September 26th is overcast and warm.
After breakfast you teleport into the chamber where you killed your last dragon. The party consists of: Gilstrock, Brightaxe, Angst, Salaam, Darian, Arrrgh!, Gonzo, Occa, Jesse, Pharian, Valdar, Op Code and Cannon Fodder.
Cannon Fodder says, "Okay, here we go..."
He casts invisibility on himself.
Occa activates his ring of invisibility and turns invisible.
"Let's head toward were we saw that mage and all those daemons."
"Let's just go kick some butt !" says BrightAxe wanting to see how valuable that first pool was with his weapons.
You leave the dragon chamber and head south...then east, to the chamber full of bones where you had the battle with the demons, daemons, giants, slaadi and Razamataz. A crossroads of sorts, this chamber is filled with bones. A narrow pathway wends its way through them to the large pair of bronze double doors at the eastern end. The bones are apparently here to serve as some sort of deterrent to adventurers: you see dwarf bones (lots of these), human bones, elf bones, gnome bones, and even a few halfling bones. To aid in the identification of the originating species, each bone has a tag attached to it with the name of the creature handwritten on it. Otherwise, this place is boring. Besides the double doors to the east - which you have not yet opened -there is a door in the west wall north corner, and passages running north and south respectively, out of the west corners of their respective walls.The west door leads into another room (30' X 40': 20' north, 40' west; doori n middle of west wall). In here is a large pile of bones, a table, a bagof tags, some quills and some ink. Opening the door in the west wall of this room reveals a 10' square room, which is barren. Looking to the south from the bone chamber, you see that the passage runs for 60' and ends at a door. This was where Razamataz was.
Looking north up the other passage, you see that it runs for 60' and on. It was from this direction that the slaadi came.
Using his new sight, Salaam constantly scans for any heat emanations, magical, and/or invisible creatures.
Salaam sees nothing unusual.
He does have a headache, though.
"Curse that Orlon. He knew that I was rusty at this. Please all bear with me as I hone up my mapping skills," Op Code tells the others.
Occa says from somewhere. "Let's see if we can find this Razamataz."
Occa casts wizard eye and sends it forward.
Once the group is near the door, Occa casts unseen servant and has it try to quietly open the door.
Darian quietly draws his frostbrand.
Opening the door with the servant, you only see a 10' X 20' room before you(10' west, 10' south). It is completely barren.
Salaam sees nothing unusual or hidden in there with his incredible eyes.However, from behind you, you hear the pitter-patter of little feet approaching. Coming towards you, still some 50' away, are seven rather scrawny looking trolls.
Darian grins. "Salaam, make sure there's nothing else with them. OpCode, Gilstrock, Brightaxe and I are going to have some fun."
Darian moves to meet their rush.
Angst asks, "What about me? Can't I have some fun?"
Drawing his two blades, he charges forward.
"Sure, Angst... I didn't mean to forget about you."
"Right we are!" Gilstrock agrees as, dropping his spear and drawing Thawbreaker, he moves forward to engage the trolls.
Salaam takes out his hammer of throwing and says, "To quote Mr. Grimm, ITS CLOBBERING TIME!"
However, Darian, Angst, Brightaxe and Gilstrock are in the way, as they and the auras of their alignments, magical items and magical effects serve to obscure Salaam's view of the trolls. Since the passage is only 10' wide, only Darian and Angst can attack the first two trolls. Your weapons bounce harmlessly off of their unusually hard hides. Their claws and teeth also bounce off of your stoneskinned hides as well...except for Darian, who is bitten for 6 hit points.
Darian swears.
"Guess my own stoneskin casting isn't good enough yet. Occa, can you remedy that?"
"Oh, and Gilstrock, why don't you take my place for the moment."
Darian backs out and lets Gilstrock take his place. As he does so, the troll rips into him for another 14 hit points.
Gilstrock steps forward into the space vacated by Darian and begin to attack with Thawbreaker.
Angst does a blitz attack on the one troll, with as many attacks as possible.
Still his blades do not penetrate.
Salaam moves forward with hammer in hand.
"When this happens it helps to yell and swing," offers BrightAxe who yells a loud battle cry to Clangeddin Silverbeard.
Jesse magic missiles them with her wand.
She hurts the troll that now faces Gilstrock.
Op Code, while waiting for an opening, calls out, "Let me at 'em. I'll make troll burgers out of them."
Pharian stands back and watches.
The rest of you still cannot get in on the fun, as Gilstrock and Angst continue to thrash at the stoneskinned trolls.
Jesse sends another magic missile into the same troll.
The fight continues inconclusively for another minute...and then stoneskins start expiring all around.
As Angst cuts deeply into his troll with his longsword...followed by an equally deep cut with his dagger. The troll staggers and farts in dismay.
