Secret Dwarven... Elevator?
Nov. 13th, 2007 07:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
terryclothSunday we had a session of the D+D game, which Shawn is running right now. It turns out our mission was complicated by the silly NPCs more than we expected it to be.
Around noon the next day, the party reached the dwarven mine of Icetern on schedule. But it was quiet... too quiet. Especially since the dwarves were supposed to be celebrating.
Upon reaching the mine (cautiously advancing with those capable of it stealthed to counter-ambush any ambushers) they found it deserted, with signs of a struggle. It looked like some people camped nearby had suddenly attacked the dwarves, then rode off with them, taking the ones they killed as well as the survivors.
"This was done by the White Fist," said the sneaky girl from Frostkeep.
"Explain yourself!" said a suddenly suspicious Kaevan (still in berzerker mode from the troll attack the night before).
She explained that she was the former leader of the assassin's guild (The White Fist) and had run away with her lover, the former captain of the city guard, after being betrayed and set up to be assassinated herself. They must still be after her, but she had no idea why they'd come and attack the dwarves -- she hadn't even been planning to head for the mine, after all.
"Well, maybe they destroyed the mine *and* the town, just to cover all the bases," Zeffy suggested cheerfully. The girl didn't think it was likely they had that kind of manpower, though.
So they decided to search the mine for survivors. Just inside, they found the food and drink for the party still set out, half-eaten. And probably poisoned. The tunnel branched, with one leading to the mine proper and the other dead-ending with a large symbol of the dwarven god of secrets. So they broke out a scroll of 'detect secret doors', and opened the three (out of FIVE) that weren't magically locked.
It looked like the secret doors basically led to the entire living quarters of the mine, as well as a secret passage that let people spy on the mine through little spy holes. Zeffy headed to the end to look through them, and arrived just in time for a dwarven priest to pop out of the wall.
Z: "We'renotwiththepeoplewhokilledyourfriendsdon'thurtus!"
DP: "Thank Dunathoin! Why *are* you here?"
Z: "We have a message for you, from the leader of the assassin's guild. Just kidding! We're here to pick up the mithril. Oh, and we have a message for you from the ex-leader of the assassin's guild."
The mithril had been stolen, of course, along with the dwarves, taken as slaves. The priest and the NPCs thought that they were probably being taken to the Winter King's castle -- that's where slaves were 'processed', not in Icekeep proper. Icekeep didn't technically enslave people, they just bought and sold slaves from the Winter King. Who were always mysteriously docile after being 'processed'.
Fortunately, the other two secret doors led to a secret dwarven passage through the... well, to a secret dwarven elevator. A shortcut, at any rate, that should allow them to catch up with the enemy, despite the bad guys' four hour head start.
"Just be careful of the frost giant, and his magic goat."
So they were careful. The took a bunch of the drugged food (the dwarven priest confirmed that it had, in fact, been poisoned) and Efneisien cast a silence spell to let them sneak by without waking up the giant. Unfortunately, the goat was still awake, and found Ignacious tastier than the poisoned food. GULP!
They had to fight inside the silence spell to avoid bringing down an avalanche, but between Zeffy's haste (she stepped outside to cast it... quietly), the melee'ers general nastiness, Efneisien's cheesy rod of GM-inexperience (it's a special item given to Tom because he's playing a pacifist, that does 1d6+1 STR and DEX damage on a touch attack), and Ignacious' wand of magic missiles fired from the inside, the goat was taken out in short order. And then butchered, because his hooves and horns looked like they were made from mithril, and his teeth were magically cold.
E: "Wow, the giant's going to be pissed that we killed his goat."
I: "We didn't just kill it, we stripped it. It's up on blocks!"
At any rate, they managed to cut the enemies off at the pass, arriving at the junction point almost an hour ahead of them. The NPC chick explained that they'd be facing off the *entire* troupe of assassins -- 5 ordinary assassins, the lieutenant, a cleric and a wizard. All of them had magical cold swords and the ability to shoot out beams of acid.
Oh, and they'd be fighting them in a valley with unstable, avalanche prone slopes to either side. What luck!
last session | next session
Then we played Ra. Eric won this time, with tons and tons of monuments. I could have come in second, but I held out for a better hand which never came (and came in third).
