tricky spot, until Frith casts Wind Wall. By staying within (and near) its area of effect, the attacking belkers cannot maintain their smoke form, and must become fully solid. Once fully solid, the party is easily able to deal with them.
Well! The party are doing quite well, really. Better than their poor injured DM, who had wilted badly by the end of this session, which went for much longer than this description makes it sound.
But where is Allustan? Is he alive, dead, or something worse? And who the heck is this "Dragotha", who Illthane the Black mentioned? Soldier on, fine adventurers! This ancient tomb only gets nastier!