Session 16 - The One With The Sunglasses
2nd Jan 2021 19:15 - 22:00
In-game timeline: DR1489 Elesias 16 - Eleasias 18
Our "Heroes" have conquered the pedestals! Flush with success they wait around discussing next steps. TC wanders off, not sure why. They faff for so long the door they have successfully opened starts to close. Quick as a flash they all decide to run through it before it closes completely. Luckily there is a lever on the other side that enables them to open it far more easily than the pedestal challenge.
On the other side, Kandi recklessly wanders into the next room on his own, ignoring the five standing sarcophagi, and the pile of bones in the middle of the room, and focussing on the altar, which contains a burning candle, a strange whistle, and a large, old, dusty tome.
As TC and Carro join him, Kandi searches for traps around the altar. Unfortunately this seems to trigger movement in the four unopened sarcophagi, and the lids come open and four skeletons emerge! Let battle commence!
Three of the skeletons score impressive hits straight off - two of the hits on TC, who seems to be bearing the brunt of the attack, reeling from realising that he has chosen a paladinic path that does not allow turning of undead. One of the skeletons attacking him is doing it in style, wearing, as it is, a pair of sunglasses. As Carro and Kandi fight off the skeletons currently attacking them, and Mahtis, for some reason standing round the corner looking at the door, realises something is going on and she'd better join the fray, a shadow emerges from the corner of the room and attacks Kandi, not only doing damage, but also seeming to weaken him considerably.
When a skeleton damages Carro, he responds with a critical hit in return, whilst Kandi, beaten down by the skeleton and shadow, needs to recover some health with a spell. He chooses to make a bolt for the door, grabbing the book from the altar along the way. Unfortunately the shadow scores another hit on him as he flees, further reducing his strength. TC, of course, misses again.
Another hit from the shadow, this time on Carro, and the party is beginning to worry about their rapidly sapping strength. Mahtis however, lifts the group's spirits by taking down one of the skeletons, and all the remaining skeletons miss. Carro manages a hit on the shadow, which is still standing, but from the distance Kandi mocks the shadow mercilessly, putting it off its stride. TC finally decides to enter the fight properly and manages a surprising hit with his longsword, causing enough damage, with his divine smiting, to take it down in one hit! Shrugging off hits from the remaining skeleton fighting him, TC finally makes his mark, after 16 sessions, and hits with his following two attacks, killing another skeleton. Meanwhile Carro manages to take down the shadow before it can sap any more strength, and Mahtis takes down the final skeleton.
Well that was harder than perhaps it should have been!
Weakened from the shadow and skeletons, the party cautiously search the room. Much is discovered, including the magic sunglasses, which they later find out allow a certain amount of visibility in darkness; a whistle, that they later discover will allow someone to animate corpses; a hefty tome in draconic, detailing the history and exploits of Ashardalon; a decent healing potion; some jewellery and a set of necrotic rings that the skeletons seem to have been wearing.
With their booty bags filled, the party decide to leave the Fortress one more time, collecting Karakas' body on the way, which Mahtis buries, with TC's help (the other two are too weak to dig, apparently) in the forest above. Our group of "heroes" then decide to head back to Oakhurst.
Back in town, they sell the tome to Mayor Leng for a tidy sum of money, then, after resting up and regaining their strength, they head on to Neverwinter to pursue their various aims.
In the city of Neverwinter they first purchase a pearl which allows Kandi to make use of his Identify spell to identify all their magic items, including the fabled Dragonsboon sword, which TC hopes will enable him to hit something slightly more often than at present.
Kandi works out that the rings on the skeletons are cursed, so they decide to keep them safely and maybe sell them later, rather than wear them. The other items that they found all look pretty useful.
Our "Heroes" also gained enough experience, somehow, I'm not really sure how, exactly, to LEVEL UP to Level 4. So this is what they did, once they arrived at Neverwinter.
And so we leave our "Heroes" having recently arrived in Neverwinter and done their initial shopping spree. They each have their own reasons for being here - TC and Carro would like to find the half-orc Togruk, whilst Mahtis wants to find out more about the possible whereabouts of her sister, and Kandi is seeking news of his friend, Starshine, and a person called the Wise Woman of the West. What adventures will await them in the future? Stay tuned…..