Around noon the next day, the party reached the dwarven mine of Icetern on schedule. But it was quiet... too quiet. Especially since the dwarves were supposed to be celebrating.
Upon reaching the mine (cautiously advancing with those capable of it stealthed to counter-ambush any ambushers) they found it deserted, with signs of a struggle. It looked like some people camped nearby had suddenly attacked the dwarves, then rode off with them, taking the ones they killed as well as the survivors.
"This was done by the White Fist," said the sneaky girl from Frostkeep.
"Explain yourself!" said a suddenly suspicious Kaevan (still in berzerker mode from the troll attack the night before).
She explained that she was the former leader of the assassin's guild (The White Fist) and had run away with her lover, the former captain of the city guard, after being betrayed and set up to be assassinated herself. They must still be after her, but she had no idea why they'd come and attack the dwarves -- she hadn't even been planning to head for the mine, after all.
"Well, maybe they destroyed the mine *and* the town, just to cover all the bases," Zeffy suggested cheerfully. The girl didn't think it was likely they had that kind of manpower, though.
So they decided to search the mine for survivors. Just inside, they found the food and drink for the party still set out, half-eaten. And probably poisoned. The tunnel branched, with one leading to the mine proper and the other dead-ending with a large symbol of the dwarven god of secrets. So they broke out a scroll of 'detect secret doors', and opened the three (out of FIVE) that weren't magically locked.
It looked like the secret doors basically led to the entire living quarters of the mine, as well as a secret passage that let people spy on the mine through little spy holes. Zeffy headed to the end to look through them, and arrived just in time for a dwarven priest to pop out of the wall.
Z: "We'renotwiththepeoplewhokilledyourfriendsdon'thurtus!"
DP: "Thank Dunathoin! Why *are* you here?"
Z: "We have a message for you, from the leader of the assassin's guild. Just kidding! We're here to pick up the mithril. Oh, and we have a message for you from the ex-leader of the assassin's guild."
The mithril had been stolen, of course, along with the dwarves, taken as slaves. The priest and the NPCs thought that they were probably being taken to the Winter King's castle -- that's where slaves were 'processed', not in Icekeep proper. Icekeep didn't technically enslave people, they just bought and sold slaves from the Winter King. Who were always mysteriously docile after being 'processed'.
Fortunately, the other two secret doors led to a secret dwarven passage through the... well, to a secret dwarven elevator. A shortcut, at any rate, that should allow them to catch up with the enemy, despite the bad guys' four hour head start.
"Just be careful of the frost giant, and his magic goat."
So they were careful. The took a bunch of the drugged food (the dwarven priest confirmed that it had, in fact, been poisoned) and Efneisien cast a silence spell to let them sneak by without waking up the giant. Unfortunately, the goat was still awake, and found Ignacious tastier than the poisoned food. GULP!
They had to fight inside the silence spell to avoid bringing down an avalanche, but between Zeffy's haste (she stepped outside to cast it... quietly), the melee'ers general nastiness, Efneisien's cheesy rod of GM-inexperience (it's a special item given to Tom because he's playing a pacifist, that does 1d6+1 STR and DEX damage on a touch attack), and Ignacious' wand of magic missiles fired from the inside, the goat was taken out in short order. And then butchered, because his hooves and horns looked like they were made from mithril, and his teeth were magically cold.
E: "Wow, the giant's going to be pissed that we killed his goat."
I: "We didn't just kill it, we stripped it. It's up on blocks!"
At any rate, they managed to cut the enemies off at the pass, arriving at the junction point almost an hour ahead of them. The NPC chick explained that they'd be facing off the *entire* troupe of assassins -- 5 ordinary assassins, the lieutenant, a cleric and a wizard. All of them had magical cold swords and the ability to shoot out beams of acid.
Oh, and they'd be fighting them in a valley with unstable, avalanche prone slopes to either side. What luck!
last session | next session
Then we played Ra. Eric won this time, with tons and tons of monuments. I could have come in second, but I held out for a better hand which never came (and came in third).