Gilstrock and his troll still are unable to penetrate each other.
Jesse keeps up with her wand.
Finally, Gilstrock, who seems to be handling his frost brand with much more aplomb these days, starts doing damage, and his troll drops into a twitching heap. Another troll jumps over its compatriot and faces the fighter.
Angst and his troll - who is regenerating - trade misses before the ranger connects with his dagger and cuts the monster down. Another fresh troll leaps to attack him
"Occa, do you have a stoneskin available?"
Occa says, "Yes."
He casts stoneskin on Darian.
"Thanks."
Darian looks up at the ceiling trying to determine how high it is.
"Hmmm... Too low for flying. Occa, what about an ice storm to remove their stoneskin?"
Occa says, "I don't have icestorm...why don't you cast it?"
Darian sighs. "I didn't memorize it this morning."
"Hey Salaam," Op Code calls over. "Can you flamestrike them without getting us? This would possibly slay and burn them in one shot."
Gonzo slips into the shadows and carefully scrutinizes the rear for any signs of ambush.
The room remains quiet.
Angst attacks the next troll while trying to force him backwards.
"After I step over the dead one can some one burn it?"
"No problem," Op Code answers.
Angst pounds away at the next troll - who is also stoneskinned - while he is bitten for 7 hit points of damage.
"Take that, you rubbery monstrosity!" Gilstrock calls at the body of the other troll, and then looks up at the next troll coming at him. "Prepare to be cut down to your petrochemcial roots, foul fiend!"
Hearing Angst say something about burning trolls reminds Gilstrock of something he's heard. He presses the attack on the next fresh troll,t rying to push it backward. If he kills this one, he will then try to press forward to engage the next one. His idea is that if he can get past the dead trolls, the others behind himself and Angst will be ableto get at the bodies and apply flame to keep them from regenerating.
Gilstrock does no damage, and the new troll misses him every time.
Occa then opens up on the trolls with magic missile. He casts 3 spells.
Cannon Fodder casts two magic missile spells.
"Let's get past these and to the mage."
All of the trolls are hurt, now; Gilstrock's seriously.
Still, the fighter cannot pierce the troll's stoneskin. Again he is missed. Angst suffers the same problem, but he is also missed every time, too. Meanwhile, the trolls have regenerated. One of them is completely healed. Then, Gilstrock's sword finally works as it should, as he buries his blade into the hide of the troll. The monster drops. He leaps forward to attack the next one. Op Code lights up the dead trolls. Angst is clawed for 8 hit points as he continues to bounce his sword off the monster. At last, his dagger slices into the enemy as the stoneskin is worn down. The troll lives, though.
Gilstrock faces another troll, but this one is still protected, so again his blade is ineffective. Fortunately, this troll finds the fighter's armour impermeable, too.
Angst lands a lovely hit with his longsword and severs the troll's arm. The monster drops
Occa placees a magic missile into each one.
"Hate to use up my magic missiles, but you guys are taking too long. I should have fireballed them to begin with when I saw them."
Both trolls are hurt but not down. Angst steps over his dead troll and attacks the next one.
"Burn this one for us," he says.Angst then proceeds to bounce his sword off of the troll...followed by his dagger. He, in turn, is bitten for 6 hit points.
Gilstrock does better, though, as his opponent's stoneskin has apparently been blown away. Sidestepping a claw, he prods the monster with his frost brand and it drops.
Angst finally wears off his enemy's stoneskin and kills the troll.
Suddenly there is silence...except for Op Code's merry whistling as hetorches the bodies.Your peace is short-lived, though, as Salaam, squinting through his now-permanent migraine, announces that he sees the glow of chaos far to the north...presumably up the passage that runs off of the north side of the bone chamber.
"Angst and Gilstrock, let me see to your wounds before we head up there. And then you'd better get your stoneskins replaced."
Occa disappears...reappearing in the room to the south.
Cannon Fodder dashes through the door...slamming it behind him.
"That looks like fun," says BrightAxe quietly, "are we ready yet or shall we wait ?"
His fingers are itching along his axes as he wishes he coulda got in some blows on the trolls.Unfortunately, the agents of Chaos are not prepared to wait.
Salaam sees a point of magic come zooming down the passage towards you. It blossoms in your midst into a fireball, engulfing you all.
Gilstrock takes 21 hit points of damage.
Brightaxe takes 33 hit points.
Angst takes 33 hit points.
Salaam takes 33 hit points.
Darian takes 21 hit points of damage.
Arrrgh! takes 33 hit points.
Jesse takes 33 hit points.
Pharian takes 33 hit points.
Op Code takes 33 hit points.
Valdar also takes 33 hit points.
