Session #4: Region A.4

"Well, those little, stinking rats..." sputters Gordak as the darkness lifts and the kobolds are nowhere to be seen.

"You can't be that surprised," replies Bardobis who sheathes his blade.

"No, I'm just sorry I gave your dinner to one o' those buggers!"

Esme interjects, "we learned much from them. Once we have more fuel to light our way, we will need to seek out this Longtail. A 'sorcerer' they called him. He may know something of the nature of this place, and perhaps the key of how to escape."

Daeran reminds everyone how important it is to move along as quickly as possible. He leads the way out into the hall, lantern in hand, and then waits for Gordak to take up his place at the point. The party continues to the next door on the left. Bardobis examines it for locks or traps (Search 19), but finds none. Gordak opens it and sees a passage leading north to a four-way intersection.

To the east and west are open areas, grizzly galleries decorated with decomposed bodies of humanoids hung on wall-mounted spikes. Many different kinds of creatures are on display from ogres and orcs to dwarves. These grim chambers seem haunted and a few members of the party see things out of the corners of their eyes. They do not linger, but investigate the north passage which appears to come to a dead-end.

Esme's keen elven eyes spot the outlines of a secret door on the north wall (automatic Search within 5 ft. of a secret door, Search 21). Gordak puts his shoulder to it, and it pivots open on a central axis. The group slips through and decides to close it behind them. They then find themselves in a short corridor with a door to the east and west, each 15 ft. away. Esme also immediately spots another secret door straight ahead (Search 26).

The group decides to scout out the east & west doors, even though the secret panel evokes the most curiosity. To the east is simply another dead-end passage, though this one truly appears to terminate at a solid stone wall. Through the western door, the party finds a large chamber with a throne carved out of a single piece of stone. Faint rust-red stains can be seen on the floor. Bardobis also notices two red gems set into the backrest of the throne.

Despite objections from his companions, the halfling pulls out his dagger and tries to pry out the stones. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), he cannot get them to loosen. His comrades eventually badger him sufficiently so that he follows through the second secret door.

Beyond is a long hallway running north -- perhaps 200 ft. or more -- it has two doorways at either end, and two more near the mid-way point.

"We can get lost in this maze! And I haven't seen anything resembling a storage room," complains the dwarf. A moment later, there is another tremor causing the ground to shake and dust to fall from the ceiling. When everything is still and the dust settles, Gordak says, "cough-cough! This place is a death-trap! We might never find a way out since we'll probably get buried first!"

"We must not lose hope," says Daeran. "If we lose hope, then we are truly lost." Trying the closest doors, the group finds an empty room and another room littered with bodies of various humanoid creatures. The stench in the latter is overwhelming. Further to the east they emerge at the far end of a great hall, about 30 ft. wide and longer than they can see. It is clear many battles took place here. There are fallen kobolds, orcs, and other combatants, as well as monstrous rats and a few of the webbed, octopus-like things that had ambushed them a few times earlier.

The explorers cannot decide whether to press further down this great corridor, or if they should double back to investigate the doors off the long passage back the way they came. More and more this place is feeling like a confusing tangle of passages with no end. As a loud, guttural scream echoes in the distance, they decide to head back.

Returning to the long north-south corridor off the secret door, they try a few more exits and find winding hallways that eventually lead to another door. It has written upon it "DANGER. DO NOT ENTER," in the Draconic tongue. Bardobis attempts to locate some sort of trap, but can detect nothing. When Gordak opens the door, a blast of flame shoots down from the archway above, engulfing the dwarf (5 dm.).

Angry at the halfling, but otherwise only slightly singed, the dwarf pushes forward into the room. The others leave the door ajar, and Bardobis immediately tries to discover how the trap was activated. The chamber appears to have been a workroom of some sort in the past, but sadly, it does not contain any fuel for a lantern. There is only an old workbench and two stools near a forge. Gordak examines it and realizes that -- with the proper tools -- it could be a funtional place to repair weapons & armor. "But why trap the bloody door? It's only an old smithy!"

Daeran points to a hallway exiting to the southeast. "Perhaps the answer lies that way."

Following the passage, the group emerges in another workroom, this one perhaps a laboratory long ago. There are serval tables pushed up against the walls and three stools. Gordak says, "we can bust those up and use them to light a fire in a pinch." While in better condition than the previous room, there are still piles of broken glassware here and there. Esme begins to carefully search through them in case they contain anything of interest to a wizard (Search 21). She manages to find a small, flawed diamond, which still looks quite valuable (500 gp).

Gordak is looking over the tables and finds a small metal box hidden beneath one of them. Bardobis takes it and examines it for traps. "I still get whatever is inside!" warns the dwarf. A metal blade slices across the opening when the halfling opens it and cuts his hand (1 dm.). Bardobis drops the container and spills its contents (a handful of ordinary pebbles) across the floor. Gordak chuckles, "you can keep 'em!" As he walks away he says, "you must be the worst burglar in the world! If you say it's safe, that means for certain that it's not!" The halfling just scowls and sucks on his hand.

After exhausting the search, the group returns to the smithy to discuss how to proceed. Gordak smashes up some of the tables to burn in the forge later. "There's not enough here to get the heat we need to work metal, but it'll make a good fireplace." He wedges a piece of wood beneath the entrance so the flame trap doesn't trigger again. Bardobis suggests tying a rope to the pull-ring and pulling it open from a safe distance. "Then we could rest in here safely." The others think this is a good plan, but wish to keep searching first. The dwarf isn't fond of ruining a perfectly good coil of rope, either.

