Stone-Hell on the Borderlands Session #7, 17 JULY 2023

 

  The party; Bertrand the Cleric, Benn the Fighter, Gottri the Dwarf as well as Jeri the Druid with Stonus Absent this evening, gathered in Kendall Keep after the end of the Festival of the Sun and debated the merits on where to adventure and were decided upon returning to the Valley of Stone-Hell. A few rumors from rival adventurers is overheard by Been the Fighter, the Fighter as well as Bertrand and his man-servant recover from their illness and are ready to adventure in Stone-Hell. Stefan Har'well inquires if hte party has seen the Three adventurers he had sent out to deal with Bandits along the road near Stone-Hell which they have not he seems a bit irritated but then returns to his Mutton Chops. Deciding to follow up on rumors of the walking dead beneath the Chapel though Benn, Patsy and Bertrand head to the visit the Curate.

  Explaining the rumor that the dead walk in the crypts the Curate is amused and offers to show them what the misconception is all about. A mummified Warrior's body still clad in Chainmail, Shield and wielding his ancient spear rests upright in a section of the crypt. The Curate calls this the Watcher and that the accumulation of bones of the dead makes people of the Keep uneasy but its is a necessary practice. Benn & Bertrand detect a bit of nervousness when around the area of the Watcher. They observe that the clutter and organization of bones in the crypt is clear by the watcher's remains. They confirm it is indeed not undead and just a regular corpse.

[I allowed a d6 drop to detect anything off about the Curate as well as another reaction roll, Been rolled a 1 DRAT ! A 6 on Reaction]

  Pressing the matter they inspect the area round the watcher and I allow a Listen at Doors check. I'm a bit tired and contradict myself a couple times this evening but its moves the group along following up on old rumors so its all good imo. They hear the scratching of rats behind the wall and upon closer examination with further questioning of the Curate so I call for another Reaction roll and it is low, the Curate is not happy with this line of questioning and enters into a short rant about wishing to maintain the security of the Crypts remains from the Rats in the sewers including The Old Grey Stinker who he is afraid will eventually enter there and disturb the remains. Their tapping reveals a possible Secret Door and I call for yet another Reaction Roll. 

[Reaction Roll is a 5, the Curate despises Bertrand and is indignant but feels cornered] 

 The Curate; Rostav the Radiant, reveals he has discovered an old abandoned Chaos Temple and through his research determined that many years ago a Dwarf Tavern-Keeper as well as others in the Keep had been Cultists. The fact that it connected here and to the sewers as well as other places he found rather disturbing and wondered if one of his predecessors were actually Chaos Cultists. He is abjectly upset about the matter and presses the party to find a solution by exploring the old Temple. Mentioning that another Keep Resident is aware of the Tunnels but wishing to find a discreet group of very virtuous adventurers they have been binding their time, fearing the party is not too subtle he is worried they will all come to ruin if discovered. He reminds the party he has the ear of the Castellon. Bertrand and The Curate come to an understanding and the rest of the party are retrieved from the Traveler's Inn.

   The Party of adventurers have a bit of discussion on whether they should go under the Chapel and adventure or head out to Stone-Hell. Eventually they come to a vote and they return to the Chapel in due haste and head to the crypts to speak with the Curate who seems quite distressed and angry. They are allowed to search for hte secret door but are not able to find its opening mechanism until the Curate opens it for them. An acolyte returns from being sent elseswhere by the Curate and after spying upon the open secret door is told to enter a Vow of Silence by he Curate and promptly stops speaking. The party enters the hidden hall with the Curate Rostav's eyes upon their backs.

   Following the Curate's instructions they turn right at the intersection and search for a secret door and discover one with broad rough hewn steps leading down into darkness. Gottri the Dwarf Fighter is informed that he can tell a huge difference in the construction quality of the tunnels versus the crypt and other architecture of the Keep. While although human but well constructed albeit spartan. The halls however are slip shod work devoid of ornamentation and fully functional and the laziness or madness of the ones who crafted it obvious. They descend down the stairs where the regular basalt of the Keep grows darker and becomes streaked and spattered with red marble giving the stairs, floors and walls a blood splattered bleeding look. They find a pair of Stout Double Doors barred from this side. 