Occa, Cannon Fodder, and - it turns out - Gonzo were in the room to the south behind the closed door, so they took no damage. But, that door is now in flames and it looks like it will not withstand another attack.
"Jeez!" says Valdar, lapsing into elven, as suddenly a wall of stone appears a short distance up the passage from you, sealing you in. "Thats hould protect us from them for a moment."
"How long will that last, Valdar?" Op Code asks as he tries to put out his flaming clothes.
"Until someone dispells it," the mighty elf-lord replies.
"Well, Occa, any suggestions on how to deal with this fireball throwing wretch?"
Occa comes running up and says, "Sure."
He casts minor globe of invulnerability.
"Stay close.Valdar cancel your spell and lets get them!"
He stands ready...Cannon Fodder will watch the rear in case of anyone sneaking up from behind.
Darian casts detect invisibility and tightens his strap on his shield.
"Okay, I'm ready."
Gilstrock holds his shield in his left hand and Thawbreaker in his right, ready to charge, as he says, "Yup, I'm ready too."
"Maybe Gilstrock and I should head to the front? If anymore fireballs come down the path, maybe the two frostbrands could dispell a good amount of its power."
Occa says, "Good idea Darian...however, I would like to toss a fireball of mine own first...so stay just in front of me!"
"Aye, aye, Occa."
Gilstrock says aside to Darian, "Sometimes I think we're all crazy. But I can live with that."
"Gilstrock, I know we're crazy... And we'll be able to live with it as long as the likes of Orlon and Stiff keep bringing us back... But, it's always fun..."
"Oh great Thoth, heal your humble servant," Salaam intones as he casts a heal spell on himself. "Who needs to be healed?"
"I should be OK for a while longer," Op Code replies. "Thanks for asking."
"Not a bad idea. Perhaps we should heal up before charging down there."
Darian heals himself and then says, "Who's next?"
"I got pretty severely burned," Gilstrock says. "I could probably stand some healing."
"I'll do my best."
BrightAxe speaks up, "I haven't done my spells in a while so I need some fairly badly."
Darian shakes his head. "I'm not sure I understood that, but I'll do my best to heal you."
Jesse will be ready to cast a lightinig bolt when the wall goes down.
"Yup, I'm ready too." Pharian casts jump on Gilstrock. "That will speed you up if you need it. You should be able to jump five times in the next ten minutes or so."
Valdar takes down the wall.
Occa sends up his fireball.
A dull roar is heard from up the passage...as the fireball engulfs all...
When the smoke and flames clear, Salaam sees no sign of anything chaotic up there.
"I would guess that they weren't all obliterated in the spells," says BrightAxe ready for the much anticipated ambush.
"Guess, this is where my role as scout comes in."
Darian cautiously makes his way forward.
"Ahh, heck with it, let's motor," Gilstrock says, as he starts to quickly move (but not jump) to the other end of the passageway. "C'mon, let's see if anything is alive."
Darian jogs to keep up with him.
Occa moves forward with the other after turning invisible, keeping all within his minor globe.
The rest of you wait quietly.
Less than five minutes after Darian, Occa and Gilstrock head up the passage, another fireball explodes...in the chamber to the north where they went.
You hit the deck as the flames come billowing down the passage towards you...but the flames do not reach you this time.
"Darian." cries Jesse as she begins to run towards where Darian and Gilstrock went.
"DAMN !" Salaam mutters as he activates his flying boots and flies towards the explosion. Hammer in hand and spell on his tongue, he is ready to attack anything that is hostile.
BrightAxe follows the crowd hustling up the hallway with Axes drawn while muttering a prayer to Silverbeard.
They find Darian and Gilstrock in the former bone room, barely scorched. Going by the clouds of smoke seemingly materialising out of thin air beside them, though, Occa got a bit more torched.
"Occa, where did that come from?" Gilstrock asks quickly. He looks around, trying to decde if he can figure out where it came from. If he can figure it out, he will rush in that direction.
Darian looks around carefully searching for an invisible person (his detect invisibility should still be active). He also looks up.
"Can you leave a timed fireball behind?"
"Delayed blast fireball....high level mage nearby." says the newest arch-mage in the party.
"Where? And how do we avoid walking into another one?"
Occa casts knock on the closed doors.
The east doors springs open, revealing a 20' wide passage running east for 60', where it ends. However, in the centre of the back wall is a 10' wide opening.
Salaam notes that the floor of this passage radiates magic. It is littered with bits of bones, as well. There is not sign of the enemy.
Occa turns and opens the west door again, as well. The room beyond is as it was previously, and deserted.
"I suggest we spread out a bit more," says BrightAxe, thinking about how powerful that last spell was. "Do we have enough room to viably have no more than 1/3 of us in as large an area effect as those fireballs?" He queries the mages.
