Session 23

Date Played: December 29, 2001

Gromdain, 23rd of Thaumont, 1,000 A.C.

5:30 pm

Burning time remaining for Hooded Lantern = 10 turns. After taking out the servants of evil, the party continued to explore the open passageways to the east. The party investigated the semi-circular room at the end of the eastern corridor, taking precautions to not alert anyone that may have been within. They backtracked along the path the humans used and it led to this room. Within was nothing but bare stone floor and walls. A pair of crystalline statues depicting powerful warriors flanked a deep, rounded alcove in the center of the eastern curved wall. Hamlin and Chow-Lin began looking about for secret exits and other hidden details while Markus remained on watch in the corridor with his crossbow. Eric moved forward to investigate one of the crystalline statues. A single door was set in the back of the alcove, a possible location for ambush. Before Eric’s startled eyes, the statues animated and began to pummel him. The party, alerted by his shouts of surprise, retreated towards the entrance, the statues following after them. One of the statues closest to Eric continued striking him with its glassy fists, knocking him to the ground and then continuing on to attack the party. While Markus and Hamlin hacked away at them with axes and swords, Chow-Lin resorted to a magic missile spell. Eventually the statues were shattered and broken into glassy fragments. The party took many serious wounds and was in no condition to face another challenge. They decided to retreat some distance to a known location in order to rest and recover some strength.

5:50 pm

The party retreated to the safety of the north-south corridor storeroom across from the first set of stairs. Markus carried Eric over his shoulders while the others gathered his equipment. They entered the storeroom and laid Eric comfortably on the floor under a blanket. Markus set up a simple trip-line trap across the door. The watch orders were established, leaving Chow-Lin on first watch with her lantern still lit. It wasn’t long before she noted voices beyond the door and activity in the corridor. She took precautions to hide the light by removing it from the entranceway and stuffing one of Markus’ sacks under the door to hide any light leaking into the corridor. During Hamlin’s watch, the lantern ran out of oil and had to be refilled.

Tserdain, 24^th of Thaumont, 1,000 A.C.

After 12 hours of rest Eric still was unresponsive so the party decided to make this a day camp as well. Watches were set once more, even more alert than ever for noises. They also rationed the oil in the lantern by turning it off during Markus’ watch. At some point during the day some creature was heard at the door, sniffing under the door and clawing at the entranceway. During the last watch of the day, the party noted a light source and heavy, armored footsteps in the hallway, but luckily no one discovered the camp in the storeroom.

5:30 pm

Eric finally awoke from his restless sleep. The party filled him in on what occurred during his period of unconsciousness. He then set about healing whomever he could with what few spells remained to him. Once that was accomplished, he set about praying for new spells, as did Chow-Lin. The room was swept clean of any traces of the party’s camp.

6:50 pm

Refreshed and anxious from their full day of rest, the party cautiously made their way back along the same route towards the eastern semi-circular room. Taking the northern corridor once more, they began a systematic search for secret doors along the south wall.

7:50 pm

No luck was had looking for secret doors. Hamlin was left to guard the passage heading south while Chow-Lin stood guard in the corridor, maintaining the lantern to allow the half-elves to scan the walls. Hamlin spotted an animated skeleton that had been attracted by his presence and now advanced up the corridor. The other members of the party retreated as the skeleton advanced, meeting it halfway down the corridor in a short battle. Hamlin eventually hit the skeleton hard enough to destroy it. The party, nonplussed by the encounter, maintained their guard at the end of the corridor and continued looking for secret entrances, having to stop only long enough to refill the oil in the lantern.

9:30 pm

A fruitless search for secret doors in and around the semi-circular room led the party to quit the room and explore beyond the obviously once-guarded door to the west. Apparently, some traffic had passed through the room during the 24-hour rest period, as crystal fragments from the destroyed statues had been tracked through.

Beyond the wooden door the party discovered a small room containing a water fountain and two tapestries: one of a young, golden-haired woman sitting upon a silver throne wearing a silver crown and bearing a scepter and huge ruby; the other of a sitting man dressed in black plate mail armor with his feet propped on a stool. The party filled their water skins after Eric declared that the water was pure and potable. A single door led north from this room, leading to a short corridor that turned off to the east. A closed door stood at one end of the corridor; an abandoned guard station by a collapsed staircase stood at the other end. A dim red glow could be seen coming through the rubble of the staircase. Assuming this led back outside, the party turned towards the door and proceeded west along a dark corridor.

The long, corridor stretched some distance to the west before turning north. It continued straight north back to the eastern entrance portcullis. Along the route the party noted three side corridors to the east. The southernmost of these led to a short corridor and a closed door. The others were somewhat longer and stretched beyond the lantern’s light. The northernmost of these corresponded to the eastern passage mapped by the party upon their first examination of the castle entrance.

END TIME: 10:20 pm

Burning time remaining for Hooded Lantern = 12 turns.