Session 9 - The One Where Not Much Happened
In-game timeline: DR1489 Elesias 7 - Eleasias 10
Exhausted from goblin and dragon battles, our "Heroes" struggled with deciding their next steps. Carro argued that the important thing was to get the healing pear, presumably from Belak the druid. He revealed to the others that the ill elf back in Oakhurst, Erdan, is actually Carro's brother on some sort of secret mission and that Carro would appreciate it if this information is kept secret, at least for now. The others were keen to level up first, especially after hearing from the goblin Grenl, who was getting a little bored with their relentless changing-of-minds, that Belak had recruited a number of goblins in the past, and also had some bugbear friends. And so it was agreed that the group would head back to Oakhurst to gain more skills.
Then the conversation turned towards how to actually exit the building. Some wanted to try out the Platform Room, that they had not yet visited, others wanted to try out the key they had obtained from Karakas' body, to see if it would fit in the door heading south west from the entrance tower. This discussion took longer than anyone would expect.
Finally they reached a decision - to try out Karakas' key, on the way out of the Fortress. At that point someone remembered Calcryx. Grenl made it perfectly clear that she wanted nothing to do with the "bloody annoying thing" and would prefer to just let it find its own way out of the Fortress by opening the doors. The party weren't keen on this, as they would not be fulfilling their promise to Yussi to return the dragon to the kobolds. So they asked Grenl if she would keep Calcryx fed and watered until they returned with the Kobolds. Grenl initially refused. Then, after some intimidation, she said yes. The party didn't believe her. So they threatened her again until Grenl eventually agreed to keep Calcryx alive until they returned, though she didn't seem all that keen on having to share the Fortress with a bunch of kobolds.
Discussions finally over, the group headed back towards the exit of the Fortress and stopped in the entrance tower. After much confusion trying to push their big iron "dragon's head" key into a door with no lock (that's the DM's story and he is sticking to it) they finally worked out they needed to just open the door to see what was beyond.
It led to a hallway of sorts with high, vaulted ceilings, but crumbling walls. An ornate stone door was across the room. This door proved tempting enough that Mahtis, quickly followed by the rest of the party, strode determinedly towards the door, keen to see where it led and if Karakas' key might actually fit this door.
Our bold and, some would say, foolhardy adventurers were therefore surprised when a group of stirges, who had been hiding in the vaulted ceilings, swooped down from above and attacked the exhausted party. These bat-like creatures were easy to kill, but their numbers, coupled with the fact that they attached to your body and sucked your blood, made them very dangerous. Both Kandi and TC were reduced to very low health, and with only one healing spell available between them this proved to be concerning. Luckily the group between them just about managed to kill all the stirges before any of their party were reduced to unconsciousness.
Even more battle-weary than before, the group do try Karakas' key in the stone 'dragon door' to find that it fits, but they cautiously decided not to open it at this time. Instead they chose to make their weary, and slow (on account of Kandi being so exhausted that he was moving at half speed) way back to Oakhurst, which they managed with no further encounters.
The party checked on Erdan, whose condition was unchanged, and visited the mayor, Vernor Leng, to inform him about the possibility of Bella having been taken by Belak the druid, though their basis for this assumption is just Belak's request for goblin virgins. Vernor was surprised, and seemed concerned, at this news, and promised to tell Felosial when she had returned from her 2 day trip into the forest on the hunt for signs of Bella. Mahtis told Vernor that they had a map to Belak's home, and promised to later give a copy to Vernor to pass on to Felosial, so she could follow the party after they head there.
Vernor asked if the group had discovered any of the "dragon artifacts" that he was a keen collector of, but they said they had not yet found any.
Back at the Inn, Kandi talked to Joe, a drunk farmer, about vicious bushes. He then negotiated a sale of the recipe for Goblin Brew to the barkeep, Garon. 40gp in total - half paid now and half when Garon had managed to brew some and checked out the recipe. Flush with success at this negotiation, Kandi, who seems to be the party spokesperson, then chatted to a couple of travelling gnome wizards, who agreed to Identify a ring that they had obtained from Karakas, for 20gp. Whilst Kandi does know the Identify spell, he does not have the components for it at the moment. The party are convinced the ring is magic and are disappointed when the gnomes tell them that in fact there is no magic in the ring at all. The party, unable to accept the blame for not casting Detect Magic on the ring themselves beforehand, threaten the poor, innocent gnomes, who cower in fright and then rush off to leave town quickly (thus removing the party's current only means of identifying magic items). Thomas' seeming intense hatred of all things gnomish was questioned, but the only response was a vehemently stated: "It's a long story".
Our "Heroes" retired to their comfortable beds for some well needed rest, followed by a day of training to reach their THIRD LEVEL! Another night's rest after their training ensured they were at full health, and no exhaustion, ready to tackle whatever lay ahead.