"The floor radiates magic? Perhaps some sort of magical trap? Maybe that's what triggered the fireball. Everyone, step back. Far back. I'll see if I can trip another one." says Darian, finally having found a useful - if perhaps brief - career option.
Salaam, though, flies over the floor and visually inspects the bones checking to see if any bits are charred.
None are charred.
Occa casts dispel magic into the corridor that radiates magic...and then has Salaam check to see if it glows or not.
Salaam cannot say, as Occa seems to have dispelled the high priest's true seeing...
Darian the trap-tripper, though, goes into the corridor next, and nothing happens. He goes down to the end, and peers through the opening in the middle of the east wall.
Beyond is a chamber (20' X 20': 5' north, 5' south, 20' east; 10' opening in east wall north half).
Apparently the lair of the now deceased trolls, this smelly chamber is filled with filth and junk.
You all move forward next, and take a look though the exit from the troll chamber, to the east. Beyond is another 20' wide passage (10' south) running eastward into darkness.
"Maybe we should look at the west door before heading any further?"
"If we do, we'd best close this door."
Checking the area to the west again, you find that it is still deserted.
You have not yet explored the north passage.
Darian turns red. "Um... Maybe we should look north, instead..."
Occa says, "Oh, Salaam...can you heal me? I am hurt very badly."
"Occa, I can help if you wish. Don't know how much healing power I have left, but you're welcome to it."
"Thanks Darian...heal away."
Darian spots the invisible Occa, puts his hands on his shoulders and heals him as best he can.
Darian heals Occa up to full. Note that many of you are still smouldering from the first fireball. Angst in particular is badly burned (ie. down to 9 hit points).
Occa heads north with wizard eye out...he is flying and invisible.
The passage runs north for 120', and ends at a door. After listening and detecting, you open it, to reveal a barren room on the other side (20' X 20': 10' east, 20' north). Valdar checks it for secret doors, but comes up with nothing.
"Let's keep moving forward, and try and take out this mage, he hurt us fairly badly but he must be close," Angst suggests.
You had back south, and then turn east, returning to the troll chamber.
Op Code looks for any signs of tracks coming from the hallway running east.
Op Code easily spots three sets of tracks which run east down the passage for about 80'...then end abruptly.
They are not troll tracks.
Gonzo takes a look at them. "Hey youse guys, take et easy an' lemme look at dez tracks afore youse makes new ones."
He cannot tell how old the tracks are, but the ranger suspects that they were made by the slaadi.
"Oh joy," muses Salaam.
"Then we go east. Occa, should you reinforce your globe?"
Occa says, "We have lost them, but I am sure we will meet with them again. Let's move on."
He sends his eye forward. He moves forward as well.
The passage, it turns out, takes you out of this area altogether. It soon curves so that after a bit it is running a little bit south of east, still 20' wide. You walk for over three miles, pausing for lunch along the way at a small fountain inset on one side of the passage. All remains quiet.
At last, the passage turns east again and then after a short distance ends.
The passage ends at a pair of enormous brass doors. They are each 10' across, and 15' high. Together, they are arch-shaped. Engraved into them is the now familiar image of a snorting dragon.
Occa's wizard eye expired long ago, as did his minor globe.
"Wonder what he's snorting," Gilstrock muses for the first time, looking closely at the engraving for signs of razor blades or mirrors.
"Aye, drug using dragons are the worst," replies BrightAxe. "Should everyone get healed prior to us bounding through these doors?"
"How about breath weapon protection. Does anyone have that?" Op Code adds.
"Me, maybe," Gilstrock says. "Depends on whether or not one of those wishes worked."
Darian looks at Angst and some of the others who are still smouldering. "Look, Salaam and I offered to heal you folks if you wanted and nobody spoke up. Are you all incapable of speech? Or can't you just hear?"
Darian shakes his head in disgust.
Gilstrock looks over at Darian. "Sorry, didn't mean to snub you. I just didn't take that bad a beating from the fireball, and figured I could suck it up, while you healed those who needed it more."
Darian looks over with some concern. "Gil, are you okay? These guys are still injured from the first fireball. You and I only took very minor damage from the second one... And you didn't snub me the first time. You actually acknowledged my offer and let me heal you."
"Um... Maybe we should call it a day? I'm just about out of healing and there's still a number of us wounded..."
Occa says, "Okay, let's rest for the night...I will cast Mordenkenian's magnificient mansion."
He does so.
"Excellent idea, Occa. I need to recover my psionics before we meet anymore dragons. I have a feeling I'll need them." says Darian steps into the palatial surroundings of the mansion.
The rest of you follow.
The balance of the afternoon and night passes quietly, as you take your ease.