Leaving the workshop, the party returns to the long hall and opens the door to the north. Beyond is a long, broad corridor (20 ft. wide and about 100 ft. long) which has two doorways at either end -- two north and two south (one of which the group just passed through). There are more bodies of orcs, kobolds, and one of the hyena-like creatures that the heroes faced in the kobold fight. "What a battle this was!" remarks the dwarf. "Looks like we missed all the action!"

Opening the door immediately north and continuing west down a passage, the party encounters several branches in the corridor. Eventually, they come to a doorway near a four-way intersection. The door here has been wedged open by a metal spike. Within is another workroom with a functional furnace. Gordak is actually able to find enough weaponsmithing tools to complete a full set. There are also a number or workbenches which the dwarf will probably destroy at some point. When leaving, the party leaves the spike in the door, thinking that it will make a good landmark.

Heading north through the intersection, the group sees a door that is secured on a metal hook to keep it open. Inside are several workbenches on which sit a few small, bloated creatures that look a bit like bat-winged mosquitoes. They flap around wildly trying to escape the room, but Grodak furiously swings at them. "Aach! Stirges!"

Bardobis rushes forward before they can flap too high and attacks the nearest one (hit, 6 dm.). The creature falls, its body bursting with blood. Esme quickly draws her bow (move action) and looses an arrow at another (hit, 6 dm.). It also bursts in mid-air in a spectacular shower of red. Daeran, who is carrying the lantern, simply ducks out of the way, hoping to let the creatures escape.

Gordak stays by the entrance, swinging his weapon at the first one coming near him (hit, 8 dm.) and he swipes at another that was hoping to fly overhead & out the door (AoO, miss). In a flurry, the others flap out of the room and back the way the party came. Gordak calls, "come on! If we don't finish 'em, they'll feast on us while we sleep!" The thought of this disgusts everyone, so the party gives chase.

Back in the previous workroom, the group arrives to see the creatures scattered about retching up blood on the floor. Bardobis dashes forward and tries to skewer another (hit, 6 dm.). The stirge tries to evade the attack as it pukes up the contents of its stomach, but the halfling's blade strikes true. Esme follows and draws her sword along the way. She swings at another winged horror, but misses. Daeran has his morning star drawn and he attempts to pulverize one, but also cannot connect. Gordak arrives, huffing and puffing, and he chops one in half (nat. 20, no crit., 7 dm.).

The last one flaps about the room eluding each party member in turn. Once it has finished vomiting up its last meal, it lands on Gordak, plunging its proboscis into the dwarf's neck (smite, 1 dm.). Its tiny, clawed feet attach to the warrior's shoulder. Esme manages to graze the thing with her sword, but was afraid to strike the dwarf (hit, 3 dm.). The creature begins to suck out Gordak's life (-3 Con, -4 hp).

Each party member gets 75 xp (since the stirges couldn't fight very well for 2 rounds).

Daeran converts his divine favor into a cure light wounds and heals the dwarf (back to 27 hp). The group returns to the chamber to the north and searches around. More tools are found, but they are broken or in poor repair. The party moves on. Further east, past another four-way intersection, the group arrives at a 'T' with one door to the north and another to the south. The entrance to the north also has the door propped open, this time pinned to the wall with an iron spike.

Within, the workbenches are completely demolished and strewn about. Another furnace is in the southwest corner of the room. Suddenly, without warning, a pack of huge rats -- their eyes aglow with a hateful red -- leap out of the piles of debris and swarm over Gordak. In the initial ambush, two of them wound the dwarf, but soon his companions rush to his defense (2 hits for 2, 4 dm., both Fort. saves made).

Bardobis lunges at one with the point of his rapier, but he misses. Esme is the next to react, and she casts her sleep spell catching 3 of the little beasts in the area of effect (only one succumbs, however). Bardobis is bitten next (3 dm., save fails, but he's already infected). Esme is missed, as is Daeran. The priest lands but a grazing blow with his weapon, and Gordak -- still overwhelmed -- misses completely.

On his next thrust, Bardobis scores a critical hit (12 dm.), and the squealing beast falls to the floor. Esme misses her attack, but is in turn bitten (2 dm., failed save, but just like the rogue, she's already infected). Daeran and Gordak both miss with their next attacks. The nimble creatures are difficult to hit (especially when you roll like crap).

Bardobis also cannot connect on his next attack, but Esme wounds her opponent (4 dm.). Gordak takes a critical hit (4 dm.), but does not succumb to the fiendish rodent's disease (saves on a roll of 3). Esme suffers a nasty bite and seems ready to fall. The cleric also is wounded, and -- though he doesn't know it yet -- he has contracted devil chills. He misses a counterattack, but thankfully, Gordak finally connects, chopping one of his assailants in half (dm. 10).

Bardobis's futility continues, and Esme -- desperate for help -- commits all of her energies to defense (+4 dodge bonus). Her gambit pays off as she manages to escape injury for the moment. The halfling finally comes to the rescue, gouging the creature that threatens the elf (5 dm.). She does not quail then, but tries to flank the rat attacking Daeran (killing it with 6 dm.). The priest returns the favor by burning bless to heal her (+7 hp).

The harrowing battle concludes with Gordak finishing his opponent (7 dm.) and Bardobis performing a coup de grace on the slumbering rat (11 dm.). Most of the party feels like collapsing after such a desperate, frustrating struggle, but Gordak does not waste another moment. He moves to the pinned door and manages to yank out the iron spike. He closes the door and wedges it shut with the spike. "We're resting here. I'll get a fire going in the furnace. There's plenty of wood in here for that. Once I get it going, you can turn the lantern down."

The rest of the party says nothing. They are thankful the dwarf has taken charge. Before long he has the furnace roaring and the rat bodies tossed into a corner.

The party has garnered 150 xp for dispatching the rats.