[Gottri checks for Room Traps and discovers known in front of the Doors after rolling a 5 I prompt for more descriptive searching measures so if they are explicit I can forgo the Roll's Result if their actions would directly reveal a possible trap. If the party can describe well enough through actions how they do something it should be rewarded, knowing a secret door is in the a Wall and how to open it are two separate things though]

   They enter the Ruined Temple and find Dried Faecal matter, small mushroom and clumps of mould growling here and there about the Temple. A 20 foot high rough ceiling supported by skull themed pillars with gaping mouths allow thing  spiders that infest the upper reaches to give a horrific visage as they run out of the multitude of open mouths, bats can be seen dropping then taking flight from the small stalactites hanging down. A raised dais of the Black and Red stone pattern has a large 15' tool horned demon status with a fire pit/bowl in its crossed hooved legs dominates the northern wall. The party slowly investigates and Jeri inspects the piles of mouldy dung finding them to be lizard in original but consistent with the size of a humanoid squatting ie a man sized persons.

   Approaching the Statue they find a broken Iron Dagger upon the Dais which is stained with blood, and some of that blood is fairly recent but very dry some months or weeks old. Under the lantern light of Patsy the Man-Servant of Bertrand Gottri searches the Base for traps and discovers a cache of broken and ruined  axe heads, swords, dented helmets as well as a perfectly useable set of Thieves Tools. A great find considering how much the Banker has them for in his case ! Bertrand climbs up the statue and finds bits of bones and metal in the basin, the glint of silver spurs him to slide in and search discovering silver coins and an untarnished silver ring. Gottri while gathering up the mundane items hidden behind & state finds a peephole and lifts himself up to spy into the chamber beyond & sees bones upon the floor and is assaulted by a foul odor in the room. The party has a quick discussion and heads up the Northwest passage almost single file at places due to its constraints. They step over the remains of Doors that have been busted down and left to rot over the centuries.

   Coming up to a large intersection they loop back towards the room Gottri had spied upon and as they approach they are affronted with that horrible smell again. They file into the room to search and Jeri the Druid is about to push forward from & rear to inspect bones when the Walls Move as if they breathe and & cave is filled with a horrendous stench.

[ Surprise Roll is made and the Party is caught Surprised, 4 in 6 Chance with a 2 Rolled. Saves versus Poison are Required for those in the chamber as well. The Dice are not kind again this evening]

   Combat ensues and they attempt to fall back to form a bottleneck, Benn is a lightly armored Fighter (Padded Armor) with Spear, Gottri and Bretrand are heavily armored (Plate) while the rest of the party is also very lightly armored but far away from combat. Mot of the Party is nauseous except for Benn and the Battle is lopsided against the slimy troglodytes that Claw/Claw/Bite at the lead characters. Eventually they are able to fall back but not until Benn is grievously wounded and has shattered his Shield but his attacker is slain by Bertrand as he stumbles. They fall back and have blocked the chambers exit leaving Bertrand and Gottri to take the bunt of the attacks' while Benn attacks from the second rank with Spear. Due to the nature of the close quartered combat Jeri is unable to use his sling. Eventually the Party is Triumphant but Gottri has his Shield ruined as well by the assaults' of the Troglodytes. They search the chamber and discover some of the bones are human and some not quite human in nature. They return to the Crypt and lock up the crossbar as they door.

   An argument or discussion ensues about staying in the Crypt and in the Curates and Acolytes chambers with them until they finish the task at hand. Jeri returns to the Travelers Inn however not trusting the Priests and calling them out for their hypocrisy for wanting to keep this Temple hidden. He fears being murdered in his sleep to keep the secret and is convinced the Temple is in cohoots with a CHOAS CULT BENEATH KENDALL KEEP !!!!

   Dun Dun Duuun ! Ominous music queued ...

   The Priests of Ygg apply some Healing magics and a good night sleep sets the party up to reenter the Hidden passages leading to the Forgotten or Hidden Chaos Temple on our next session. We had allot of actual Role Play this session and I'll need to make adjustments made to Faction Standings within the Keep. A Frenemy is made of the Curate who dislikes how this is being taken care of and would have preferred to vet Champions who would be more discreet. He has mentioned another knows of these tunnels and has been informed that if anything untold happens to him to inform the Castellon whose vengeance and fury would be quick and deadly. A few assume it is Stefan Har'Well he speaks of but this is not confirmed.

  I made a ruling about "All Shields Shall Be Splintered" during game they affect an Attack Routine instead of but a single attack. Creatures use a routine of Claw/Claw/Bite allot or Tail/Horn/Bite/Claw/Claw or whatever and a single claw spintering a shield seems far fetched but a series of monstrous blows not so much. Added descriptive flavor to describe these Shield Splintering episodes and you have flavorful combat. My advice to DMs, use your words and expand vocabulary to enhance the experience

 

Game Well, Game Often ...

Have Fun Folks aight

 

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